Envisci Study Guide PDF

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An interdisciplinary study of how humans interact with the environment of living and nonliving things. Environmental Science The biological science that studies how organism or living things interact with their environment and with each other. Ecology The ability of the earth's various natural systems and human cultural systems and economies to adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely. Sustainability The natural resources and natural services that keep us and other forms of life alive and support our economies. Natural Capital. Solar Capital supports with suns energy The society that meets the current and future basic resources needs of its people in a just and equitable manner without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their basic needs. Environmental Sustainability Society Anything in the Environment that is harmful to ones health, survival or activities harmful to ones health. Pollution Single, indefinable sources. Point Source. Dispersed and often difficult to find- Non point sources Reduce or eliminate the production of pollutants. Pollution Prevention/Input Pollution Control Anything obtained from the environment to meet our needs and wants. Resource Continuously renewed and expected to last 6 million years as the sun completes in cycle. Perpetual Resource Replenishes quickly through natural processes as long as it is not used to quickly. Renewable Resource A resource that is in the earth's crust that only has a certain quantity. Non renewable resource The highest rate at which a renewable resource this can be used indefinitely without reducing its availability supply. Sustainable yield When we overuse a natural resource renewal rate, it begins to decrease. Environmental degradation The amount of biologically productive land and water supply. Ecological footprint The ecological footprint of an individual in a country or given area. Per capita Ecological Footprint

Collecting waste materials and processing them into new ones. Recycling Getting people with different views and values to talk and listen to one another, find common ground based on understanding and trust and work together to solve environmental and other problems. Social Capital Countries that have a high industrialization and have high per capita GDP. Developed countries Countries that have middle income and are moderately developed or low income least developed country that per capita GDP is slowly declining. Developing Countries Using economic growth to improve living standards. Economic development Beliefs of what is right and wrong of how we treat our environment. Environmental Ethics When quantity increases at a fixed percentage per unit of time. Exponential growth The annual market value of all goods and services produced by all firms and organizations, foreign and domestic, operating within a country. Gross Domestic Product A measure of the amount of good and services that a country's average citizen can buy. Per Capita GDP

What is the definition of a scientific hypothesis? Testable explanation of Data A well-tested and widely accepted scientific hypothesis or group of related hypotheses is called a ____. Scientific Theory One way to study nature is to develop a(n) ____, which is an approximate physical or mathematical simulation of a system. Model What is the fundamental structural and functional unit of life? Cell What law states that when matter undergoes a physical or chemical change, no atoms are created or destroyed? The Law of Conservation of Matter Matter is anything that ____. Has mass and takes up space

Fossil fuels are best characterized as a type of ____. Non renewable energy Most systems have ____. Inputs, flows and outputs Scientists tend to be highly skeptical of new data, hypotheses, and models until they can be tested and verified. True Scientists are human and not always free of bias about their own results and hypotheses. True

Tropical rain forests are estimated to contain up to ____ of the earth’s land plants and animal species and ____ percent of the world’s land surface. One Half, two All physical forms of water (solid, liquid, and gas) on or near the earth’s surface make up the ____. Hydrosphere Energy from the sun is constantly ____. Supporting plant growth Complex networks of interconnected food chains are ____. Food Webs Soil formation begins when physical, chemical, and biological processes called ____ break down bedrock into small pieces. Weathering Which terrestrial ecosystem or life zone produces the highest net primary productivity per year? Swamps and marshes Which process removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere? Photosynthesis Scientists use ____ in natural settings to gather ecological data they need to evaluate the ecosystems in the United States. Field Research In hundreds of years, we have released large quantities of fossil fuels that took millions of years to form. True Most precipitation falling on terrestrial ecosystems becomes surface runoff, flowing into streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and oceans. True

Which type of diversity enables life on the earth to adapt and survive environmental changes? Genetic In some habitats, the extinction of certain amphibian species could lead to the ____ of certain species of other amphibians, aquatic insects, reptiles, birds, fish, and mammals. Extinction According to some scientists, the more diverse an ecosystem is, the ____ it will be. More Productive Monarch butterflies are threatened by the loss of _____ that they need to feed on along their migration path. Milkweed According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), about ____% of all known amphibian species are threatened with extinction. 33% The earth has sustained life for ____ years. 3.8 billion years Scientists are now able to produce desirable traits in some organisms by adding, deleting, or changing segments of its DNA. This process is known as ____. Genetic Engineering What adaptation has allowed humans to increase their chances of survival and reproduction through gripping and using tools? Opposable thumbs Research indicates that the largest cause of the rising rate of species extinctions is _____. Habitat Loss The four components of biodiversity increase the ____ of ecosystems and increase the resistance of ecosystems to harmful invasive species. Stability

