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BISC TEST 1

Terms in this set (96)

Science
Physical laws operate the same for everyone, everywhere, overtime.
1. Observation
2. Develop hypothesis
3. Make predictions
4. Test predictions
5.Analyzing and interpreting results
6. Conclusion
What are the steps of the scientific method?
Biotic
Living organism
Abiotic
Nonliving organism
Desert
Forest
Tundra
Aquatic
Grasslands
What are the 5 major biomes?
Environmental Science
Understanding environmental problems and their origins.
Pre-Industrial
Both birth rates and death rates are high. As a result, population size remains fairly constant but can have major swings with events such as wars or pandemics.
Transitional
The introduction of modern medicine lowers death rates, especially among children, while birth rates remain high; the result is rapid population growth.
Post-Industrial
Birth and death rates are both low, stabilizing the population. These countries tend to have stronger economies, higher levels of education, better healthcare, a higher proportion of working women, and a fertility rate hovering around two children per woman.
Industrial
birth rates gradually decrease, usually as a result of improved economic conditions, an increase in women's status, and access to contraception. Population growth continues, but at a lower rate.
Many of the less developed countries are in the transitional stage.
Most developing countries are in the Industrial stage.
Many developed countries are in the Post-Industrial stage.
Describe the stage of developing countries throughout the stages.
Changes with economic development because of changes in the status of women and desirable family size
How does Total Fertility Rate change?
Birth rates and immigration rates
What do Political Factors change?
Subsistence
Capitalist market
Centrally planned
What are some types of economies?
Anthropocentrism
A human centered view of relationship with environment which is deprived from human interests. Is necessary for survival we must maintain its some means of beauty.
Biocentrism
All forms of life have an inset right to exist and ethical standings. Gives relative values to actions based on effect on all living things.
Ecocentrism
The environment deserves moral consideration in its own right. Consider change to integrity of whole ecological system.
This is because not everyone sees the problem the same way, the issues are interconnected, and they cross political boundaries
Why are environmental problems hard to solve?
Government
Market
Cultural changes
What solutions can be implemented to solve environmental problems?
Pre-Industrial
Transitional
Industrial
Post-Industrial
What are the four stages of the Demographic Transition Model?
Impact = Population x Affluence x Technology
What does the IPAT model stand for?
growth rates
natality
mortality
birth rates
death rates
total fertility rate
What are some things demographers study?
That workers and other resources are infinite or interchangeable.
What does capitalism assume?
Internal costs are counted while external costs are excluded.
Describe internal and external costs.
Ecosystem Service
Essential service the ecosystem provides support for life that makes economic activity possible
It is required to keep employment high and maintain social order.
Why is economic growth so important?
Supply and Demand
Capitalism is built of what two things?
It replaced human and animal energy with fossil fuels making it cheaper and easier to handle.
What was the change in consumption after the industrial revolution?
As population went up the demand for food also increased.
Describe the consumption of food?
Get fossils from store
Excess food is problem
Lots of processed foods
What is the pattern in Developed Countries?
Get fossils from gathering for your food.
Main problem is lack of food.
What is the pattern in Developing Countries?
The Sun
Earths Core
Gravitational Pull of Sun and Moon
Nuclear
Sources of Energy:
Renewable Resource
Energy which is generated from natural sources. They are available in plenty and by far the most cleanest source if energy available on the planet.
Energy that we receive from the sun can be used to generate electricity.
Example of Renewable Resource?
Nonrenewable Resource
Energy which is taken from the sources that are available on the earth and are in limited quantity and will vanish when used up.
Exist in the forms of fossil fuels, natural gases oil, and coal.
Example of Nonrenewable Resource?
Fossil Fuels
A natural resource such a coal or gas, formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms.
Coal, Oil, and Natural Gases
Example of fossil fuels?
Coal
Comes from the stripping or subsurface mining, environmental problems.
Acid Drainage
Subsidence
Environmental problems with obtaining and using coal?
Acid Drainage
Outflow of adit water from mines.
Subsidence
The gradual caving in or sinking of an area of land.
Natural Gases
A highly flammable mix of hydrocarbon gases and methane found underground.
It is refined before being used and then delivered through pipelines.
What is done to Natural Gases after it is taken out of the ground?
Fracking
Process in which extracting Oil and Natural Gases from rock?
Contamination of ground and surface water
Methane emission
Air pollution
Migration of gases to the surface
Location of new fields
Oils spills
What are the Environmental Problems with Fracking?
Oil
A mix of liquid hydrocarbons found deep underground that must be refined before used.
The amount of energy obtained.
Energy returned over energy invested depends on?
