Section VI Flashcards
(33 cards)
Collective Goods Problem
A situation where individuals benefit from a shared resource or outcome, but have conflicting interests that prevent them from cooperating to achieve it
Free Rider
An actor who benefits from a collective good without having incurred the costs of participating in its production
Tragedy of the Commons
A collective goods dilemma that is created when common environmental assets (such as the world’s fisheries) are depleted or degraded through the failure of states to cooperate effectively.
Carrying Capacity
The level at which an ecosystem is sustainable, given human activities and other factors
Sustainable Development
Economic growth that doesn’t deplete resources and destroy ecosystems
Population Growth
The difference between rates of birth and rates of death
Demographic Transition
The pattern of falling death rates, followed by falling birthrates, that generally accompaneis industrialization and economic development
Infectious/Communicable Disease
An illness that can be transmitted from one person to another through contact
Non-Communicable Disease
Chronic diseases caused by factors like genetics or the environment that cannot be transmitted between people
Infant Mortality
The proportion of babies who die within their first year of life
Anthropocene/Holocene
Have humans transformed the ecosystem so much that effects can be seen in the geological strata. Holocene era began after last major ice age, anthropocene began around the Industrial Revolution
Acid Rain
Rain caused by air pollution that damages trees and often crosses borders.
Greenhouse Gases
Carbon dioxide and other gases that, when concentrated in the atmosphere, act like the glass in a greenhouse holding energy in and leading to global warming and climate change
Fossil Fuels
Oil, coal, and natural gases
Global Warming
A slow, long-term rise in the average world temperature caused by the emission of greenhouse gases produced by burning fossil fuels
Climate Change
A long-term change in average weather patterns that now define the earth’s local, regional, and global climates caused by the emission of greenhouse gases produced by burning fossil fuels
UN Environment Program (UNEP)
A program that monitors environmental conditions and, among other activities, works with the World Meterological Organization to measure changes in global climate
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Established in 1989, provides policymakers with regular scientific assessments on climate change, its impacts, and potential future risks
Rio Earth Summit / Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
A 1992 international conference held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil focused on global environmental issues, the primary goals was to set a course for sustainable development
Kyoto Protocol/Kyoto Global Warming Negotiations
A major international treaty on global warming (1997), which entered into effect in 2005 and mandated cuts in carbon emission. Almost all major countries, except the U.S., were participants
Paris Agreement
The main international agreement on global warming signed in 2015. Calls for keeping a global temperature rise this century 2 degrees celisus below pre industrial levels
CFCs
Chloroflurocarbons, compounds of carbon, hydrogen, chlorine, and fluorine typically used in refrigerants and aerosol propellants
Ozone Layer
The part of the atmosphere that screens out harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. Certain chemicals used in industrial economies break down the ozone layer
Montreal Protocol
A 1987 agreement on protection of the ozone layer in which states pledged to reduce and then eliminate use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), most successful environmental treaty to date