The exponential rate of growth of the total human population over the past 100 years has been a result of. Sharp Drop in Death Rates Currently, how many people worldwide do not have their basic needs met? One out of Every Seven People Environmental refugees are people who have to leave their homes and sometimes their countries because of ____. Environmental degradation

Large numbers of people are moving from rural areas to urban areas and most of these urban dwellers live in ____. Less Developed Countries

The 2015 U.S. population of 322 million is expected to reach what level by 2050? 398 million To some analysts, the key problem with people collectively degrading the earth’s life-support system is the large number of people in less-developed countries, while other analysts state that the key factor is ____. Overconsumption in affluent countries The emergence of early and modern agriculture about 10,000 years ago increased food production and contributed to the rapid rise of the human population. True Since 1955, the global life expectancy has risen to ____. 71 years Elevating the status of women slows the rate of human population growth. True Which country experienced rapid industrialization and economic growth between 1990 and 2010, thus reducing the number of people living in extreme poverty by almost 500 million? China

The central characteristic of a high-throughput economy is that it. Boosts economic growth by increasing the flow of matter and energy resources through the economic system The market price you pay for something does not include most of the costs related to harm to the environment and human health associated with the production of the product. True Full-cost pricing would discourage producers from inventing more resource-efficient methods of production, thereby cutting production costs. False What is an economic decision-making tool that involves determining who/what maybe affected, projecting outcomes, and then establishing who benefits or who is harmed? Cost-Benefit Analysis Levying taxes on each unit of pollution discharged into the air or water is an example of ____. Green taxes What is true of many industry estimates of the costs associated with pollution control regulations? They are almost always more than the actual costs of complying. Which school of economics warns that human economic systems could exceed the capacity of the environment to handle the pollutants and wastes we produce? Ecological

Markets do well in the production and distribution of private goods, but are not so good at ____. Public Services A discount rate is the estimate of a resource's future economic value compared to its present value. True The point at which the marginal cost of resource production meets the marginal benefit of resource use is called the ____. Optimum level of resource use

In 1992, governments of more than 178 nations and hundreds of NGOs met at the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and developed Agenda 21, a global agenda for sustainable development in the 21st century. Since this conference, progress has been made on four of the environmental goals listed here; select the exception. Carbon dioxide emissions

When did Congress restrict the use of lead-based paint in homes? 1971

What percentage of the U.S. population considers the environment to be one of the most pressing issues facing the nation? Less than 10% Businesses facing environmental regulations often try to have people from their industry appointed to high positions within the corresponding regulatory agencies. True

Most SLAPPs are intended to. Intimidate activist groups History shows that significant changes to environmental policy usually come from. Grassroots level

Green plans are now being employed in several nations, including Mexico, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, and The Netherlands The primary aim of the National Environmental Policy Act is to require evaluation of the environmental impact of an activity proposed by a federal agency

Future reliance on energy technologies such as tar sands, shale oil, and nuclear power would be a violation of the ____ principle. Net energy

Applying the Environmental Justice Principle would mean no group of people would bear an unfair share of environmental pollution or degradation. True

Which worldview understands the earth to be a complex machine that we can understand, dominate, change, and manage for everyone's good without overloading natural systems? Spaceship-earth school

Which worldview is based on a belief that the best way to manage the planet for human benefit involves minimal government interference and regulation? Free market school

What are the three major environmental worldviews? planetary management, stewardship, and environmental wisdom

What idea aligns most with the earth-centered worldview?Preventing the depletion of natural capital is a key to promoting sustainability. Studying the earth’s living systems to find out what works and what lasts, and then looking at how we might copy such earth wisdom, is a pioneering science called biomimicry

Which action is characteristic of voluntary simplicity? learning to live with much less

About three-fourths of the United States federal public land is in Alaska. True Research by psychologists have found that a growing number of people want more of a sense of community as opposed to more material goods. True

Technological fixes, such as using resources more efficiently, have been able to keep up with expansion of global resource use. False

Who stated “that land is a community is the basic concept of ecology, but that land is to be loved and respected is an extension of ethics.”? Aldo Leopold

An urban area where people have little or no easy access to nutritious food without traveling long distances is called a(n) Food Desert A severe shortage of food leading to mass starvation, many deaths, economic chaos, and social disruption is called famine According to the World Health Organization (WHO), ____ people face health problems because of undernutrition and another ____ people face health problems because of overnutrition. 795 million; 2.1 billion With industrialized food production, for every one unit of energy put on the table in the United States, how many units of nonrenewable fossil fuel energy are required to produce it? 10

