EnviroScience: Chapter 1.2: The Environment and Society
It also includes the ocean area used to harvest seafood and the forest area needed to absorb the air pollution caused by fossil fuels.
Ecological footprint
Is our current world sustainable? Why?
No, the developed countries are using resources faster than they can be replaced
Two main categories of ethics have emerged in human culture in modern history. What are they?
anthropocentrism and ecocentrism
areas of land that belonged to the whole village
commons
Economic principles have a huge influence in environmental _________________
decision-making.
However, our current world is not sustainable as the ____________________ are using resources faster than they can be replaced
developed countries
What is the value of the _______________?
environment
the discipline that studies the moral relationship of human beings to the environment.
environmental ethics
Developed countries have diverse _______________
industrial communities
People are using up, wasting, or polluting many __________________ faster than they can be renewed, replaced, or cleaned up.
natural resources
The human population in some areas is growing too __________________ for the local environment to support.
quickly
In his essay, ecologist Garrett Hardin argued that the main difficulty in solving environmental problems is the conflict between the short-term interests of who?
the individual
A sustainable world is not ______________ as technological advances and human civilizations continue to be productive.
unchanging
One of the costs of any action is the risk of an _______________________
undesirable outcome
When exploring environmental science, first, be prepared to listen to many _______________ over a particular issue
viewpoints
This rate of consumption creates more ______________ and ____________ per person then in developing countries.
waste and pollution
The unequal distribution of ______________ and ______________ around the world influence the environmental problems and solutions a society can make
wealth and resources
Developed nations use about 75 percent of the world's resources, although they make up only ____ percent of the world's population
20
Developed nations use about ___ percent of the world's resources, although they make up only 20 percent of the world's population
75
__________________ countries have higher incomes, slower population growth, diverse industrial economies, and stronger social support.
Developed
________________ countries have lower average incomes, simple agriculture-based communities, and rapid population growth
Developing
calculations that show the productive area of Earth needed to support one person in a particular country
Ecological footprints
The pursuit of knowledge about the natural world.
Environmental science
A social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world.
Environmentalism
What would happen once the grass was destroyed? Why?
Everyone suffered because no one could raise animals on the commons
_______________, ________________, and _____________ cannot keep pace with the population growth, so each person gets fewer resources as time goes by.
Food production, education, and job creation
In his essay, ecologist ________________ argued that the main difficulty in solving environmental problems is the conflict between the short-term interests of the individual and the long-term welfare of society.
Garrett Hardin
Who used the example of the commons to explain environmental problems?
Garrett Hardin
How did owners treat their closed fields in the commons?
Owners were now careful not to put too many animals on their land.
Explain the "Tragedy of the Commons" example.
People wanted to put as many animals on their land as possible. But, if too many animals were placed there, the grass would be eaten by the animals and destroyed! If the grass was destroyed, everyone suffered because no one could raise animals in the commons anymore. The commons were eventually replaced by closed fields owned by individuals in order to regulate the number of animals. Commons is a metaphor for resources!
_________________ is a tool that helps us create cost effective ways to protect our health and environment
Risk assessment
Almost all environmental problems can be traced back to two root causes. What are they?
The human population in some areas is growing too quickly for the local environment to support. People are using up, wasting, or polluting many natural resources faster than they can be renewed, replaced, or cleaned up.
What are the questions to ask in environmental ethics?
What is the value of the environment? What moral responsibility do we have in dealing with the major environmental problems that result from our resource consumption? Which needs should be given the highest priority in our decision making?
Developing countries have simple _____________________
agriculture communities
Developing countries have lower ________________
average incomes,
Why were owners careful not to put too many animals on their land?
because overgrazing wouldn't allow them to raise as many animals next year
A cost-benefit analysis balances the cost of the action against the______________ one expects from it.
benefit
What were the commons eventually replaced by?
closed fields owned by individuals
Often, environmental regulations are passed on to the _________________ or _________________.
consumer or taxpayer.
An ecological footprint is one way to express the differences in _______________ between nations.
consumption
This rate of ________________ creates more waste and pollution per person then in developing countries.
consumption
What moral responsibility do we have in dealing with the major environmental problems that result from our resource ________________?
consumption
A cost-benefit analysis balances the ______ of the action against the benefits one expects from it.
cost
The _________ of environmental solutions can be high
cost
A ___________________ balances the cost of the action against the benefits one expects from it
cost-benefit analysis
For these reasons and others, you must use your __________________ when making decisions about environmental issues.
critical thinking skills
This rate of consumption creates more waste and pollution per person than in _______________
developing countries.
