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Lecture 1
Lecture 2
Lecture 3
Lecture 4
Lecture 5
100
How do you define Environmental Science? How does it differ from Environmental Studies or activism?
The interdisciplinary scientific study of the relationship between humans and their environment. Environmental Studies draws largely on social sciences and the humanities. While green activism might use some of the principles of Environmental Science, it is not the same thing. Environmental Science must be objective.
100
Primary vs. Secondary Forests
Primary- Never been cut Secondary- Managed forests
100
What is economics?
the branch of social science that deals with the production and distribution and consumption of goods and services and their management
100
With the human application of ethical standards, how do you think we should treat the environment?
By making choices that regard the ethical treatment of human, non-human animals and the environment, and reflect sustainable, personal responsibility for the use of natural resources and the natural world.
100
The material in the universe that has mass and occupies space.
What is matter?
200
Describe each step of the scientific method, and how it might be practically applied in an experiment.
(see figure)
200
During the Frontier Era, what were some of the legislation that led to people moving westward and farther away from their concentration in the East?
Some Legislation was the Homsted Act which made 16 Ha of land $16 dollars if you lived there and built a house or cultivated land that was previously wild. Also the Mining Law which advocated cheap mining on public land with no government over site needed.
200
What is GDP? What is GPI? What is the difference?
GDP AND GPI are indicators of economic health. Gross domestic product is the total value of goods and services produced in a country each year. Because it does not account for non-market values, or an expression of desirable economic activity, the GPI (or genuine progress indicator) can be used. The GPI is a different equation to adjust for social and environmental factors.
200
What might the consequences be of killing plant and animal species just to protect humans and human health?
Destroying poison ivy: increased soil erosion, depletion of a food source for some animal species. Killing rattle snakes: removal of rodent population control = destroying crops and spreading diseases. Snakes are also a food source for other animals (hawks, other snakes, some humans, etc)
200
Fill in the blanks in the figure
Potential Energy Kinetic Energy Entropy
300
What is an ecological footprint? What country currently has the largest ecological footprint (measured in ha)? What are ways we can reduce our ecological footprint?
The ecological impact of human activities as measured in terms of the area of biologically productive land and water required to produce the goods consumed and to assimilate the wastes generated. Cut down unnecessary consumption of food, energy, and water in order to reduce the amount of waste produced.
300
What is the Preservationalists vs. the Conservationalists?
Preservationalists- They wanted to preserve the natural environment in a prestine, unalter state. The first advocate was Thoreau Conservationalists- They wanted to protect natural resources "for the greatest good, for the greatest number of people, for the longest time." One of the first advocates was Teddy Roosevelt.
300
What is a tool used by economists to place value on certain goods and services?
A cost benefit analysis. It is an assessment of costs and benefits of a project or a policy in monetary terms. REMEMBER: Those items can be valued with a dollar figure: market values And not those Non-market goods, such as ecosystem services, which are not traded formally in markets and thus may not have a dollar value attached to them. 
300
What is the preservation ethic? The conservation ethic? A historical figure associated with each?
Preserving the natural environment and natural resources based off of its inherent value (its right to exist in a pristine and untouched state). (John Muir) The idea that natural resources should be conserved for the use of humans, creation of jobs, building of homes, etc. (TR)
300
What are the two energy laws and what do they state?
First Law of Thermodynamics: In all energy transformations, energy is neither created nor destroyed. Second Law of Thermodynamics: In any conversion of energy from one form to another, some is always transformed from higher into lower quality, more dispersed, less useful energy.
400
How have we found out what happened on Easter Island? What were the hypotheses? What lessons have we learned?
Researchers used a variety of methods to form hypotheses about the decline of Easter Island. Pollen samples were taken from fossilized lake sediment, and some groups have reenacted the moving of the statues in order to see what materials were used in the process. While some initially postulated that climate change was responsible for the fall of Easter Island's population, a new hypothesis has surfaced positing that the citizens overused the precious and finite resources available on the island. The decline of Easter Island teaches our modern society about the importance of conservation and moderation.
400
What is this a picture of?
This is when the Cuyahoga River caught on fire because it was so polluted. This was one of the events that showed people that water quality needed to be improved.
400
What are negative externalities? Provide some examples.
Costs or benefits that are not included (external) in the market price of a good because they are not included in the supply or the demand price. Pollution is an example of an external cost.
400
1. What is anthropocentrism? 2. Biocentrism? 3. Ecocentrism?
The Three Ethical Perspectives. 1. Human-centered (man is lord and master of nature) 2. Organism-centered (individual organisms have intrinsic value) 3. Ecosystem-centered (holistic: includes species, biosphere, ecosystems)
400
The equation for photosynthesis.
What is 6CO2 + 6H2O + the sun’s energy --> C6H12O6 (sugar) + 6O2
500
Why has environmental science become more prevalent since the year 1960? What is the equation used to measure these changes, and what do the variables represent?
Population, technology, and affluence spiked. We began to realize the impact of our livelihoods and habits on our planet. I = P*A*T I = Environmental Impact P = Population A = Affluence, or per capita economic T = Technology, or impact per unit economic activity
500
Who is this and what did she do?
Rachel Carson. She wrote Silent Spring which talks about the effects of DDT and other pesticides that humans began to use without measuring the effect it would have on the future of the environment.
500
What are some key differences between "conventional economics" and "ecological economics"?
Conventional economics: Failure to incorporate the indirect costs, negative externalities, of providing goods or services into prices “Discounting” the future effects Not assigning a market-value to Ecosystem Services Focus on growth every year Ecological Economics: Applies the principles of ecology and system thinking to analysis of economic systems Advocate steady-state economies No growth, no recession, just a stable sustainable economy Promote cyclic production systems Mimic natural systems
500
What is environmental justice? A contemporary example?
The equitable treatment of all humans with regard to environmental development, legislation and laws. Dickson Co., TN (2007): people of color have greater health and environmental burdens than other individuals (mostly white) who live in areas without pollution or water/land contamination. The county has chosen these poorer areas to dump waste and release greater amounts of fossil fuels.
500
Name some environmental implications of the laws of matter and energy.
Matter is conserved, so when we throw things away they don't really go away, but continue to cycle within the system. Energy decreases in quality as it undergoes transformations, so organisms have to eat more and more as they move up the food chain (related to biomagnification of toxins).