1-1 Environmentally Sustainable Society

Species

A group of organisms with distinctive traits and, for sexually reproducing organisms, can mate and produce fertile offspring.

Per capita GDP PPP

A measurement of the amount of goods and services that a country' average citizen could buy in the US.

Renewable resource

A resource that can be replenished fairly quickly (from hours to hundreds of years) through natural processes as long as it is not used up faster than it is renewed. (examples: forests, grasslands, fisheries, freshwater, fresh air, and fertile soil)

Organisms

Living things.

Natural resources

Materials and energy in nature that are essential or useful to humans.

Developing countries

Most developing countries are in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Some are middle-income, moderately developed countries such as China, India, Brazil, Turkey, Thailand, and Mexico. Others are low-income, least developed countries where per capita GDP PPP is steadily declining. These 49 countries with 1% of the world's population include Angola, Congo, Belarus Nigeria, Nicaragua, and Jordan.

Sustainability

The ability of the earth's various natural systems and human cultural systems and economies to survive and adapt to the changing environment conditions indefinitely.

Solar capital

Energy from the sun.

Environment

Everything around us. Includes all of the living and the nonliving things with which we interact.

Economic development

Has the goal of using economic growth to improve living standards. Classified on degree of industrialization and per capita GDP PPP.

History

Study of information and ideas about humanity's past

Philosophy

Study of knowledge and wisdom about the nature of reality, values, and human conduct

Biology

Study of living things (organisms)

Ethics

Study of moral values and concepts concerning right and wrong human behavior and responsibilities.

Botany

Study of plants

Humanities

Study of the aspect of the human condition not covered by the physical and social sciences.

Demography

Study of the characteristics of human populations

Biochemistry

Study of the chemistry of living things

Climatology

Study of the earth's atmosphere and climate

Geology

Study of the earth's origin, history, surface, and interior processes

Hydrology

Study of the earth's water resources

Earth science

Study of the planet as a whole and its nonliving systems

Political Science

Study of the principles, processes, and structure of government and political institutions

Economics

Study of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and servies

Geography

Study of the relationships between human populations and the earth's surface features

Per capita GDP

The GDP divided by the total population at midyear.

Perpetual resource

A resource that is renewed continuously and is expected to last. (example: solar energy)

Ecosystem

A set of organisms interacting with one another and with their environment of nonliving matter and energy within a defined area or volume.

Environmentalism

A social movement dedicated to protecting the earth's life-support systems for us and all other forms of life.

Environmentally sustainable society

A society that meets the current and future basic resource needs of is people in a just and equitable manner without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their basic needs.

Environmental Science

An interdisciplinary study of how humans interact with the environment of living and nonliving things.

Resource

Anything obtained from the environment to meet our needs and wants.

Recycling

Collecting waste materials and processing them into new materials.

Nonrenewable resources

Resources that exist in a fixed quantity, or stock, int he earth's crust.

Social sciences

Studies of human society

Zoology

Study of animals

Chemistry

Study of chemicals and their interactions

Paleontology

Study of fossils and ancient life

Anthropology

Study of human cultures

Ecological footprint

The amount of biologically productive land and water needed to supply the people in a particular country or area with resources and to absorb and recycle the wastes and pollution produced by such resource use.

Gross Domestic Product

The annual market value of all goods and services produced by all firms and organizations, foreign and domestic, operating within a country.

Per capita ecological footprint

The average ecological footprint of an individual in a given country or area.

Ecology

The biological science that studies how organisms interact with their environment and with each other.

Nutrient cycling

The circulation of chemicals necessary for life, from the environment (mostly from soil and water) through organisms and back to the environment.

Exponential Growth

The concept by which a quantity increases at a fixed percentage per unit of time, such as 2% per year.

Developed countries

The developed countries (with 1.2 billion people) include the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and most countries of Europe. Most are highly industrialized and have a high per capita GDP PPP.

Natural services

The functions of nature, such as purification of air and water, which supports life and human economies.

Sustainable yield

The highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing its available supply is called its sustainable yield.

Conservation

The management of natural resources with the goal of minimizing resource waste and sustaining resource supplies for current and future generations.

Natural capital

The natural resources and natural services that keep us and other forms of life alive and support our economies.

Natural income

The renewable resources such as plants, animals, and soil provided by natural capital.

Environmentally sustainable economic development

This involves using political and economic systems to discourage environmentally harmful and unsustainable forms of economic growth that degrade natural capital, and to encourage environmentally beneficial and sustainable forms of economic development that help sustain natural capital.

Reuse

Using a resource over and over in the same form.

Environmental degradation

When we exceed a renewable resource's natural replacement rate, the available supply begins to shrink, a process known as environmental degradation.