Fiorino APES MASTER QUIZLET
1854
Walden by Henry David Thoreau published - details Thoreau's experiences over the course of two years living in a cabin he built as an experiment in self-sufficiency
1968
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act - a designation for certain protected areas in the united states that preserves certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-flowing condition; Paul Ehrlich wrote "The Population Bomb" - a book which predicted that our growing population would doom our planet
1963
Wilderness Act - created the national wilderness preservation service to protect american wilderness areas
1999
World Population hits 6 Billion people - meaning more stress on resources, increased use of fossil fuels, and a rising population crisis
2011
World Population hits 7 Billion people - meaning more stress on resources, increased use of fossil fuels, and a continued population crisis; Tsunami hits Japan, which leads to the Fukushima Power Plant Meltdown - released radioactive waste into the atmosphere in the worst nuclear disaster since chernobyl
1872
Yellowstone National Park founded - the park spans across Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana and houses one of the most diverse ecosystems in the US
1890
Yosemite and Sequoia National Park founded after John Muir and Robert Johnson successfully lobbied for the park to receive national park status
what is the second-highest soil horizon called?
a horizon; topsoil
what is the total fertility rate?
a key statistic demographers calculate to examine a population's potential for growth; tells us the average number of children born per woman during her lifetime
what is a worldview?
a person's beliefs about the meaning/purpose/operation/essence of the world
what is coal?
a sedimentary rock and fossil fuel formed from remains of plants that lived and died hundreds of millions of years ago
what are commons?
a shared natural resource
how much of the north polar ice cap disappeared in 2005?
a size equivalent to everything east of the mississippi
what are epiphytes?
a specialized frog; grow on trees for support, get water from air, collect pools of rainwater and pockets of leaf litter to lay their eggs in
how many people are without safe drinking water worldwide?
1.1 billion
what is the current human population growth rate?
1.2%
what is the total fertility rate in europe?
1.6
how many species have scientists identified?
1.8 million - though up to 100 million species may exist
what is the total fertility rate in north america?
1.9
what percentage of our population relies on groundwater?
1/3
how much of earth's freshwater supply does groundwater make up?
1/5
how much of the world's electricity generation do nuclear energy and hydropower provide?
1/6
what is the altitude of the stratosphere?
10-30 km
describe rainfall in the grasslands
10-60"
how many licensed nuclear power plants are there in the united states?
103
how high is the stratosphere?
11-50 km above sea level
how many tons of pollution is being spewed into the atmosphere everyday?
110 million tons
how much do arctic ice sheets melt per decade?
13.2%
what is the average age of groundwater?
1400 years
how many neutrons are in u-235?
143
what percentage of the world's meat comes from the sea?
15%
what percentage of america's energy comes from natural gas?
16%
when was yellowstone national park established?
1872
wild and scenic rivers act
1968; domestic; regulates river damming along rivers with cultural and recreational significance
what is the worst nuclear power plant disaster in the world?
1986 explosion at chernobyl - radiation escaped from the plant for 10 days as crews struggled to put out the fire; the landscape in a 19 mile radius of the plant remain contaminated
what advantage can monogamous species have?
1:1 sex ratio maximizes population growth
how many kilos of food does it take to feed 1 kilo of prawns?
2 kg
what percentage of america's energy comes from renewables?
2%
what percentage of the deep sea have we explored?
2%
what is replacement fertility for humans?
2.1
what was the peak growth rate of the human population?
2.1% during the 1960s
what is the total fertility rate in asia?
2.2
what is the total fertility rate in latin america and the caribbean?
2.2
what percentage of the world's energy supply does hydropower account for?
2.2%
how many people are without sewer or sanitary facilities worldwide?
2.4 billion - mostly rural asians and africans
what is the total fertility rate in australia and the south pacific?
2.5
how many kilograms of feed must be provided to cattle before they can produce 1 kh of beef?
20 kg
how much of the propane consumed in the us is used by homes and businesses?
20%
what percentage of america's energy comes from nuclear power?
20%
describe rainfall in the taiga
20-40" with moist winters and more rain in summer; some get as much as 90" and more
what is the maximum number of e coli allowed in swimming water?
200
when did global investments in renewable energy finally surpass investments in fossil fuels?
2010 - rate is still growing even though fossil energy is still subsidized at a rate 40 times larger than renewables
what is the earth's hottest year on record?
2015
what is the atomic mass of u-235?
235
how much carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere every year due to humans' current consumption rate of fossil fuels?
25 billion tons
how much co2 have we added to the atmosphere every 24 hours?
25 million tons
what percentage of our natural gas comes from offshore drilling?
25%
how many major rivers cross national borders?
261
when did single-celled bacteria first appear on earth?
3 billion years ago
describe rainfall in the temperate deciduous forest
30-100"
what is the altitude of the mesosphere?
30-50 km
what is the total fertility rate in africa?
4.7
what's the significance of the melted water flow coming from the himalayas?
40% of people worldwide get half of their drinking water from that flow; in the andes, this water sustains the whole city
what is the altitude of the exosphere?
400+ km
how many nuclear power plants are there total in the world?
436
how many times have mass extinction events occurred?
5
what ppm indicates moderate do?
5 to 7
what percentage of japanese meat comes from the sea?
50%
describe the makeup of soil
50% mineral matter and up to 5% organic matter
what is the altitude of the thermosphere?
50-400 km
how high is the mesosphere?
50-80 km
how many dams have been removed in the us?
500
what percent of the world's population uses contraceptives?
56%
how much oil could be saved each day through effective energy conservation?
6 million barrels
what percentage of the world's largest rivers have been strongly or moderately affected by human engineering?
60% of the world's largest 227 rivers
how much carbon does nuclear power prevent humanity from emitting?
600 million metric tons - equivalent to 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions
what percentage of americans believe that human activity is responsible for global warming?
68%
what percentage of americans believe that the earth is significantly heating up?
69%
what is the chemical equation for photosynthesis?
6co2 + 6h2o + sun's energy = c6h12o6 + 6o2
what ph do neutral solutions have?
7
what percentage of america's energy comes from hydroelectric power?
7%
what percentage of freshwater withdrawn by humans is used for irrigation?
70% - drawing water has depleted aquifers and dried up rivers and lakes
what is the rule of 70 formula?
70/annual percentage growth rate=doubling time in years
what percentage of insect-dependent plants are pollinated by bees?
73%
what is the atmosphere made up of?
78% nitrogen gas, 21% oxygen gas, 1% other gases
how many us cities support the kyoto protocol?
780
what ppm indicates high do?
8 to 20
when is a resource considered to be economically depleted?
80% of a resource has been extracted
how much oil is a ton of natural uranium ore equivalent to?
80,000 tons of oil
between 1990 and 2012, by what percentage did atlanta's population increase?
84%
how long do el ninos and la ninas typically last for?
9-12 hours
describe rainfall in the tropical rainforest
90-180"; frequent and heavy
how is coal used across america?
91% of it in america is used for electricity; steel and iron industries use it for smelting metals; is also used by paper, brick, limestone, cement industries
how many protons are in u-235?
92
what is the atomic number of u-235?
92
what percentage of our world's extra heat energy is trapped in oceans?
93%
what percent water is ocean water?
96.5%
what is earth's water distribution?
97% is salt water in the ocean, 2% is fresh water in ice caps and glaciers, less than 1% is fresh water in lakes, rivers, atmosphere, underground aquifers
what percentage of the next 1 billion people added to earth's population will be born into developing nations?
99%
how much u-238 is in naturally occurring uranium ore?
99.3%
10000 years ago
Agricultural Revolution - trasition from traditional hunting and gathering to subsistence farming and a domestication of animals
1905
Aldo Leopold - one of the early leaders of the american wildnerness movement known for saying that land is a developing organism crucial to the development of community; National Audubon Society - founded as a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to environmental conservation across the United States; Gifford Pinchot - sought to halt unnessecary resource consumption without halting all resource consumption; US Forest Service founded to manage national forests and grasslands by. working to maintain their health, diversity, and productivity
1875
American Forestry Association founded to restore and protect Amerca's trees - is the nation's oldest conservation organization
1906
Antiquities Act - gives the president of the united states authority to create national monuments from federal lands to protect significant natural, cultural, and scientific features
1986
Chernobyl - in addition to being the only accident in the history of commercial nuclear power to cause fatalities due to radiation, the disaster caused large quantities of radiactive waste to spread over much of the western ussr and europe; CERCLA/Superfund - created a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries and used that money for a trust fund for cleaning up uncontrolled hazardous waste sites
1933
Civilian Conservation Corps founded - was a public work relief program for unemployed, unmarried men
1977
Clean Water Act - established the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into us waters; Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act - primary federal law that regulates the environmental effects of coal mining in the us
1973
Endangered Species Act - provides for the conservation of species that are endangered or threatened throughout all of a significant portion of their range along with the conservation of the ecosystems on which they depend; FIFRA/Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Control Act - sets up the basic us system of pesticide regulation to protect applicators, consumers, and the environment from excessively toxic pesticides; OPEC and Oil Embargo - arab oil producers part of the opec cartel declared an embargo that drastically limited the shipment of oil to the united states
1992
Energy Policy Act - amended utility laws to increase clean energy use and improve overall energy efficiency in the united states
1903
First National Wildlife Refuge established to protect Pelican Island from destructive human modifications
1940
Fish and Wildlife Service Founded - is an agency of the federal government within the US Department of the Interior that is dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats
1994
Desert Protection Act - established death valley and joshua tree as national parks and established the mojave desert national preserve
1930s
Dust Bowl - severe dust storms ravaged the Southern Plains region of the US from Texas to Nebraska during a dry period in the 1930s
1901-1909
Golden Age of Conservation - the conservation act established national protection for various lands across the country, leading to the creation of national parks
1862
Homestead Act allows western lands to be claimed by farmers for free and plowed for agriculture
2005
Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma - cause extensive fatalities and damage to areas surrounding the gulf of mexico
2007-2008
IPCC Report on Climate Change - a united nations-sponsored group whose report stressed human's role in global warming
275 years ago
Industrial Revolution - machines replaced and enhanced human and animal labor
1838
John Muir was born - he was a naturalist part of the environmental ethics philosophy movement; was a pioneer of the preservation ethic
1997-2006
Kyoto Protocol - international treaty among many industrialized nations that sets mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions whose goal is to cut the emissions down to a certain specified percentage for each country
1900
Lacey. Act founded - prohibits trade of environmental resources that have been illegally obtained
1978
Love Canal, NY - city is known as the location of a 70 acre landfill that served as the epicenter of a massive environmental pollution crisis
11-Oct-00
Mississippi River Black Coal Sludge Spill - bottom of a coal slurry impoundment broke into an abandoned underground mine below, and the slurry came out of two of the mine openings and traveled down to tributaries of the tug fork river, which is a tributary to the mississippi
1987
Montreal Protocol - an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances responsible for ozone depletion
what is the global economic value of all ecosystem services?
$46 trillion - more than the gdp of all nations combined
what is the population growth rate?
(crude birth rate+immigration rate) - (crude death rate+emigration rate); determines net changes in a population's size/1000/year
what is the population growth rate formula?
(crude birth rate-crude death rate)+(immigration rate-emigration rate) or (crude birth rate+immigration rate)-(crude death rate+emigration rate)
how much is earth's temperature decreasing since 1975?
.15-.2 degrees celsius per decade
what percentage of our power comes from new renewable energy?
.5%
how much has earth's temperature increased since 1880?
.8 degrees celsius - 1.4 degrees fahrenheit
what is the maximum number of e coli allowed in drinking water?
0
what ppm indicates low do?
0 to 4
what is the altitude of the troposphere?
0-10 km
describe the cyclical process of spreading toxins across the globe
1 - at low latitudes, evaporation of pollutants exceeds deposition; 2 - pollutants are transported by atmosphere through evaporation or by ocean currents; 3 - at high latitudes, deposition of pollutants exceeds evaporation; 4 - pollutants enter the polar food web and accumulate in biota
what percentage of our earth's water is readily available for our use?
1%
how long does a species typically live before extinction?
1-10 million years
describe the situation of a missing carbon sink
1-2 billion metric tons of carbon are unaccounted for and might have been taken up by plants or soils of northern temperate and boreal forests
what are some common estimates of earth's carrying capacity for humans?
1-2 billion when humans are living prosperously in a healthy environment; 33 billion when humans are living in extremely poor and degraded environments without natural areas
1976
RCRA/Resource Conservation and Recovery Act - creates the framework for the proper management of hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste
1974
Roland and Molina, two chemists, announce that CFC's are depleting the Ozone Layer because they decompose in sunlight
1892
Sierra Club founded by John Muir in order to block the proposed reduction of Yosemite National Park's boundaries
1962
Silent Spring published by Rachel Carson - a book that focuses on the negative impact of pesticides by discussing its effects on the environment and humans
1934
Taylor Grazing Act - united states federal law that provides for the regulation of grazing on public lands; Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act - requires hunters of migratory birds to have hunters' licenses
1979
Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident - unit 2 nuclear reactor at 3 mile island partially melted down and became the most serious accident in us commercial nuclear power plant operating history
1912
US National Park Service founded to protect the national parks already established
2015
United Nations Climate Change Conference - held in paris to negotiate the paris agreement, which focuses on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change
what determines biome type?
abiotic factors - temperature, precipitation, soil type, atmospheric circulation
what does the atmosphere do?
absorbs radiation and moderates climate, transports and recycles water and nutrients
what are mutations?
accidental changes in dna that may be passed on to the next generation; nonlethal mutations provide the genetic variation on which natural selection acts
what does the framework of us policy come from?
actions of the three branches of government - legislative, executive, judicial
describe animals of the deep ocean
adapt to extreme water pressure and the absence of light; scavenge carcasses or organic detritus; some are predators while other have mutualistic relationships with bacteria - some species carry bacteria that produce light chemically through bioluminescence; hydrothermal vents support chemosynthetic species
how may ecosystems interact with one another?
adjacent ecosystems may share components such as when rain water from a forest moves nutrients into a lake
what is net economic welfare?
adjusts gdp by adding the value of leisure time while deducting environmental degradation
what is considered the "fourth branch" of us government
administrative agencies established by the president or congress
what is the kyoto protocol?
adopted in kyoto, japan in december 1997; initiated in 2005; global agreement linked to the un convention on climate change, which obligates its parties to set internationally binding emission reduction goals; helped recognize that developed countries are mainly responsible for the high levels of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere; involves 37 industrialized countries who are working on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 18% against 1990 levels by 2020
how are artificial wetlands created?
after primary treatment at a conventional facility, water is pumped into the wetland; microbes decompose the remaining pollutants; cleansed water is released into waterways or percolated underground
what do isotopes indicate?
age
what do tree rings indicate?
age
what is the montreal protocol?
agreement by 180 nations to cut cfc production in half; follow-up agreements deepened cuts, advanced timetables, addressed other ozone-depleting chemicals
why have wetlands been drained?
agriculture
what is humanity's global water use?
agriculture - 70%, industry - 24%, domestic - 6%
what is sustainable agriculture?
agriculture that we can practice in the same way in the same place far into the future; does not deplete soils faster than they form
what are some common uses for propane in homes?
air conditioning, heating water, cooking and refrigerating foods, drying clothes, lighting, fueling fireplaces
what is the rainshadow effect?
air going over a mountain releasing moisture to create an arid region on the other side
what three categories are environmental conflicts typically put into?
air pollution, water pollution, hazardous waste dumps
what is the atmosphere?
air surrounding our planet
what happens to tropospheric air temperatures as altitude increases?
air temperature decreases as the warm air rises and causes vertical mixing
what is a high-pressure system?
air that moves away from a center of high pressure as it descends; brings fair weather
what is a low-pressure system?
air that moves towards the low atmospheric pressure at the center of the system and spirals upwards; brings clouds and precipitation
what are the three sources of natural background radiation?
air, water, food
what is pesticide drift?
airborne transport of pesticides
what are age structure diagrams?
aka age structure pyramids; show age structure of populations
what is age distribution?
aka age structure; population characteristic; relative numbers of organisms of each age in a population
what is biological diversity?
aka biodiversity; variety of life across all levels of biological organization such as species, genes, populations, communities, etc
what are nutrient cycles?
aka biogeochemical cycles; movement of nutrients through ecosystems; may move through the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere
what is bod?
aka biological oxygen demand; amount of oxygen needed to degrade or decompose a specific amount of organic waste that has entered into a body of water such as a stream or lake
what are chlorofluorocarbons?
aka cfcs; chemicals that attack ozone; 1 million metric tons are produced per year; releases chlorine atoms that split ozone
who are phylogenetic trees?
aka cladograms; shows relationship between species, groups, genes etc to see how major groups diverged over time; allows scientists to trace how certain traits evolved
describe the crypsis coloring adaptation
aka cryptic coloration; population evolves a blended skin coloring to hide in their surroundings
what are dna and rna?
aka deoxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic acid, respectively; carry the hereditary information of organisms - are long chains of nucleotides that contain sugar, phosphate, nitrogenous base
what is do?
aka dissolved oxygen - amount of oxygen in a body of water in parts per million
what is a geographic information system?
aka gis; computer software used in landscape ecology research that analyzes how elements of a landscape are arranged and divides landscapes into layers; helps in planning and land use decisions
what is gross primary production?
aka gpp; total amount of energy captured by autotrophs
what is integrated pest management?
aka ipm; incorporates numerous techniques including biocontrol, use of chemicals when needed, close monitoring of populations, habitat alternation, crop rotation, transgenic crops, alternative tillage methods, and mechanical pest removal
what is the leadership in energy and environmental design certification program?
aka leed; ran by the us green building council; promotes design and construction of green buildings - structures that use technologies and approaches to minimize the ecological footprint of the building's construction and operation; green buildings get leed certification depending on the number of points that they earn for using different environmentally-friendly building approaches
what are cultural environmental health hazards?
aka lifestyle hazards; result from our place of residence, our socioeconomic status, occupation, or behavioral choices
what is methane hydrate?
aka methane ice; molecules of methane in a crystal lattice of water ice molecules; occurs in arctic locations and under the seafloor; formed by bacterial decomposition in anaerobic environments; extraction could destabilize marine ecosystems
what is natural capital?
aka natural resources; earth's natural materials and processes that sustain other species and ourselves; includes air, water, soil, wildlife, forests, fisheries, minerals, etc
what is net primary production?
aka npp; energy remaining after respiration that's used to generate biomass; available for consumption by heterotrophs
what are reservoirs?
aka pools; where nutrients reside for varying amounts of time called the residence time
what is population distribution?
aka population dispersion; spacial arrangements of organisms
what are autotrophs?
aka primary producers; organisms such as green plants, algae, cyanobacteria that produce their own food from the sun's energy
what is the reserves to production ratio?
aka r/p ratio; amount of total remaining reserves divided by the annual rate of production - extraction and processing
what is purse seining
aka seine netting; large nets that surround schools of fish and trap them in the net like a drawstring bag; biggest risk of this fishing method is inadvertently catching juvenile fish and endangered fish species such as sharks and turtles
what is solar capital?
aka solar energy; includes both direct and indirect forms of solar energy
what are oil sands?
aka tar sands; sand deposits with 1-20% bitumen - a thick form of petroleum rich in carbon and poor in hydrogen; are degraded and chemically altered crude oil deposits removed by strip mining; require special extraction and refining processes to become useful; primarily found in venezuela and alberta
what are urban growth boundaries?
aka ugb; aim to revitalize downtowns by concentrating development, preventing sprawl, and preserving working farms, orchards, ranches, and forests
what is city planning?
aka urban planning; advisers to policymakers on development options, transportation needs, public parks, etc
what are volatile organic compounds?
aka vocs; carbon-containing chemicals emitted by vehicle engines and industrial processes
what are vocs?
aka volatile organic compounds; emitted from products such as gasoline, paints, and plastics, and they come from many sources, including urban runoff, engine exhaust, industrial emissions, wastewater, leaky storage facilities
what is shelterbelting?
aka windbreakers; rows of trees/tall shrubs that are planted along the edges of fields to slow the wind; can be combined with intercropping by planting mixed crops in rows surrounded by or interspersed with rows of trees
what is environmental resistance?
all limiting factors taken in together to stabilize population size
what is matter?
all material in the universe that has mass and occupies space
list some benefits of renewable energy
alleviate air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that can cause climate change; are inexhaustible unlike fossil fuels; help diversify a country's energy economy; create jobs and are sources of income and taxes especially in rural areas
what is clean development mechanism?
allows a country who follows the kyoto protocol to implement an emission-reduction project in developing countries
what is joint implementation?
allows a country with an emission reduction or limitation commitment to earn emission reduction units from a project per one ton of CO_2 reduced
what is rangeland?
also called pasture; land used for grazing livestock
what events will climate change cause?
altered precipitation patterns, melting glaciers, early season runoff, intensified droughts, flooding, increasing probability that there will be still less water for more people
how can disease spread be prevented in developed nations?
altering lifestyles
what three metals are commonly used to seal uranium and prevent the release of radioactive particles?
aluminum, stainless steel, zircalloy
name two symbiotic relationships where one organisms experiences no effects
amensalism and commensalism
what country utilizes nuclear power the most?
america
what countries lead the world in geothermal power use?
america, japan, china
what will future environmental policies need?
american environmental movement needs to reinvent its approach and appeal to people's core values; needs to start showing why these problems are actually human issues that affect our quality of life; policies need to articulate a positive, inspiring vision for the future
what is proven recoverable reserve?
amount of fossil fuel that is technically and economically feasible to remove under current conditions
what is an ecological footprint?
amount of land needed to produce the resources needed by an average person in a country
what does the law of conservation of matter help environmental scientists understand?
amount of matter stays constant and is recycled in nutrient cycles and ecosystems
what is the dose in a dose-response analysis?
amount of substance the test animal receives
what is half-life?
amount of time it takes for one half of the atoms to give off radiation and decay
what us species are most vulnerable to extinction?
amphibians such as the yosemite toad, houston toad, florida bog frog; also, l40 salamander species are restricted to areas the size of a typical county
what is entropy?
an increasing state of disorder
what is herbivory?
animal feeds on tissues of plants - widely seen in insects; may not kill plant, but affects its growth and survival
why do scientists think that hole in the ozone is happening?
annual drop in ozone over antarctica has to do with the continent's frigid temperatures that cause chemical reactions in the atmosphere resulting in chemicals of similar makeup to harmful cfcs; these natural chemical reactions coupled with man-made cfc emissions are contributing to the hole
what is the rate of natural increase?
