EnviroScience: Chapter 1.2: The Environment and Society

It also includes the ocean area used to harvest seafood and the forest area needed to absorb the air pollution caused by fossil fuels.

Ecological footprint

Is our current world sustainable? Why?

No, the developed countries are using resources faster than they can be replaced

Two main categories of ethics have emerged in human culture in modern history. What are they?

anthropocentrism and ecocentrism

areas of land that belonged to the whole village

commons

Economic principles have a huge influence in environmental _________________

decision-making.

However, our current world is not sustainable as the ____________________ are using resources faster than they can be replaced

developed countries

What is the value of the _______________?

environment

the discipline that studies the moral relationship of human beings to the environment.

environmental ethics

Developed countries have diverse _______________

industrial communities

People are using up, wasting, or polluting many __________________ faster than they can be renewed, replaced, or cleaned up.

natural resources

The human population in some areas is growing too __________________ for the local environment to support.

quickly

In his essay, ecologist Garrett Hardin argued that the main difficulty in solving environmental problems is the conflict between the short-term interests of who?

the individual

A sustainable world is not ______________ as technological advances and human civilizations continue to be productive.

unchanging

One of the costs of any action is the risk of an _______________________

undesirable outcome

When exploring environmental science, first, be prepared to listen to many _______________ over a particular issue

viewpoints

This rate of consumption creates more ______________ and ____________ per person then in developing countries.

waste and pollution

The unequal distribution of ______________ and ______________ around the world influence the environmental problems and solutions a society can make

wealth and resources

Developed nations use about 75 percent of the world's resources, although they make up only ____ percent of the world's population

20

Developed nations use about ___ percent of the world's resources, although they make up only 20 percent of the world's population

75

__________________ countries have higher incomes, slower population growth, diverse industrial economies, and stronger social support.

Developed

________________ countries have lower average incomes, simple agriculture-based communities, and rapid population growth

Developing

calculations that show the productive area of Earth needed to support one person in a particular country

Ecological footprints

The pursuit of knowledge about the natural world.

Environmental science

A social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world.

Environmentalism

What would happen once the grass was destroyed? Why?

Everyone suffered because no one could raise animals on the commons

_______________, ________________, and _____________ cannot keep pace with the population growth, so each person gets fewer resources as time goes by.

Food production, education, and job creation

In his essay, ecologist ________________ argued that the main difficulty in solving environmental problems is the conflict between the short-term interests of the individual and the long-term welfare of society.

Garrett Hardin

Who used the example of the commons to explain environmental problems?

Garrett Hardin

How did owners treat their closed fields in the commons?

Owners were now careful not to put too many animals on their land.

Explain the "Tragedy of the Commons" example.

People wanted to put as many animals on their land as possible. But, if too many animals were placed there, the grass would be eaten by the animals and destroyed! If the grass was destroyed, everyone suffered because no one could raise animals in the commons anymore. The commons were eventually replaced by closed fields owned by individuals in order to regulate the number of animals. Commons is a metaphor for resources!

_________________ is a tool that helps us create cost effective ways to protect our health and environment

Risk assessment

Almost all environmental problems can be traced back to two root causes. What are they?

The human population in some areas is growing too quickly for the local environment to support. People are using up, wasting, or polluting many natural resources faster than they can be renewed, replaced, or cleaned up.

What are the questions to ask in environmental ethics?

What is the value of the environment? What moral responsibility do we have in dealing with the major environmental problems that result from our resource consumption? Which needs should be given the highest priority in our decision making?

Developing countries have simple _____________________

agriculture communities

Developing countries have lower ________________

average incomes,

Why were owners careful not to put too many animals on their land?

because overgrazing wouldn't allow them to raise as many animals next year

A cost-benefit analysis balances the cost of the action against the______________ one expects from it.

benefit

What were the commons eventually replaced by?

closed fields owned by individuals

Often, environmental regulations are passed on to the _________________ or _________________.

consumer or taxpayer.

An ecological footprint is one way to express the differences in _______________ between nations.

consumption

This rate of ________________ creates more waste and pollution per person then in developing countries.

consumption

What moral responsibility do we have in dealing with the major environmental problems that result from our resource ________________?

consumption

A cost-benefit analysis balances the ______ of the action against the benefits one expects from it.

cost

The _________ of environmental solutions can be high

cost

A ___________________ balances the cost of the action against the benefits one expects from it

cost-benefit analysis

For these reasons and others, you must use your __________________ when making decisions about environmental issues.

critical thinking skills

This rate of consumption creates more waste and pollution per person than in _______________

developing countries.

