Environmental Science Questions
What is ecotourism? Describe an incident in which you were or someone you know was an ecotourist.
Ecotourism is to visit a place to observe wild species or unique ecological sites. There was one instance in which my family and I were ecotourist. In European countries, for example in Italy, many Italians believe in using less automobile use, and more walking and biking around the city because it is more eco friendly. In Italy, when my family and I visited, we did not participate in American car use, we rented bikes and biked around the city. We were also ecotourist because we visited Hawaii just to observed the animal wildlife there. Most tourism in natural areas today is not ecotourism and is not, therefore, sustainable. Ecotourism is distinguished by its emphasis on conservation, education, traveler responsibility and active community participation. Specifically, ecotourism possesses the following characteristics: Conscientious, low-impact visitor behavior Sensitivity towards, and appreciation of, local cultures and biodiversity Support for local conservation efforts Sustainable benefits to local communities Local participation in decision-making Educational components for both the traveler and local communities
Describe the process of ocean acidification?
Ocean Acidification occurs whenever there is a reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended period of time. It is caused primarily by an uptake of carbon dioxide, or CO2, from the atmosphere. Today there is an estimated currently 30-40% of the carbon dioxide from human activity released into the atmosphere dissolves into oceans, rivers, and lakes. Today, the oceans are said to cover 2/3 of the planet surface. The acidity of liquid can be measured by pH, on a logarithm scale of 0 to 14. However, the direct biological effects of ocean acidification are less certain. Acidification does not mean that the ocean has a pH below neutrality. The average pH of the ocean is still basic (8.1), but because the pH is decreasing, it is described as undergoing acidification. Like climate change, ocean acidification is a growing global problem that will intensify with continued CO2 emissions and has the potential to change marine ecosystems and affect benefits to society.
The biggest threat to biodiversity is habitat change, and the 4 main types of habitat change can be described by the acronym CFSI. Describe and define what each of the 4 letters stands for.
a. Conversion - natural areas to farms, housing, malls, marinas, industrial centers. b. Fragmentation - have large patches of habitat connected to other similar patches. c. Simplification - humans simplify habitats; moving trees out of the way. d. Intrusion - human structures; cell phone towers that impose a risk for birds to crash into.
Argue for and against ecotourism:
a. For: i. If done correctly, ecotourism causes people in the environment to build with the consideration of eco friendly things for a more natural environment. This means that more natural habitat is preserved and that the resources used for building are more sustainable. ii. Eco tourism also provides an income for local inhabitants in an area. If one practices things in that cultural, or supports local things such as conservation efforts, more revenue will be increased for local habitants of a specific area. b. Against: i. Although scuba divers try to be careful, any tourist scuba business is going to have a negative impact on fragile coral marine environments. Although, people walking carefully through the forest might not do much harm, building their eco lodges does. ii. Proponents argue that, by involving local people in accommodating tourists and acting as guides, ecotourism aids development.
Why might summers in coastal Louisiana be milder than summers in inland areas of Louisiana? Why might this also be the case for winters?
a. Water has a higher heat capacity than air which means for a same amount of each it takes more energy for water to change temperature than air. Similarly, water has to release more energy than air to lower its temperature. How much more energy? Well looking at the "volumetric heat capacity" column in the article linked below, it takes about 3200 times as much energy to raise water a degree than it does an equal volume of air which also means that water needs to lose 3200 times as much energy to drop a degree than does air. So the ocean sitting next to the beach can be looked at as a huge energy buffer which is warmer than the land when the air is cold and colder than the land when the air is warm. Because of this, the warm ocean will warm the cold air and the cool ocean will cool the warm air nearby. In the middle of a continent, you have no energy buffer as great as the ocean so the air temperature can get hotter and colder much more rapidly.