Front Back
Environment 
the living and nonliving surroundings in which an organism exists 
Environmental              science
field of research used to understand the natural world and our relationship to it - extremely interdisciplinary 
Applied science 
research whose findings are used to help solve practical problems -ex. designing a solar panal for increased efficiency
Triple Bottom Line
Combination of environmental, social, and economic impacts of our choices 
Carrying Capacity 
Population size that a particular environment can support indefinitely 
Sustainable development 
Development that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same 
Ecological Footprint 
Land needed to provide the resources and assimilate the waste of a person or population 
Anthropogenic 
Caused by or related to human action 
Biodiversity 
Variety of species of earth 
Nonrenewable resources
Resources who's supply is finite or not replenished in a timely fashion -ex. reliance on fossil fuels; coal, natural gas, petroleum to power our society
Social Traps
decisions by individual or groups that sound good at the time and products short term benefit, but hurt society in long run 
Tragedy of Commons 
Abuse commonly held resources in or to maximize his/her own personal interest -Ex. Water/Public land
Time delay social trap
Efficiency causes overexploitation 
Sliding Reinforcer 
Building immunity , super germ 
World views 
-Anthropocentric -Biocentric -Ecocentric
Anthropocentric World view
Human centered view that assigns inartistic value only to humans 
Biocentric World view
Life centered approach that views all life as having inartistic value, regardless of usefulness to humans
Ecocentric Worldview
A system centered view, values intact ecosystems not just individual parts 
Observations 
Info detected with the senses 
Inferences 
Conclusions we draw based on observations 
Atmosphere
Blanket of gases that surrounds the earth and other plants -Ozone is key element -Differ in temperature, density, and gas
Troposphere 
Lowest level, starts ground level and extends upward 7 miles -Air we breathe and where weather comes from
Stratosphere
Atmospheric blanket, starts at top of troposphere and extends up 31 miles - Contains ozone layer
Ozone 
3 oxygen atoms, absorbs UV radiation in stratosphere -Ex. Ozone protects earths surface from UV-B radiation
Empirical Evidence 
Information gathered via observation of physical phenomena, natural tools,eyes, ears, other senses 
Scientific method 
Empirical produce test a hypothesis 
Falsifiable 
Idea or prediction that can be proved wrong by evidence -Ex. of NOT falsifiable: People should not litter because is it wrong to do so .
Control group
Group that the test groups results are compared to; ideally this bro will differ from test group in only one way 
Adaptive Movement 
Allows room for altering strategies as new info comes in or situation itself changes 
Crude Death Rate 
Number of deaths per 1,000 individuals per year
Population Density 
Number of deaths per unit area
Population Momentums 
Tendency of a young population to continue to grow even after birth rates drop to "replacement rates"- 2 children per couple
Proratalist pressures 
Cultural and economic forces that encourage women to have more children 
Total Fertility Rate (TFR)
Number of children the average women has in her lifetime -Hovered between 5 and 6
Demographic Factors 
Population characteristics such as birth rate/ life expectancy that influence how a population changes in size and composition 
Demographic Transition 
Theoretical model that describes the expected drop in once-high population growth rates as economic conditions improve the quality of life in a population 
Zero Population Growth 
The absence of population growth; occurs when birth rates equal death rates 
Zero Population Growth 
The absence of population growth; occurs when birth rates equal death rates 
Replacement fertility rate 
Rate at which children must be born to replace those dying in the population 
Age Structure 
Part of population pyramid that shows what percentage of the population is distributed into various age groups of males and females
Sex ratio
Number of males to females in a population; dividing number of males by number of females -Number of males for every 1,000 females
Gendercide 
The systematic killing of a specific gender 
Economics 
The social science that deals with how we allocate scarce resources 
Ecosystem services 
Essential ecological processes that make life on earth possible -Ex. Water purification, pollination, climate regulation, nutrient cycling
Natural Capital 
Wealth of resources on earth. Resources we consume like oxygen, trees, fish, and natural systems- forests, wetlands, oceans
Natural interests 