another way to say natural rate of population change
what are the three main perspectives in western ethics?
anthropocentrism, biocentrism, ecocentrism
what is an aquifer recharge zone?
any area where water infiltrates earth's surface and reaches aquifers
what is a pest?
any organism that damages crops that are valuable to us
what is a weed?
any plant that competes with our crops
what is groundwater?
any precipitation that does not evaporate, flow into waterways, or get taken up by organisms
what is a resource?
anything obtained from the environment to meet human needs and wants; includes both readily available resources and indirect resources that must be altered to be used
describe the mimcry coloring adaptation
appearing to look like a species that is distasteful or toxic even though it actually isn't; ex the monarch is a toxic butterfly and viceroy is not, but it mimics the monarch in color to keep from being eaten
what is biotechnology?
application of biological science to create products derived from organisms
what are environmental ethics?
application of ethical standards to relationships between human and non-human entities
what is demography?
application of population principles to the study of statistical change in human populations
how are fossil fuels created?
aquatic organisms die and settle in the sediment; older layers are buried deeply and undergo high pressure until they're converted into fossil fuels
where do we pump water from?
aquifers and surface water bodies
what is a watershed?
area of land drained by a river system
what is a floodplain?
areas nearest to a river's course that are flooded periodically - frequent deposition of silt makes floodplain soils fertile
where are most desalinization facilities located?
arid middle east
what are physical environmental health hazards?
arise from processes that occur naturally in our environment and pose risks to human life or health; include discrete events such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, fires, floods, blizzards, landslides, hurricanes, droughts
how does coal contribute to america's electricity supply?
around 33% of our electricity comes from coal-fired power plants
what is clumped population distribution?
arranged according to availability of resources; most common in nature
what is conservation tillage?
array of approaches reducing the amount of tilling relative to conventional farming
what is immigration?
arrival of individuals from outside the population
what is irrigation?
artificial provision of water beyond that which crops receive from rainwater
how does climate change affect el ninos and la ninas?
as climate continues to change, effects will worsen
what is a horizon?
distinct soil layer
what is secondary succession?
disturbance dramatically alters but does not destroy all local organisms; remaining organisms form building blocks which help shape the process of succession; can be caused by fires, hurricanes, farming, logging
what is primary succession?
disturbance removes all vegetation and/or soil life; ex glaciers, drying lakes, volcanic lava; takes a lot longer to reach climax community than secondary succession
what are raceways?
divert water to flow through channels with farmed fish; in the us, this technique is mainly used for farming rainbow trout; the untreated waste water from this technique flows into open waterways, thus polluting them; also, farmed fish could easily escape and become invasive species
how do industrialize nations use energy?
divided evenly between transportation, industry, etc
what is recombinant dna?
dna that ha been patched together from the dna of multiple organisms
what is non-consumptive water use?
does not remove, or only temporarily removes, water from an aquifer or surface water; most commonly used when generating electricity with hydroelectric dams
what are the pros of wave energy?
doesn't use greenhouse gases; is a renewable resource; has enormous energy potential
what is the rule of 70 population formula?
doubling time in years = 70/percentage growth rate
how does sprawl hurt the economy?
drains tax dollars from existing communities and funnels money into infrastructure for new development on the fringes of those communities
what are the consequences of global drying?
dramatic increase in fires and 4x more natural disasters every year
what is the stratosphere?
drier and less dense with little vertical mixing; colder in its lower regions; contains uv radiation-blocking ozone 17-30 km above sea level
where is photochemical smog located?
drier, sunny areas
how do we get oil located under oceans?
drill using offshore oil rigs - most of these are found in gulf of mexico
what is exploratory drilling?
drilling small deep holes to determine whether an extraction should be done
what is directional natural selection?
drives a feature in one direction
how can indoor air pollution be reduced in developing countries?
dry wood before burning, cook outside
name particulate matters that are primary pollutants
dust and soot
why do fishermen dynamite coral reefs?
dynamite effectively kills large quantities of fish
what is the third-highest soil horizon called?
e/eluviation/leaching horizon
what is the 10% law?
each trophic level contains just 10% of the energy of the trophic level below it
what do earth's fossil records tell us?
earlier organisms evolved into modern ones; vast majority of earth's species are extinct; number of species on earth increased over time; earlier organisms were smaller and simpler; several mass extinctions have occurred; large, complex organisms first appeared 600 million years ago as plants, animals, fungi
what's the difference between earth and venus' carbon content?
earth's carbon has been leeched over time out of the atmosphere and deposited into the ground as coal oil, natural gas, etc; venus' carbon has stayed in the atmosphere
why are mass transit rail systems good?
ease traffic congestion, take up less space than road networks, emit less pollution than cars
how do animals obtain nitrogen?
eat plants or other animals
what will happen when our oil supplies run out?
economies collapse and become localized due to a lack of cheap oil to transport goods
what is high net primary productivity?
ecosystems whose plants rapidly convert solar energy to biomass
what are the pros of geothermal wind energy?
efficient and renewable resource
what is ecological restoration?
efforts to restore communities
what is the enso cycle?
el nino southern oscillation cycle - describes fluctuations in temperature between ocean and atmosphere in east central equatorial pacific
what are ions?
electrically charged atoms resulting from atoms either losing or gaining electrons
what are the cons of geothermal wind energy?
electricity is still required to operate the generator's heat pumps; system uses large amounts of water
what are ionic bonds?
electron is transferred from one atom to another
what are nutrients?
elements and compounds required for survival that are consumed by organisms
what does the executive branch do?
enact/veto legislation and issues executive orders
what are open net pens/cages?
enclose fish such as salmon in offshore coastal areas or freshwater lakes; considered a high-impact aquaculture method since waste floats freely into the environment and pollutes the wild habitat; farmed fish can also easily escape and breed with wild fish, and disease from farms can easily spread, since these farms are often located in the middle of wild habitats
how does economic growth negatively affect sustainability?
encourages excessive consumption due to incentive of monetary growth
what are some economic approaches to water conservation?
end government subsidies of inefficient practices by letting the price of water reflect its true cost of extraction; privatize water supplies to improve efficiency; decentralize water control to conserve water - shift control to the local level
what was the most major extinction event to take place?
end-permian event; occurred 250 million years ago; 75-95% of all species went extinct
what is the first law of thermodynamics?
energy can change forms but cannot be created or destroyed
what is radiation?
energy emitted as invisible particles, waves, rays
what is kinetic energy?
energy of motion; is changed into potential energy to produce motion, action, heat
what is potential energy?
energy of position
what is eroi?
energy returned on investment
what is direct solar energy?
energy sent from the sun
what is nonrenewable energy?
energy source that, at our current rate of consumption, will be used up in a matter of decades to centuries; ie oil, coal, natural gas, nuclear energy
what factors have helped to reduce birth rates?
enhanced prosperity, education, gender equality
why is soil in the amazon rainforest often unproductive?
enormous amount of rain falls in the amazon and leaches minerals and nutrients out of the topsoil and e horizon and down to the water table, below the reach of plants' roots
what are the benefits of aquaculture?
ensures reliable protein source, small scale farms can be sustainable, uneaten fish scraps make excellent fertilizers for crops, food waste can be fed to fish, large-scale farms can improve a nation's food security, reduces fishing pressure on overharvested and declining wild stocks, lessens bycatch, consumes fewer fossil fuels, safer work environment than commercial fishing, energy efficient
what are nongovernmental organizations?
entities that influence international policy
when does extinction occur?
environment changes so rapidly that natural selection cannot keep up
what is a habitat?
environment where an organism lives - includes living and nonliving elements; each organism thrives in certain habitats but not in others - resulting in nonrandom paterns of use
what are the three focuses of ap environmental science?
environment, ecology, environmental science
what is a commend and control approach to environmental policy?
environmental policy sets rules or limits and threatens punishment for violators
what is the epa?
environmental protection agency; created by richard nixon to conduct and evaluate research, monitor environmental quality, set and enforce standards for pollution levels, assist states in meeting standards and goals, educate the public
list the players in the environment
environmental scientist, conservation biologist, environmentalist, preservationist, conservationist, restorationist
why can carrying capacities change?
environments are so complex and ever changing
what is the type 2 survivorship curve?
equal number of deaths at all ages
what is the cumulative emissions of developing countries?
equivalent to where america was in 1965 - by 2025, they'll be where america was in 1985
what is soil degradation on drylands primarily caused by?
erosion by wind and water
what is gill-netting?
essentially large walls of nets drilled into the ocean floor that fish unsuspectingly swim and get tangled into; endangered animals such as dolphins, sea turltes. and sharks can accidentally swim into the net
what can we do to save our seas?
establish marine preserves
what is the water quality act?
established a policy to control non-point sources of water pollution
what is the clear skies initiative?
establishes a market-based can-and-trade program from some pollutants; stopped in the senate bc it would increase pollution after realizing that the epa had skewed its analysis to promote the legislation
what part of the world best demonstrates the consequences of a dropping total fertility rate?
europe
on average, when do el ninos and la ninas occur?
every 2-7 years
describe agricultural policy in the us
every 5-6 years, us congress passes comprehensive legislation that guides agricultural policy; the 2008 farm bill funded 15 programs that encourage the conservation of soil, grasslands, wetlands, wildlife habitat, and other natural resources on agricultural lands; altogether these conservation programs received nearly 9% of the $288 billion budgeted in the bill; many of the provisions promoting soil conservation required farmers to adopt soil conservation plans and practices before they can receive government subsidies
what is the environment?
everything affecting a living organism
what is cogeneration?
excess heat produced during electrical generation is used to heat buildings and produce other types of power
where is industrial smog located?
exists in urban locations
what are the cons of wave energy?
expensive and may harm sea life
what happens to related species in different environments?
experience different pressures that cause them to evolve different traits
what is the purpose of environmental science?
explore peoples' interactions with the world
what is cation exchange capacity?
expresses soil's ability to hold cations and prevent them from leaking
what is the benthic zone?
extends along the entire bottom of the water body - home to many invertebrates
how high is the thermosphere?
extends upward to 500m
how is our warmer earth causing more droughts?
extra heat pulls soil moisture out of the ground, drying vegetation and causing fires
what is an oxbow?
extreme bend in a river
what is the mesosphere?
extremely low air pressure with temperatures that decrease with altitude
what are some characteristics of sand?
extremely porous, allows quick water flow
what was one of the largest man-made environmental disasters in history?
exxon valdez oil spill - in 1989, 11 million gallons coated the alaskan coastline, defiled the pristine environment, hurt tourism and jobs industry
what are refineries?
facilities for cleaning oil and turning it into different fuels
what are nuclear reactors?
facilities within nuclear power plants
list some societal influences on fertility
family planning, empowering women, increasing affluence
what are the main causes of hypoxic dead zones?
farm, city, industrial pollution
what is swidden agriculture?
farmer cultivates a plot for a few years then moves on to clear another plot, leaving the first to grow back to a forest; ex slash and burn
what is crop rotation?
farmers alternate type of crop grown in a given field from one season to the next; rotating crops returns nutrients to the soil, minimizing erosion that comes from letting fields lie dormant, and can break cycles of disease associated with continued cropping
what is suspended culture?
farmers suspend organisms in nets, trays, ropes, and mesh bags; shellfish such as oysters and mussels filter their own food, posing no threat to affordable fish stocks, and result in little to no environmental damage
what is low-input agriculture?
farming/ranching that uses lesser amounts of pesticides, fertilizers, growth hormones, antibiotics, water, fossil fuel energy
describe the speed of weak and poor nations' population growth
fast
what is stabilizing selection?
favors intermediate traits to preserve the status quo
what are the advantages of having an elderly-dominated population?
fewer young adults will lead to less crime; elderly people are often productive members of society - contributing volunteer activities and services to their children and grandchildren
what are pioneer species?
first species to arrive in a primary succession area; ex lichens
what good is most often used with aquaculture?
fish
what are recirculating systems?
fish living in these tanks swim in water that's constantly being recycled, thus decreasing the amount of water needed to raise the fish; though this type of farming is very environmentally friendly, it's very expensive to operate and maintain
what effect does a refuge have on surrounding waters?
fish that can't fit in the refuge live around the refuge in fishable seas, thus allowing fishermen to keep up on their stocks while not impeding on endangered species
what are groundfish?
fish that live or feed along the ocean bottom
what does zooplankton feed?
fish, jellyfish, whales, etc
why are hypoxic dead zones bad for humans?
fisheries and ecosystems are devastated; causes over $2 billion/year in lost harvests
what are traps/pots?
fishermen attach these baited metal cages to buoys then let them sit for a few days before returning to the buoys to collect their catches; these cages typically have exits for fish and shellfish not mature enough to be caught, making them fairly eco-friendly; the biggest environmental concern of traps is that large marine species such as whales and dolphins could get entangled in the line connecting the trap to the buoy
what are the consequences of shrinking seas?
fishing jobs are disappearing, pesticide-laden dust from the lake bed blows into the air
list the main types of irrigation
flood and furrow, center pivot, conventional, drip
describe restoration efforts in the florida everglades
flood control and irrigation removed water, causing populations of wading birds to drop 90-95%; will take 30 years and billions of dollars to restore natural water flow
why is flooding good?
floodwaters spread nutrient-rich sediments over large areas
describe the general movement of energy around the world
flows in one direction from the sun, arriving as radiation and leaving as heat
what is the united state's indoor domestic water use?
flushing toilets - 38%, bathing - 31%, laundry and dishes - 20%, drinking and cooking - 6%, brushing teeth and shaving - 5%
what is the best way to keep the hole in the ozone from growing?
follow the same steps to preventing surface-level ozone while taking special care to limit activities that contribute to cfc emissions such as excessive air conditioning or refrigeration
what is organic agriculture?
food growing practices that use no synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, or herbicides and instead rely on biological approaches such as composting and biocontrol
what is the most common use of solar panels?
for heating swimming pools
how do developing nations use energy?
for subsistence activities, though they mainly use manual or animal energy instead of fossil fuels
how can levees make floods worse?
forces water to stay in channels and overflow
what is reverse osmosis?
forcing water through a membrane to filter out salts
what is airshed?
form of environmental system interaction; geographic area that produces air pollutants that are likely to end up in a waterway
what is runoff?
form of environmental system interaction; precipitation flows over land and enters waterways
what is desertification?
form of land degradation in which more than 10% of productivity is lost as a result of erosion, soil compaction, forest removal, overgrazing, drought, salinization, climate change, water depletion, and other factors
what are secondary pollutants?
form when primary pollutants interact/react with constituents or components of the atmosphere
what is a policy?
formal set of general plans and principles to address problems and guide decisions; can have to do with science, ethics, economics, etc
what are igneous rocks?
formed as lava cools and crystalizes; two types: intrusive and extrusive; have crystals that are evenly distributed and round and uniform in size
what are sedimentary rocks?
formed by compacted sediments that can be found in areas of erosion; have jagged/uneven/granular edges
what creates photochemical smog?
fossil fuel usage and burning of organic waste
when was coal discovered in north america?
found by european settlers during first half of 1600s but wasn't a powerhouse fuel until 1800s
describe climate in the temperate deciduous forest
four seasons of about equal length
what are faults?
fractures in earth's crust
what are the two ways that parasites live on hosts?
free living or live within host
what are infant mortality rates?
frequency of children dying in infancy
give an example of how ecosystems can vary greatly in size
from a puddle of water to a bay
what is conventional law?
from conventions or treaties; ie montreal protocol and kyoto protocol
how do decomposers obtain nitrogen?
from dead and decaying plants or other animals, releasing ammonium ions to nitrifying bacteria
describe climate in the grasslands
from hot to cold depending on location
how were fossil fuels formed?
from tissue of organisms that lived 100-500 million years ago
beyond rising sea levels and hurt ecosystems, why are melting ice caps bad for the environment?
frozen ground around the arctic ocean contains a massive amount of frozen carbon which, when it thaws, becomes heated methane by microbes
what are biofuels?
fuels derived from organic materials and used in internal combustion engines as a replacement for petroleum
what is a fundamental niche?
full niche of a species
what is an ecosystem?
functional system consisting of a community, its nonliving environment, and the interactions between them; focuses on movement of energy and matter as energy flows through an ecosystem and matter cycles among the ecosystem components
what is an element?
fundamental type of matter with a given set of properties
what is propane?
gas found mixed in natural gas and petroleum deposits; is a fossil fuel
what are air pollutants?
gases and particulate material added to the atmosphere; can affect climate or harm people
what are variable gases?
gases of varying concentrations
what are permanent gases?
gases that remain at stable concentrations
what are greenhouse gases?
gases that trap heat in the atmosphere
what does most oil become?
gasoline
how do researchers form hypotheses about ecosystem relationships?
gather data/models that predict how a system will behave; new data refines and increases model's accuracy
how are economies measured?
gdp or gpi
what is land degradation?
general deterioration of land that diminishes its productivity and biodiversity, impairs the functioning of its ecosystems, and reduces ecosystem services it offers us
what are continental shelves?
gently sloping areas that underlie the shallow waters bordering continents
what is gpi?
genuine progress indicator - differentiates between desirable and undesirable economic activity; positive contributions not paid for with money such as volunteer work are added to economic activity, while negative impacts such as crime and pollution are subtracted
what type of environmental assets should you invest in if you want to help stop climate change?
geothermal, concentrating solar, advanced photovoltaics, efficiency, conservation
what is our number one risk to the global economy?
global climate crisis
what do ocean levels indicate?
global temperatures
what happens to coal after it's dug out of the ground?
goes to a preparation plant for cleaning; cleaner coal has a higher heat value
what are the drawbacks of a command and control approach to environmental policy?
government actions may be well-intentioned but not informed; interest groups - people seeking private gain - unduly influence politicians; citizens may view policies as restrictions on freedom; are costly and less efficient in achieving goals
what is a centrally planned economy?
government determines how to allocate resources
what is a subsidy?
government giveaway of cash/resources to encourage a particular activity; has been used to support unsustainable activities
what is the emissions trading system?
government issued permits for an acceptable amount of pollution and bought/sold/traded by companies to other polluting companies
what is permit trading?
government-created market in permits - businesses buy, sell, trade these permits
what is demographic fatigue?
governments cannot provide for their region's population size
what is a mixed economy?
governments intervene to some extent
what are common textures of metamorphic rocks?
granulite, foliated, non foliated
what are jigs?
grappling hooks attached to a fishing line that move slowly up and down to attract fish; line then jerks upwards to quickly hook the fish; because jigging mainly happens in open water while catching squid, the process yields little bycatch
what ph do basic solutions have?
greater than 7
what is carbon dioxide?
greenhouse gas that pollutes air when burning coal
what happens when fossil fuels are burnt?
greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere
what is the greenhouse effect?
greenhouse gases trap heat radiated from the sun in the atmosphere; an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere means more heat will get trapped inside the atmosphere, causing temperatures to continue to rise
what is gdp?
gross domestic product - total monetary value of final goods and services produced; does not account for nonmarket values; gdp rises with pollution
what are the epa regulated air pollutants?
ground level ozone (O_3), particulate matter, carbon monoxide, lead, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide
what type of water pollution is most difficult to address?
groundwater pollution
what are new renewables?
group of alternative energy sources that include energy from the sun, wind, geothermal heat, movement of ocean water
what is a population?
group of individuals of a species that live in the same area
what is food security?
guarantee of an adequate, safe, nutritious, and reliable food supply available to all people at all times
what are the drawbacks of dams?
habitat alteration, fisheries decline, population displacement, sediment capture, disruption of flooding, risk of failure, lost recreational opportunities
list some common types of groundfish
halibut, pollock, flounder
what is random population distribution?
haphazardly located individuals with no pattern
describe the earth's lisophere
harder rock above the asthenosphere that includes both the uppermost mantle and the entirety of the earth's third major layer
what is harpooning?
harpoons are spears/spearguns specially designed for fishing; fishermen spear animals that swim close to the boats then drag their catches on board. the technique produces little bycatch, since fishermen have to identify the fish before harpooning it
what are the pros of using natural gas as a fuel?
has 45% less CO_2 than coal and 30% less CO_2 than oil, releases low levels of criteria pollutants and soot when burned, is in abundant supply, far more energy efficient which makes it cheaper, leaves no waste or residue
what is the naturally occurring sex ratio at birth?
has a slight dominance to males - for every 100 female infants born, about 106 male infants are born; this can be attributed to an evolutionary adaptation to the fact that males are slightly more prone to death during any given year of life
why are piaster sea stars keystone species?
has great influence over biodiversity of pacific coast; when piaster is present, diversity is high with barnacles, mussels, algae but when number of piaster is low the mussels they prey upon become so abundant that nothing else can live there and they become displaced
what is a eutrophic body of water?
has high levels of nutrients and are therefore full of living things such as algae and insects
what is distilling?
hastening evaporation and condensing the vapor
what are free living parasites?
have infrequent contact with their hosts; ie ticks and sea lampreys
what do conventional alternatives to fossil fuels do?
have less environmental impact, all have benefits and drawbacks, are viewed as intermediates along a continuum of renewability
what are specialist animals?
have narrow niches and specific needs - extremely good at what they do but vulnerable when conditions change
what makes water molecules unique?
have strong cohesion that allows nutrients and waste to be transported; absorb heat with only small changes in its temperature, which stabilizes systems; less dense ice floats can float on liquid water; water dissolves other molecules
what are keystone species?
have strong/wide reaching impact far out of proportion to its abundance; removal of keystone species has substantial ripple effects that alters the food chain
what does a species' survival depend on?
having a suitable habitat
what are some major uses for uranium?
health and medicine; industry and research; food and agriculture
what are the drawbacks of biomass energy?
health hazards from indoor air pollution; rapid harvesting can lead to deforestation; growing crops exerts tremendous impacts on ecosystems; biofuel competes with food production; substantial inputs of energy are required
what is thermal pollution?
heated water from power plant cooling or other industrial processes
how do businesses use propane?
heating and cooling air, cooking and refrigerating food, heating water, lighting
what does energy from the sun do to the earth's atmosphere?
heats air, moves air, creates seasons, influences weather and climate
what was the earth summit?
held in rio de janeiro, brazil, in 2002; largest international diplomatic conference ever held; centered on the idea of sustainable development - finding ways to safeguard natural systems while raising living standards for the world's poorest people
what is the united nations environment program?
