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Environmental Science > Test Revision > Flashcards

Test Revision Flashcards

1
Q

The environment provides us with: (4)

A

Air
Water
Food
Shelter

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2
Q

Concept for treating the environment as an economic good:

A

Nature Capital

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3
Q

Steps of the Scientific Method: (7)

A
  1. Observation
  2. Formulate hypothesis
  3. Test hypothesis
  4. Revise hypothesis
  5. Communicate with other scientists
  6. Peer critique
  7. Knowledge contribution
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4
Q

Landmark book published by Rachael Carson

A

Silent Spring, 1962

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5
Q

“Spaceship Earth”

A

“A little spaceship in which we all travel together, dependant upon its vulnerable supplies of air and soil”

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6
Q

The Development Ethic

A
  • man is the master of nature
  • resources exist for our benefit
  • “bigger is better”
  • major driving force for civilization
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7
Q

The Preservation Ethic

A
  • preserve wilderness
  • nature is valued for its own sake
  • protects landscapes and species without regard for economy or society
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8
Q

The Conservation Ethic

A
  • extends consideration of “nature” to all life, including humans
  • seeks a balance between decent living standards and resource use/availability
  • acknowledges dynamism of natural systems
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9
Q

Evolution of Environmental Study

A

1960 “Problem identification”
1970 “problem fixing”
1980 multidisciplinary “problem solving”
1990 interdisciplinary ““problem prevention”

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10
Q

Interdisciplinary Environmental Study

A

The interactive combination of earth, physical, chemical and biological sciences with social science, law and economics to allow an understanding of the effects of humans on the environment, and provide the basis for sustainable management of those effects

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11
Q

Why do we have environmental problems? (5)

A
  1. Population growth
  2. Poverty
  3. Affluence
  4. Natural capital not included
  5. Lack of education
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12
Q

What is the IPCC?

A
  • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
  • established in 1988
  • do not carry out research, only compile and analyze other research
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13
Q

Adaptation

A

reduces the impacts of climate change
lower costs and immediate benefits
e.g. sea walls

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14
Q

Mitigation

A

reduces emissions, therefore hoping to stop climate change
higher costs and long term gain
e.g. government initiatives to reduce emissions

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15
Q

Three most vulnerable areas of New Zealand’s environment:

A
  1. Natural Ecosystems
  2. Water security
  3. Coastal Communities
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16
Q

Sustainability

A

to sustain human institutions in a healthy and functional state AND to sustain ecological systems in a healthy and functional state

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17
Q

The Triple Bottom Line

A

People, Profit, Planet

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18
Q

Principles of Sustainability (4)

A
  1. Use natural resources and environmental services sustainably
  2. Recognize that society and the environment are an interconnected system (systems perspective)
  3. Adopt moral and ethical principles that govern fairness between nations, genders, etc.
  4. Provide a reward for sustainable behavior and policies
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19
Q

Date when the Earth first reached 1 billion people:

A

1800

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20
Q

Theories of limits to growth: (3)

A
  1. Malthus 1800s, disease and famine will control pop.
  2. Club of Rome, 1972, failure via exhaustion of one or more resources
  3. Global Carrying Capacity lies within 4-16 billion (average 10 billion)
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21
Q

How many Earths would be required to sustain our consumption?

A

4.5

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22
Q

How much of the population lives in cities now?

A

50%

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23
Q

Highest and lowest fertility rate?

A

Niger, Hong Kong

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24
Q

When is it desirable to have a lot of children?

A
  • as a labor source
  • to look after parents when they are older
  • if there is a high infant mortality rate (IMR)
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25
Q

Ecological Footprint definition, and current level?

A

Represents the amount of biologically productive land & sea area necessary to supply the resources a human population consumes and are needed to dispose of associated waste; current level over 2.7 (2007)

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26
Q

What is the net gain of people born per second?

A

2.4

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27
Q

Goods (4) and Services (5) that the environment provides:

A 
Goods
-water, oxygen, wood, energy 
Services 
-soil for growing trees
-atmosphere, livable climate
-plants to absorb air pollutants
-Wetlands water filter
-recreation and relaxation
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28
Q

What was the 2007 IPCC conclusion on the likelihood of manmade climate change?

A

“Very Likely” (>90% likelihood)

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29
Q

What three areas do sustainability encompass?

A
  • Society
  • Economy
  • Environment
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30
Q

What does the ocean provide us? (9)

A
  • oxygen
  • food
  • biodiversity
  • recreation
  • Energy
  • transportation
  • minerals
  • aggregate (gravel, sand)
  • climate regulation
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31
Q

Why do we dump waste in the ocean?

A
  • vast size makes it easier

- less expensive than on land

32
Q

Largest contributor of oil in the ocean? Second?

A
  1. Natural seeps

2. land, marine, air runoff from use

33
Q

Biological sources of marine pollution (2)

A
  • removal of species

- introduction of non-native species

34
Q

Biomagnification

A

contaminants become more concentrated as thy move up the food chain

35
Q

What makes plastic a miracle substance? (3)

A
  • lightweight
  • strong, doesn’t biodegrade easily
  • Inexpensive to produce
36
Q

Biological Roulette

A

the introduction of non-native species, directly or indirectly,
to new areas

37
Q

“Other” types of marine pollution (3)

A

Air
Noise
Thermal

38
Q

What percent of marine debris is plastic?

