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Ecology
The study of how living things (plants and animals) interact with one another in an ecosystem. By some measures, the demands of human society have already exceeded the carrying capacity of the earth's ecosystem. TERM 2
Global Commons
DEFINITION 2 A shared resource that a group of people uses collectively. If all individuals maximize their own advantage in short term, commons will be destroyed. TERM 3
Sustainable Development
DEFINITION 3 Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. -Protecting the envt will require economic development. -Economic development must be done sustainably. -Strikes a balance of the two. TERM 4
Threats to the Earth's Ecosystem
DEFINITION 4
- Water resources 2. Fossil fuels 3. Arable land 4. Jungle/rain forest reduction 5. Global warming TERM 5
Forces of Change
DEFINITION 5
- Population explosion (mainly Latin America, Asia, Africa) 2. World poverty 3. Industrialization 4. Political use of envt issues, permitting, etc.
Limits to Economic
Growth
- World resource base is finite/bounded. 2. Rapid population growth, rising expectations 3. Rapid industrialization of less developed countries are heading for collision with a fixed barrier. TERM 7
World Income Inequality
DEFINITION 7 About 40% of the world's population has income below the international poverty line ($2/day). Income not distributed equally throughout the world. Countries at either extreme level of income tend to behave in more environmentally destructive ways. TERM 8
Ozone Depletion
DEFINITION 8 CFCs destroy a layer of ozone. Montreal Protocol: cut CFC production. By 2003, 184 countries signed. Protective layer will gradually recover (hole over Antarctica, etc) TERM 9
Global Warming
DEFINITION 9 -Greenhouse Effect: CO2 in atmosphere prevents heat from escaping. -Amt of greenhouse gases in atmosphere has increased by 25% since the Industrial Revolution. -Caused by burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, beef production. -Earth has warmed by .4 degrees C. -Kyoto Protocol not signed by US (99-0 vote NO). - Source reduction and reduced pollution are goals. TERM 10
Life Cycle Analysis
DEFINITION 10 Collecting info on the lifelong environmental impact of a product, from extraction of raw material to manufacturing to its distribution, use, and ultimate disposal.
