Term
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Definition
| the ability of the earth's various natural systems and human cultural systems and economies to to survive and adept to changing environmental conditions indefinitely |
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Term
| 3 Keys Principle of Sustainability: |
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Definition
1) Solar Energy
2) Biodiversity
3) Chemical Cycling |
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Term
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Definition
-warms earth,
-provides energy for plants to make food for other organisms,
-powers wind
-powers the hydrological cycle- flowing water
-provides energy- wind and water into electricity |
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Term
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Definition
-large variety of species
-many ecosystems (deserts, forests, oceans, grasslands)
-species and systems renew soil and purify air and water |
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Term
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Definition
-natural processes recycle nutrients
-recycling is necessary b/c there is a fixed supply of nutrients on earth
-nutrients cycle from living to nonliving environment and back
-chemical cycles are necessary to sustain life |
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Term
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Definition
interdisciplinary study of how humans interact with the living and nonliving parts of their environment
-natural sciences
-social
-humanities |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| how living organism interact with one another and their environment |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| group of organisms with specific traits that can reproduce |
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Definition
| community of varying species interacting with one another and the chemical and physical factors of the non-living environment |
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Definition
| movement to protect the Earth |
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Definition
supports all life
-natural resources
-natural services
-solar energy (photosynthesis)
-human activities degrade natural capital
-natural resources + natural services |
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Term
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Definition
-renewable: air, water, soil, plants
-nonrenewable: mineral, oil, coal
-anything obtained from the environment to meet our needs and wants
Perpetual: renewed continuously |
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Term
| Functions of Nature (Natural Services) |
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Definition
-purification of air, water
-nutrient cycling: circulation of chemicals from the environment to organisms and back to the environment |
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Term
| Degradation of Natural Capital |
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Definition
| -using renewable natural resources faster than they can regenerate |
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Term
| What does an environmentally sustainable society do? |
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Definition
| meets current and future resource needs of its people, while not jeopardizing those resources for future generations |
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Term
| What does living sustainability survive on? |
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Definition
| Living on natural income only |
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Term
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Definition
| highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely, without reducing supply |
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Term
| Environmental Degradation |
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Definition
| use exceeds natural replacement rate |
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Term
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Definition
Garret Hardin
-users share a common or open-access resource
-focus on selfish, short term gain
-works only with small group
-as # grows, resources deplete and no one benefits
Solutions : use below their sustainable yield, convert open-access areas to private ownerships |
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Term
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Definition
| the amount of biologically productive land and water needed to indefinitely supply the people in a given area with renewable resources; included land and water necessary to absorb and recycle waste and pollution |
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Term
| Per capita ecological footprint |
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Definition
| average ecological footprint of an individual in a given area |
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Definition
total ecological footprint great than biological capacity for resource renewal and absorption of wastes and pollution
-88% of high income countries |
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| Ecological Footprints of Nations Vary |
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Definition
US, Japan, New Zealand, Europe:
-18% of world population
-Use 88% of world's resources
-Create 75% of world's population and waste |
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Term
| IPAT Environmental Impact |
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Definition
I= P x A x T
I = environmental impact
P = population size
A = affluence of population
T = technology influence |
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Term
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Definition
82% world population
middle: Brazil, China, India
least developed: Haiti Nigeria, Nicaragua
-use far fewer resources per capita than developed countries |
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Term
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Definition
contamination of the environment by a chemical or other agent such as as noise or heat that is harmful to health, survival, or activities of humans or other organisms
- can enter naturally or through human activities |
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Term
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Definition
Point Sources: single identifiable source (power plant)
Non-point Sources: dispersed and difficult to to identify (pesticides) |
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| Issues with Pollution Cleanup |
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Definition
-temp bandage as long as population and consumption levels grow w/out adv pollution tech
-places pollution from one area to another
-dispersed costs too much to reduce to acceptable levels
-prevention is cheaper |
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| Causes of Environmental Problems |
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Definition
-population growth
-poverty
-wasteful and unsustainable use
-failure to include COGandS in market prices |
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Term
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Definition
| occurs when a quantity increases at a fixed percentage per unit time |
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Term
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Definition
-people unable to meet basic needs for food, water, shelter, health, education
-1.4 billion in extreme poverty
-desperate for short term survival, not long term environmental quality |
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Term
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Definition
-high consumption and waste of resources
-resources anywhere from world and no negatives
-better education, money to protect resources, R&D of technology
-reduced population growth |
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Term
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Definition
-companies providing goods by using resources not required to pay for harmful environmental costs
-COGandServices do not include the value of natural capital and environmental costs |
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Term
| 3 Big Ideas for Sustainability |
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Definition
1) Rely more on renewable energy from the sun
2) Protect biodiversity
3) Do not disrupt earth's natural chemical cycles |
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