helps nations understand and solve environmental problems
what population density makes finding mates easiest?
high density - but increases competition and vulnerability to predation and disease transmission
what does a low ld50 indicate?
high toxicity
why are nuclear power plants more numerous in specific regions of the united states?
higher populations; proximity to ports/water
what is sustainable yield?
highest rate that a resource can be used indefinitely without reducing the available supply; renewable resources operate using this concept
what are fossil fuels?
highly combustible substances formed from the remains of organisms
what type of uranium has the most potential energy?
highly enriched uranium
how does topography affect soil formation?
hills and valleys affect exposure to sun, wind, water, and they influence how soil moves
what part of the world houses the third largest mass of ice?
himalayas
what are some characteristics of clay?
holds more water, slow to absorb water, slow to release water
what is a systems approach?
holistically assess questions; helps address complex, multifaceted issues, though sometimes systems still show behavior that is hard to understand and predict
what is low density single use development?
homes are located on large lots in residential tracts far away from commercial amenities
what are hydrothermal vents?
host entire communities that thrive in high temperature in pressure; lack of sun prevents photosynthesis
what is coevolution?
hosts and parasites become locked in a duel of escalating adaptations; has been called an evolutionary arms race as each evolves new responses to the other; occurs when it may not be beneficial for parasite to kill its host
describe climate in the desert
hot days and cold nights
what does chemistry help environmental scientists understand?
how gases contribute to global climate change, how pollutants cause acid rain, effects on health of wildlife and people, water pollution, wastewater treatment, atmospheric ozone depletion, energy issues
what does the length that a nation's reserves will last depend on?
how much nation extracts, uses, exports; amount of oil remaining in middle east
what are feedlots?
huge warehouses/pens designed to deliver energy-rich food and antibiotics to animals living at extremely high densities; nearly half of the world's pork and most of its poultry come from feedlots
what does environmental economics focus on?
human economics existing within and depending on the environment; believes that without natural resources, there would be no economies
what do freshwater levels indicate?
human freshwater consumption habits
what are the two main components of sprawl?
human population growth and per capita land consumption as each person takes up more land than in the past
what are the reasons that urban populations are growing?
human population overall is growing; more people are moving from farms to cities than are moving from cities to farms
what do environmentalists believe?
human race is leading an unsustainable lifestyle and that we are depleting the earth's resources at an exponential rate
what is sewage?
human waste that contains nutrients and pathogens
though extinction is a natural process, what makes it faster?
humans
what are the causes of the sixth mass extinction event?
humans - they're causing resource depletion, population growth, mass development, destruction of natural habitats, hunting and harvesting of spcies, introduction of non-native species
how do humans affect the phosphorus cycle?
humans add phosphorus to fertilizers to promote crop growth; runoff from farm fields and lawns contains phosphorus, which increases phytoplankton growth and results in eutrophication and hypoxia; wastewater discharge also releases phosphorus - detergents have traditional contained high levels of phosphates
what is deep ecology?
humans are inseparable from nature, thus making them of equal value to all other living things; since all living things have equal value, they should be protected
how did humans begin experimenting in agriculture?
humans began as hunter-gatherers; 10,000 years ago when climate warmed and glaciers retreated, people in some cultures began to raise plants from seeds and to domesticate animals
how did early selective/artificial selection work?
humans selected seeds of fruits that looked especially large and delicious
what are hydrocarbon gas liquids?
hydrocarbon families that are mixtures of hydrogen and carbon molecules that can occur as gases or can be easily pressurized to become liquids
where does most american renewable energy come from?
hydropower and biomass
what is the ipat model?
i=total impact on the environment; p=interaction among population; a=affluence; t=technology; i=p*a*t
give an example of a positive feedback loop occurring because of global warming
ice, which has a high albedo/reflectivity because of its white color helps regulate global temperatures; however, global temperature increase is quickening the ice melting process; loss of ice results in further temperature increase
what is biomagnification?
idea that each organism consumes many individuals from the trophic level beneath it, so with each step up the food chain, concentrations of toxicants in its system becomes magnified
what is background extinction rate?
idea that extinction usually occurs one species at a time
what is resource partitioning?
idea that species use different resources/use shared resources in different ways; ex one species is active at night, another in the day; ex one species eats small seeds, another eats large seeds
what are the six steps to making environmental policy?
identify problem, identify specific causes of the problem, envision solution and set goals, get organized, cultivate access and influence, manage development of policy
why are global warming skeptics' theories about heating variations incorrect?
if they were true, the stratosphere would be heated as well as the lower atmosphere, but it isn't
give an example for how the 10% law affects eating meat
if we feed grain to a cow and then eat beef from the cow, we lose most of the grain's energy to the cow's metabolism; energy is used up as the cow converts grain to tissue as it grows, and as the cow conducts cellular respiration on a daily basis to maintain itself
what has led to humans' increase in resource consumption?
increase in population growth after the agricultural and industrial revolutions
how can humans lower environmental resistance for themselves?
increased carrying capacity; technologies overcoming limiting factors
what does an automobile-oriented culture encourage?
increased congestion and increased dependence on nonrenewable petroleum
how can local fossil fuel extraction benefit residents of the area?
increased job opportunities; trickling down of profits; some governments give dividends to citizens
what is exponential population growth?
increases by a fixed percent; graphed as a j shaped curve; cannot be sustained indefinitely
how can predation effect populations?
increases prey populations increase predators - predators survive and reproduce; increased predator populations decrease prey - predators starve; decreased predator populations increase prey populations
what are the two most populated countries in the world?
india and china
what is uniform population distribution?
individuals are evenly spaced due to territorial competition
what are the two main ways that energy conservation can be accomplished?
individuals can make conscious choices to reduce energy consumption in everyday life and drastically increase conservation by driving less, turning off lights, buying efficient machines; society can make energy consuming devices more efficient, which helps reduce the enormous amounts of energy wasted every day
what are environmentalists?
individuals who are generally devoted to the impact of people on environmental quality; believe that the actions of some humans are leading to the degradation of the environment, which affects us all
what's the opposite of low-input agriculture?
industrial agriculture
what is the third stage of demographic transition?
industrial stage; increases opportunities for employment outside the home, particularly for women; children become less valuable as workers, economically speaking, because they do not need to help meet family food requirements as they did in pre-industrial stage; birth rates fall, closing the gap with death rates and reducing population growth
what is the biggest cause of soil degradation?
industrialization
what factors have driven total fertility rate downwards?
industrialization, improved women's rights, quality healthcare
how does industry use propane?
industry uses almost 80% of propane consumed in us; is valuable as a fuel, heat source, and feedstock for the chemical industry
what is the impact of international organizations?
influences the behavior of nations; provides funding, applies peer pressure, directs media attention
what's the difference between dna and rna?
information in dna is rewritten to rna, which directs amino acid assembly into proteins
what is primary extraction?
initial drilling and pumping of available oil
what are parasitoids?
insects that parasitize other insects, killing the host in the process
how can residential water demand be reduced?
install low-flow faucets, showerheads, washing machines, and toilets; water lawns at night when evaporation is minimal; eat less meat; use xeriscaping
how are developing countries solving their electricity shortages?
installation of solar panels using business models that make them affordable
what do atmospheric cells do?
interact with earth's rotation to produce global wind patterns
what is environmental science?
interdisciplinary science using concepts of natural and social structures to understand how earth works, how humans affect the environment, how to deal with the environmental problems we face
what national measures does the kyoto protocol consider?
international emissions trading, clean development mechanism, joint implementation
what does the judicial branch do?
interprets laws
what type of igneous rock does obsidian appear to be?
intrusive
what is population ecology?
investigates the dynamics of population change; looks at the factors affecting the distribution, the abundance of members in a population, why some populations increase, why some populations decrease
describe early american environmental policy
involved management of public lands - promoted settlement and extraction of natural resources; increased prosperity; relieved crowding in eastern cities; displaced millions of native americans; people believed that land was infinite and inexhaustible
where are the major cod, swordfish, herring, and sole stocks located?
ireland, iceland, uk
what minerals are commonly leached from the e horizon?
iron, aluminum, silicate clay
describe the events of the sixth mass extinction
is 100-1000x higher than the background rate and rising; amphibians are disappearing the fastest with 170 species already gone; it will take millions of years for life to recover
why can propane be used in indoor settings?
is a clean burning fossil fuel approved as an alternative fuel under the clean air act and national energy policy act of 1992
what are solutions?
is a mixture of substances - no chemical bonding
what happens to dead bycatch?
is either thrown out or studied by scientists
what are the environmental benefits of biomass energy?
is essentially carbon neutral - releases no net carbon into the atmosphere as long as biomass sources are not overharvested and landfill gases are captured
describe population growth trends across the globe
is growing fastest in poorer nations of the tropics and subtropics but is now beginning to decrease in some northern industrialized nations
what is the issue with bottled water?
is no healthier than tap water, creates substantial plastic waste, but is hugely popular
describe the worldwide distribution of freshwater
is not evenly distributed - some countries such as canada and brazil have an ample supply while others such as egypt and saudi arabia have almost none
describe the general movement of matter around the world
is recycled within ecosystems through food-web relationships and decomposition
what is denitrifying bacteria?
bacteria that convert nitrates in soil or water to gaseous nitrogen, releasing it back into the atmosphere and completing the nitrogen cycle
what is an inversion layer?
band of air in which temperature rises with altitude while denser, cooler air at the bottom of the layer resists mixing
what does the fifth amendment of the us constitution do?
bans literal taking of private property; bans regulatory take, which deprives a property owner of economic uses of the property
what is parent material?
base geologic material in a particular location
what is the index of sustainable economic welfare?
based on income, wealth distribution, resource depletion
what is a cell?
basic unit of life's organization
what is biocontrol?
battling pests and weeds with organisms that eat or infect them
why are synthetic chemicals ubiquitous worldwide?
bc so many substances can be carried by wind
how does urbanization preserve land?
because people pack densely together in cities, more land outside of cities is left undeveloped; if cities did not exist and instead all 7 billion people were uniformly spread across the planet's land space. no large blocks of land would be left uninhabited, and we would have much less room for agriculture, wilderness, biodiversity, or privacy
what is precipitation?
becomes runoff and surface water after water returns to earth as rain or snow
what are coal reserves?
beds of coal still in the ground that can be mined
what type of animal meat is beginning to decrease in popularity?
beef
what is ecofeminism?
belief that male-dominated societies have degraded women and the environment through fear and hate using hierarchies and competition
what is the conservation ethic?
belief that natural resources should be used wisely/sustainably for the greatest good for the most people
what is the environmental flaw with most economic models?
belief that resources are substitutable and interchangeable when in reality, both nonrenewable and renewable resources can be depleted
what is the preservation ethic?
belief that the natural environment should be kept in pristine/original conditions
what are relativists?
believe ethics varies with social context - ethics has no absolute standard
what are conservationists?
believe in the utilization of resources from the environment so long as the sustainability of the flora and fauna can be assured
what are universalists?
believe right and wrong remains the same across cultures and situations
who was henry gleason?
believed each species responds independently to its own limiting factors; species join or leave communities without greatly altering the community's composition - the most widely accepted view of ecologists today
what is the pycnocline?
below the surface zone - density increases rapidly with depth
what is the orange ruffy?
benthic/deep sea organism that is 1 ft long that can live for up to 150 years and doesn't mature until it's 30 years old
what are carcinogens?
best known type of toxicant; substances/types of radiation that cause cancer
how much propane does the average residential propane tank hold?
between 500 and 1000 gallons of liquid fuel
what is interspecific competition?
between members of two or more species; strongly affects community composition; leads to either competitive exclusion or species coexistence
what is ethanol?
biofuel produced when fermenting carbohydrate-rich crops; is widely added to american gasoline to reduce emissions since any vehicle can run well on a 10% ethanol mix
what is evolution?
biologically - genetic change in populations over time that leads to changes in appearance, functioning, behavior; leads to biodiversity; is either random or directed by natural selection
what is the slowest growing type of energy?
biomass
what is secondary production?
biomass generated by heterotrophs from consuming autotrophs
what are biofuels?
biomass sources converted into fuels to power automobiles
what adds to a population?
births and immigration
what is natality?
births within a population
what are stopes?
blasted hard rock ore
what does the addition of excess nutrients do to a body of water?
blooms of algae, increased production of organic matter that dies and sinks; decomposition and loss of dissolved oxygen
what fish does harpooning aim to catch?
bluefin, tuna, swordfish
what causes habitats to vary?
body size/needs of a species - ie a soil mite vs an elephant; species have different habitat needs at different times - ie migratory birds use different habitats during migration, summer, winter; species use different criteria to select habitat - ie soil, topography, vegetation, other species, water temperature, salinity, prey
how are solar panels used in rural areas?
boiling water; powering hospitals and other large isolated buildings
who was john muir?
born 1838; pioneer of the preservation ethic; founder of the sierra club; motivated by rapid deforestation and environmental degradation he witnessed throughout north america
what are external costs?
borne by someone not involved in a transaction; ie human health problems, resource depletion
what is globalization?
borrowing commons from other parts of the world; process of global, social, economic, environmental change that leads to an increasingly integrated world; results in advances in world trade and global communications but also increases diseases and pollutants
what is the competition species interaction?
both species are harmed as they seek the same limited resources such as food, space, water, shelter, mates, sunlight
what is the mutualism species interaction?
both species benefit
what is the troposphere?
bottommost layer of the atmosphere; provides air for breathing/weather; its temperature declines with altitude
what is a front?
boundary between air masses that differ in temperature, moisture and density
what is a cold front?
boundary where colder, drier air replaces warm moist air
what is a warm front?
boundary where warm moist air replaces colder, drier air
what are decomposers?
break down leaf litter and other nonliving material; enhance topsoil and recycle nutrients; ex fungi and bacteria
who was thomas malthus?
british economist who argued that unless population growth was controlled by laws or other social structures, the number of people would eventually outgrow the available food supply
what are complex carbohydrates?
build structures and store energy
what is salinization?
buildup of salts in surface soil layers
what is the major source of greenhouse gases?
burning fossil fuels and solid waste, agricultural industry, industrial processes, livestock, transportation and production of coal, natural gas, oil
how are humans hurting the carbon cycle?
burning fossil fuels moves carbon from the ground to the air; cutting forests and burning fields moves carbon from vegetation to the air
what are the sources of acid deposition?
burning fossil fuels that release sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides; these compounds react with water to form sulfuric and nitric acids
what creates industrial smog?
burning of fossil fuels
where does indoor air pollution come from in developing countries?
burning wood, charcoal, dung, crop wastes with little to no ventilation
what is uncentered commercial strip development?
businesses are arrayed in a long strip along a roadway with no attempt made to create a centralized community with easy access for customers
what is market failure?
businesses or individuals don't minimize environmental impact - this situation is often the government's justification for intervening with corporations
what is a capitalist market economy?
buyers and sellers interact to determine prices and production of goods and services
what is the us government's "megatons to megawatts" program?
buys up radioactive material to use in power plants
how much has the sierra snowpack declined in california?
by 40%
how is climate determined?
by earth's rotation/tilt
what are radioisotopes?
by products of nuclear energy
what is the second-lowest soil horizon called?
c horizon; weathered parent material
what states produce the most wind power in the us?
california and texas
what are the pros of solar energy?
can be used anywhere the sun shines; generates clean energy; doesn't require combustion or greenhouse gases; no noise pollution
what fish do poles/trolls aim to catch?
can catch pretty much any type of fish
how does radioactive waste affect water?
can leak into natural waterways
what do runoff and airshed have in common?
can move nutrients from land to the waters
what devices do we use to divert water?
canals and irrigation ditches
what are organic compounds?
carbon atoms joined by covalent bonds that may include other elements such as nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and phosphorus
what process will eventually allow us to use fossil fuels safely?
carbon capture and sequestration - ccs
how does sprawl increase pollution?
carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles contribute to global climate change while nitrogen- and sulfur-containing air pollutants lead to tropospheric ozone, urban smog, and acid rain; runoff of polluted water from paved areas is about 16 times greater than from naturally vegetated areas; motor oil and road alt from roads and parking lots pollute waterways, posing risks to ecosystems and human health
what are the main criteria pollutants according to the epa?
carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, lead, all nitrogen oxides
list the different classifications of toxicants
carcinogens, mutagens, teratogens, pathway inhibitors, endocrine disrupters
beyond expensive damage and casualties, why are climate-related disasters so bad?
cause geopolitical consequences and create instability
what is industrial/gray air smog?
caused by industries burning coal or oil; occurs in cooler hilly areas
what are the effects of the ozone hole?
causing ozone levels over antarctica to have declined by 40-60%; ozone depletion is also occurring globally; causes skin cancer, harms crops, decreases ocean productivity
what is biocentrism?
certain living things also have value
how can hydrogen be obtained from biomass and fossil fuels?
ch_4+2h_2o = 4h_2+co_2; results in emissions of carbon based pollution though
what is energy?
changes the position, physical composition, or temperature of matter
what are the pros of using oil as a fuel?
cheap, foundation of renewable energy, high energy density, reliable, provides jobs
what are neurotoxins?
chemical toxicants that assault the nervous system
what are lipids?
chemically diverse group of compounds grouped together because they don't dissolve in water; give energy to cells, form cell membranes, provide structural support, are natural steroids
what are pesticides?
chemicals for crops that suppress pests and weeds
what toxic hazards are in outdoor air?
chemicals from automotive exhaust, chemicals from industrial pollution, photochemical smog, pesticide drift, dust and particulate matter
what are teratogens?
chemicals that cause harm to the unborn
what are common examples of toxins?
chemicals that plants use to ward off herbivores or that insects use to defend themselves from predators
discuss the chesapeake bay case study
chesapeake bay used to be the world's largest oyster fishery, causing oyster output in the bay to be reduced by 1% of historical levels by 2010; causes of the decline include overharvesting, habitat destruction, disease, excessive nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers, fossil fuel emissions, storm water runoff; these issues were resulting in hypoxia - low concentrations of oxygen in water
what is a feedback loop?
circular process in which a system's output serves as input to that same system; negative and positive feedback loops do not necessarily mean bad and good
what is the importance of urban parks and open spaces?
city dwellers often desire some sense of escape from the noise, commotion, and stress of urban life; these lands also keep ecological processes functioning by regulating climate, producing oxygen, filtering air and water pollutants, and providing habitats for wildlife
what do ecological economists believe?
civilizations cannot overcome environmental limitations - steady state economies should mirror natural ecological systems; they call for revolution
what are poles/trolls?
classic single line and single hook fishing pole used by many recreational fishermen; since only one fish can be caught at a time and can easily be tossed back into the water if they're not wanted, the risk of catching bycatch through this fishing method is low
why does the epa have regulated air pollutants?
clean air act requires epa to set national ambient air quality standards for 6 common air pollutants
what are the pros of hydropower?
clean source; doesn't burn fossil fuels
what technologies decrease carbon monoxide output?
cleaner-burning vehicles and catalytic converters
what common environmental practices make us vulnerable to certain physical hazards?
clear-cutting forests and sunbathing
what are climatographs?
climate diagram showing area's mean monthly temperature and preciciptation
how can businesses be carbon-neutral?
climate solutions can be integrated into all innovations; invest sustainably
what five factors influence soil formation?
climate, organisms, topography, parent material, time
how is the human population distributed in ecological terms?
clumped
what does soil structure measure?
clumpiness of soil
what fish do set longlines aim to catch?
cod and halibut
what fish does gill-netting aim to catch?
cod, perch, salmon, sardines, trout
what fish stocks are at risk of collapsing?
cod, swordfish, herring, sole
what is a la nina?
cold phase; periods of below-average sea surface temperatures across the east equatorial pacific; effects tend to be the opposite of el nino effects - winter temperatures are warmer than usual in the southeast and cooler than usual in the northwest
what are photovoltaic cells?
collect sunlight and convert it into electrical energy; used with wind turbines and diesel engines
what is recycling?
collecting and reprocessing resources into new products
what are molecules?
combination of two or more atoms
what is mass number?
combined number of protons and neutrons
what is co-firing?
combines biomass with coal
what is environmental capital?
comes from nature
what is resilience?
community changes in response to a disturbance but later returns to its original state
what is resistance?
community of organisms resists change and remains stable despite the disturbance
what is a climax community?
community that remains in place with few changes until another disturbance restarts succession
what is transit-oriented development?
compact communities in the new urbanist style are arrayed around stops on a major rail line, enabling people to travel most places they need to go by train and foot alone
why is it hard to predict the amount of untapped oil reserves?
companies and governments don't disclose their oil supplies, leading to disagreement among geologists; meanwhile, oil consumption increases at an unpredictable rate in developing countries
what are the two markets for carbon offsets?
companies and governments, large corporations
what is tuna culture?
companies capture tuna when they're already quite large then proceed to fatten them for a more profitable harvest; ranching prevents the species from interacting with their environment and performing ecosystem services; this type of aquaculture threatens marine biodiversity as more and more tuna are placed into it
what is cost-benefit analysis?
comparing the costs of a proposed action to the benefits that result from the action; if benefits outweigh costs, pursue the action
what is a nacelle?
compartment holding the machinery rotated by wind turbine blades
what is character displacement?
competing species diverge in their physical characteristics due to the evolution of traits best suited to the resources they use; results from resource partitioning; ex birds that eat larger seeds evolve larger bills and birds that eat smaller seeds evolve smaller bills
what are types of natural species interactions?
competition, exploitative, mutualism
what is soil?
complex system of disintegrated rock, organic matter, water, gases, nutrients, microorganisms
what are cafos?
concentrated animal feeding operations/factory farms
what happens during monsoon seasons?
concentrated storms . - half a region's annual rain may fall in a few hours
why has use of renewable energy become popular so quickly?
concerns are mounting over diminishing fossil fuels, increased awareness of environmental impacts of fossil fuel combustion, advances in technology have made harnessing renewable energy easier and less expensive
what is a continental slope?
connects the continental shelf to the ocean floor
what is sustainability?
conservative use of resources to prevent resource depletion due to over-use
what is the legacy of the montreal protocol?
considered the biggest environmental success story since policymakers actively included industry; implementation of the plan allowed an adaptive management strategy that changed strategies in response to new scientific data, technological advances, economic figures; serves as a model for international environmental cooperation
what are carbohydrates?
consist of atoms of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen
describe our planet's environment as a whole
consists of complex networks of interlinked systems of matter, molecules, organisms, populations, interacting species, nonliving entities
what is natural gas?