A

80%

39
Q

How much of the ocean is covered by a trash vortex?

A

40%, by 9 major vortexes

40
Q

Plastic first emerged in:

A

1862

41
Q

How much plastic is produced per year?

A

260-300 million tonnes

42
Q

Photodegradation

A

decomposes into smaller and smaller pieces without breaking into similar compounds (plastic nurdles)

43
Q

Why plastic is harmful in the ocean (5)

A
  • entanglement of species
  • ingestion, possible death
  • concentration and transport of contaminants
  • can transport non-native species elsewhere
  • creates synthetic beaches
44
Q

Three reasons plastic levels are lower than expected:

A
  • sinking
  • ingestion
  • nano-fragmentation
45
Q

Overfishing

A

Fishing with a sufficiently high intensity to reduce the breeding stock levels to such an extent that they will no longer support a sufficient quantity of fish for sport or commercial harvest

46
Q

Fishing Down

A

fishing further down the food chain, triggering a chain reaction that’s upsetting the balance of the ocean (levels of large fish are 10% their pre-industrial level)

47
Q

Fishing Capacity

A

the quantity of fish that can be taken by a fishing unit, for example an individual, community, vessel or fleet, assuming that there is no limitation on the yield from the stock

48
Q

Tragedy of the Commons

A

The depletion of a shared resource by individuals, acting independently and according to their own self‐interest, despite knowing that depleting the resource is contrary to the group’s longer term interests

49
Q

Breakdown of fish stock availability today:

A

25% are over-expolited
50% are fully exploited
25% can yield more fish

50
Q

Marine territories of nations:

A

Territorial Sea, for 12 miles offshore
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), for 200 miles offshore
Everything else is international waters

51
Q

Fishprint

A

defined as the area of ocean required to sustain the consumption of fish by an average person, a nation, and the world (currently at 157%)

52
Q

Two of the worst problems in the fishing industry:

A

Bottom-trawling

By-catch (20 millions tons a year)

53
Q

Year the cod-fishing industry in Canada collapsed:

A

1992

54
Q

Methods to stop overfishing: (6)

A
  • safe catch limits
  • controls on by-catch
  • protection of certain marine areas
  • monitoring and enforcement
  • improve aquaculture
  • consumer information
55
Q

Best and worst fish for sustainability:

A

Best: Kawahai, Blue Cod, and Trevally
Worst: Orange roughy and snapper

56
Q

Sea level rise was first predicted in 1968 by:

A

John Mercer, a glaciologist

57
Q

What ice shelf collapsed in Antartica and when?

A

The Larsen ice shelf, in 2002

58
Q

Ice Sheet

A

covers land (such as in Antartica)

59
Q

Ice Shelf

A

surrounds ice sheets, already displaces water (about 85% underwater)

60
Q

Short term changes in sea level (6)

A 
tides
winds 
floods 
earthquakes / tsunamis 
atmospheric pressure 
changes in water density / salinity
61
Q

Last time sea level was higher than today?

A

120,000 years ago

62
Q

Rising temperatures affect sea levels in two ways:

A
  1. Glacier runoff, melts into the ocean

2. Thermal Expansion, water increases in volume when heated

63
Q

Contributors to sea level rise by magnitude:

A
  1. Thermal Expansion
  2. Glaciers / Ice Caps
  3. Greenland
  4. Antarctica
64
Q

Five reasons for long-term sea level change

A
  • Ice age / global warming
  • thermal expansion
  • changing basin size
  • movement of land / plates
  • Isostatic adjustment
65
Q

Temperature change in past 100 years?

A

0.7 degrees Celsius

66
Q

Three human actions that lead to sea level change:

A
  • groundwater extraction, runs off into the ocean
  • deforestation
  • dams, stop sea level rise
67
Q

Lastest IPCC prediction of sea level rise by 2100

A

.18-.59 meter increase

68
Q

Coriolis force

A

the rotation of the earth causes a body of mass moving across it’s surface to be deflected

69
Q

Thermohaline Circulation

A

the rotation of the earth causes a body of mass moving across it’s surface to be deflected (“oceanic heat pump”)

70
Q

When was the Younger Dryas period, and how long did it last?

A

12,700 years ago, for 1,300 years

71
Q

Dates of the “Little Ice Age”

A

1300-1850

72
Q

Why is the North Atlantic particularly salty?

A
  • dry winds having passed over the mountain ranges of north america pick up a relatively large amount of water from the Atlantic and leave the salt
  • the Mediterranean, which is particularly salty, drains directly into the North Atlantic
73
Q

Steady-state economy

A

an economy that is at a relatively stable size, i.e. not growing rapidly

74
Q

Demographic Transition

A

refers to the transition from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as a country develops from a pre-industrial to an industrialized economic system

75
Q

Hypoxic Zone

A

an area that has had its oxygen levels depleted and can no longer sustain life, “dead zone”

76
Q

New Zealand Climate “Hotspots” (3)

A
  1. Northland and Bay of Plenty; ongoing development
  2. Eastern NZ; water security issues
  3. Alpine Zones; loss of plant and animal species, reduction of snow cover

Environmental Science (1 decks)

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