Peak Oil
The point in time when the maximum rate of extraction of petroleum is reached.
Supply starts to move down and demand starts to go up.
What are the consequences of Peak Oil?
Location of new Fields
Oil Spills
Air Pollution
What are the environmental problems with obtain oil?
Biogenic
Human activity makes pollution worse?
Anthropogenic
Source of pollution is already definite because it has a set point that pollutants enter the air.
Point Source
Non-Point Source
What are the categories of emission?
Point Source
Source of pollution is already definite to be released into the air at a set point.
Non-Point Source
Source of pollution is more diffuse, often introduced from a wide spread area.
Primary Pollutant
A pollutant directly put into the environment that is harmful.
Secondary Pollutant
Hazardous substances produced through the reaction of substances.
Sets standards for air quality
Imposes limits on emission from new sources
Enables citizens to sue parties that violate standards
What does the Clean Air Act say?
Lead
CO2 (Carbon Monoxide)
Particulate Matter (PM)
NOX (Nitrogen Oxide)
SO2 (Sulfur Dioxide)
O-Zone
What are the six pollutants?
Lead
A metal that enters the atmosphere as a particle.
CO2
Colorless, odorless gas produced by incomplete combustion of fuels.
Particulate Matter (PM)
Any solid or liquid particles small enough to be carried around.
NOX
A class of nitrogen gases form when N2 + O2 in the environment react within combustion engines.
SO2
Formed when sulfur particles combine with oxygen during combustion.
O-Zone
A natural component of our upper atmosphere. Also blocks UV rays.
Industrial Smog
Grey air smog caused by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels.
Photochemical Smog
A brown air smog that forms through light driven relations of primary pollutants to produce hundreds of secondary pollutants.
Acid Precipitation
Rain, fog, or snow with Ph levels less than 5.5.
Global Climate Change
Change in the earths climate results in the change in weather.
Climate
Pattern of atmosphere conditions found across large geographic areas and long time periods.
Weather
The local physical properties of the lower atmosphere over small time periods and geographic areas.
The Sun
Earths climate is controlled by?
Milankovitch Cycles
Variations in earths rotation and orbit around the sun and slight variations in the amount of solar radiation hits the surface.
Sun Spot Cycle
Changes intensity of the sun.
Green House Gases
Amit more solar energy into the atmosphere than allow to escape.
Green House Effect
The warming of Earths surface and atmosphere
Respiration
Burning of Fossil Fuels
Deforestation
Source of Carbon Dioxide
Burning fossil fuels
Natural gases leak
Bacterial Decomposition of organic matter
Sources of Methane
Burning fossil fuels
Feed lots, fertilizer application
Chemical manufacturing
Sources of Nitrous Oxide
CFC's
Synthetic chemicals used in many industrial applications.
Water Vapor
Increase temperature could increase this leading to more evaporation.
Aerosols
Increase reflection of solar radiation.
Absorbs heat by equator
Emit heat in polar regions
Thermohaline Circulation does what to our climate.
Direct measurements
Global air temperature
Direct atmosphere measurements
How to determine historical climate change?
Old:
Drilling Ice Cores and Sediment Cores
New:
Using Models
How is old and future climate change measured?
International Panel of Climate Change
These people try and figure out that state of scientific knowledge of a climate change based on peer review literature.
Predict future changes
Address the impact of these changes and discuss responses to the changes.
What is the purpose of this Panel?
Human influence on climate is clear and outgoing.
What did the Panel conclude?
Food prices goes up
Change in habitat
Increase in drought, evaporation
Ice melting
Temperature rises
Forest fires
Climate change has affected?
Average surface temperatures have increased
Number of hot days have increased and number of cold days decrease
Best estimate is an increase in 3-7 degrees in temperature
Warming will decrease land and ocean uptake of CO2
Temperature changes affect?
More water vapor in atmosphere
Observed changes in precipitation patterns
Increase in latitudes of high
Decrease of low latitudes
Increase in heavy precipitation land
More intense long droughts
Changes in oceans
What are the precipitation changes?
Decrease in mountain glaciers and snow covered worldwide.
Faster than expected melting of ice sheets in Greenland and Antartica
Decrease in polar sea ice
Positive feedback loop as ocean temperatures increase and ice melts
What does melting of ice and snow do?
Means sea level increases
Happens because ice melts on land
Thermal Expansion as ocean temperatures increase
Prediction is we will displace coastal communities and damage coastal ecosystems
What does the increase in sea level do?
Changes in arctic faster than elsewhere
Impact of aquatic ecosystems
Impacts of organisms and ecosystems?
Species face increase risk of extinction
Undermine food security
Impacts of future climate change?
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