consists of methane and other volatile hydrocarbons
describe the earth's core
consists of mostly iron - solid in the inner core and molten in the outer core
what is organic fertilizer?
consists of the remains of wastes of organisms and include animal manure, crop residues from fresh vegetation, and compost
what is thermal mass?
construction materials that absorb, store, release heat
what is ecological modeling?
constructs and tests models to explain and predict how ecological systems work
what are omnivores?
consumers that eat both plants and animals
what are the types of metamorphism?
contact, hydrothermal, regional
what are hydrocarbons?
contain only carbon and hydrogen; can be a gas, liquid, or solid
what are skips?
containers
what are aquifers?
containers for groundwater
what are the dangers of indoor air pollution?
contains higher concentrations of pollutants than outdoor air - 6000 people die every day from indoor air pollution
what are the dangers of secondhand smoke?
contains over 4000 dangerous chemicals; causes eye, nose, throat irritation
what are the most common options for future energy use?
continue relying on fossil fuels until they are no longer available; increase funding to develop alternative energy sources dramatically; steer a middle course and gradually reduce our reliance on fossil fuels
what are convective currents?
contributors to climatic patterns that affect moisture distribution
why is prevention of invasive species a better policy than avoiding them?
control and eradication are hard and expensive
what is primary production?
conversion of solar energy to chemical energy in sugars by autotrophs
what is the purpose of uranim enrichment?
convert u-238 to u-235
what chemicals cause soil to be strongly acidic?
copper, zinc, boron, manganese, iron,
what is the gorgonian coral?
coral that can live to be centuries of years old; a 700 year old gregornian was destroyed by dredging and is therefore considered bycatch
what are earth's primary layers from the inside out?
core, mantle, lithosphere, crust
what are the cafe standards?
corporate average fuel efficiency - mandating higher fuel efficiency in automobiles; america has failed to do this
what are the drawbacks of the three gorges dam?
cost $25 billion to build; is flooding 22 cities and the homes of 1.13 million people; is submerging 10,000 year old archaeological sites; is drowning farmland and wildlife habitat; is eroding tidal marshes at the mouth of the yangtze; is trapping pollutants
what are externalities?
costs/benefits involving people other than the buyer or seller
what's wrong with nations becoming dependent on foreign energy?
could lead to international unrest/conflict; we're vulnerable to supplies becoming unavailable or expensive; because america imports 605 of its crude oil, other nations control our energy supplies
what is arguably the greatest factor enabling a society to slow its population growth?
couples engaging in family planning through birth control and contraception
what does the legislative branch do?
create statutory law
what is biogenic gas?
created at shallow depths by bacterial anaerobic decomposition of organic matter
what is hubbard's peak?
created by geologist m king hubbard, who predicted that oil production would peak around 1970 - his prediction was accurate and us production rates continue to fall
who was aldo leopold?
created the land ethic, in which humans should view themselves and the land as members of the same community
during which extinction event did the dinosaurs go extinct?
cretaceous-tertiary; occurred 65 million years ago
what is carbon monoxide?
criteria pollutant - a colorless, odorless gas produced primarily by incomplete combustion of fuel; poses risk to humans and animals even in small concentrations
what is sulfur dioxide?
criteria pollutant - colorless gas with a strong odor that most commonly comes from coal emissions from electricity generation and industry; can form acid precipitation
what is tropospheric ozone?
criteria pollutant - colorless gas with a strong odor; secondary pollutant that results from interactions of sunlight, heat, nitrogen oxides, volatile carbons; major component of smog; poses a health risk as a result of its instability
what is nitrogen dioxide?
criteria pollutant - highly reactive, foul-smelling reddish brown gas; comes from vehicle engines and industrial combustion and electrical utilities; contributes to smog and acid precipitation
what are ethical standards?
criteria that help differentiate right from wrong
list some common farming techniques
crop rotation, contour farming, terracing, intercropping, shelterbelts, conservation tillage, no-till farming
what is a soil profile?
cross-section of soil horizons from surface to bedrock
what is the significance of topsoil?
crucial for agriculture - is the portion of the soil that is most nutritive for plants
what is the natural rate of population growth formula?
crude birth rate-crude death rate
how is the natural rate of population growth determined?
crude birth rate-crude death rate; determines population change due to internal factors
name the three types of coloring adaptations that prey may have to protect themselves from predators
crypsis, warning coloration, mimicry
what i aquaculture?
cultivation of aquatic organisms for food in controlled environments
what is a fossil record?
cumulative body of fossils worldwide
discuss global population growth
current human global population is 6.6 billion and is increasing at an exponential rate; rate of exponential growth is characterized by the doubling time of the population, which can be estimated by utilizing the rule of 70
why do some fishermen illegally spray reef fish with cyanide?
cyanide starves fish of oxygen; when the dazed fish come out of their habitats for clean water, fishers catch the fish and resell them for food or aquariums
what are the negative impacts of hydropower?
damming rivers destroys habitats as upstream areas are submerged and downstream areas are starved of water; natural flooding cycles are disrupted; thermal pollution of downstream water; periodic flushes of cold reservoir water can kill fish; dams block passage of fish, fragmenting the river and reducing biodiversity
what is humus?
dark spongy crumbly mass of material made up of complex organic compounds
what is environmental toxicology?
deals with toxic substances that come from or are discharged into the environment
what is eutrophication?
death of fish and shrimp due to oxygen-depleted dead zones in the ocean
how does hiv/aids effect human populations?
death rates have increased, presenting a scenario like malthus' fears; this disease has the greatest impact on human populations of any communicable disease since the black death; the disease also prevents poorer nations from developing
what subtracts from a population?
deaths and emigration
what is mortality?
deaths within a population
where are fishermen going to catch fish as our seas become depleted?
deep sea
what is the atomic number?
defined number of protons in an atom
what are the biggest causes of global warming?
deforestation and burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal
what are toxicity?
degree of harm a chemical substance can inflict
what are the negatives of aquaculture
dense concentrations of farmed animals can increase their disease, reduced food security due to mass disease spread, necessitates antibiotic treatment, produces large amounts of waste from fish and feed, feed affects people's food supply, energy inefficient, escaped farm fish can be invasive in foreign regions, farmed fish can be genetically modified into an invasive species, need space to grow and harvest, not all fish can grow in monocultures
what is the deep zone?
dense, sluggish water unaffected by winds, storms, sunlight, temperature
how are cities efficient?
density of cities facilitates the provision of many social services that improve quality of life - including medical services, education, water and sewer systems, waste disposal, public transportation
what is emigration?
departure of individuals from the poulation
what is acidic deposition?
deposition of acid or acid-forming pollutants from the atmosphere onto earth's surface
what is climate?
describes patterns of atmospheric conditions across large geographic regions over long periods of time
what does age structure data do?
describes relative numbers of individuals of each age class within a population; data on age structure are especially valuable to demographers trying to predict future dynamics of human populations
what is the carbon cycle?
describes route of carbon atoms through the environment
what is the nitrogen cycle?
describes routes that nitrogen atoms take through the environment; nitrogen gas cannot be used by most organisms
what is the phosphorus cycle?
describes routes that phosphorus atoms take through the environment
what do marginal benefit and cost curves do?
determine and optimal level of resource use or pollution mitigation
how do environmental conditions affect natural selection?
determine the pressures natural selection exerts - these pressures affect who survives and reproduces; traits evolve to allow success in a certain environment; traits that promote success at one time/place may not do so at another
how can developing countries help solve the global climate crisis?
developing countries can supply electrical power to europe and other large cities by building solar/renewable energy plants/supergrids
what types of countries are most interested in solar energy?
developing nations
what is scattered/leapfrog development?
developments are created at great distances from a city center and are not integrated
what are wind turbines?
devices that harness the power from wind
what are restorationists?
devoted to partial/complete restoration of areas that have been degraded by human use
what is ddt?
dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane; a neurotoxin that inhibits normal function of neurons, leading to spasms and death; banned in us in 1972
what is net energy?
difference between energy returned and energy invested; energy returned - energy invested
how does coal vary?
differs in water quantity and potential energy
what devices do we use to control floods?
dikes and levees
who was dr walter snelling?
directed series of experiments for us bureau of mines in 1912; discovered that several evaporating gases, including propane, could be changed into liquids and stored at moderate pressure
what are the three types of natural selection?
directional, stabilizing, disruptive
what are primary pollutants?
directly harmful and can react to form harmful substances; ex soot and carbon dioxide
what is extinction?
disappearance of a species from earth; is irreversible
what is one of the biggest environmental health hazards?
disease - especially infectious disease, which accounts for over one-quarter of all human deaths worldwide; meanwhile, over half of the world's deaths result from noninfectious diseases
give some examples of parasites that live within their host
disease and tapeworms
how do fossil fuels harm the environment?
disrupt carbon cycle by releasing carbon dioxide; its pollutants cause severe health problems; contaminates water supplies and freshwater ecosystems
how has global pollution affected precipitation?
disrupted frequency and potency of regular rainfall - causes large amounts of rain to arrive suddenly and increase moisture of an already saturated area while dry areas receive less and less rainfall
what is trolling?
similar to classic fishing poles, except they're typically much longer and can be mechanically operated; these baited fishing lines move slowly across the surface of the water to attract schools of salmon and tuna; the method has a low bycatch rate, since fishermen have to individually unhook each catch from the troll line and can immediately throw any unwanted catch back into the water relatively unharmed
what is light soil like?
similar to sand; not rich with very little organic matter
what are sugars?
simple carbohydrates
what are solar cookers
simple portable ovens that use reflectors to focus sunlight onto food
what is a model?
simplified representation of a complex natural process that helps us understand the process and make predictions
what is long-lining?
single fishing line that's dozens of miles long with smaller lines attached to that line; these smaller lines have baited hooks that rest at different ocean depths; other deep- and shallow-dwelling fish are just as likely to be caught in these long lines as the targeted fish are, thus creating a high risk for bycatch
what are prokaryotes?
single-celled organisms lacking organelles and a nucleus
what are archea?
single-celled prokaryotes very different from modern bacteria
describe the speed of strong and wealthy nations' population growth
slow
what are intrusive igneous rocks?
slow to cool, smooth, no holes; ex. granite; more difficult to break
when does exponential population growth occur?
small population, low competition, ideal conditions
what is a tributary?
smaller river flowing into a larger one
what is an atom?
smallest component of matter that maintain's an element's chemical properties
what toxic hazards can be found indoors?
smoking/secondhand smoke, radon, asbestos, lead in paint and pipes, toxics in plastics and consumer products, dust and particulate matter
why are crop plants dependent on soil?
soil contains organic matter necessary to providing nutrients needed for growth
how does time affect soil formation?
soil formation can take decades, centuries, or millennia
list some ecosystem services provided by our planet
soil formation, water and air pruification, pollination, breakdown of some pollutants and waste, inspiration, spiritual renewal, nutrient cycling
how does climate influence soil formation?
soil forms faster in warm, wet climates because heat and moisture speed up most physical, chemical, biological processes
what is loam?
soil with an even mixture of the three particle sizes clay, silt, and sand
what are the two clear advantages over fossil fuels for producing electricity?
is renewable - as long as precipitation fills rivers we can use water to turn turbines; is clean - no carbon dioxide is emitted
what happens to crude oil at refineries?
is separated into components such as gas, tar, asphalt
homestead act
issued 1862; domestic; established by abraham lincoln; gives applicant ownership of land typically called a homestead; keeps land ownership for the people and not industry; regulated by the bureau of land management
lacey act
issued 1900; amended 1969, 1988, 2008; domestic; prevents illegal trade of wildlife, plants, timber between states; addresses illegal hunting/illegal plant and timber importation; regulated by the us fish and wildlife service
antiquities act
issued 1906; amended 1950 and 1978; domestic; gives current president the right to declare any land as a national monument if the land is seen . as culturally or socially significant; encourages wilderness protection; regulated by the white house
taylor grazing act
issued 1934; domestic; prevents overgrazing/soil deterioration by claiming a lot of free land and allowing its plant life to grow freely; created to alleviate overgrazing; regulated by the us department of the interior and the bureau of land management
what is the soil conservation act?
issued 1935; established soil conservation service, which promoted soil conservation practices through county-based conservation districts
federal insecticide, fungicide, and rodenticide act
issued 1947; domestic; established strict health guidelines for pesticides sold in the united states to address pesticides' threat to human and environmental health; regulated by the epa
atomic energy act
issued 1954; amended 1962 and 2015; domestic; was passed because of government's interest in monitoring commercial and national defensive use of atomic energy; created to alleviate radioactive contamination; regulated by the atomic energy commission
federal food, drug, and cosmetic act - specifically the delaney clause
issued 1958; amended 1996; domestic; all foods being sold in the us must be tested for additives that could cause cancer; created to alleviate food contamination; regulated by the fda and epa
clean air act
issued 1963; amended 1970 and 1990; domestic; addresses concerns about the impacts of air pollution and encourages research of technology that causes less pollution; created to alleviate air pollution; regulated by the epa
wilderness act
issued 1964; domestic; created national wilderness preservation system that makes up hundreds of millions of acres around the country; protects the wilderness; regulated by the national park service, bureau of land . management, fish and wildlife service, us forest service
national environmental policy act
issued 1970; domestic; all federal policies must be examined by the epa before enactment to ensure that policy won't negatively hurt the environment; keeps development projects from hurting the environment; regulated by the epa
what is the clean water act?
issued 1972, updated 1977; gave money to government to improve sewage treatment and reduce water pollution
clean water act
issued 1972; amended 1981 and 1987; domestic; made putting pollutants into water unlawful without a strict government permit; created to alleviate water pollution; regulated by the epa
marine mammal protection act
issued 1972; domestic policy enacted due to an international policy; makes harassment of marine mammals illegal without a permit; protects all marine mammals; regulated by noaa
coastal zone management act
issued 1972; domestic; provides partnership structure allowing states and federal government to work together to protect us coastal zones; created to alleviate coastal development; regulated by noaa
endangered species act
issued 1973; amended 1978, 1982, 1988; domestic; provides protection to endangered and at-risk animals and plant species; created to help endangered species; regulated by the fish and wildlife services and noaa
safe drinking water act
issued 1975; amended 1976 and 1996; domestic; american water must be up to date with all state health regulations and go through proper treatment before being consumed; addresses water pollution/water safety; regulated by the epa
energy policy and conservation act
issued 1975; amendments to this led to the national energy conservation policy act of 1978; domestic; declared it to be us policy to establish a reserve of up to 10 billion barrels of petroleum in case of an oil shortage; created to help nonrenewable resources; regulated by department of energy
convention on international trade and endangered species/cites
issued 1975; international; discourages the illegal trade of endangered species by targeting poachers; protects endangered species; domestic regulators are usda and us fish and wildlife services
toxic substance control act
issued 1976; amended 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992; domestic; authorizes epa to regulate manufacture, distribution, import, processing of certain toxic chemicals; regulated by the epa
resource conservation and recovery act
issued 1976; amended an act from 1965; domestic; decreases american waste products without raising costs to do so; created to alleviate general pollution/waste disposal issues; regulated by the epa
federal land policy and management act
issued 1976; amendment of the homestead act; domestic; provides for protection of scenic, scientific, historic, ecological values of federal lands; provides protection for non-corporate lands; regulated by the bureau of land management
fishery conservation and management act
issued 1976; now known as the magnuson-stevens act; amended 1978 and 1982; domestic; establishes a 200 mile fishery conservation zone that requires fishers in this zone to adhere to certain guidelines that protect fish populations; created to alleviate overfishing, regulated by noaa
surface mining control and reclamation act
issued 1977; domestic; intended to ensure that coal mining activity is conducted with sufficient protections for the public and environment; protects nonrenewable resources; regulated by the us department of the interior
cercla
issued 1980; amended 1986; domestic; authorizes epa to find polluters and force them to clean up their waste, but if the polluters aren't found, epa uses money from cercla to clean up the pollution; created to alleviate general pollution; regulated by the epa
fish and wildlife conservation act
issued 1980; domestic; authorizes financial and technical assistance to states for conservation plans for non-game fish and wildlife; helps endangered species; regulated by the us fish and wildlife service
nuclear waste policy act
issued 1982; domestic; required secretary of energy to issue guidelines for selection of sites for construction of two permanent underground nuclear waste repositories; created to alleviate radioactive contamination; regulated by us department of energy
proposition 65
issued 1986; applies to only california; passed by voter initiative and is known as the safe drinking water and toxic enforcement act, which requires all california businesses to post the signs that say "this place contains chemical known to the state of california as harmful to human health"; created to alleviate water pollution; regulated by the california office of environmental health hazard assessment
emergency planning and community right to know act
issued 1986; domestic; requires companies to disclose information about toxic chemicals they release into air, water, land; created to alleviate general pollution; regulated by the epa
marine plastic pollution research and control act
issued 1987; amended 1994; domestic policy enacted due to an international policy; applies to ship-generated garbage - aims to reduce amount of garbage that ships dump; created to alleviate ocean pollution; regulated by the epa
montreal protocol
issued 1987; international; agreement signed by more than 150 countries to limit the production of substances harmful to the ozone layer; regulated by the united nations
ocean dumping ban act
issued 1988; amended 1991 and 1998; domestic; banned ocean dumping of municipal sewage sludge and industrial waste; created to alleviate ocean pollution; regulated by the epa
pollution prevention act
issued 1990; domestic; basically says to not pollute and if you have to pollute, be environmentally safe about it - is essentially a suggestion; created to alleviate general pollution; regulated by the epa
oil pollution act
issued 1990; domestic; streamlines federal response to oil spills by requiring oil storage facilities and vessels to prepare 24-48 hour spill resolve plans; protects nonrenewable resources; regulated by the epa
energy policy act
issued 1992; amended in 2005; domestic; addresses concerns about energy security by encouraging improved energy efficiency technology; created to help energy supply; regulated by department of energy
desert protection act
issued 1994; domestic; protects endangered species in deserts such as death valley and the mojave; regulated by the bureau of land management
non-proliferation act
issued 1995 from a treaty made in 1968; international; multilateral treaty that aims to control the spread of nuclear weapons through trade; created to alleviate radioactive contamination; regulated by the united nations
food quality protection act
issued 1996; domestic; designed to ensure that levels of pesticide in food and homes meet strict standards; is a pesticide regulation; regulated by the epa
kyoto protocol
issued 1997; international; agreement setting binding limits on emissions of greenhouse gases from industrialized countries; created to alleviate greenhouse gas emissions; regulated by the united nations
comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty
issued 1999; international; proposed treaty to prohibit all testing of nuclear weapons in all environments whether that be underground, underwater, in space, etc; created to alleviate radioactive contamination; regulated by the united nations
how is climate change affecting disease spread?
it changes the latitudes and areas where microbial diseases can become endemic and change the range of vectors like mosquitoes and ticks
why is conserving energy better than finding a new reserve?
it decreases environmental impacts while extending our access to fossil fuels
why must water be managed sustainably?
it is a renewable but limited resource
how much do we rely on carbon-based fuels?
it's 85% of the energy that our world burns every year
when is biomass nonrenewable?
it's harvested too quickly - with rapid deforestation, soil erosion, and forest failures to regrow, biomass is not replenished
how is wastewater treated in municipal wastewater treatment facilities?
it's treated physically, biologically, and chemically
how does parent material affect soil formation?
its attributes influence soil properties
what countries utilize solar power the most?
japan and germany
what is phosphorus?
key component of cell membranes, dna, rna, atp, adp; there are naturally low environmental concentrations of this since phosphorus can be a limiting factor for plant growth
what is formaldehyde?
leaks from pressed wood and insulation, irritating mucous membranes and inducing skin allergies
what is lignite?
least compressed type of peat
what is the goal of environmental policy?
prevent resources from the tragedy of the commons; promote equity by addressing external costs
what is the purpose of containment buildings?
preventing leaks of radioactivity due to accidents or natural catastrophes such as earthquakes
what are some possible solutions to ground-level ozone?
prevention of cfc chemical emissions through international initiatives such as the montreal protocol; lifestyle changes - in cities, this may entail increased use of public transportation or planting of community gardens to encourage more urban greenspaces and in rural areas, this may entail investing in renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, or tidal power; activism - through the changes of individuals are important, it's the lifestyle changes of large companies and populations that will cause the most positive change - people should push local and national governments to pass laws that discourage cc emissions and incentivize the use of alternative sustainable energy sources
what is the second trophic level?
primary consumers - organisms that consume producers; ex deer, grasshoppers - herbivores that consume plants
what are the steps of waste water treatment?
primary treatment - physical separation of solids from liquids; secondary treatment - biological breakdown of wastes; tertiary treatment - chemical detoxification of harmful organic and inorganic materials; sludge processing and disinfection of final effluent
what are the three main hypotheses about life's origins?
primordial soup aka heterotrophic, seeds from space aka panspermia, life from the depths aka chemoautotrophic
what is nitrification?
process by which bacteria convert ammonium ions first into nitrite ions then into nitrate ions; plants can take up nitrate most easily
what is predation?
process by which individuals of one species - predator - kill and consume individuals of another species - prey; structures food webs; number of predators and prey influences community composition
what is pollination?
process by which male sex cell of a plant - pollen - fertilizes a female sex cell of a plant - ova or egg
what is habitat selection?
process by which organisms actively select habitats in which to live; availability and quality of habitat are crucial to an organism's well-being; human developments conflict with this process
what is evaporation?
process by which water moves from aquatic and land systems into the atmosphere
what is speciation?
process of generating new species from a single species
what is desalinization?
process of removing salt from water - increases water supply but is expensive and energy-intensive
what is artificial selection?
process of selection conducted under human direction; ie when producing dog breeds and food crops
what is soil degradation?
process of soil deteriorating in quality and declining in productivity; scientists estimate that soil degradation has reduced potential rates of food production by 13% on cropland and 4% on rangeland
what is bioaccumulation?
process of toxicants accumulating in an animal's body that results in the animal having a greater concentration of the toxic than exists in the surrounding environment
what is transpiration?
process of water movement through a plant and its evaporation from aerial parts, such as leaves, stems and flowers
what is environmental degradation?
process that occurs when we exceed the natural replacement rate of a given resource and the remaining supply begins to shrink
what is leaching?
process where solid particles suspended or dissolved in liquid are transported to another location
what is adaptation?
