chapter 1 for bio midterm
definition of biodiversity
the variety of genes, species, ecosystems, and ecosystem processes
why is chemical cycling important
waste of decayed bodies of organisms become nutrients or raw materials for other organisms
definition of environmental degradation
we waste, deplete, and degrade much of the earth's life sustaining natural capital
how are humans living unstainabiltiy
we waste, deplete, and degrade much of the earth's life sustaining natural capital
definition of ecology
branch of biology that focuses on how living organisms interact with the living and non-living parts of the environment
explain how finding solutions to environmental problems involves making trade-offs
conflicts can arise when environmental protection has a negative economic effect on groups of people or certain industries example: a timber company might be persuaded to plant and harvest trees in an area that it had already created or degraded instead of clearing an undisturbed forest area ...in return government, may pay part of the cost of planting new trees
what are the three scientific principles derived from how the natural world works
dependence on solar energy, biodiversity, chemical cycling (nutrient cycling)
example of renewable resource
forest, grasslands, fertile topsoil, fishes
example of an exhaustible resource
fossil fuel energy (oil, coal, and natural gas)
definition of environment
is everything around you it includes all living things such as plants and animals and non-living things such as air, water, and sunlight
what is a percpita ecological footprint
is the average ecological footprint of an individual in a given country or area
what is sustainability
is the capacity of the earth's natural systems that support life and human social services to survive or adopt to changing indefinitely
what is biomimicry
is used to describe the rapidly growing scientific effort to understand, mimic, and catolog the ingenious ways in which nature has sustained life on the earth for 3.8 billion years
use the ecological footprint concept to explain how we are living unstanability
its people are living unstanabiltiy if the footprint is larger then the biocapacity, meaning that its people are depleting natural capital instead of living off the renewable resources and ecosystem services provided by such capital
definition of less developed countries
middle income, moderately developed or even low income, least developed countries
definition of ecosystem services
natural services provided by healthy ecosystems that support life and human economies at no monetary cost to us
what are two ways to deal with the tragedy of the common
one way to deal with this is to use a shared or open access renewable at a rate well below it estimated sustainable yield; a second way is to convert shared renewable resources to private ownership
explain why learning from the earth is a key way to learning how to live more sustainability
organisms had developed abilities to use sunlight to make their food and recycle all of the nutrients they needed for survival. organisms have developed amazing abilities to find food and survive; these and many other abilities were developed without the use of high-temp high pressure processes
explain how three major cultural changes taking place over the last 10,000 years have increased our overall environmental impact
-argicultural revolution, humans have learned how to grow and breed plants and animals for food, clothing, etc instead of frequently moving to find food; more reliable -industrial-medical revolution- invented machines for the large-sale production of goods in factories; this involved learning how to get energy from fossil fuels and how to grow large quantities of food in efficient manner -information- globalization revolution- gained rapid access to all kinds of info and resources on a global scale -all three give more energy and new technologies to alter and control ore of the plant's resources to meet our basic needs and increased wants; also expansion of human population
examples of ecosystem services
-forest help purify air and water -reduce soil erosion -regulate climate -recycle nutrients
what is full-cost pricing
-urge to find ways to include the harmfull environmental and health cost of producing and using goods and services in the market place
examples of degrading natural capital
-using renewable resources faster than nature can restore them -overloading earth's normally renewable air -population waste -replacing forest with crop plantation
examples of envionrmental degradation
-we are destroying forest and grasslands -withdrawing water from some rivers and underground acquifers faster then natural replenishes them -liter the land faster than they can be renewed 83% (excluding anaarticia)
what is the IPAT model for estimating our envionrmental impact
1. of human activities is the product of three factors: population (P), affluence (A), or resource consumption per person and the beneficial and environmental effects of technologies (T)
definition of natural resources
are materials and energy provided by nature that are essential or useful to humans
what is a resource
are materials and energy provided by nature that are essential or useful to humans
low income
Italti, congo, nigeria
who has high income
Japan, u.s., and Canada
what would sustainability evolution involve
avoiding degradation and depletion of natural capital that supports life and our economies and restoring natural capital
middle income
africa, asia, china, and brazil
nonrenewable or exhaustible resources
exist in a fixed amount , or stock in the earth's crust. they take millions to billions of years to form through geological processes; we can use these resources much faster then we can replace them
definition of inexhaustible resource
expected to last for at least 5 billion years until the death of the star we call the sun
what are the three economic, political, and ethical principles of sustainability
full-cost pricing, win-win solutions, and responsibility to future generations
why is full-cost pricing important
give consumers info about harmful envionrmental impacts of products
definition of more developed countries
industrial nations with high average incomes per person; use about 70 percent of the earths natural resources
why is biodiversity important
interactions among species provide vital ecosystem services and keep any population from growing to large; also provides ways for species to adapt to the changing environment conditions and replace species wiped out by castrophic environmental changes with new species
definition of environmental science
is a study of connection nature; it is an interdisciplinary study of how the earth works and have survived and thrived how humans interact with the enviornment and he we can live more sustainability
definition of renewable resource
is any resource that can be replenished by natural processes within hours to centuries as along as people do not use the resource faster then natural processes can replace it
how have humans improved the quality of life for many people
our creativity, economic growth, scientific research, grassroots, political pressure y citizens have improved the quality of life; we have developed an astounding array of useful materials and products. we have learned how to use, wood, fossil fuels, the sun, wind, flowing water, the nuclei of certain atoms, and the earths heat to supply us with enormous amounts of energy
what is the tragedy of the commons
renewable resources are not owned by anyone and can be used by almost anyone; ex- atmosphere open and fishes, grasslands, streams acquifers. have been degraded
role of janine benyus in promoting and growing field of biomimicry
set up non profit biomimicry institute that has developed a curriculum, for k-12 university students and has a 2 year program to train biomimicry professionals; also established a network called biomimicry 3.8, named for the 3.8 billion years during which organisms have developed their genius for surviving
definition of environmentalism
social movement dedicated to protecting the earth's life and its resources
examples of natural capital
soil, air, water, and all living things
example of inexhaustible resource
solar energy
examples of natural resources
solar energy forest grasslands fossil fuel energy
what is biocapacity
the ability of its productive ecosystems to regenerate the renewable resources, used by population city, region, country, or the world and to absorb the resulting waste and pollution indefinitely
what is an ecological footprint
the amount of biologically productive land and water needed to supply population in an area with renewable resources and to absorb and recycle the waste and pollution such resource use products
definition of chemical cycling
the circulation of chemicals or nutrients needed to sustain life from the enviornment through various organisms and back to the environment
what is the sustainable yield of a renewable resource
the highest rate at which people can use a renewable resource indefintely without reducing its available supply
definition of natural capital
the natural resources and ecosystem services that keep humans and other species alive and that support human economies
definition of solar energy
the sun energy's warms the planet and provides energy that plants use to produce nutrients; important because nutrients are the chemicals that plants and animals need to survive
