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