process where, over time, characteristics/traits that lead to better reproductive success become more prevalent in the population
what do proteins do?
produce tissues, provide structural support, store and transport energy; animals use proteins to generate skin, hair muscles, tendons; some proteins function as components of the immune system; some can serve as enzymes
what is photochemical/brown air smog?
produced by a series of reactions - hot sunny cities surrounded by mountains, light-driven reactions of primary pollutants and normal atmospheric compounds, morning traffic exhaust releasing pollutants; irritates eyes, nose, throat
what is biopower?
produced when biomass sources are burned in power plants, generating heat and electricity
what is the first trophic level?
producers - organisms that capture solar energy from photosynthesis to produce sugars; ex green plants, cyanobacteria, algae
what are the pros of biofuel?
produces less overall greenhouse gases; absorbs CO_2
what does conventional economics focus on?
production and consumption - ignores the environment and sees it as only . an external factor of production
what is the haber-bosch process?
production of fertilizers by combining nitrogen and hydrogen to synthesize ammonia; allowed humans to overcome nitrogen fixation as a crop production bottleneck
what does the fourteenth amendment of the us constitution do?
prohibits denying equal protection of its laws, which gives the environmental justice movement a constitutional basis
what is the purpose of the european union?
promote europe's unity and economic and social progress; can enact binding regulations and issue advisory directives
how does sprawl hurt human health?
promotes physical inactivity because driving cars largely takes the place of walking during daily errands
what are the types of polymers essential to life?
proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates; lipids are also essential but aren't polymers
how can disease spread be prevented in underdeveloped nations?
provide food security, ensure access to safe drinking water, improve sanitation
what is glucose?
provides energy for cells
describe the modern wave of american environmental policy
public enthusiasm for environmental protection remains strong; the majority of americans favor environmental protection; millions of people celebrate earth day each april
describe the second wave of american environmental policy
public perception and government policy shifted - mitigated environmental problems associated with westward expansion and the world's first national park, yellowstone, opened in 1872; other protected areas such as national wildlife refuges, parks, forests were created; reflected a new understanding that the west's resources were exhaustible and required legal protection
why has nuclear power spread so slowly across the us?
public safety concerns and costs of addressing them constrain development
what is undernutrition?
receiving fewer calories than the minimum dietary energy requirement
what is overnutrition?
receiving too many calories each day
what are the negatives of monocultures?
reduce biodiversity over large areas, because many fewer wild organisms are able to live in monocultures than in native habitats or traditional small scale polycultures
how can average people help stop the global climate crisis?
reduce emissions in your home - get better insulation, buy green electricity; buy a hybrid vehicle; be a green consumer; live carbon-neutral; become politically active - support capping carbon dioxide emissions
how can we control nutrient pollution?
reduce fertilizer use on farms and lawns; apply fertilizer at times that minimize runoff; plant vegetation buffers around streams; restore wetlands and create artificial ones; improve sewage treatment technologies; reduce fossil fuel combustion
what are bt crops?
reduce need for chemical pesticides by altering plants to produce their own pesticides; however, critics worry that the continuous presence of bt in the environment will induce insects to evolve resistance to the toxins
what causes life expectancy changes?
reduced rates of infant mortality
what are the benefits of geothermal power?
reduces emissions, emits very small amounts of gases
who was rachel carson?
published silent spring in 1962, which brought together studies to show ddt's risks to people, wildlife and ecosystems; generated significant social change - triggered enactment of many environmental protection laws since 1963
what is the r horizon made of?
pure parent material
what happens to ocean water when it evaporates?
pure water is removed, leaving hte ocean saltier
what are extrusive igneous rocks?
quick cooling, rough, holey; ex. pumice; easier to break
what is the lowest soil horizon called?
r/rock horizon
why is nuclear radiation carefully monitored?
radiation exposure can alter and damage cell structure
what is radon?
radioactive gas resulting from natural decay of rock, soil, water; can seep into buildings
what are political action committees/pacs?
raise money for political campaigns
what are the benefits of genetically modified organisms?
raising food yields while lowering production costs for farmers enhances food security for society; crops that increase yields on existing farmland help conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services because they reduce pressure to clear forests and convert natural lands for agriculture; crops engineered for drought tolerance can help save water by reducing the need for irrigation; reduce fossil fuel use during cultivation to lower greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change
what is the ph scale?
ranges from 0 to 14 and quantifies the acidity of solutions; ie. a substance with ph of 6 contains 10 times as many hydrogen ions as a substance with ph of 7
what are trophic levels?
ranks in the feeding hierarchy - producers/autotrophs, consumers, detritivores and decomposers
what is productivity?
rate at which ecosystems generate biomass
what is flux?
rate at which materials move between pools; can change over time; is influenced by human activities
what are carbon offsets?
reduction in emissions of CO_2 or greenhouse gases made in order to repay for/offset emissions released; measured in tons of CO_2 and can also represent methane, nitrous oxide, perfluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride ; used as a way to alleviate greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, electricity use, etc
what is energy conversion efficiency?
ratio of useful energy output to the amount needing to be input
what is relative humidity?
ratio of water vapor a given volume of air contains to the amount it could contain at a given temperature
where does the majority of propane used in the united states come from?
raw natural gas
what are aerosols?
reflect sunlight back into space, cooling the atmosphere and the surface
in what region are most power plants found?
region i
what is the littoral zone?
region ringing the edge of a water body
what are genes?
regions of dna that code for proteins that perform certain functions
where is global population density the lowest?
regions with extreme climate biomes such as desert, rainforest, tundra
what is parasitism?
relationship in which one organism - parasite - depends on another - host - for nourishment or some other benefit; parasite harms but doesn't kill the host
what is commensalism?
relationship in which one organism benefits while the other remains unaffected
what is amensalism?
relationship in which one organism is harmed while the other is unaffected; difficult to confirm since usually one organism benefits from harming another; ex allelopathy, where certain plants passively release harmful chemicals; may also be a method of outcompeting another for space
what are the pros of using coal as a fuel?
relatively inexpensive, abundant supply concentrated in industrialized countries, substantial existing infrastructure, mature industry
how do volcanoes pollute the earth naturally?
release large quantities of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, etc that can remain for months/years
what is air pollution?
release of pollutants
what is transpiration?
release of water vapor by plants
how does the sun release energy?
releases radiation found on the electromagnetic spectrum; some of this radiation is visible light; its energy drives weather and climate and powers plant growth
how is natural gas formed?
remains of tiny sea plants and animals were buried deeper and deeper for hundreds of millions of years; ensuing heat and pressure turned plant and animal remains into oil and gas deposits
what is erosion?
removal of material from one place and its transport toward another by the action of wind or water
how are humans affecting the water cycle?
removing forests and vegetation increases runoff and soil erosion and reduces transpiration and infiltration; irrigating agricultural fields depletes rivers, lakes, and streams and lowers water tables; damming rivers slows movement of water from land to the sea and increases evaporation; emitting air pollutants changes the nature of precipitation, sabotaging the natural distillation process of evaporation and transpiration
why is it better to prevent groundwater contamination than correct it?
removing just one herbicide from water costs up to $400 million; pumping, treating, and re-injecting it takes too long; restricting pollutants above aquifers would shift pollution elsewhere
list some techniques to control invasive species
removing them manually, applying toxic chemicals, drying them out, depriving them of oxygen, stressing them with heat, sound, electricity, carbon dioxide, ultraviolet light
what is geothermal energy?
renewable energy that does not originate from the sun - is generated from deep within earth; radioactive decay of elements under extremely high pressures deep inside the planet generates heat - this heat rises through magma, fissures, cracks
what is the world trade organization?
represents multinational corporations to promote free trade; has authority to impose penalties on nations that don't comply with its directives; interprets some environmental laws as unfair barriers to free trade; critics believe the wto aggravates environmental problems
what are the cons of biofuel?
requires a specific temperature as well as lots of land and water
what are new source reviews?
requires old utility plants to install the best available technology when upgrading; the bush administration proposed abolishing this requirement and dropped lawsuits against violators
what needs to happen for ethanol to come from low-value crops?
researchers need to refine techniques to produce ethanol from cellulose
what are two ways that communities may respond to disturbances?
resistance or resilience; though keep in mind that some disturbed communities may never return to their original state
what is a renewable resource?
resource that can be replenished fairly rapidly through natural processes; input must equal output for the resource to remain renewable
what do classical economics value?
resources such as soil, minerals, water, food, etc
what are nonrenewable natural resources?
resources that are in a finite supply and cannot be replenished in one lifetime
what are nonrenewable resources?
resources that exist in a fixed quantity or stock in the earth's crust
what are the six types of diseases that account for 80% of all deaths from infectious disease?
respiratory infection, diarrhea, aids, tuberculosis, malaria, childhood diseases
what are biological environmental health hazards?
result from ecological interactions among organisms - when we become sick from a virus, bacterial infection, or other pathogen, we are suffering parasitism by other species
what is thermogenic gas?
results from compression and heat deep underground
what does decomposition do?
returns carbon to sediment, which is the largest reservoir of carbon; carbon may be trapped there for hundreds of millions of years
name some important eukaryote organelles and their functions
ribosomes synthesize proteins, mitochondria extracts energy from sugars and fats, nucleus houses dna
what is dark soil like?
rich with lots of organic matter
what has happened to rivers with dismantled dams?
riparian ecosystems restored, fisheries reestablished, river recreation revived
what is an oxbow lake?
river bend cuts off and remains as an isolated u-shaped body of water
what are the main types of freshwater ecosystems?
rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands
what is a riparian?
riverside areas that are productive and species-rich
what are sparse street networks?
roads are far enough apart that some areas go undeveloped, but roads aren't far enough apart for these areas to function as natural areas or sites for recreation
what is the lithosphere?
rock and sediment
what are two forms of uranium mining waste?
rock and tailings
what are metamorphic rocks?
rock exposed to great heat and pressure formed underground; ex. marble, gneiss, slate
what types of shapes can uranium metal alloys be formed into?
rods, pellets, plates
what are flexible fuel vehicles?
run on 85% ethanol
what country has the largest natural gas deposits?
russia - leads the world in natural gas production
what fish do troll lines aim to catch?
salmon, mahi mahi, tuna
what is the ipats model?
same as ipat but also takes into account an ecosystem's sensitivity - i=p*a*t*s
how big is the north polar ice cap?
same size of the united states minus an area roughly equal to arizona
describe the energy flow of trophic levels
less and less energy is available in each successive trophic level - each level contains only 10% of the energy of the trophic level below it; means that a vegetarian's ecological footprint is smaller than a meat eater's footprint; organisms at lower trophic levels generally exist in far greater numbers with greater energy content and greater biomass than organisms at higher trophic levels - reason for this is because when one organism consumes another, most energy is used up in respiration rather than in building new tissue
describe biomass at higher trophic levels
less biomass/fewer organisms
what is convective circulation?
less dense, warmer air rises and creates vertical currents; rising air expands and cools; cool air descends and becomes denser, replacing warm air; influences both weather and climate
how much energy does geothermal energy provide worldwide
less than .5% - more than solar and wind combined but much less than hydropower and biomass
describe rainfall in the tundra
less than 10"
describe rainfall in the desert
less than 10" per year
what ph do acidic solutions have?
less than 7
what is ld50?
lethal dose for 50% of individuals
what do fossil records show?
life has existed on earth for at least 3.5 billion years, earlier types of organisms evolved into later ones, number of species has increased over time, most species have gone extinct, there have been several mass extinctions in the past
what is the heterotrophic life hypothesis?
life originated from a primordial soup of simple inorganic chemicals in the oceans; these first life forms used organic compounds for energy
what is the chemoautotrophic life hypothesis?
life originated in deep sea hydrothermal vents with abundant sulfur; meaning that the first organisms were chemoautotrophs
what are ferrel cells and polar cells?
lift air; create precipitation at 60 degrees latitude north and south; cause air to descend at 30 degrees latitude
what is nitrogen fixation?
lightning or nitrogen-fixing bacteria combine/fix nitrogen with hydrogen to form ammonium, which can be used by plants
what are density dependent factors?
limiting factors whose influence is affected by population density; increased density increases the risk of predation and competition for mates; results in the logistic growth curve; larger populations have stronger environmental resistance
what are density-independent factors?
limiting factors whose influence is not affected by population density; ei floods, fires, landslides
what is the tropopause?
limits mixing between the troposphere and layer above it
how can the agricultural demand for water be reduced?
lining irrigation canals, lowering irrigation pressure, using drip irrigation, matching crops to land and climate, genetic modification to raise crops that require less water
what type of hydrocarbon gas liquid is propane?
liquefied petroleum gas - extracted from refining crude oil and natural gas
what is the hydrosphere?
liquid, solid, vapor water
what are the structural spheres that the earth can be divided into?
lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere
what philosophies do environmentally sustainable societies abide by?
live off of the natural income provided by soil, air, water, plants; do not deplete the earth's endowment of natural capital that supplies this income
what is liquefied natural gas?
lng; liquid gas that can be shipped long distances in refrigerated
what fish do traps/pots aim to catch?
lobserts, crabs, cod
what fish does bottom trawling aim to catch?
lobsters and cod
what fish does dredging aim to catch?
lobsters, cod, other shellfish
what three categories are military conflicts typically put into?
local battles, regional/theater wars, global/world wars
what is stratospheric ozone?
located 17-30 km above sea level; blocks earth's surface from harmful uv radiation
what are westerlies?
located between 30 and 60 degrees latitude; blow west to east
what are trade winds?
located between the equator and 30 degrees latitude; blow from east to west
what are doldrums?
located near the equator; cause few winds
what are hadley cells?
located near the equator; where surface air warms, rises, expands, releasing moisture and heavy rainfall near the equator
what is the chinese three gorges dam?
located on the yangtze river; is the largest in the world; its reservoir stretches for 616 km; provides flood control, passage for boats, electricity
how was coal initially formed?
long ago, many giant plants died in large swampy parts of earth; over hundreds of millions of years, these plants were buried under water and dirt and compressed and heated until the plants became coal
what are greenbelts?
long and wide corridors of parklands that often encircle an entire urban area
what are polymers?
long chains of repeated molecules - the building blocks of life
describe climate in the tundra
long, bitter, cold winters with a 10 week annual growing season
what population density makes finding mates hardest?
low density - but individuals enjoy plentiful resources and space
what type of uranium is used in commercial reactors?
low enriched uranium
what are the downsides to alternative fossil fuels?
low net energy values since they're expensive to extract and process; extraction processes devastate landscapes and pollute waterways; their combustion pollutes the atmosphere just as much as crude oil, coal, gas
how can windows generate passive solar energy?
low south-facing windows maximize heat in the winter, while overhangs on windows block light from above in the summer
what does a high ld50 indicate?
low toxicity
what are scrubbers?
machines installed in power plants to remove sulfur from coal smoke so it doesn't get into the air
what are control rods?
made of a metallic alloy that absorbs neutrons and are placed into the reactor among the water-bathed fuel rods
list the steps of the rock cycle
magma and lava, igneous rock, weathering/erosion/transport of rock, sedimentary rock, sedimentary rock heating, metamorphic rock; can melt as either igneous or metamorphic
what event convinced australia to join the kyoto protocol?
major drought
what is a biome?
major regional complex of similar communities recognized by plant type and vegetation structure
what events usually cause oil pollution?
major spills from routine maritime operations
what are breeder reactors?
make use of u-238, which in conventional fission goes unused as a waste product; are more dangerous than conventional reactors since highly reactive liquid sodium is used as a coolant, raising the risk of explosive accidents; are also more expensive than conventional reactors; all but a handful of the world's breeder reactors have been shut down
why do we categorize the earth's environmental systems?
makes earth's complexity comprehensible
what are the positives of monocultures?
makes planting and harvesting more efficient - thereby increases output
what is nitrogen?
makes up 78% of our atmosphere; is found in proteins, dna, rna
what is the usda criteria for livestock to be considered organic?
mammals must be raised organically from the last third of gestation and poultry must be raised organically from the second day of life; feed must be 100% organic but vitamin and mineral supplements are allowed; dairy cows must receive 80% organic feed for 9 months followed by 3 months of 100% organic feed; hormones and antibiotics are prohibited but vaccines are permitted; animals must have access to the outdoors
what is the controversy of the kyoto protocol?
many believe protocol doesn't go far enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; many also believe that its costs outweigh its benefits - protocol is too optimistic and can never be accomplished
what is a polyculture?
many crop types
list some common pieces of evidence for hormone disruption
many frogs have gonadal abnormalities as male frogs became feminized from herbicide concentrations well below the epa's limit; newborns contaminated by pcb plastics were born weighing less with smaller heads
what is colony collapse disorder?
mass death of honeybees in the united states due to what scientists believe is possible insecticide exposure, and unknown parasite, or a combination of stresses that weaken beees' immune systems and destroy social communication within the hive
what is a coral reef?
mass of calcium carbonate composed of the skeletons of corals; consists of millions of densely packed individuals; protects shorelines by absorbing waves
what is bedrock?
mass of solid rock that makes up earth's crust
what are mass extinction events?
massive numbers of species - 50-95 percent of all species - were killed off at once
what is the law of conservation of matter?
matter can be transformed from one type of substance into others but cannot be created or destroyed
how does organic matter pollute water?
matter includes agricultural waste which increases biological oxygen demands
what do urban sustainability advocates urge cities to encourage among their citizens?
maximize efficient use of resources, recycle as much as possible, develop environmentally friendly technologies, account fully for external costs, offer tax incentives to encourage sustainable practices. use locally produced resources, use organic waste and wastewater to restore soil fertility, encourage urban agriculture
what is a carrying capacity?
maximum population size of a species that its environment can sustain as limiting factors slow and stop exponential growth, thus creating an s shaped logistic growth curve
what are the cons of hydropower?
may affect marine life; will alter water flow
why is light pollution bad?
may impair sleep and obscure the night sky
what are survivorship curves?
measure of likelihood of death varying with age
what is bathymetry?
measurement of ocean depths
what is atmospheric pressure?
measures the force per unit area produced by a column of air; decreases with altitude
what is regional metamorphism?
metamorphism affecting rocks over an extensive area as a result of the large-scale action of heat and pressure
what is contact metamorphism?
metamorphism due to contact with or proximity to an igneous intrusion
what is the simplest hydrocarbon?
methane
what is coalbed methane?
methane coming from coal seams; leaks into the atmosphere during mining
what is surface mining?
method of coal mining used to extract about 1/3 of coal in the us; can be used when coal is buried less than 200 ft underground
what is the panspermia life hypothesis?
microbes from space traveled on meteorites to earth
what constitutes the base of the marine food chain in the pelagic zone?
microscopic phytoplankton such as algae, protists, cyanobacteria
what are the main parts of america currently struggling with acid rainfall?
midwest to the northeast
how are mined coal areas reclaimed?
mined dirt and rock are placed back into the pit, topsoil is replaced, area is seeded
what is inorganic fertilizer?
mined/synthetically manufactured mineral supplements; during the latter half of the 20th century, farmers in industrialized nations experienced the green revolution's embrace of inorganic fertilizers; the use of these has boosted our food production, but the application has triggered increasingly severe pollution problems; inorganic fertilizers are more susceptible to leaching, runoff, and more readily contaminated groundwater
what are the advantages of in situ mining?
miners are not directly exposed to uranium; less expensive; no solid waste; less costly thanks to no expensive infrastructure; less ground disturbance
what are the ten principles of smart growth?
mix land uses; take advantage of compact building design; create a range of housing opportunities and choices; create walkable neighborhoods; foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place; preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, critical environmental areas; strengthen existing communities and direct development toward them; provide a variety of transportation choices; make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost-effective; encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions
what is compost?
mixture produced when decomposers break down organic matter such as food and crop waste in a controlled environment
what is demographic transition?
models a process that has taken some populations from a pre-industrial stage of high birth rates and high death rates to a post-industrial stage of low birth rates and low death rates
what are compounds?
molecule composed of atoms of two or more different elements
what are enzymes?
molecules that promote certain chemical reactions
what is the type 1 survivorship curve?
more deaths at older ages
what is the type 3 survivorship curve?
more deaths at young ages
what is a nonpoint source of air pollution?
more diffuse; consisting of many small sources; ex automobiles
what types of inorganic chemicals can pollute water?
most acids, bases, salts
what is ethanol?
most common biofuel made from corn
what is anthracite?
most compressed type of peat - has the most energy
how do environmental variables influence whether a city will succeed?
most major cities are located along major rivers, sea costs, railroads, or highways - some corridor for trade that has driven economic growth
what is urbanism?
movement among architects, planners, and developers to design neighborhoods on a walkable scale
what are eukaryotes?
multi-celled organisms containing internal structures called organelles; are found in plants, animals, fungi, protists
what is symbiosis?
mutualism in which the organisms live in close physical contact; each partner provides a service the other needs such as food, protection, housing, etc; ex. microbes within digestive tracts, mycorrhizae such as plant roots and fungi, coral and algae, pollination
what are the four factors of population change?
natality, mortality, immigration, emigration
what's the flaw with the montreal protocol?
nations can ask for exemptions to the ban
what are renewable natural resources?
natural resources that can be replenished over short periods of time
how does predation have evolutionary ramifications?
natural selection leads to evolution of adaptations that make predators hunters; individuals who are better at catching prey live longer healthier lives and take better care of offspring; prey face strong selection pressures and are at risk of immediate death, causing prey to develop elaborate defenses against being eaten
what toxic hazards are in food?
natural toxins, pesticide and herbicide residue
what is the second law of thermodynamics?
nature of energy changes from a more-ordered to less-ordered state
in what part of earth is solar radiation highest?
near the equator
what are electrons?
negatively charged particles surrounding an atom's nucleus; balances the positively charged protons
what issues will quickly lead to societal collapses?
neglect of land, failure by people to protect the environment, loss of all natural resources
what is species coexistence?
neither species fully excludes the other, so both live side by side; this produces a stable point of equilibrium with stable population sizes; species minimize competition by using only a part of the available resources
what is a system?
network of relationships among parts, elements, components that interact with and influence one another as they exchange energy, matter, or information; they process inputs to produce outputs
what is a metapopulation?
network of separated subpopulations each occupying a patch in a mosaic; some individuals may move among patches or mate with those of other patches; subpopulations in small, isolated patches risk extinction
what are neutrons?
neutrally charged particles located in the nucleus
what occurs in a nuclear chain reaction?
