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everything that affects a living organism
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terms list
Environment
everything that affects a living organism
environmental science
a study of how the earth works, how we interact with the earth, and how to deal with environmental problems
ecology
a biological science that studies the relationships between living organisms and their environment
environmentalism
a social movement dedicated to protecting the earth's life support systems for us and other species
sustainability
the ability of the earth's various systems, including human cultural systems and economies, to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions
natural capital
the natural materials and processes that sustain life on the earth and our economies
capital
wealth used to sustain a business and to generate more wealth
exponential growth
growth in which some quantity such as population size or economic output, increases at a constant rate per unit of time. An example is the growth sequence 2,4,8,16,32,64 and so on. when the increase in quantity over time is plotted, this type of growth yields a curve shaped like the letter J.
degrade natural capital
using normally renewable resources faster than nature can renew them
examples of degrade natural capital
cutting down or burning diverse natural forests to grow crops, graze cattle, and supply us with wood and paper
solution examples
stop clear-cutting diverse mature forests
trade-off
the search for solutions often involves conflicts and resolving these conflicts with compromises
individual matter
when one individual comes up with an idea for bringing about a solution.
examples of trade-off
to provide wood and paper and crops such as coffee we can promote the planting of tree and coffee plantations in areas that have already been cleared or degraded
individual matter examples
some found ways to elimate the need to use trees to produce paper by using residues from crops and by planting rapidly growing plants and using their fiber to make paper
sound science
the concepts and ideas that are widely accepted by experts in a particular field of the natural or social sciences
sound science examples
it tells us that wee need to protect and sustain the many natural services provided by diverse mature forests
subthemes of sustainability
natural capital, natural capital degradation, solutions, trade-offs, and individual matter
environmentally sustainable society
meets the basic resources of its people indefinitely without degrading or depleting the natural capital that supplies these resources
living sustainably
means living off natural income replenished by soils, plants, air and water and not depleting or degrading the earth's endowment of natural capital that supplies this biological income
worlds population rate
1.2% per year
economic growth
an increase in the capacity of a country to provide people with goods and services
gross domestic product
the annual market value of all goods and services produced by all firms and organizations, foreign and domestic, operating within a country
per capita GDP
the GDP divided by the total population at midyear
Economic development
the improvement of human living standards by economic growth
developed countries
United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the countries of Europe.
developing countries
nations with 5.3 billion people including Africa Asia and Latin America
perpetual
sunlight, winds, and flowing water
renewable
fresh air and water, soils, forest products, and food crops
nonrenewable
fossil fuels, metals, and sand
perpetual resource
an essentially inexhaustible resource on a human time scale for example solar energy
renewable resource
resource that can be replenished rapidly through natural processes.
nonrenewable resource
resource that exists in a fixed amount (stock) in various places in the earth's crust and has the potential for renewal by geological, physical, and chemical processes taking place over hundreds of millions to billions of years
sustainable yield
highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing its available supply
environmental degradation
when we exceed a resource's natural replacement rate, the available supply begins to shrink
examples of environmental degradation
urbanization of productive land, excessive topsoil erosion, pollution, deforestation, groundwater depletion, overgrazing of grasslands by livestock and reduction in the earth's forms of wildlife by elimination of habitats and species
common property
or free-access resources which means that no one owns these resources and they are available to users at little or no charge
common property examples
clean air, the open ocean and its fish, migratory birds, wildlife species, gases of the lower atmosphere and space
tragedy of the commons
the degradation of renewable free-access resources because everyone assumes if they don'tso use a resource someone else will
solutions to tragedy of the commons
free-access resources at rates well below their estimated sustainable yields or convert free-access resources to private ownership
per capita ecological footprint
the amount of biological productive land and water needed to supply each person with the resources he or she uses and to absorb the wastes from such resource use
humanity's ecological footprint
exceeds the earth's ecological capacity to replenish its renewable resources and absorb waste by about 21%
economically depleted
the costs of extracting and using what is left exceed its economic value
pollution
chemicals found at high enough levels in the environment to cause harm to people or other organisms
point sources
pollutants are single identifiable sources
nonpoint sources
are dispersed and often difficult to identify
examples of point sources
smokestack of a coal burning power or industrial plant
examples of non point sources
pesticides sprayed into the air or blown by the wind into the atmosphere and runoff of fertilizers and pesticides from farmlands and suburban lawns and garden streams and lakes
unwanted effects of pollutants
they can disrupt or degrade life-support systems for humans and other species...they can damage wildlife, human health, and property....they can create nuisances such as noise and unpleasant smells, tastes, and sights
pollution prevention
input pollution control reduces or eliminates the production of polluants
pollution cleanup
output pollution control involves cleaning up or diluting pollutants after they have been produced
problems with pollution cleanup
it is only temporary bandage as long as population and consumption levels grown without corresponding improvements in pollution control technology....cleanup often removes a pollutant from one part of the environment only to cause pollution in another...once pollutants become dispersed into the environment at harmful levels, it usually costs too much to reduce them to acceptable levels
major causes of environmental problems
population growth, wasteful resource use, poverty, poor environmental accounting, and ecological ignorance
four preventable health problems
malnutrition, increased susceptibility to normally nonfatal infectious diseases, lack of access to clean drinking water, severe respiratory disease and premature death from inhaling indoor air pollutants produced by burning wood or coal for heat and cooking in open fires or in poorly vented stoves
affluenza
to describe the unsustainable addiction to overconsumption and materialism exhibited in the lifestyles of affluent consumers in the US and other developed countries
law of progressive simplification
true growth occurs as civilizations transfer an increasing proportion of energy and attention from the material side of life to the nonmaterial side and thereby develop their culture, capacity for compassion, sense of community and strength of democracy
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