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Intro to Environment
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is environmental Science | It is the study of the interaction of humans with natural environment |
| The environment includes | Climate, soil, water, and air |
| What changed about human society during the agricultural revolution? | In the fertile crescent, humans began farming. |
| What technology enabled this? | In Sumeria, similar grain production to modern agriculture: 30 bushels lacre. Summerians heavily relied on irrigation, the application of water to soil from nearby rivers. Salt present in irrigated water built up in soil. Yields declined. |
| The Law of Unintended Consequences | Decisions often have unexpected effect |
| Resource depletion | Consuming natural materials faster than they can replenish. |
| What changed about human society during the industrial revolution | The industrial revolution marked transition to coal power, electricity, and factory production. Unintended consiquences and resource depletion, pollution, bad water. |
| According to the Tragedy of the Commons idea, what is the major cause of resource depletion | Greed: individuals pursuing personal wealth at the expense of the society as a whole. Commons are resources that are shared and not owned. |
| Give two modern examples of the Tragedy of the Commons | Overexploitation of natural resources, pollution, and climate change. |
| Inexhaustible resources | cannot be used up. sunlight |
| renewable resources | will be replaced, but often at a slower rate than they are used. soil timber |
| Nonrenewable resources | not replaced within the human time scale. single used. coal, oil, and natural gas |
| Recyclable resources | not replaced within the human time scale. can be reused repeatedly. minerals and metals |
| Explain the Antiquities Act | It was passed, allowing the federal government to protect cultural and natural resources. |
| National Parks | are to be kept unaltered from their original state. No fishing, logging, hunting, or livestock grazing. |
| National Forests | allow commercial logging and recreational hunting and fishing. permit required to prevent overexploitation |
| National Wildlife Refuges | allow hunting and fishing with a permit, but no commercial activities |
| Define environmental ethics | is the discipline in philosophy that studies the moral relationship of human beings to, and also the value and moral status of, the environment and its non-human contents |
| Anthropocentrism | Human-centered philosophy. Human interests and well-being come first. |
| Ecocentrism | Nature-centered philosophy. Preserving ecosystems come first. |
| What was the result of Hetch Hetchy debate? | Congress passed legislation that enabled the creation of a dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley. |
| What justification was given by Gifford Pinchot for the decision? | greatest good of the greatest number for a long time |
| Carcinogenic material | In 1946, nuclear bomb testing exposed Native islanders and Navy sailors to radioactive fallout. Increases risk of cancer |
| Air pollution | Is the introduction of particles and gases into the atmosphere that are harmful to living organisms. |
| Persistent chemicals | It is not biodegradable and will not break down naturally |
| Extinction | Is the complete loss of a species from the Earth |
| Famine | An extreme shortage of food |
| Water pollution | is the contamination of lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater. |
| Hazardous waste | Includes chemicals known to be dangerous to human health |
| Antiquities Act | Enabled creation of National Parks |
| Clean Water Act | Restricts pollution of surface water |
| Clean Air Act | Restricts pollution of the atmosphere |
| Environmental Policy Act | all federal projects must assess environmental impacts |
| Endangered Species Act | identifies species at risk of extinction and makes plans for their recovery |
| Safe Drinking Water Act | testing and treatment standards for tap water |
| Resources Conservation and Recovery Act | Requires safe transport and storage of hazardous waste |
| CERCLA | funds the cleanup of hazardous waste sites |
| What is the responsibility of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) | To enforce federal environmental laws |
| What kinds of issues are the focus of the global environmentalism movment | Biodiversity loss, food production, climate change, human population growth, and economic inequality between nations |
| Underdeveloped countries | Economically poor. less educated. Higher fertility rates. Lower standard of living. Lower rates of consumption |
| developing countries | countries transitioning from underdeveloped to developed |
| developed countries | economically wealthy. More educated. Lower fertility rates. higher standard of living. higher rates of consumption |
| What is gross domestic product (GDP) | The monetary value of the goods and services produced per person per year. |
| What does the total fertility rate measure | The number of children born to an average woman over her lifetime |
| what does life expectancy measure | the number of years an average person will live. |
| What is consumption | The amount of materials, energy, and services used per person |
| What does ecological footprint measure | The amount of land needed to support a person or country |
| Explain the principle of supply and demand | Predicts that the price of a resource will either increase and decrease when supply is low or high and demand is low or high |
| What is the goal of a cost-benefit analysis | measures the expense of an action with the benefits it will bring |
| what are hidden costs | Are "paid for" by people other than sellers and buyers and are usually not included in these analyses |
| explain the planetary management worldview | Humans "rule" the world. Technology and ingenuity will prevent the loss resources. Economic potential is unlimited |
| is the planetary management worldview an anthropocentric or ecocentric worldview? | Anthropocentric |
| Explain the stewardship worldview | Humans needs come first but we must care for other species. Too conserve resources for future generations when possible. Prefer economic growth that does not harm the environment |
| Explain the environmental wisdom worldview | Humans are not more important than any other species. Resources are finite wastes do not "go away." Over survival depends on sustaining the Earth. |
| Is the environmental wisdom worldview an anthropocentric or ecocentric worldview? | ecocentric |
| Laws | explicitly permit or prevent certain actions |
| taxes | require payment to discourage certain behaviors or fund other programs tax breaks can encourage other behaviors |
| subsidies | direct payments to reward certain actions |
| Planetary Management | Worldview policies prioritize short-term economic growth. Permitting drilling in Alaska Nation Wildlife Refuge. Expansion of oil pipelines. Reduction in automotive fuel standards. Removal of cars on carbon emissions. |
| Stewardship | try to balance economic growth with sustainability. Winding down fossil fuel subsidies in favor of wind, solar, and geothermal ones. Revision of clean Air Act regulations to include new pollutants. Subsidies for public transit and efficient building const |
| Environmental Wisdom | Prioritize environmental protection over economic growth. Carbon neutrality for electricity generation by 2050. Banning of certain types and applications of plastics. Taxing all carbon emissions. |
Created by:
jlevner