neutron hits a u-235 nucleus and splits the atom, thus releasing that atom's neutrons that go on to split more atoms, and so on
what limits oceans?
nitrogen
what limits plant and algae growth?
nitrogen and phosphorus
what is the chemical makeup of photochemical smog?
nitrogen oxides and organic compounds
what chemicals cause soil to be fairly neutral in terms of acidity?
nitrogen, calcium
what is an unconfined aquifer?
no upper layer confines it; is readily recharged by surface water
what are the cons of using coal as a fuel?
non-renewable, causes severe environmental health and safety impacts, releases sulfur and nitrous oxide which both cause acid rain, has high levels of radiation, largest contributor to global warming
what are the cons of using natural gas as a fuel?
non-renewable, contains 80-95% methane which is a potent greenhouse gas, causes environmental risks due to its fracking, is explosive and flammable
what are the cons of using oil as a fuel?
non-renewable, environmental pollutant, mining for it can cause oil leaks and drill disasters, releases chemicals that contribute to acid rain
what are invasive species?
nonnative/exotic organisms that spread widely and become dominant in a community; introduced deliberately or accidentally from elsewhere; growth limiting factors are removed or absent; they have major ecological effects, though some species such as european honeybees can help people
what are some examples of nonrenewable resources?
nonrecyclable energy resources, recyclable metallic resources, nonrecyclable nonmetallic mineral resources
what type of energy source is coal?
nonrenewable - takes millions of years to form
what type of energy source is propane?
nonrenewable - we can't make more propane in a short period of time
what is petroleum?
nonrenewable gasoline found underground; aka oil/crude oil; can be thick and black as tar or thin as water; filled with energy; can be used to create fuels such as gasoline, kerosene, heating oil; can also be made into plastic
describe climate in the tropical rainforest
nonseasonal with temperatures around 80 degrees f year round; humid
what is the coriolis effect?
north-south air currents of convective cells appear to be deflected from a straight path, resulting in curving global wind patterns
what part of america is most prone to acid deposition?
northeast
why can location be a drawback to solar energy?
not all regions are sunny enough to provide enough solar power with current technology; daily and seasonal variations can also pose problems
what are the cons of solar energy?
not available at night; expensive; exotic and fragile materials required; only 40% of it is usable, which is why we need so many panels
are cities bad for the environment?
not necessarily - cities have a mix of consequences, but the widespread impression that urban living is less environmentally friendly than rural living is largely a misconception because of cities' walkability thanks to a high density of resources
what are the most developed and widely used alternative energy sources?
nuclear energy, hydroelectric power, energy from biomass
what are the drawbacks of nuclear power?
nuclear waste is radioactive; if an accident occurs at a power plant, the consequences can potentially be catastrophic
what is a crude birth rate?
number of births per 1000 individuals per year
what is population size?
number of individual organisms present at a given time; number can increase, decrease, cycle, remain the same
what is population density?
number of individuals in a population per unit area
what is a hatchery?
nursery for breeding and raising fish in captivity; fish raised here can either be released or used in aquaculture; environmental hazard of captive-raised fish occurs when large quantities of hatchery-raised fish are released into the wild at once, thus overwhelming a habitat
what are the effects of acid deposition?
nutrients are leached from topsoil; soil chemistry is changed; metal ions are converted into soluble forms that pollute water; widespread tree mortality; kills fish; damages agricultural crops; erodes stone buildings, corrodes cars, erases writing on tombstones
what are micronutrients?
nutrients needed in smaller amounts that stimulate plant production
what are the environmental implications of over-applying fertilizer?
nutrients not taken up by plants end up elsewhere - nitrates can leach into aquifers and contaminate drinking water; runoff of phosphates and nitrogen compounds can alter the ecology of waterways through eutrophication; compounds such as nitrogen oxides may pollute the air
what are macronutrients?
nutrients required in larger amounts - nitrogen, carbon, phosphorous
what is the uppermost soil horizon called?
o/organic horizon; litter layer
what are the steps of ecological modeling?
observe relationships in nature, design a hypothesis to explain relationships, construct model, predict relationships in nature, gather new data, refine model
what are salt marshes?
occur along coasts at temperate latitude in which tides wash over gently sloping sandy, silty substrates; have high primary productivity; are a critical habitat for birds, commercial fish, shellfish species; filter pollution; stabilize shorelines against storm surges
what is the green revolution?
occurred around 1950 due to desire for greater quantity and quality of food for our growing population - introduced new technology, crop varieties, and farming practices to the developing world that dramatically increased yields and helped millions avoid starvation
what is intraspecific competition?
occurs between members of the same species; high population density = increased competition
what is deposition?
occurs when eroded material is deposited at a new location; sometimes leads to formation of new soils
what is saltwater intrusion?
occurs when excessive amounts of water are removed from a fresh water aquifer and adjacent saline water moves in to replace the fresh water
what is hydrothermal metamorphism?
occurs when hot, chemically active mineral-laden waters interact with a surrounding pre-existing rock called the country rock; usually takes place at low pressures and relatively low temperatures
what is subsidence?
occurs when the ground level drops due to excessive removal of water from an underground aquifer
what is coral bleaching?
occurs when zooxanthellae leave the coral, causing coral to lose their color and die
what is otec?
ocean thermal energy conversion
what are the consequences of having extra heat energy trapped in oceans?
ocean-based storms get stronger; warmer oceans are evaporating more water vapor into the skies, causing average humidity worldwide to go up 4% - this humidity leads to massive record-breaking downpours; more lightning
what is a la nina?
oceanic event causing cold surface water
what is an el nino?
oceanic event causing warm surface water
what is the second largest carbon reservoir?
oceans; compounds enter the oceans from runoff from land or defecation from marine organisms; carbon dioxide dissolves directly into the water from the atmosphere, making the water more acidic
what is mercaptan?
odorant added to propane and all other natural gases to serve as a warning agent for escaping gas, because natural gas is otherwise colorless and oderless
where are most hypoxic dead zones located?
off the coasts of europe and the us
what are oil wells?
oil supplies found when drilling into rocks; typically 1 mile deep
what are fossil fuels?
oil, coal, natural gas, etc; aids in mass production of factory made goods
what is true of species that continue growing as they age?
older individuals reproduce more; experience makes older individuals better breeders
what happened to china's population after they enacted their one-child policy?
older people outnumbered the young; today's youth will, as working-age adults, face pressures to support greater numbers of elderly citizens than they have previously
what is an oligotrophic body of water?
oligotrophic lakes have little/no nutrients are are therefore very clear with only minimum amounts of living things in them
what's the difference between earth and venus' climate?
on average, it's 59 degrees on earth and 855 degrees on earth venus
what is a monoculture?
one crop type
what is the world bank?
one of the world's largest funding sources for development and building dams, irrigation, infrastructure; funds unsustainable, environmentally damaging projects
what is the exploitative species interaction?
one species benefits and the other is harmed - includes predation, parasitism, herbivory; a +/- interaction
what is competitive exclusion?
one species completely excludes another from using the resource like in the case study
what is a perpetual resource?
one that continuously renews; ex. solar power
what is an anaerobic environment?
one that has little or no oxygen; ie bottoms of deep lakes, swamps, shallow seas
what is anthropocentrism?
only humans have rights
what is the limnetic zone?
open portions of the lake or pond where the sunlight penetrates the shallow waters
what are distribution terminals?
operated by propane companies; function like warehouses that store merchandise before shipping it to shops
what are chloroplasts?
organelles where photosynthesis occurs; contain chlorophyll - a light absorbing pigment
what is peat?
organic material broken down anaerobically but remains wet; found near the surface and not well compressed
what does the a horizon consist of?
organic material mixed with mineral components
what is biomass?
organic material that makes up living organisms
what does the o horizon consist of?
organic matter deposited by organisms
what is kerogen?
organic matter that results when carbon bonds begin breaking; is the source material for natural gas and crude oil
what is a disease vector?
organism that transfers a pathogen to a host
what is biotic potential?
organism's capacity to produce offspring
what is a niche?
organism's use of resources along with its functional role in a community; ie habitat use, food selection, role in energy and nutrient flow, interactions with other individuals
what are genomes?
organisms genes that are divided into chromosomes
how is energy lost in the trophic level flow?
organisms lose heat through cellular respiration; only a small amount of that energy is transferred to the next level through predation, herbivory, parasitism
describe the logic of natural selection
organisms struggle to survive and reproduce, therefore, organisms tend to produce more offspring than can survive, therefore, some individuals will be better suited to their environment than other individuals; some individuals will produce more offspring or offspring of higher quality than others, thus transmitting more genes to future generations; many characteristics are inherited by offsprings from parents, therefore, future generations will contain more genes and more characteristics of better producing individuals; as a result, characteristics will evolve across generations through time
what are detritivores and decomposers?
organisms that consume nonliving organic matter; enrich soils and/or recycle nutrients found in dead organisms
what are heterotrophs?
organisms that gain energy by feeding on others; ex. animals, fungi, microbes
what may happen as the population of one species declines?
other species may appear; ex. as monteverde dried out, species disappeared such as golden toads, harlequin frogs, and more as they were pushed from their cloud-forest habitat into extinction - 20 of 50 frog species and 2 lizard species went extinct as 15 species from lower and drier habitats appeared
how can the easter island disaster relate to our modern day lives?
our rising population confronts seeking resources; corrective action is blocked by vested interests, by well intentioned political and business leaders, by electorates - all of whom are perfectly correct in not noticing big changes from year to year
how long has propane been used as a fuel for transportation?
over 50 years
how many hypoxic dead zones occur globally?
over 500; some are seasonal, others are permanent
how many people could potentially be living on earth by 2050?
over 9 billion
what are the three ways that humans have made fields more vulnerable to erosion?
over-cultivating fields through poor planning or excessive tilling, grazing rangeland with more livestock than the land can support, clearing forests on steep slopes or with large clear-cuts
what is a phase/regime shift?
overall character of community's fundamentals change; some crucial threshold is passed, a keystone species is lost, an exotic species invades; ex overfishing and depletion of fish and turtles has allowed algae to dominate corals
what is waterlogging?
overirrigated soils saturated with water may experience this when the water table rises to the point that water drowns plant rods
how have humans influenced the nitrogen cycle?
overuse of fertilizers has negative side effects such as increased flux of nitrogen from atmosphere to land, causes eutrophication is estuaries, coastal ecosystems, fisheries, washes essential nutrients out of the soil; burning fossil fuels adds nitrogen compounds to the atmosphere that contribute to acid precipitation; human activity has doubled the amount of nitrogen entering the environment, overwhelming nature's denitrification abilities
what is a hydrogen bond?
oxygen from one molecule attracts hydrogen atoms of another
what is downwelling?
oxygen-rich water sinks where surface currents come together
what is the ozone layer?
ozone in the lower stratosphere
give an example of biocontrol
parasitoid wasps are the natural enemies of many caterpillars
why was the initial population growth from the industrial revolution a good thing?
parents would have more children to support them into old age; society had a greater pool of labor for factory work
what is percolation?
part of the hydrologic cycle - when it rains, water infiltrates the soil, dissolves some of its components, and carries them downward
what is lead?
particle pollutant added to gas and used in industrial metal smelting; bioaccumulates and causes nervous system malfunction; banned in gasoline in developed countries but not banned in developing countries
how big is silt?
particles are .002-.05mm in diameter
how big is sand?
particles are .05-2mm
how big is clay?
particles are less than .002mm in diameter
what are preservationists?
people devoted to setting aside and preserving the natural landscapes that are left
how did people collect petroleum before digging for it?
people gathered oil that seeped from underground into ponds and floated on top of the water
what is a subsistence economy?
people get their daily needs directly from nature - they do not purchase or trade
what is photosynthesis?
performed by plants, algae, cyanobacteria; removes carbon dioxide from air and water, produces oxygen and carbohydrates; makes plants a major reservoir of carbon
what does respiration do?
performed by plants, consumers, decomposers; returns carbon to the air and oceans
what are tides?
periodic rising and falling of the ocean's height due to the gravitational pull of the sun and moon, causing intertidal organisms to spend part of their time submerged in water and part of their time exposed to sun and wind
what types of events can proxy indicators indicate?
periodic/recurring variations, sudden/severe events, gradual trends
what technologies decrease sulfur dioxide output?
permit trading programs and clean coal technologies
what are the three basic types of resources?
perpetual resources, renewable resources, nonrenewable resources
what is environmental policy?
pertains to human interactions with the environment - regulates resource use/reduces pollution
what toxic hazards are in water?
pesticide and herbicide runoff, nitrates and fertilizer runoff, mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metals in groundwater and surface water
what typically happens to countries that support ipm?
pesticide production and imports get reduced, pesticide subsidies get phased out, crop yields increase
what things do evolutionary processes effect?
pesticide resistance, agriculture growth, medicine, health, etc
what are some of the most widespread synthetic chemicals?
pesticides that we use to kill insects and weeds on farms, lawns, and golf courses
describe the cycle of the "evolutionary arms race"
pests attack crops, pesticide is applied, most pests are killed but a few with innate resistance survive, survivors breed and produce a pesticide resistant population, pesticide is applied again, pesticide has little effect so new and more toxic pesticides have to be developed
what is crude oil?
petroleum - mixture of hundreds of different types of hydrocarbon molecules; formed 1.5-3 km underground
what are community shifts?
phase shift or regime shift; once a community is disturbed and changes are set in motion, there is no guarantee that the community will ever return to its original state, causing shifts in which the overall character of the community fundamentally changes
what kinds of nutrients can pollute water?
phosphorous and nitrogen fertilizers can lead to eutrophication
what limits freshwater?
phosphorus
what chemicals cause soil to be strongly alkaline?
phosphorus, boron, molybdenum
what is net metering?
photovoltaic owners selling excess electricity to their local power utility
what is a common endocrine disruptor?
phthalate - a plastic used widely in children's toys, perfumes, cosmetics
what is topography?
physical geography/shape and arrangement of landforms
what are limiting factors?
physical, chemical, biological attributes of the environment that restrain population growth
what is weathering?
physical, chemical, biological process that converts rock particles into smaller particles
what are the main types of environmental health hazards?
physical, chemical, biological, cultural
what are ecosystem engineers?
physically modify the environment; ex beaver dams, prairie dogs, ants, zebra mussels
why is deep sea dredging bad?
picks up deep sea life indiscriminately
what is intercropping?
planting different crops in alternating bands or other spatially mixed arrangements; helps slow erosion by providing more ground cover than does a single crop
what are monocultures?
planting the same species of crops together
how do organisms influence soil formation?
plants and decomposers add organic matter to soil
what are legumes?
plants with specialized bacteria in their roots that fix nitrogen
what is a dose-response curve?
plotted data of proportion of animals exhibiting negative effects in a dose-response analysis
what is contour farming?
plowing furrows sideways across a hillside perpendicular to its slope and following the natural contours of the land; the side of each furrow acts as a small dam that slows runoff and captures soil
where does water pollution come from?
point source and non-point sources
what is public policy?
policy made by governments that consists of laws, regulations, orders, incentives, practices
what are the benefits and drawbacks of reducing demand for water?
politically difficult but offers better economic returns while causing less ecological and social damage
what are criteria pollutants?
pollutants judged to pose especially great threats to human health
how do wildfires pollute the earth naturally?
pollutes atmosphere with soot and gases; typically caused by cleared forests, harsh droughts, climate change, el nino
what is bioremediation?
pollution cleanup through enhanced natural biodegradation
how does pollution cause global warming?
pollution thickens the atmosphere and traps outgoing infrared
what are some of the major problems with aquaculture?
pollution, mixing of captive fish with wild stocks, excessive feeding
what are bogs?
ponds covered in thick floating mats of vegetation
what is a sink?
pool that accepts more nutrients than it releases
what is a source?
pool that releases more nutrients than it accepts
what is sex ratio?
population characteristic; proportion of males to females
what is the population growth rate as a percent?
population growth rate*100%; allows populations of different sizes to be compared
what are things that can negatively affect sustainability?
population growth, economic growth, 3rd world development, globalization
what is urbanization?
population shift from countryside to towns and cities
what does a diagram weighted heavily toward young age classes indicate?
population will grow quickly
what is a species?
population/group of populations whose members share characteristics and can breed with one another to produce fertile offspring
what is a zone of saturation?
pore spaces are completely filled with water
what is a zone of aeration?
pore spaces are partially filled with water
what is the most popular type of animal meat?
pork
what is a realized niche?
portion of the fundamental niche actually filled due to competition or other species' interactions
what are protons?
positively charged particles located in the nucleus
what is the final stage of demographic transition?
post-industrial stage; both birth and death rates are low and stable; population sizes have stabilized/declined slightly; society enjoys the conveniences of industrialization without a threat to exponential population growth
what chemicals cause soil to be everything but strongly acidic?
potassium, sulphur
what is chemical energy?
potential energy held int he bonds between atoms
how is subsurface mining harmful to human health?
potential for mine shaft to collapse; inhalation of coal dust can lead to fatal black lung disease
what type of animal meat has recently begun to grow in popularity?
poultry
what are the benefits of dams?
power generation, emission reduction, crop irrigation, drinking water, flood control, shipping, new recreational opportunities
list examples of point sources of water pollution
power plants, mining activities, chemical plants, sewage treatment plants, manufacturing facilities
what is zoning?
practice of classifying areas for different types of development and land use; involves government restriction on the use of personal property rights - for this reason, some people consider zoning a regulatory taking that violates individual freedoms
what is agriculture?
practice of raising crops and livestock for human use and consumption
what is energy conservation?
practice of reducing energy to extend the life of nonrenewable energy supplies, be less wasteful, reduce environmental impact
what is no-till farming?
practiced on 24% of us farmland in which weeds are not physically removed; a tractor pulls a no till drill that cuts furrows through the o horizon of dead weeds and crop residue and upper levels of the a horizon; the device drops seeds into the furrow and closes the furrow over the seeds, minimizing disturbance to the soil
what is customary law?
practices of customs held by most cultures
list two american restoration projects
prairie restoration - replanting native species, controlling invasive species; florida everglades - world's largest restoration project
what is the first stage of demographic transition?
pre-industrial stage characterized by conditions that have defined most of human history - both death rates and birth rates are high in this stage; death rates are high because disease is widespread, medical help is limited and not good, and food supplies are unreliable and difficult to obtain; birth rates are high because people are compensating for infant mortality by having several children; in this stage, children are viewed as valuable workers who can help meet family needs; populations in this phase of demographic transition are not likely to experience much growth
what is acid rain?
precipitation of acid
what is the water cycle?
precipitation to rivers, lakes ocean, aquifers, biota; water then evaporates and transpirates then precipitates again
list the four most common types of species interactions
predation, parasitism, competition, mutualism
what is a trophic cascade?
predators at high trophic levels indirectly affect populations at low trophic levels by keeping species at intermediate trophic levels in check; ex extermination of wolves led to increased deer populations, which overgrazed vegetation and changed forest structure
what is succession?
predictable series of changes in a community following a disturbance
what is the purpose of seed banks?
preserves crop diversity; preserves integrity of diverse native crop variants in preparation for potential failure of homogenized commercial crops
what is an environmentally sustainable society?
satisfies basic needs of its people without depleting/degrading natural resources - thereby preventing current and future generations of humans and other species from meeting their basic needs
what are detritivores?
scavenge waste products or dead bodies; ex millipedes and soil insects
what fish do purse seines aim to catch?
schooling fish such as sardines or squid
what is restoration ecology?
science of restoring an area to an earlier condition to restore the system's functionality; is difficult, time consuming, expensive - is best to protect natural systems from degradation in the first place
what is ecology?
science studying relationships between organisms and their environment
what is toxicology?
science that examines the effects of poisonous substances on humans and other organisms
how can we harness energy from the oceans?
scientists are devising ways to use kinetic energy from the natural motion of ocean water to generate electrical power - the rising and falling of ocean tides twice each day throughout the world create opportunities for harnessing tidal energy by erecting dams across the outlets of tidal basins
what are environmental scientists?
scientists that are using the concepts of natural and social sciences to help answer the following questions: how does the earth work? how do humans affect the environment? how do we deal with environmental problems that we face?
why are sea otters keystone species?
sea otters consume sea urchins that eat kelp in marine nearshore environments in the pacific; when otters are present, they keep urchin numbers down, which allows lush underwater kelp forests to grow and provide habitat for many other organisms; when otters are absent, sea urchins grow unchecked, devour the kelp, destroy the habitat, depress species diversity
describe climate in the taiga
seasonal with long cold winters and short summer growing season
what is the third trophic level?
secondary consumers - organisms that prey on primary consumers; ex wolves, rodents - carnivores that consume meat
what is electricity?
secondary form of energy that is easier to transfer and apply to a variety of uses
what are some ways that plants defend against herbivory?
secreting toxic/distasteful chemicals; thorns, spines, or irritating hairs; have other animals protect the plant
what is oil shale?
sedimentary rock filled with kerogen - an organic matter that can be processed to produce liquid petroleum; can be burned like coal or baked in hydrogen
list the steps of underground open-cut uranium mining
sent to closest mill; crushed and finely ground into a paste; sulphuric acid added; uranium-rich solution is filtered; uranium-rich solution is separated and dried into yellow cake; uranium oxide concentrate is exported; conversion
what are patches?
separate areas of similar habitats; are spread spatially in complex patterns called a mosaic; caused by human development; habitat corridors that link patches protect biodiversity
when was the montreal protocol ratified?
september 16, 1987
which national parks were established during or after 1890?
sequoia, general grant/kings canyon, yosemite, mount rainier. crater lake national park
what is a food chain?
series of feeding relationships
what is an ecosystem service?
service beneficial to the economy done naturally by the ecosystem
what is the environmental protection agency?
sets nationwide standards for emissions of toxic pollutants
what is the clean air act of 1970?
sets standards for air quality and limits on emissions; provides funds for pollution-control research; allows citizens to sue parties violating the standards
what is the safe drinking water act?
sets standards for contaminants in drinking water
list some examples of fresh water treatment for urban use
settling, filtration, disinfection with chlorine, ozone, iodine, uv radiation
what factors cause extinction?
severe weather, climate change, changing sea levels, new species, small populations, specialized species
what are freshwater marshes?
shallow water that allows plants to grow above the water's surface
what are swamps?
shallow water that occurs in forested areas; can be created by beavers
why are sharks keystone species?