People on either side on an environmental issue may feel passionately about their cause and can __________ information to mislead people about the issue.

distort

What was Garrett Hardin's profession?

ecologist

In severely overpopulated regions, forests are stripped bare, topsoil is exhausted, and animals are driven to _____________

extinction

Yet these human populations tend to the grow the _______________ (in developing countries)

fastest

In severely overpopulated regions, _______________ are stripped bare, topsoil is exhausted, and animals are driven to extinction

forests

To support the _________________________, developed countries are using much more of Earth's resources.

higher quality of life

Which needs should be given the __________________ in our decision making?

highest priority

Here's a video to explain Tragedy of the Commons!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSuETYEgY68

Developed countries have higher ______________

incomes

The Law of Supply and Demand is a law of economics that states as the demand for a good or service increases, the value or the food or service also ___________________.

increases

Achieving a sustainable world requires everyone's participation including whose?

individual citizens, industry, and the government.

When exploring environmental science, gather all the _______________ you can before drawing a conclusion.

information

When exploring environmental science, second, ____________ the source of the information you encounter.

investigate

An ecological footprint estimates what? (4)

land used for crops grazing forests products housing

The solution may be to override the short-term interests of the individual and improve the environment for everyone in the _____________

long run.

In these areas, _______________, _______________, and _____________ can be constant threats

malnutrition, starvation, and disease

What ______________ responsibility do we have in dealing with the major environmental problems that result from our resource consumption?

moral

Hardin's point (Commons example) can be applied to our modern commons which are _________________

natural resources.

Environmentalism is a social movement dedicated to protecting the ____________

natural world.

Environmental scientists try to remain ______________

objective

In severely _________________ regions, forests are stripped bare, topsoil is exhausted, and animals are driven to extinction.

overpopulated

Also, the economic dimension of an environmental issue may be ________________

oversimplified

Research done by scientists is often used to make a __________________ or is misinterpreted to support _______________ data.

political point, controversial

What is an example of how the results of a cost-benefit analysis's results depend on who is doing the analysis?

pollution control may be too costly to an industry, but to a nearby community, the price may well be worth it.

When the ________________ in an area grows rapidly, there may not be enough natural resources for the everyone to live a healthy, productive life

population

Developed countries have slower __________________

population growth

Developing countries have rapid _________________

population growth

Food production, education, and job creation cannot keep pace with the ________________, so each person gets fewer resources as time goes by.

population growth

To come up with an effective solution to an environmental problem, the ____________ must perceive the risk accurately

public

Food production, education, and job creation cannot keep pace with the population growth, so each person gets fewer _______________ as time goes by.

resources

Humans live in societies, and in societies, we can solve environmental problems by planning, organizing, considering the ________________, and proposing a solution

scientific evidence

And to complicate matters still, the media often _________________ environmental issues.

sensationalizes

The solution may be to override the ____________________________ and improve the environment for everyone in the long run.

short-term interests of the individual

In his essay, ecologist Garrett Hardin argued that the main difficulty in solving environmental problems is the conflict between what two things?

short-term interests of the individual long-term welfare of society

Developed countries have stronger __________________

social support

In his essay, ecologist Garrett Hardin argued that the main difficulty in solving environmental problems is the conflict between the short-term interests of the individual and the long-term welfare of what?

society

Humans live in societies, and in societies, we can solve environmental problems by planning, organizing, considering the scientific evidence, and proposing a _____________

solution

What is Hardin's point with the example of the commons?

someone or some group must take responsibility for maintaining a resource or it will become depleted.

In developing countries, millions of people are ____________

starving

key goal of environmental science

sustainability

the condition in which human needs are met in such a way that a human population can survive indefinitely

sustainability

a law of economics that states as the demand for a good or service increases, the value or the food or service also increases.

the law of supply and demand

What do the results depend on for a cost-benefit analysis?

the one who is doing the analysis

What would happen if too many animals grazed on the commons?

they destroyed the grass

What was the best interest of the individual in the "Commons" example?

to put as many animals in the commons as possible

In severely overpopulated regions, forests are stripped bare, ___________ is exhausted, and animals are driven to extinction

topsoil