Of the estimated 30,000 plant species that people can eat, only ____ of them supply an estimated 90% of the world's food calories. 14

About two thirds of the world’s human population survives primarily by eating one or more of the three grain crops. What are these three grains? rice, wheat, and corn

Plantation agriculture is a form of high-input agriculture that involves growing cash crops and is primarily used in tropical, less-developed countries About 20,000 kilocalories of grain fed to livestock will produce enough beef to provide ____ kilocalories to a person that eats it. 2,000 People in the United States spend how much of their disposable income on food? Less than 10%

What percentage of all antibiotics used in the United States are added to animal feed? 80%

Malaria is spread by certain types of mosquitoes

The ____ system protects the body against disease and harmful substances. Immune According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), children are ____ times more susceptible to the effects of toxic chemicals compared to adults. 10

What is by far the greatest threat to human health on a global basis? Poverty A global outbreak of an infectious disease is called a(n) pandemic

Which hazard is considered a natural hazard? Earthquakes We risk falling behind in our efforts to prevent infectious bacterial diseases with the use of antibiotics because of the astounding reproductive rates of bacteria

Which of the following is considered a cultural hazard? Unsafe working conditions.

Since 1970, the occurrence of malaria has increased. Why? Malaria-carrying species of mosquitoes have become resistant to insecticides.

About one-third of the toxic metal, mercury (Hg), is released into the air from natural sources, such as rocks, soil, volcanoes, and the ocean. The remaining two-thirds come from human activities such as gold mining

Since 1980, Arctic sea ice has decreased in volume and surface area

The earth’s climate will not change in response to magnetic pole reversals magnetic pole reversals

Which phrase best describes the earth's average surface temperature for the past 900,000 years?long periods of cooling and warming The 1997 Kyoto Protocol went into effect in 2005 with only seven of the world’s 194 nations not ratifying the agreement. Which country did not ratify it? The United States

Major climate models predict a 2.5–4.5C° rise in the earth's mean surface temperature between 2013 and 2100

Which ecosystem is least likely to suffer disruption and species loss from climate change? temperate oak-pine and oak-hickory forests

Which statement about the difficulty of addressing climate change is false? The benefits and harmful impacts are spread evenly.

Greenland’s glaciers contain enough water to raise the global sea level by ____ if all of it melts. 7 meters Scientists studying climate change estimate the average global sea level could rise by ____ by the year 2100. Several feet

Since 1975, atmospheric temperatures on Earth have been increasing

Which “R” of waste reduction can be described as “don’t use it”? refuse For recycling to be successful, three steps must be applied consistently. The three steps, in order of application, arecollecting recyclables, converting recyclables, and buying/selling recyclables Outputs of hazardous waste can be reduced by relying less on ____ and more on ____. fossil fuels; renewable energy

Much of the e-waste in the United States not buried or burned is shipped to Asia or Africa

One characteristic of waste-to-energy incineration is that it concentrates hazardous substances into ash Which method uses natural or genetically engineered plants to absorb, filter, and remove contaminants from soil and water? Phytoremediation

Which strategy would be least effective for industry and communities in their efforts to reduce resource use, waste, and pollution? Redesign landfills

Most of the solid waste generated in the United States is municipal solid waste. Taste One advantage of materials recovery facilities (MRFs) is that combustible wastes can be burned to generate electricity

Hazardous waste includes radioactive wastes, which need to be stored safely for as long as ____ years. 240,000 years

What is one effect of urbanization?The concentration of people helps to preserve biodiversity. Most of the world's cities have huge ecological footprints and are not self-sustaining systems. True

In sustainable community development, the “triple bottom line” refers to people, the planet, and profits

Covering land with buildings, asphalt, and concrete causes precipitation to run off quickly and overload storm drains. True

Which has been a major factor promoting urban sprawl in the United States? federal and state funding of highways

Approximately what proportion of the world’s CO 2 emissions comes from motor vehicles and industrial facilities in urban areas? Two-thirds.

By 2050, what proportion of the world’s population is expected to live in urban areas? Two-Thirds What is the pattern of development in which houses, town houses, condominiums, and two- to six-story apartments are built on parts of the tract and the rest, typically 30–50% of the area, is left as open space for wildlife preserves, parks, and walking and biking paths? cluster development

One drawback of zoning in cities is that it can be influenced by developers in ways that destroy wetlands

Which statement about higher gasoline taxes is true? They are more acceptable when fast, efficient, reliable, and affordable mass-transit options, bike lanes, and sidewalks are available...