sharks are apex predators that feed on cownose stingrays; cownose feed on bivalves and arthropods, keeping those populations stable; sharks are overfished and disappear, causing the ray population to explode until bivalves and arthropods disappear altogether, causing the rays to die
what is the least popular type of animal meat?
sheep and goats
what is a shellfish culture?
shellfish raised through this process are attached to ropes or mesh bags suspended in seawater; shellfish being filter-feeders makes them fairly-eco friendly, but the fish can easily detach themselves from the ropes and nets and become invasive species wherever they're being raised
name three structures inside a nuclear reactor plant that keeps uranium from interacting with the environment
shield building wall, containment vessel, dry well wall
how can industrial demand for water be reduced?
shift to processes that use less water: wastewater recycling, excess surface water runoff used for recharging aquifers, patching leaky pipes, auditing industries, promoting conservation/education
what is malnutrition?
shortage of nutrients in the body
what is sick building syndrome?
sickness produced by indoor pollution with general and nonspecific symptoms; solved by using low-toxicity building materials and good ventilation
how are blue fin tuna hunted?
spotters in planes can see the direction in which the fish are moving and they alert the fishermen; fish are then caught with either fishing rods or harpoons
what is urban sprawl?
spread of low-density urban or suburban development outward from an urban center
how do infectious diseases spread?
spread when pathogenic microbes attack us directly
how does groundwater become surface water?
springs or manmade wells
what do inputs and outputs do in systems?
stabilize each other
what is a dose-response analysis?
standard method of testing with lab animals in toxicology
what is an example of a complex carbohydrate?
starch
how will climate change affect aquatic ecosystems?
status of certain regions of the ocean as carbon sinks and sources will change; biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems may also decrease; hypoxic zones will expand; invasive species will become more common
what is the strategic petroleum reserve?
stockpile of one month's supply of oil in caverns under louisiana for use when world supplies run out
how are american nuclear plants expanding their fuel rod storage capacity?
storing waste in thick casks of steel, lead, concrete
where is earth's natural ozone housed?
stratosphere
what is the clean air act of 1990?
strengthens standards for auto emissions, toxic air pollutants, acidic deposition, stratospheric ozone depletion; introduced emissions trading
why is sprawl bad?
strip malls, homogenous commercial developments and tracts of cookie cutter houses encroach on farmland, ranchland, or forests; it suggests traffic jams, destruction of wildlife habitat, and loss of open space
what are greenways?
strips of land that connect parks or neighborhoods
what is a vested interest?
strong personal interests in the outcome of a decision that may result in one's private gain or loss for an individual
what is landscape ecology?
studies how interacting ecosystems affect the abundance, distribution, and interaction of organisms
what is community ecology?
studies living and nonliving components of systems to reveal patterns; ex nutrients and energy flows
what do community ecologists do?
study how species coexist and relate to one another; study how communities change and why patterns exist
what are conservation biologists?
study loss, protection, restoration of biodiversity
what is geology?
study of earth's physical features, processes, history
what are ethics?
study of good vs bad, right vs wrong
what are demographers?
study population size, density, distribution, age structure, sex ration, rates of birth, death, immigration, emigration of humans
name the four main types of economies
subsistence economy, capitalist market economy, centrally . planned economy, mixed economy
what is a moderator?
substance that slows down neutrons bombarding uranium; allows fission to begin in a nuclear reactor
what are toxic air pollutants?
substances known to cause cancer, reproductive defects, neurological/development/immune system/respiratory problems; some are produced naturally like hydrogen sulfide; most are produced by humans through smelting, sewage treatment, industry
what are mutagens?
substances that cause genetic mutations in the dna of organisms
what are fertilizers?
substances that contain essential nutrients
what is a shelf-slope break?
sudden drop off of the continental shelf
name particulate matters that are secondary pollutants
sulfates and nitrates
what is the chemical makeup of industrial smog?
sulfur dioxide and particulates
list some common impurities found in coal
sulfur, mercury, arsenic, other trace metals
what is the biosphere?
sum total of living things on earth and the areas they inhabit; also looks at abiotic/nonliving portions of the environment
what is the hydrologic cycle?
summarizes how liquid, gaseous, solid water flows through the environment; ocean is the main reservoir here
how are spent fuel rods stored?
sunk in pools of cooling water to minimize radiation leakage
what is renewable energy?
supplies of energy that will not be depleted by our use; ie sunlight, wind energy, tidal energy
what are the economic benefits of biomass energy?
supporting rural communities; reducing dependence of fossil fuel imports; improved energy efficiency; reduced air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide
list the layers of the ocean
surface zone, pycnocline, deep zone
describe the earth's mantle
surrounds earth's core; is a thick layer of less dense elastic rock; a portion of the upper mantle called the asthenosphere contains especially soft rock melted in some areas
what is sediment?
suspended soil particles caused by excessive erosion
what are plastics?
synthetic polymers best known by brand names such as nylon, teflon, kevlar; many are derived from petroleum hydrocarbons and are valuable because they resist chemical breakdown
what is a negative feedback loop?
system changes and moves in one direction - that movement acts as an output outwards and as an input back into the system; input then moves system in the other direction; represents most systems in nature
what are emergent properties?
system characteristics not evident in the components alone - whole is more than the sum of the parts
what is a positive feedback loop?
system output causing the system to change in the same way and drives it further toward one extreme or another; rare in nature but common in natural systems altered by humans
what is international emissions trading?
system where parties that have exceeded their emission reduction commitments must sell excess amounts of their units to countries that have not exceeded their amount
what are wetlands?
systems that combine elements of freshwater and dry land
how is quality of life determined?
takes into account health, life expectancy, family life, community life, material well being, political stability/security, climate, geography, job security, freedom, social justices, gender equality
what is most population growth attributable to?
technological advancements, improved sanitation, better medical care, increased agricultural output
what are scrubbers?
technologies that chemically convert/physically remove pollutants before they leave the smokestacks
what is remote sensing?
technology that allows scientists to take a landscape perspective
list some solutions for reducing demand for water
technology, market-based approaches, consumer products that increase efficiency in agriculture, industry, and the home
what is divergent plate boundary?
tectonic plates push apart from one another as magma - rock heated to a molten liquid state - rises upwards to the surface, creating a new lithosphere as it cools
how is ocean water vertically structured?
temperature declines with depth, heavier/colder/saltier water sinks, light/warmer/less salty water remains near the surface
why is erosion usually bad for ecosystems?
tends to occur quicker than soil can form, thus totally removing topsoils
what is the fourth trophic level?
tertiary consumers - predators at the highest trophic level that consume secondary consumers; ex hawks, owls - carnivores
what is a fecal coliform test?
tests the amount of e coli bacteria in a 100ml sample
what state drills the most oil?
texas
what is a well-known example of a teratogen?
thalidomide was a sleeping pill and anti-nausea pill developed in the 1950s that turned out to be a teratogen; caused birth defects in thousands of babies - even a single dose could cause limb deformities and organ defects
what happens if the total fertility rate drops below the replacement fertility in some region of the world?
that region will experience a shrinking population
describe the third wave of american environmental policy
the country was better off economically, but lived with dirtier air and water along with more waste and toxic chemicals; increased awareness of environmental problems shifted public priorities and policy; rachel carson's book silent spring, published in 1962, described the negative ecological and health effects of pesticides and industrial chemicals
how did the apollo mission launch the modern environmental movement?
the earthrise picture inspired the first earth day
why is petroleum nonrenewable?
the petroleum we use today was made years ago - it took hundreds of millions of years to form, so we cannot make more in a short time; us couldn't drill enough oil to meet our needs, so we buy 48% of the oil we use from other countries
why are deep sea sponges important to humans directly?
the protective chemicals that they secrete could be key to preventing cancer cell growth
what is replacement fertility?
the total fertility rate that keeps the size of a population stable
what's the problem with vocs being released in very small amounts?
their health implications are unclear due to their low concentrations
what are the eleven major water pollutants?
thermal pollution, sewage, sediment, radioactive waste, nutrients, organic chemicals, organic matter, heavy metals, inorganic chemicals, oil, garbage
what is the top layer of the atmosphere?
thermosphere
why do the days of equatorial regions average 12 hours throughout the year?
these regions are unaffected by the earth's tilt
what's bad about greenhouse gases?
they absorb energy and trap heat in the atmosphere
why are artificial wetlands good?
they can cleanse wastewater; constructed wetlands serve as havens for wildlife and as areas for human recreation
what are plastics problematic?
they cause long-lasting waste and pollution such as health problems for wildlife and water quality issues - we must design less-polluting alternatives and increase recycling
why are systems hard to study?
they connect to other systems and do not have sharp boundaries
what's wrong with removing coral reef fiSHES from their habitats before they have matured?
they don't have time to reproduce before being caught
how do geologists map underground rock formations?
they drill rock cores and conduct ground, air, seismic surveys
why are governments so slow to address global warming?
they fail to comprehend the urgency of the problem
how do municipalities treat drinking water?
they filter and disinfect it in a multistep process
how are cities and towns resource sinks?
they have to import from source areas beyond their borders nearly everything they need to feed, clothe, and house their inhabitants; they rely on large expanses of land elsewhere to supply food, fiber, water, timber, metal ores, and mined fuels; long-distance transportation of resources and goods from countryside to city requires a great deal of fossil fuel use and thus has considerable environmental impacts
what is the significance of oceans?
they influence global climate, team with biodiversity, facilitate transportation and commerce, and provide resources for us
why does human society depend on healthy ecosystems?
they provide goods and services we need to survive
how do feedlots contribute to air pollution?
they release voluminous amounts of methane, hydrogen, sulfide, ammonia; people living or working nearby have high rates of respiratory problems
what's the problem with aging nuclear plants?
they require more maintenance and are less safe
how are wetlands valuable for wildlife?
they slow runoff, reduce flooding, recharge aquifers, filter pollutants
why do organisms need natural selection?
they struggle to survive and reproduce then often produce more offspring than can survive; individuals in a species vary in their characteristics due to genes in the environment, which makes some individuals better suited to their environment and are able to reproduce more quickly
describe deep water coral
they thrive in waters outside of the tropics on the ocean floor at depths of 650-1650 ft
how common are hotter than average days on earth?
they're 150% more common than they were just 30 years ago
why are environmental laws unpopular?
they're challenged, derided, and ignored; involve government regulations that businesses and individuals view as overly restrictive and unresponsive to human needs
why are cars and trucks not contributing as much to the global warming crisis as some may think?
they're more heavily regulated than buildings
why are new renewables considered "new"?
they're not yet used on a wide scale, their technologies are still in a rapid phase of development, they will play a much larger role in our energy use in the future
what type of topsoil is ideal for farming?
thick rich topsoil
what is the atmosphere?
thin layer of gases that surrounds earth
describe the earth's crust
thin, brittle, low-density layer of rock that covers the earth's surface; intense heat in the inner earth rises from core to mantel to crust before dissipating at the surface; in regions where the asthenosphere's molten rock approaches to within a few miles of the surface, we can harness geothermal energy by drilling boreholes into the crust
list some critiques of no-till farming
this approach often requires heavy use of chemical herbicides and synthetic herbicides, since non-crop plants take up a significant portion of soil nutrients
what is the driving force behind much environmental policy?
threat of overexploitation
why are rising sea levels bad?
threatens homes, agriculture, industry, human safety
what is the world's largest dam?
three gorges dam in china
how is oil shipped?
through ships, trucks, or pipelines
what are corals?
tiny colonial marine organisms related to sea anemones and jellyfish; attach to rock/existing reef and capture passing food with stinging tentacles; derive nourishment from symbiotic algae called zooxanthallae
how do farms use propane?
to dry crops, ripen fruit, heat water, refrigerate foods, fuel farm equipment; propane flamethrowers control weeds
when is the term "ecosystem" most often applied?
to self-contained systems of moderate geographic extent
what are the most dangerous indoor pollutants in the developed world?
tobacco smoke and radon
what is a water table?
top of the zone of saturation in an underground aquifer
in general, what are the three types of soil horizons?
topsoil, subsoil, parent material
what typically happens to the population of nations that invest in family planning and establish societal conditions that promote low fertility?
total fertility rate reduced
what are toxins?
toxic chemicals manufactured in the tissues of living organisms
what is acid rain?
toxic precipitation consisting of sulfur from coal that has mixed with oxygen to form sulfur dioxide
what is a toxicant?
toxic substance/poison
what are endocrine disruptors?
toxicants that interfere with the endocrine/hormone system
what is an adaptive trait?
trait that promotes reproductive success
what is disruptive selection?
traits diverge in two or more directions
what is natural selection?
traits that enhance survival and reproduction; are passed on more frequently to future generations than traits that don't benefit the organism; is one of the best supported and most illuminating concepts in all science - the standpoint of modern biology; must be understood to appreciate environmental science
what is terracing?
transforms slopes into a series of steps like a staircase, enabling farmers to cultivate hilly land without losing huge amounts of soil due to water erosion
what is the second stage of demographic transition?
transitional stage; transition from pre-industrial to industrial characterized by declining death rates
what are ecotones?
transitional zone between two ecosystems where elements of each ecosystem mix
what are the most damaging methods of fishing?
trawling, dredging, longlining, purse seining
what are ways to remove pathogens from water?
treat sewage, disinfect drinking water, public education to encourage personal hygiene, government enforcement of regulations
what are some examples of proxy indicators?
tree rings, freshwater levels, ocean levels, isotopes
what are mangroves?
trees with unique roots that curve upwards for oxygen and downwards for support; serve as nurseries for commercial fish and shellfish, nesting areas for birds; provide food, medicine, tools, construction materials for humans
how are feeding relationships represented?
trophic levels and food webs
what part of the earth has the most biodiversity?
tropical rainforests
list the layers of the atmosphere from lowest to highest
troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere
what fish do drifting longlines aim to catch?
tuna and swordfish
what fish do jigs aim to catch?
tuna, snapper, grouper
what is mutualism?
two or more species benefit from their interactions
what is continental collision?
two plates of continental lithospheres meet to form large mountain ranges
list factors that shape people's worldviews
type of communities/societies or nation; religion; political ideology; economics; individual interests
what are allergens?
type of toxicant that overactivates the immune system
what is the response in a dose-response analysis?
type or magnitude of negatives effects the animal exhibits as a result of a dose
what problems does warm water cause?
typically occurs due to industrial cooling or removal of streamside cover; dissolved oxygen decreases as temperature increases
what are indicator species?
typically the first species in the area to show decline in population when there is a chemical toxic present
what is bag/rack farming?
typically used when farming shellfish; juvenile shellfish from hatcheries grow and live in these rows of bags sitting in shallow parts of the ocean near the shore; this is a fairly eco-friendly farming method since shellfish are filter-feeders
what form of uranium is used in power generation?
u-235
what type of uranium does enriched uranium contain?
u-235
what are the types of development approaches that can lead to sprawl?
uncentered commercial strip development, low density single use development, scattered/leapfrog development, sparse street network
where is oil most commonly found?
under oceans and along shores
what are aquifers?
underground reservoirs of groundwater found in spongelike regions of rock and soil; recharges from water seeping through soil; water in some aquifers may be thousands of years old and take many years to recharge
what are the three methods of mining uranium?
underground, open cut, in situ leaching
what is noise pollution?
undesired ambient sound that degrades one's surroundings aesthetically, cause stress, and can harm hearing
what is smog?
unhealthy mixtures of air pollutants over urban areas
what country produces the most genetically modified crops?
united states
what countries are the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gasses?
united states and china
what is convergent evolution?
unrelated species evolve similar traits because they live in similar environments
what type of atoms emit radioactivity?
unstable atoms
what do environmental economists believe?
unsustainable economies have high population growth and inefficient resource us - modify neoclassical economics to increase efficiency; they call for reform
what are the consequences of dust farms?
unsustainable farming and grazing; erosion and desertification
how much could a blue fin fish cost in the japanese market?
up to 100k pounds
what is a water table?
upper limit of groundwater in an aquifer; groundwater becomes exposed to the air where the water table reaches the surface; exposed water runs off to the ocean or evaporates
what atom has one of the longest half-lives?
uranium 235 - used in commercial nuclear power
what does UF6 stand for?
uranium hexafluoride
why is nuclear waste disposal difficult?
uranium, plutonium, and other radioisotopes have long half lives that will cause them to continue emitting radiation for thousands of years
list examples of non-point sources of water pollution
urban runoff and erosion from poor agricultural and tree harvesting practices
what are some examples of environmental degradation?
urbanization, deforestation, decrease in biodiversity
discuss the future of us nuclear energy
us industry has stopped building plants even though expanding nuclear capacity would decrease reliance on fossil fuels; engineers are planning ways to make nuclear power plants safer and less expensive
how do chemosynthetic bacteria produce their own food?
use geothermal energy in hot springs/deep vents
how can indoor air pollution be reduced in developed countries?
use low-toxicity material, monitor air quality, keep rooms clean, limit exposure to chemicals
what is chemosynthesis?
use of energy in hydrogen sulfide to produce sugar
what is hydroelectric power?
use of kinetic energy of moving water to turn turbines and generate electricity
what is the rule of 70?
used to estimate doubling times
what are submersible net pens?
used when farming fish offshore; since these pens are open and submerged in seawater that houses many native species, the farms can pose a threat to the local ecosystem due to the waste, uneaten foods, and chemicals from the pens that other organisms may be exposed to
what is reuse?
using a resource over and over in the same form
how is wastewater treated in rural areas?
using septic systems
what do global warming skeptics believe the cause in earth's temperature change is?
variations in energy coming from the sun
what are currents?
vast riverlike flows driven by density differences, heating and cooling, gravity, wind; influence global climate - el nino and la nina; transports heat, nutrients, pollution and the larvae of many marine species
what would happen if the arctic national wildlife refuge was drilled?
vegetation killed; degraded air and water quality; roads fragment habitat; prospecting and drilling disrupts wildlife
what planet is the exact same size as earth?
venus
what is upwelling?
vertical flow of cold, deep water towards the surface; leads to high primary productivity and lucrative fisheries; can occur when strong winds blow away from/parallel to coastlines
what are some characteristics of loam?
very porous, retains moisture, optimal soil type
what is dredging?
very similar to trawling, except instead of nets, dredges are metal baskets that were specifically designed to dig into the ocean floor; like trawls, dredging produces large quantities of bycatch and damages the natural sea floor
how do pathogens and waterborne diseases enter our water supply?
via inadequately treated human waste and animal waste from feedlots
who was frederick clements?
viewed communities as cohesive entities with integrated parts; its members remain associated over space and time as the community shared similar limiting factors and evolutionary histories
what is a food web?
visual map of feeding relationships and energy flow; includes many different organisms at all various levels; greatly simplified - leaves out most species
what is an el nino?
warm phase; ocean atmospheric interaction linked to a periodic warming in sea surface temperatures across central and east-central equatorial pacific; effects typically occur during the winter over north america and include warmer temperatures in western and central canada, wetter conditions in the gulf coast and florida, and drier conditions in the ohio valley and pacific northwest
what is the surface zone?
warmed by sunlight and stirred by wind; consistent water density
describe the air near earth's surface
warmer and moister than air at higher latitudes
what events are causing rising sea levels?
warming - water expands with the increase of global temperatures; added water of melted ice sheets and glaciers
what is the natural resources conservation service?
was known as the soil conservation service until 1994 when its responsibilities expanded to include water quality protection and pollution control
why is petroleum called fossil fuel?
was made from plants and animals; energy in petroleum came from energy in plants and animals that were once living
what is the aral sea?
was once the fourth-largest lake on earth but has now lost more than 80% of its volume in 45 years after the two rivers leading into the aral sea were diverted to irrigate cotton fields
what is the earliest example of city planning in the united states?
washington dc - george washington hired french architect pierre chalres l'enfant in 1791 to design the city
what are estuaries?
water bodies where rivers flow into the ocean; experiences wide fluctuations in salinity; critical habitat for
what is groundwater?
water found underground beneath layers of soil
what is consumptive water use?
water is removed from an aquifer or surface body water and is not returned
how does groundwater transport toxicants?
water running off from land often picks up toxicants from large areas and concentrates them in small volumes of surface water; these chemicals have a chance of persisting in soil as well
what happens as aquifers become depleted?
water tables drop, salt water intrudes in coastal areas, sinkholes, wetlands dry up
what is the profundal zone?
water that sunlight does not reach; area supports fewer animals, because there is less oxygen
list some common greenhouse gases
water vapor, co2, methane, nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases
why are ocean temperatures more stable than land temperatures?
water's high heat capacity - it takes much more heat to warm water than air
what is a confined/artesian aquifer?
water-bearing, porous rocks are trapped between layers of less permeable substrate such as clay; is under a lot of pressure
what does overirrigation lead to?
waterlogging, salinization, lost farming income
what part of the ocean is experiencing a radical depletion of oxygen?
waters bordering the indian subcontinent
why will nutrient enrichment always be an important issue to address?
we always rely on nutrient rich synthetic fertilizers and fossil fuels
how can humans effect their carrying capacity?
we are capable of raising it by developing technology to overcome the natural limits on our population growth
why is consumption of water in most of the world an unsustainable activity?
we are depleting many sources of surface water and groundwater
when do eroi ratios decline?
we extract the easiest deposits first and now must work harder to extract the remaining reserves
what happens when the human carrying capacity is increased?
we have reduced the carrying capacity for countless other organisms, calling into question our own long-term survival
what are the benefits of studying biomes and communities?
we learn how the world functions
what is the advantage of thinking in terms of systems?
we learn how to avoid disrupting earth's processes and how to mitigate any disruptions we cause
what does a higher eroi ratio mean?
we receive more energy than we invest
what would happen if wealthy, developed countries were removed from the global warming situation?
we'd still be having a climate change crisis
describe our current extinction crisis
we're in danger of losing 50% of all living species on earth by the end of this century; land-based plants and animals are moving towards the poles at an average rate of 15 ft per day
why are we destroying mangrove habitats?
we're replacing them with large-scale fishing farms
what is capital?
wealth used to sustain a business and generate more wealth
why is natural selection good?
weeds out unfit individuals, elaborates and diversifies traits that may produce new species
what are the main parts of the world currently struggling with acid rainfall?
western europe to the arctic, midwest out of the mississippi into the dead zone of the gulf of mexico
what is atmospheric deposition?
wet/dry deposition on land of pollutants
what is homeostasis?