Readily produced resources that we could use and still leave enough natural capital behind to replace what we took. -Produced from this capital; more trees and oxygen -EX. the interest you earn with a bank account
Intergenerational tyranny
Taking resources away from the future 
IPAT Model 
Equation (I=P x A x T) That identifies 3 factors that increase humans impact (I) directly, population size ( P), affluence (A), and technology (T)
Internal Cost 
Those costs such as manufacturing, costs, labor, taxes, utilities, insurance and rent that accounted for when a product or service is evaluated doe pricing 
External Cost 
Costs that are not taken in account when a price is assigned to a product or service -Ex. health cost associated with the waste produced
True Cost
Including both internal and external costs when setting a price for a good or service. 
Closed- Loop System 
System where the product is folded back into the resource stream when consumers are finished with it, or is disposed of in such a way that nature can decompose it
Cradle- to- Cradle 
Management of a resource that considers the impact of its use at every stage of the process
Discount Future Value 
To give more weight to short- term benefits and costs than long term ones
Environmental/ Ecological economics
Theories that consider the long-term, impact of our choices on people and environment 
Green Business 
Doing business in a way that is good for people and the environment -Also profitable
Service Economy
Focus is on selling a service rather than a product. Focus on leasing and caring for a product in the customers possession rather than selling the product itself -Selling the service the product provides
Ecolabeling 
Providing information about how a product is made and where it comes from. Allows consumers to make more sustainable choices and support sustainable products and the business that produce them 
Biosphere 
The sum of all of earth and ecosystems. Total area where living things are found 
Habitat 
Physical environment in which individuals of a particular species can be found 
Species 
Group of plants and animals that have a high degree of a similarity and can generally only interbreed among themselves 
Niche 
Role of a species plays in its community, including how it gets its energy and nutrients, what habitat requirements it has and what other species and parts of the ecosystem it interacts with 
Energy Flow 
One-way passage of energy through an ecosystem 
Nutrient Cycles 
-(AKA biogeochemical cycles ) -Movement of lives essential chemicals or nutrients through ecosystem
Biomass
Sum of organic material-plant and animal matter that make-up an ecosystem -Plant biomass produced with energy from sun
Biome
Distinctive types of ecosystems determined by climate and identified by the predominant vegetation and organism that have adapted there -3 broad categories: Marine, freshwater, territorial
Limiting Factors 
Critical resource whose supply determines the population size of a given biome
Range of Tolerance 
Range within upper and lower limits of a limiting factor that allows species to survive and reproduce 
Biotic
The living (organic) components of an ecosystem, such as plants and animals and their waste (dead leaves, feces)
Abiotic 
The nonliving components of and ecosystem, such as rainfall and mineral composition of the soil 
Reservoirs (Or Sinks)
Abiotic or biotic components of the environment that serves as a storage place for cycling nutrients
Producer 
An organism that converts solar energy to chemical energy via photosynthesis 
Consumer 
An organism that obtains energy and nutrients by feeding on another organism 
Cellular Respiration 
The process in which all organisms break down sugar to release its energy, using oxygen and giving CO2 as a waste product 
Carbon cycle 
Movement of carbon through biotic and abiotic parts of an ecosystem. Carbon cycles via photosynthesis and cellular respiration as well as in and out of other reservoirs such as the oceans and soil. It is also released by human actions such as fossil fuel burning
Nitrogen cycle 
Continuous series of natural processes by which nitrogen passes from the air to the soil, to organisms and then returns back to the air or soil through decomposition or de itrification 
Nitrogen Fixation 
Conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into a biologically usable form, carried out by bacteria found in soil via lightning 
Phosphorus cycle 
Series of natural processes by which the nutrient phosphorus moves from rock to soil or water, to living organisms and to the soil 

Access the best Study Guides, Lecture Notes and Practice Exams

Login

Join to view and access 3M+ class-specific study document.

or
We will never post anything without your permission.
Don't have an account?
Sign Up

Join to view 2 2 and access 3M+ class-specific study document.

or

By creating an account you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use

Already a member?