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Test #1- Lehr
N/A
118
Environmental Studies
Undergraduate 3
09/17/2011

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Term
Natural Resources
Definition
The various substances and energy sources we need to survive
Term
Renewable natural resources
Definition
Natural resources that are replenished over short periods
Term
nonrenewable resources
Definition
Resources, such as mineral ores or crude oil, that are in finite supply and are formed much more slowly than we use them.
Term
Environment
Definition
Includes all living and nonliving things around us with which we interact
Term
Agricultural Revolution
Definition
Transition from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to an agricultural way of life
Term
Industrial Revolution
Definition
Shift from rural life, animal-powered agriculture, and manufacturing by craftsmen to an urban society powered by fossil fuels
Term
Fossil Fuels
Definition
nonrenewable resources such as oil, coal, and natural gas
Term
Thomas Malthus
Definition
British economist that claimed that unless population growth was controlled, it would grow past the amount the earth could sustain. His best known work is An Essay on the Priciple of Populations
Term
Garrett Hardin
Definition
Wrote "the tragedy of the commons"; suggested that managing resources only for self-interest is not good for the public interest
Term
Ecological Footprint
Definition
Expresses the environmental impact of an individual or population in terms of the cumulative amount of biologically productive land and later required to provide the raw materials the person or population consumes and to dispose of or recycle the waste the person or population produces
Term
overshoot
Definition
Using resourves faster than they are replinished.
Term
Environmental science is an ______________ field.
Definition
Interdisciplinary; borrows techniques from numerous disciplines
Term
Natural sciences
Definition
disciplines that study the natural world
Term
Social sciences
Definition
discplines that study human interaction and institutions
Term
Environmental studies
Definition
Programs that include social sciences as well as the natural science
Term
Environmentalism
Definition
social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world
Term
Environmentalism
Definition
social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world
Term
Science
Definition
a systematic process for learning about hte world and testing our understanding of it.
Term
Observational Science
Definition
types of research in which scientists gather basic information about organisms materials or processes that are not well known
Term
Hypothesis-driven science
Definition
research that proceeds in a more structured manner, using experiements to test hypothesis within a framework traditionally known as the scientific method
Term
Hypothesis
Definition
statement that attempts to explain an phenomenon or answer a scientfic that attempts to explain a phenomenon or answer a scientific question
Term
Hypothesis
Definition
statement that attempts to explain an phenomenon or answer a scientfic that attempts to explain a phenomenon or answer a scientific question
Term
Theory
Definition
a widely accepted explanation of one or more cause-and-effect relationship that has been extensively tested with a great amount of research
Term
Ethics
Definition
A branch of philosophy that involves the study of good and bad, of right and wrong
Term
Relativists
Definition
ethicists that do and should vary with social context
Term
universalists
Definition
Ethicists maintaining that there exist objective notions of right and wrong that hold across cultures and situations
Term
Ethical Standards
Definition
criteria that help differentiate between right and wrong
Term
Environmental Ethics
Definition
The application of ethical standards to relationships between humans and nonhuman entities
Term
Anthropocentrism
Definition
a human-centered view of our relationship with the environment.
Term
Biocentrism
Definition
ascribes value to certain living things or the the biotic realm in general
Term
Ecocentrism
Definition
judges actions in terms of their effects on the whole ecological system
Term
John Muir
Definition
Associated with the preservation ethic
Term
Preservation Ethic
Definition
holds that we should protect our environment in a pristine, unaltered state
Term
Gifford Pinchot
Definition
founded the US Forest Service with Theodore Roosevelt; associated with the conservation ethic
Term
Conservation Ethic
Definition
hold that people should put natural resources to use but that we should use them in a responsible way
Term
Aldo Leopold
Definition
known for "The Land Ethic"
Term
Sustainability
Definition
living within out planet's means such that Earth and its resources can sustain us
Term
natural capital
Definition
Earth's accumulated wealth of resources
Term
Sustainable Development
Definition
the use of resources in a manner that satisfies our current nees but doesn't compromise the future availabilty of resources
Term
Economics
Definition
The study of how people decide to use scarce resources to provide goods and services in the face of demand for them
Term
Subsistence economy
Definition
people meet most or all of needs directly from nature and do not purchase or trade for necessity
Term
Capitalist Market Economy
Definition
Buyers and sellers interact to determine goods and services to produce, and how to distribute them
Term
Centrally Planned Economy
Definition
government determines in a top-down manner how to allocate resources
Term
Mixed Economies
Definition
a hybrid between socialist and capitalist economies
Term
Ecosystem Services
Definition
Essential processes that support the life that makes our economic activity possible
Term
Adam Smith
Definition
Father of classical economics
Term
Cost-benefit analysis
Definition
Economists total up estimated costs for a proposed action and compare these to the sum of benefits estimated to result from the action
Term
Nonmarket values
Definition
values not usually included in the price of a good or service
Term
Rachel Carson
Definition
wrote Silent Spring, the first science book written in laymen's terms
Term
National Environmental Policy Agency
Definition
created an agency called Council on Environmental Qualities and required that an environmental impact statement be prepared for major federal actions
Term
Environmental Impact Statement
Definition
report of results from studies that assess the potential impacts on the environment that would likely result from the development projects
Term
Hypoxia
Definition
condition of having low levels of dissolved oxygen in water
Term
System
Definition
network of relationships among components that interact with and influence each other through transfer of energy, matter of information