when a system maintains constant/stable internal conditions
describe the positive feedback loop in urbanization
when agricultural harvests produced surpluses of food, they were able to free a portion of citizens from farm life and allow the rise of specialized manufacturing professions. class structure, political hierarchies, and urban centers for people who were no longer needed on farms; industrialization and urbanization bred further technological advances that increased production efficiencies, both on the farm and in the city
what is divergent evolution?
when closely related species that live in very different environments and experience different selective pressure tend to change in their traits
when is underground/deep mining used?
when coal is buried deep within the earth - up to 1000 feet deep
what problem does cold water cause?
when cold water at the bottom of reservoirs is released, downstream water temperatures drop suddenly and may kill aquatic organisms
what is a meltdown?
when coolant water drains from the nuclear reactor vessel, causing temperatures to rise inside the reactor core; the metal surrounding the uranium fuel rods subsequently begins to melt, releasing radiation in the process
what is subsistence agriculture?
when farming families produced only enough food to sustain themselves
when does coal tend to have a higher sulfur content?
when formed in salt water
when is biomass renewable?
when it is not overharvested
what does the relationship between melted water and drinking water demonstrate?
when melted water flow goes away, so does the drinking water
what is a cap and trade system?
when parties that reduce their pollution levels sell their credits to other parties
what is acid drainage?
when sulfide minerals on expxosed rock surfaces react with oxygen and rainwater to produce sulfuric acid
what is dynamic equilibrium?
when system processes move in opposing directions, balancing their effects
what is overgrazing?
when too many livestock destroy too much of the plant cover, impeding plant regrowth and preventing the replacement of biomass; when grazing by livestock exceeds the carrying capacity of rangelands and their soil, this can set in motion a series of consequences and positive feedback loops that degrade soils and grassland ecosystems
how does trash pollute water?
when trash is thrown into any body of water or waterway from boats or from offshore
how is competition reduced?
when two species become more different
what is a bulk plant?
where local propane dealers fill small tank trucks with propane
what are intertidal/littoral ecosystems?
where the ocean meets the land between the uppermost reach of the high tide and the lowest limit of the low tide
what is a transform plate boundary?
where two plates meet; they may slip and grind alongside one another - a movement that creates friction leading to earthquakes along strike-slip faults, where landmasses move horizontally in opposite directions
what is convergent plate boundary?
where two tectonic plates converge/come together; can give rise to multiple outcomes such as subduction, which happens when the lithosphere becomes denser than the asthenosphere and dives downward into the asthenosphere; can form volcanic arcs of islands or deep sea trenches
what are the properties of UF6?
white crystalline solid at room temperature
what is one of the most important species interactions?
who eats whom - matter and energy move through the community
what is ecocentrism?
whole ecological systems have value
what types of organic chemicals can pollute water?
wide varieties of toxic chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, dioxins
what caused major advances in environmental policy in the 1960s and 1970s?
wider evidence of environmental problems; people could visualize policies to deal with problems; political climate was ripe, with a supportive public and leaders who were willing to act
what will happen to a population made mostly of individuals past reproductive age?
will decline over time
what will happen to nutrient cycling and productivity?
will increase in the short term due to increased carbon input
what will happen to populations made of many individuals of reproductive/pre-reproductive age?
will increase over time
what is water mining?
withdrawing water faster than it can be replenished
where is most phosphorus found?
within rocks; is released by weathering; there is no significant atmospheric component
why does empowering women contribute to falling fertility rates?
women feel empowered to make their own reproductive decisions
give some common examples of how people harness biomass energy
wood from trees, charcoal from burned wood, matter from agricultural crops, combustible animal waste products
describe the earth's population change between the 1800 and the present
world population in 1800 was less than 1 billion, and world population in the present is over 7 billion - nearly all human population growth has occurred in just the past 200 years
what is the ogalla aquifer?
world's largest known aquifer; underlies great plains of the us; its water has allowed farmers to create the most bountiful grain-producing region in the world
what is al gore's solution to the global environmental crisis?
worldwide global mobilization for renewable energy, conservation, efficiency; global transition to a low-carbon economy; put a price on carbon - tax co2; integrate responses to poverty with solutions to the climate crisis
describe china's air pollution
worst in the world; 80% of chinese cities have emissions above the safety threshold; is under the asian brown cloud - a two mile thick layer of pollution that reduces sunlight, affects climate, decreases productivity, kills thousands each year
what would happen if our country had no petroleum?
would stop - cars, trucks, planes all use fuel made from oil; factories use oil to make plastics, paints, medicines, soaps; we sometimes even burn oil to make electricity
what is "the population bomb"?
written by paul and anne ehrlich in 1968; predicted that population growth would unleash famine and conflict that would consume civilization by the end of the 20th century - this forecast has not fully materialized
what is "an essay on the principle of population"?
written by thomas malthus; argued that if society did not limit births through abstinence and contraception, then rising death rates would reduce the population through war, disease, starvation
does the north polar ice cap ever regrow?
yes - in the winter - but as temporary thin ice
where do american nuclear waste managers want to start storing nuclear waste?
yucca mountain, nevada; has a stable geology with minimal risk of earthquakes that could damage the tunnels and release radioactivity; its dry climate should minimize water infiltration, reducing chances of groundwater contamination; water table is deep underground, making groundwater contamination less likely; pool of groundwater does not connect with groundwater elsewhere, so any contamination would be contained; location on federal land can be protected from sabatoge
name two types of invasive mussels
zebra and quagga
describe how zebra mussel predation habits effect ecologies?
zebra mussels eat phytoplankton and zooplankton, so both populations decrease in lakes with zebra mussels; zebra mussels don't eat cyanobacteria, so population increases in lakes with zebra mussels; zebra mussels are becoming prey for some north american predators such as diving ducks, muskrats, crayfish, flounder, sturgeon, eels, carp, freshwater drum
what do microscopic phytoplankton feed?
zooplankton
2010
BP oil spill in the Gulf - an oil rig explosion that killed 11 caused the discharge of 4.9 million barrels of oil into the gulf of mexico
1984
Bhopal Island - a gas leak here has been considered the world's worst industrial disaster, killing thousands
1969
Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire after having become so polluted; National Environmental Policy Act/NEPA - declares a national policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment by promoting efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment
1970
Environmental Protection Agency founded - created due to public outrage at the treatment of the environment, so the agency fights to manage the pollution of air, water, and the environment as a whole; National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) - one of the first laws ever written that establishes the broad national framework for protecting our environment; Clean Air Act - controlled air pollution on a national level and has become one of the most influential modern environmental laws; First Earth Day - showed 20 million AMericans coming together in favor of environmental reform, especially in response to the recent Santa Barbara Oil Blowout
1989
Exxon Valdez Disaster - considered to be one of the most devastating human-caused environmental disasters when the exxon valdez struk prince william sound's bligh reef and spilled 10.8 million gallons of crude oil
why is it important to know about the environmental issues that may plague our place of residence?
as our population grows, more people live in areas susceptible to natural disasters; many of us choose to live in areas we deem attractive but that are also prone to hazards - for instance, coastlines are vulnerable to tsunamis and erosion by storms and mountainous areas are prone to volcanoes and mass wasting; we use and engineer landscapes around us in ways that can increase frequency or severity of natural hazards - damming and diking rivers to control floods can sometimes lead to catastrophic flooding and suppressing natural wildfires puts forests at risk of larger, truly damaging fires; mining practices, clearing forests for agriculture, and clearcutting on slopes can each induce mass wasting, increase runoff, compact soil, change drainage patterns
how do advocates for sprawling argue that sprawl helps the economy?
as owners of newly developed homes and businesses pay property taxes, that revenue eventually reimburses the communities investment in extending infrastructure
what is a community?
assemblage of populations of organisms living in the same place at the same time; members interact with each other, and these interactions determine the structure, function, and species composition of the community
what is the study of environmental health?
assesses environmental factors that influence our health and quality of life
what fish has the most impact on human civilization?
atlantic cod
how much energy is trapped in the atmosphere?
atmosphere traps as much extra heat energy as would be released by 400,000 hiroshima-class atomic bombs exploding every 24 hours 365 days a year
list the hierarchy of matter from smallest to largest size
atom, molecule, macromolecule, organelle, cell, tissue, organ, organ system, organism
what is nuclear fission?
atoms break apart
what is nuclear fusion?
atoms come together
what is a covalent bond?
atoms in a molecule share electrons
what are polar covalent bonds?
atoms share electrons unequally as one atom exerts a greater pull
what are isotopes?
atoms with differing numbers of neutrons; behave differently from a normal element - some isotopes are radioactive and decay by emitting high-energy radiation until they become non-radioactive stable isotopes
what continent suffers some of the worst effects from the hole in the ozone?
australia - experiences enhanced risk of melanoma and sun poisoning
what is life expectancy?
average number of years that an individual in a particular age group is likely to continue to live
what is the fourth-highest soil horizon called?
b horizon; subsoil
how is america diversifying its oil supply?
imports oil from several countries; is developing its own reserves; has proposed drilling in anwr; resuming extraction at currently closed sites; researching renewable energy sources
how is hydroelectric power stored?
impoundments harness energy by storing water in reservoirs behind dams
what is a fossil?
imprint in stone of a dead organism
how was the hole in the ozone discovered?
in 1985 - 3 british scientists discovered that ozone quantities over antarctica are decreasing by over 60% from september to november
discuss the zebra mussel case study
in 1988, zebra mussels were accidentally introduced to lake st clair thru discharged ballast water; by 2010, they had invaded 30 states since they had no natural predators, competitors, parasites; they cause millions of dollars of damage to property each year
why are politicians concerned about declines in birth rates?
in aging populations, larger numbers of elderly people will need social services, but fewer workers will be available to pay taxes to fund these services
where is carbon found?
in carbohydrates, fats, proteins, bones, cartilage, shells
what is pollination?
in exchange for plant nectar, animals pollinate plants, which allows them to reproduce
how do population trends differ between poor and wealthy nations?
in less-developed regions, urban populations are growing quickly, and rural populations are declining; more-developed regions are already urbanized, so their urban populations are growing slowly, whereas rural populations are falling
is it safe to eat genetically modified foods?
in principle, there is nothing about the process of genetic engineering that should make genetically modified foods unsafe to eat
what is a common activity that wastes natural gas?
in remote oil drilling areas, natural gas is flared - burned off
how is in situ mining different from surface or underground mining?
in situ requires water and less drilling while surface mining involves blasting the ground
what is mountaintop removal?
in some cases, entire mountaintops are cut off to obtain the coal beneath it
what is the urban heat island effect?
in which city residents suffer thermal pollution as well, because cities often have ambient temperatures that are several degrees higher than those surrounding areas due to their high concentration of heat-generating buildings, vehicles, factories, and people
what are chemical environmental health hazards?
include many of the synthetic chemicals that our society manufactures - such as pharmaceuticals. disinfectants, pesticides
what is indirect solar energy?
includes wind power, hydropower, biomass
what is a culture?
knowledge, beliefs, values, and learned ways of life shared by a group of people
who was gifford pinchot?
known for his anthropocentric viewpoint; founded the us forest service under thomas roosevelt's administration
what is a common malnutrition-caused disease?
kwashiorkor - can be developed by people who eat a diet high in starch but deficient in protein or essential amino acids; causes bloating of the abdomen, deterioration and discoloration of hair, mental disability, immune suppression, developmental delays, anemia, reduced growth
what do neoclassical economics value?
labor - human resources
what is the #1 water pollution problem for humans in the world?
lack of disease-free drinking water
what is the usda criteria for crops to be considered organic?
land must be free of prohibited substances for at least 3 years; crops must not be genetically engineered; crops must not be irradiated to kill bacteria; sewage sludge cannot be used; organic seeds and planting stock are preferred; farmers must not use synthetic fertilizers - only crop rotation, cover crops, animal/crop wastes, or approved synthetic materials are allowed; most conventional pesticides are prohibited - pests, weeds, and diseases should be managed with biocontrol, mechanical practices, or approved synthetic substances
what is cropland?
land used to raise plants for human use
what is xeriscaping?
landscaping using plants adapted to arid conditions
what are inland seas?
large lakes that hold so much water that their biota is adapted to open water
what type of organisms usually have low densities?
large organisms - they need many resources and a large area to survive
what are macromolecules?
large sized molecules
what is trawling?
large, cone-shaped nets dragged along the bottom of the ocean for catching fish that live near the sea floor; major environmental consequences of the technique include excessive quantities of bycatch being caught in the process; the nets also cause heavy damage to the ocean floor by uprooting natural sea plant life and coral
what is kelp?
large, dense, brown algae growing from the floor of continental shelves; dense strands form kelp forests along temperate coasts; provides shelter and food for organisms; absorbs wave energy and protects shorelines from erosion; edible for people; its alginates serve as thickeners in cosmetics, paints, paper, soap
what is epidemiological studies?
large-scale comparisons among groups of people, usually contrasting a group known to have been exposed to some hazards and a group that has not
describe the size of today's atmospheric carbon dioxide reservoir?
largest that it's been in 800,000 years and is the driving force behind climate change
what is one of the fastest growing cities in north america?
las vegas - between 1972 and 2002, its population and developed areas tripled
what do altitudes create?
latitudinal pattern - vegetative communities rapidly change along mountain slopes as climate varies with altitude; ex a mountain climber in the andes begins in the tropic and ends on a glacier
what is thermal inversion?
layer of cool air occurs beneath a layer of warmer air
what types of heavy metals can pollute water?
lead, arsenic, mercury, selenium. cadmium
why is global warming a problem?
leads to climate change
what is lobbying?
spending time and money to influence a politician - environmental advocates are not the most influential lobbyists
what is a point source of air pollution?
specific spot where large quantities of pollutants are discharged; ex power plants and factories
list the types of erosion
splash erosion, sheet erosion, rill erosion, gully erosion
what are endemic species?
species that only exists in a certain specialized area; very susceptible to extinction; usually have small populations
what are r-selected species?
species which reproduce quickly; have a high biotic potential; little parental care; populations fluctuate greatly
what are generalists?
species with broad niches; use a wide array of habitats and resources; can live in many different places
what are k-selected species?
species with long gestation periods and few offspring; have a low biotic potential; stabilize at or near carrying capacity; good competitors
what is weather?
specific atmospheric conditions over short time periods within a small geographic area
what is slash-and-burn agriculture?
soils of tropical rainforests are not well suited for cultivating crops because they contain relatively low levels of plant nutrients. instead, most nutrients are tied up in the forest's lush vegetation. when the farmers cut tropical rainforest for agriculture, they enrich the soil by burning the plants in site. the nutrient-rich ash is tilled into the soil, providing sufficient fertility to grow crops. unfortunately, the nutrients from the ash are usually depleted in one to a few years. at this point, farmers move deeper into the forest and repeat the process, causing further impact to these productive and biologically diverse ecosystems
list the types of natural capital
solar capital and natural capital
list the benefits of solar power
solar power is essentially an infinite energy source - the sun will burn for 4-5 billion more years; solar technologies are quiet, safe, use no fuels, contain no moving parts, require little maintenance; allow local, decentralized control over power; allow developing nations to use solar cookers instead of firewood; solar power does not emit greenhouse gases/air pollution
what is particulate matter?
solid/liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere; damage respiratory tissue when inhaled; most is wind-blown dust
what is secondary extraction?
solvents, water, steam is used to remove additional oil; exxpensive
what are some concerns about storing nuclear waste in yucca mountain?
some argue that earthquakes and volcanic activity could destabilize the site's geology; they also fear that fissures in the mountain's rock could allow rainwater to seep into the caverns; nuclear waste will need to be transported to the mountain from over 120 storage areas and from current and future nuclear plants and military installations - shipments by rail and truck across thousands of public highways through all the states in the union cause a high risk of accident or sabotoge
why do some people not like environmentalists?
some believe that they're exaggerating our environmental issues and that any problems of sustainability can be overcome with human ingenuity
what is fracturing?
sophisticated technique for accessing gas - pumps high-pressure salt water into rocks to crack them
what is the most commonly genetically modified crop?
soybeans
how is the number of surviving species determined?
speciation-extinction
describe the warning coloration coloring adaptation
species are brightly colored to warn that they are toxic, distasteful, dangerous
what is allopatric speciation?
species formation due to populations' physical separation; each population gets its own set of mutations; is the main mode of speciation
what is sympatric speciation?
species forming from populations that become reproductively isolated within the same area due to feeding in different areas, mating in different seasons, hybridization between two species, mutations
what happens to rock that doesn't contain any uranium?
is returned underground or stored
what is yellow cake?
mined uranium refined into a solid compound
why are most wind turbines high?
minimizes turbulence and maximizes wind speed
what is a power tower?
mirrors concentrating sunlight onto receivers to create electricity
what are solar trough collection systems?
mirrors that focus sunlight on oil in troughs; the superheated oil creates steam to produce electricity
what is passive solar energy?
most common way to harness solar energy - buildings designed to maximize direct absorption of sunlight in winter and keep cool in summer
what are the limitations of geothermal power?
not necessarily sustainable; water is laced with salts and minerals that corrode equipment and pollute the air; is limited to areas where energy can be trapped
what is the photovoltaic effect?
occurs when light strikes one of a pair of metal plates in a photovoltaic cell, causing the release of electrons and creating an electric current; electrons flow from an n-type silicon layer rich in electrons to a p-type silicon layer poor in electrons, thus creating electricity
what is a decline?
sloping tunnels
list the process of in situ uranium mining in order
treatment of aquifer injection wells with acid or alkali; boreholes are drilled; uranium is dissolved and leached from the orebody; solution is pumped back to the surface through the production well; uranium solution goes to processing plant; mining solution is recycled
what are wind farms?
turbines erected in groups of ip to 100
how is uranium enriched through the gaseous diffusion process?
uf6 is heated and sublimates; gas is forced through compressors and forced through a membrane; because u-235 is less dense it rises and u-238 sinks
how is uranium enriched through the gas centrifuge process?
uf6 is rapidly spun in a centrifuge and u-235 rises while u-238 sinks
why is cost an issue with solar energy?
upfront costs are high - solar power remains the most expensive way to produce electricity bc the government has subsidized fossil fuels and nuclear energy at the expense of solar energy
what do geothermal power plants do?
use heated water and steam for direct heating and generating electricity
what is active solar energy?
uses technology to focus, move, or store solar energy
what is electrolysis?
using electricity to split hydrogen atoms from the oxygen atoms of water molecules; 2h_2o = 2h_2+o_2; produces pure hydrogen; will cause some pollution depending on the source of electricity but less pollution than other processes
what is a closed cycle approach to collecting ocean energy?
warm surface water evaporates chemicals that spin turbines
what is an open cycle approach to collecting ocean energy?
warm surface water is evaporated in a vacuum and its steam turns turbines
what's the difference between wave and tidal energy?
wave energy can be developed at a greater variety of sites than tidal energy
how do coastal onshore hydropower facilities work?
waves are directed into narrow channels and elevated reservoirs; electricity is generated when water flows out; another design uses rising and falling waves to push air in and out of chambers, turning turbines to generate electricity - no commercial wave energy facilities are operating at the moment; a third design uses the motion of ocean currents such as the gulf stream and is currently being tested in europe
how much u-235 is in naturally occurring uranium ore?
.7%
what is the atomic number of uranium?
92
what percentage of america's energy comes from coal?
52%
how much coal is a ton of natural uranium ore equivalent to?
16000 tons of coal
how much of the world's energy needs are provided by nuclear power?
23%
what is the chemical reaction involved in fuel cells to produce electricity with hydrogen gas?
2h_2 + o_2 = 2h_2o; movement of hydrogen's electrons from one electrode to the other creates electricity
what percentage of america's energy comes from petroleum?
3%
what is uranium's melting point?
3818 degrees celsius
what is a hydrogen economy?
a world that focuses on using the world's simplest and most abundant element as fuel
where are most nuclear power plants concentrated worldwide?
europe and japan
what is the most common active method for harnessing solar energy?
flat plate solar collectors/solar panels - installed on rooftops, dark colored heat absorbing metal plates that have water, air, or antifreeze pass through them to transfer heat to the building
what will a too slow transition to renewable energy cause?
fossil fuel depletion that renewables cannot compensate for
what are gshps?
geothermal ground source heat pumps - use thermal energy from near-surface sources of earth and water; pumps heat buildings in the winter by transferring heat from the ground into buildings; in the summer this heat is transferred through underground pipes from the building into the ground; highly efficient process since heat is simply moved
how can a geothermal plant become non-renewable?
geothermal plant uses heated water faster than groundwater is recharged
what are the physical features of naturally occurring uranium?
hard, heavy, radioactive, naturally occurring, silvery, metallic
what type of uranium is used in naval propulsion, research, and weapons development?
highly enriched uranium
what is the nuclear fuel cycle?
ore deposit is collected through either underground mining, in situ mining, or open cut mining; ore then receives conversion/processing before moving onto enrichment & refinement; ore then is fabricated into fuel, which is used for research purposes or power reactors; the energy from radioisotopes is use for health and medicine, industry and research, food and agriculture; energy from uranium is used for power generation; nuclear waste is disposed by storing it
what is a mine tailing?
remaining separated mineral waste; used for revegetating the disturbed land
what types of barriers are preventing a quick switch to renewable energy?
renewables receive little government support; need infrastructure; companies are unwilling to rapidly change
what are some disadvantages to wind power?
we have no control over when wind will occur, causing major limitations in relying on it for electricity; companies have to invest a lot of research into it before building a costly wind farm; good wind sources are not always near population centers that need energy; when wind farms are proposed near population centers, local residents often oppose them; wind turbines pose a threat to birds and bats
what are the benefits to hydrogen and fuel cells?
we'll never run out; hydrogen is most abundant element in the universe; can be clean and nontoxic to use; may produce few greenhouse gases and other pollutants; can be no more dangerous than gasoline in tanks; cells are energy efficient; fuel cells are silent, nonpolluting, and won't need to be recharged
how does geothermal energy work?
wells are drilled hundreds or thousands of meters toward heated groundwater; water at temperatures of 150-370 degrees celsius is brought to the surface and converted to steam, which turns turbines that generate electricity; hot groundwater can then be used directly to heat buildings
what is the fastest growing energy sector?
wind
what is the fastest growing renewable power source?
wind power
why should countries consider expanding wind farms offshore?
windspeeds are 20% greater over water than over land; there is less air turbulence over water than land; costs to erect and maintain turbines in water may be higher, but the stronger less turbulent winds produce more power and make offshore wind more profitable
