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Environmental Science 1 Modules 1.01-1.03 Study Guide 89
Questions with Verified Answers
Necessities of Survival: - CORRECT ANSWER Bodily requirements, bodily health, etc. Necessities to Thrive: - CORRECT ANSWER Comradery, transportation, mental health, etc. Maslow's Period of Needs (1-5, 1 being the least) - CORRECT ANSWER Self Actualization, Esteem Needs, Social Needs, Safety Needs, Physiological Needs Self Actualization: - CORRECT ANSWER Meaning, Justice, Truth, Wisdom Esteem Needs: - CORRECT ANSWER Accomplishment, Attention, Recognition, Self- Respect, Social Status Social Needs: - CORRECT ANSWER Belonging, Friendship, Love Safety Needs: - CORRECT ANSWER Financial Resources, Health Care, Physical Safety Physiological Needs: - CORRECT ANSWER Food, Water, Air, Sleep Sustainability: - CORRECT ANSWER Sustainability is the ability to maintain a function, state of being, and processes. Sustainable Yield: - CORRECT ANSWER A limit at which a resource can be harvested to keep a sustainable environment. Greenwashing: - CORRECT ANSWER Falsified sustainable products Pollution: - CORRECT ANSWER The presence or input of a substance into the natural environment (water, air, land) that has harmful or poisonous effects.
Types of Pollution: - CORRECT ANSWER Air, Water, Noise, Light (There are even more) Causes of Air Pollution: - CORRECT ANSWER Factories, Vehicles, Accidental Release, Forest Fires Pollutants from Humans: - CORRECT ANSWER Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Natural Pollutants: - CORRECT ANSWER Dust Storms, Volcanos, SO2 (Sulfer Dioxide) Secondary Pollutants: - CORRECT ANSWER Acid Rain, Ozone in the Troposphere Acid Rain: - CORRECT ANSWER Precipitation that has an unusually low pH due to water molecules in the atmosphere mixing with emissions like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. Ozone in the troposphere: - CORRECT ANSWER Form when hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides combine in the presence of sunlight. (*Naturally produced ozone (located higher up in the stratosphere) is GOOD! Too much ozone in the troposphere (where we live) is very bad.) Impacts of Air Pollution: - CORRECT ANSWER • Increases greenhouse effect a Global climate change
- Ozone depletion (stratosphere) à Increase in UVA
- Acidification (oceans, precipitation)
- Smog formation (Ozone formation in the troposphere) a Bad for human/animal health
- Overall Toxins introduced into the environments = ecological health effects! Earth Surface Percentage of Water: - CORRECT ANSWER 71% of the Earth's Surface is Water Freshwater Percentage: - CORRECT ANSWER .592% in glaciers, .592% in ground water, .014% other (.0001% biota, .0005% soil moisture, .0001% rivers, .0001% atmospheric water vapors, .0007% lakes
- Burns more fossil fuels
- Hurts aesthetic value (tourism?) Trash Types: - CORRECT ANSWER Paper, Yard Trimmings, Metals, Plastics, Food Scraps, Glass, Other Waste Types: - CORRECT ANSWER Municipal Solid Waste (See previous card), Hazardous Waste, Wastewater (Sewage), Radioactive Waste Non-Renewable Resources: - CORRECT ANSWER Resources that cannot be replenished at the rate they are used. Renewable Resources: - CORRECT ANSWER Resources that can be replenished at a rate equivalent to or greater than the rate at which they are used. Potentially Renewable Resources: - CORRECT ANSWER Resources such as clean drinking water, clean air, and the biosphere that are generally renewable, but that can become non-renewable if we do not use them wisely. RRR - Reduce: - CORRECT ANSWER To decrease the amount of trash overall as well as the resources needed to make these products. RRR - Reuse: - CORRECT ANSWER To keep waste out of landfills. (Repurpose) RRR - Recycle: - CORRECT ANSWER Using a used object to recreate another useful object Degradable Resources: - CORRECT ANSWER Resources that can break down fairly easily. (Produces heat when breaking down, can be used for agricultural purposes) Slowly Degradable Resources: - CORRECT ANSWER Resources that do break down but take longer periods of time to do so. (Plastic is a big factor in this branch)
Non-Degradable Resources: - CORRECT ANSWER Resources that take EXTENSIVE time to break down. They almost never break down. (Includes Glass, Steel, CDs and DVDs) The Commons: - CORRECT ANSWER - Parks
- Roads (including medians)
- Sidewalks
- Rivers/Ocean
- Vacant lots/abandoned buildings "Tragedy In The Commons": - CORRECT ANSWER An article by Garrett Hardin written in the journal "Nature" regarding the presence of trash and waste in public locations (Parks, Beaches, Towns, etc.). Main Thesis: - CORRECT ANSWER Human beings will behave in ways that benefit themselves and overuse and pollute the commons. View of Human Nature: - CORRECT ANSWER Hardin believed that humans are essentially selfish Problems in The Commons - CORRECT ANSWER • Pollution (air, water, noise)
- Overuse
- Overfishing of oceans
- Overgrazing of lands
- Decrease in biodiversity
- Biodiversity: the number and variety of species living in an area. The Clean Water Act: - CORRECT ANSWER Provides surface water quality protection in the United States. The current policies protect healthy bodies of water and provide means for remediating polluted ones. The Clean Air Act: - CORRECT ANSWER Protects and provides ways for improving the air quality in the United States.
