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40 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Explain concept of sustainability |
Society continues on without depleting its resources by exceeding sustainable yields, and without producing pollutants beyond nature's capacity to absorb them |
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What are the three types of resources? |
Renewable, potentially renewable, non-renewable |
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What influenced the creation of the environmental movement? |
Realization that unique, wild aspects of US were disappearing, formation of environmental groups like the Sierra Club, after WWI, technological advances created an environmental crisis |
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What book contributed to the creation of the EPA? |
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson |
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Explain the concept of Environmental Unity |
Everything in the environment is connected and is part of a larger system |
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What was main finding about Cichlids of Lake Victoria? |
Cichlids were very abundant, Nile perch introduced into lake, 65% of Cichlids driven to extinction |
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What factors influenced the collapse of Easter Island? |
Cut down all the trees, this lead to soil erosion, overfishing, poor crops and eventually war which wiped out most of the population |
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Define: Ecosystem |
A grouping of plants, animals, and microbes interacting with one another and with their environment in such a way as to perpetuate themselves. |
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Define: Biome |
A group of similar or related ecosystems. Large region characterized by (1) a distinct climate and (2) specific forms of life adapted to it |
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Define: Biosphere |
All the species on Earth and their environments |
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Define: Habitat |
Kind of place where a species is biologically adapted to living |
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Define: Niche |
Part of the habitat that includes what animal feeds on, where animal feeds, where animal finds shelter, where animal nests |
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Describe current status of the Chesapeake Bay |
Largest estuary in the US, being polluted by chicken poop that flows into the bay which leads to growth of algae which use up all the oxygen |
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What is a Keystone species? |
A species that has a large effect on a community or ecosystem |
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What is the "competitive Exclusion Principle"? |
No two species who compete for the same resource can coexist in the same habitat for long |
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What are the "categories of Organisms?" |
Producers (autotrophs) Consumers (heterotrophs) and Detritus feeders and decomposers (also heterotrophs) |
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How do Abiotic factors influence ecosystems? |
Abiotic factors determine the types of species an ecosystem will contain |
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Explain the law of limiting factors |
Any one factor being outside the optimal range will cause stress and limit the growth, reproduction, or even survival of the population |
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What two factors determine climate? |
Average temperature and average precipitation |
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Explain concept of energy transfer and energy pyramids |
You need many more producers to support primary consumers, and many more primary consumers to support secondary and tertiary consumers |
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Explain "mutualism" |
Also known as symbiosis, when two species interact in ways that benefit each other |
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Which 3 biomes are most productive? |
Estuaries, Swamps & marshes, tropical rainforest |
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What are the 2 reasons for the population increases? |
Birth rates have declined only slightly, mortality rates have decreased |
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What factors contributed to the reduction in mortality rates? |
Improved sanitation/personal hygiene, nutritional/diet improvements, vaccinations, antibiotics/improved medical tech |
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What are two of the best indicators of the health of a country? |
Infant mortality rate and life expectancy from birth |
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Define: Crude birth rates |
Number of babies born per 1000 people per year |
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Define: Crude death rates |
Annual number of deaths per 1000 people
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Define: Total fertility rate |
The average number of kids a woman has over her lifetime |
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Define: Replacement fertility |
Fertility rate which will just replace population of parents |
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According to the UN, the recent drop in worldwide fertility rates was due to which 2 factors? |
Delay in marriage, and birth control |
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Explain Malthusian theory of overpopulation |
Excess population causes all other problems |
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Explain Marxian theory of overpopulation |
Unequal resource distribution and exploitation of poor leads to all other problems |
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Describe the poverty cycle |
Lack of birth control leads to high fertility, leads to more people using resources, leads to poverty, leads to overuse of resources, leads to environmental degradation, leads to wanting more children to gather resources and restarts |
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What is meant by the "Demographic transition?" |
The falling of both birth and death rates. Assumption is that as people gain money and security, they will voluntarily lower their fertility rates. |
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What are the 2 basic approaches to population control? |
Birth control and economic development |
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What is ZPG? |
Zero population growth |
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Describe the family planning movement |
"Fruits of Philosophy" book by Dr. Charles Knowlton about birth control, development of the diaphragm in 1840, Birth control clinics in 1916 |
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Who was Margaret Sanger? |
Founded what is now "Planned Parenthood" birth control activist, opened up first birth control clinic |
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List the 5 key elements to solve the poverty-population crisis |
1. Education 2. Improving Health 3. Making contraceptives available 4. Enhancing income 5. Improving resource management |
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What is micro-lending? |
Lending of small amounts of money to people in poor/developing countries in order to start some sort of business that will generate income |