Term
Feedback Loop
Definition
When a system's output serves as an input in the same system
Term
Negative Feedback Loop
Definition
Input and output neutralize each other and stablize the system
Term
Positive Feedback Loop
Definition
Instead of stabilizing the system, the input and output drives the system to the extreme
Term
Lithosphere
Definition
contains the rock and soil in the earth's upper most layers
Term
Atmosphere
Definition
Composed of the air around our planet
Term
Hydrosphere
Definition
Encompasses all the water on Earth, in all forms
Term
Eutrophication
Definition
The process of nutrient overenrichement, blooms of algae, increased production of organic matter, and subsequent ecosystem degradation
Term
Matter
Definition
all material that has mass and takes up space
Term
Law of conservation of Matter
Definition
Matter cannot be created or destroyed
Term
Element
Definition
Chemical substance with a given set of properties that cannot be broken down into another substance
Term
Isotopes
Definition
Atoms with differing numbers of neutrons
Term
Hydrocarbons
Definition
consist solely of atoms of carbon and hudrogen; make up the fossil fuels
Term
Three types of polymers
Definition
proteins, nucleic acids, and carbohydrates
Term
Proteins
Definition
made up of long chains of organic molecules called amino acids
Term
Nucleic acids
Definition
Direct the production of proteins; DNA and RNA carry hereditary information for organisms
Term
Genes
Definition
Regions of DNA coding for particular proteins that perform particular functions
Term
Carbohydrates
Definition
include simple sugars that are three to seven carbon atoms long
Term
Lipids
Definition
chemically diverse group of compounds, classified together because they do not dissolve in water. Includes fats and oils, phospholipids, waxes, and steroids
Term
Energy
Definition
an intangible phenomenon that can change the position, physical composition, or temperature of matter
Term
Potential Energy
Definition
energy of position
Term
Kinetic Energy
Definition
Energy of motion
Term
Chemical Energy
Definition
potential energy that is held in the bonds between atoms
Term
Autotrophs
Definition
green plants that turn light energy intto ehemical energy through photosynthesis
Term
Photosynthesis Equation
Definition
6CO2 + 6H20 + the sunlight's energy = C2H12O6 (sugar) + 602
Term
Cellular Respiration Equation
Definition
C6H12O6 + 602 = 6CO2 + 6H20 + energy
Term
Heterotrophs
Definition
consumers; organisms that gain their energy by feeding on other organisms
Term
Ecosystem
Definition
consists of all organisms and non living entities that occur and interact in a particular area
Term
Net Primary Production
Definition
Energy that remains after respiration is used to generate biomass
Term
Net Primary Productivity
Definition
Occurs in ecosystems whose producers convert solar energy to biomass rapidly
Term
biogeochemical cycles
Definition
Nutrients move through ecosystems in these cycles
Term
nitrification
Definition
process of convertin ammonium ions first into nitrite ions then to nitrate ions
Term
Nitrogen fixation
Definition
can be accomplished in two ways: by the intense energy of lightning strikes, or when air in the top layer of soil comes in contact with nitrogen-fixing bacteria
Term
Natural Selection
Definition
process by which inherited characteristics that enhance survival and reproduction are passed on more frquently to future generations than those that do not, thus altering the genetic makeup of populations through time
Term
Evolution
Definition
consists of genetic change in populations of organisms across generations
Term
adaptive trait
Definition
A trait that promotes sucess
Term
Mutations
Definition
Accidental alteration that arise during DNA replication
Term
Artificial Selection
Definition
Process of selection conducted under human direction
Term
Biological Diversity
Definition
refers to the sum total of all organisms in an area, taking into account the diversity of species, their genes, their populations, and their communities
Term
Population
Definition
group of individuals of a particular species that live in the same area
Term
Species
Definition
a particular type of organism or a populatin whoe members share certain traits and can freely breed with one another and produce fertile offspring
Term
Speciation
Definition
process by which new species are generated
Term
phylogenetic trees
Definition
branching, treelike diagrams that represent life's history
Term
Fossil
Definition
impring in stone of the dead organism
Term
fossil record
Definition
The cumulative body of fossils worldwide
Term
Mass extinction events
Definition
have occured at widely spaced intervals in Earth history and have wiped out half to 95% of our planet's species each time
Term
Ecology
Definition
study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment
Term
Biosphere
Definition
cumulative total of living things on Earth and the areas they inhabit
Term
Population Ecology
Definition
investigates quantitative dynamics of how individuals within a species interact
Term
Community Ecology
Definition
focuses on interactions within species
Term
niche
Definition
reflects a species use of resources and its functional role in a community
Term
Specialists
Definition
Species with narrow breadth and specific requirements for survival
Term
Generalists
Definition
Organisms with broad tolerances, able to use a wide array of habitats
Term
Population density
Definition
describes the number of individuals within a population per unit area
Term
Population distribution
Definition
describes the spatial arrangement of organisms with an area
Term
Growth Rate
Definition
calculate the birth rate plus the immigration rate, minus the death rate
Term
Exponential Growth
Definition
When a population increases by a fixed percentage each year
Term
Limiting factors
Definition
Physical, chemical, and biological on characteristics of the environment that retrains population growth
Term
Carrying Capacity
Definition
maximum population size of a species that a given environment can sustain
Term
Random Population Density
Definition
haphazardly located; means the nutrient population is high
Term
Uniform Population Distribution
Definition
evenly spaced due to territoriality
Term
Clumped population distribution
Definition
arranged according to availability of resources or to avoid predators
Term
Cohorts
Definition
demographic groups according to age and sex
Term
K-Selected Species
Definition
species with long gestation periods like humans or elephants
Term
r-selected species
Definition
species with short gestation periods like flies or cockroaches
Term
PRT (Population recourse technology)
Definition
Relationship between technology and birth rate
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