John Muir (1838-1914) - CORRECT ANSWER -Preservationist -Founder and first president of Sierra Club -Proposed national forest reservations -Fought for Yosemite to become National Park -Strongly opposed damming of Hetch Hetchy Valley -"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike." (from The Yosemite) Gifford Pinchot (1865-1946) - CORRECT ANSWER -Conservationist -Coined the term "conservation ethic" -First Chief of the United States Forest Service (1905-1910) -Governor of Pennsylvania (1923-1927, 1931-1935) -In favor of damming Hetch Hetchy Valley -"The earth and its resources belong of right to its people" Hetch Hetchy Valley: - CORRECT ANSWER A flooded valley that become a reservoir after the Tuolumne River (Yellowstone National Park) was dammed in 1923 (thanks to Gifford Pinchot) Conservation Biology: - CORRECT ANSWER The application of scientific knowledge as well as ideas from economics, sociology, and politics, to protect biodiversity.
- Often called a "crisis discipline" (similar to a Dr. in an emergency room). The Wolves of Yellowstone: - CORRECT ANSWER Grey Wolves that had lived directly in the area of westward movement that were hunted due to fear of livestock being attacked. They were almost extinct before they were reintroduced in 1995 from Canada. Keystone Species: - CORRECT ANSWER An organism that has a great effect on many other species in its ecosystem, including species it doesn't directly interact with.
Unbalanced Food Chain: - CORRECT ANSWER Grey Wolves were once at the top of the food chain. When they were removed, other lesser animals began to thrive and overrun the place. United States Public Land Stats: - CORRECT ANSWER 61% - Private (Homes, businesses, etc.) 28% - Federal (U.S. Government) (Bases, buildings of political use, etc.) 9% - State and local governments (Beaches, parks, etc.) 3% - Native American Reservations (Land reserved for Native Americans) Ecological Integrity (Definition - A): - CORRECT ANSWER A report by the Panel on the Ecological Integrity of Canada's National Parks in 2000 proposed that "an ecosystem has integrity when it is deemed characteristic for its natural region, including the composition and abundance of native species and biological communities, rates of change and supporting processes." Ecological Integrity (Definition - B): - CORRECT ANSWER In 1999, the BC Parks Legacy Panel determined that an ecosystem has ecological integrity when "the structure, composition and function of the ecosystem are unimpaired by stresses from human activity; natural ecological processes are intact and self-sustaining, the ecosystem evolves naturally and it's capacity for self-renewal is maintained; and the ecosystem's biodiversity is ensured." The Three Primary Elements of an Ecosystem: - CORRECT ANSWER 1) Ecosystem structure refers to all of the living and non-living physical components that make up that ecosystem. The more components that make up an ecosystem, the more complex its structure becomes.
- Ecosystem composition refers to the variety of living things found within an ecosystem.
- Ecosystem function refers to all of the natural ecological processes that occur within an ecosystem Natural Processes of a Stable Environment: - CORRECT ANSWER Predator /prey cycles - for example, bears eat fish and fish eat plankton
Noise Pollution: - CORRECT ANSWER The presence of unwanted noise, usually from transportation such as cars, trains, and airplanes, but also from air conditioners, pumps of all sorts, and jackhammers. Point Source Pollution: - CORRECT ANSWER Pollution that can be traced to a specific source. Non-Point Source Pollution: - CORRECT ANSWER Pollution in which the sources may be many or specific, but unknown. Environmental Science: - CORRECT ANSWER The interdisciplinary field of study of interactions in the environment. Sustainable Society: - CORRECT ANSWER A society whose functions and processes can continue indefinitely. Trash: - CORRECT ANSWER Any substance deemed "not of use" by man Recycle: - CORRECT ANSWER Processing used materials into new materials. Reuse: - CORRECT ANSWER To make use of an object once again Reduce: - CORRECT ANSWER To not use too much of one substance Conservation Biology: - CORRECT ANSWER The application of scientific knowledge, as well as ideas from economics, sociology, and politics, to protect biodiversity. Ecological Integrity: - CORRECT ANSWER The "strength" of an ecosystem. Public Land: - CORRECT ANSWER Public Lands in the United States are lands controlled by governments including cities, counties, states, and the federal government. The land they manage is referred to as either public lands or the public domain.
Conservationist: - CORRECT ANSWER Those who lobby to conserve or maintain land and natural resources so that they may continue to may be used by humans. Preservationist: - CORRECT ANSWER Those who lobby to preserve land and natural resources, or keep them from being altered or used by humans. Keystone Species: - CORRECT ANSWER A species of organism that has a great effect on many other species in its ecosystem, including species with which it does not interact directly.