People on either side on an environmental issue may feel passionately about their cause and can __________ information to mislead people about the issue.
distort
What was Garrett Hardin's profession?
ecologist
In severely overpopulated regions, forests are stripped bare, topsoil is exhausted, and animals are driven to _____________
extinction
Yet these human populations tend to the grow the _______________ (in developing countries)
fastest
In severely overpopulated regions, _______________ are stripped bare, topsoil is exhausted, and animals are driven to extinction
forests
To support the _________________________, developed countries are using much more of Earth's resources.
higher quality of life
Which needs should be given the __________________ in our decision making?
highest priority
Here's a video to explain Tragedy of the Commons!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSuETYEgY68
Developed countries have higher ______________
incomes
The Law of Supply and Demand is a law of economics that states as the demand for a good or service increases, the value or the food or service also ___________________.
increases
Achieving a sustainable world requires everyone's participation including whose?
individual citizens, industry, and the government.
When exploring environmental science, gather all the _______________ you can before drawing a conclusion.
information
When exploring environmental science, second, ____________ the source of the information you encounter.
investigate
An ecological footprint estimates what? (4)
land used for crops grazing forests products housing
The solution may be to override the short-term interests of the individual and improve the environment for everyone in the _____________
long run.
In these areas, _______________, _______________, and _____________ can be constant threats
malnutrition, starvation, and disease
What ______________ responsibility do we have in dealing with the major environmental problems that result from our resource consumption?
moral
Hardin's point (Commons example) can be applied to our modern commons which are _________________
natural resources.
Environmentalism is a social movement dedicated to protecting the ____________
natural world.
Environmental scientists try to remain ______________
objective
In severely _________________ regions, forests are stripped bare, topsoil is exhausted, and animals are driven to extinction.
overpopulated
Also, the economic dimension of an environmental issue may be ________________
oversimplified
Research done by scientists is often used to make a __________________ or is misinterpreted to support _______________ data.
political point, controversial
What is an example of how the results of a cost-benefit analysis's results depend on who is doing the analysis?
pollution control may be too costly to an industry, but to a nearby community, the price may well be worth it.
When the ________________ in an area grows rapidly, there may not be enough natural resources for the everyone to live a healthy, productive life
population
Developed countries have slower __________________
population growth
Developing countries have rapid _________________
population growth
Food production, education, and job creation cannot keep pace with the ________________, so each person gets fewer resources as time goes by.
population growth
To come up with an effective solution to an environmental problem, the ____________ must perceive the risk accurately
public
Food production, education, and job creation cannot keep pace with the population growth, so each person gets fewer _______________ as time goes by.
resources
Humans live in societies, and in societies, we can solve environmental problems by planning, organizing, considering the ________________, and proposing a solution
scientific evidence
And to complicate matters still, the media often _________________ environmental issues.
sensationalizes
The solution may be to override the ____________________________ and improve the environment for everyone in the long run.
short-term interests of the individual
In his essay, ecologist Garrett Hardin argued that the main difficulty in solving environmental problems is the conflict between what two things?
short-term interests of the individual long-term welfare of society
Developed countries have stronger __________________
social support
In his essay, ecologist Garrett Hardin argued that the main difficulty in solving environmental problems is the conflict between the short-term interests of the individual and the long-term welfare of what?
society
Humans live in societies, and in societies, we can solve environmental problems by planning, organizing, considering the scientific evidence, and proposing a _____________
solution
What is Hardin's point with the example of the commons?
someone or some group must take responsibility for maintaining a resource or it will become depleted.
In developing countries, millions of people are ____________
starving
key goal of environmental science
sustainability
the condition in which human needs are met in such a way that a human population can survive indefinitely
sustainability
a law of economics that states as the demand for a good or service increases, the value or the food or service also increases.
the law of supply and demand
What do the results depend on for a cost-benefit analysis?
the one who is doing the analysis
What would happen if too many animals grazed on the commons?
they destroyed the grass
What was the best interest of the individual in the "Commons" example?
to put as many animals in the commons as possible
In severely overpopulated regions, forests are stripped bare, ___________ is exhausted, and animals are driven to extinction
topsoil