Key historical events
An Inconvenient Truth released in 2006, starred which main political figure?
Al Gore
Define an ecosystem
A community and the physical environments with which is interacts.
State the second law of thermodynamics
Energy in systems is gradually transformed into heat energy due to iinefficient transfer, thereby increasing disorder (entropy)
Define sustainability
The use of global resources at a rate that allows natural regeneration and minimises environmental damage.
Define pollution
The addition of a substance or agent to an environment through human acitvity, at a rate greater than that at which it can be rendered harmless by the environment and which has an appreciable effect on the organisms in the environment.
The influential book written by Rachel Carson on the threat of DDT was called what?
Silent Spring
Define social system
People, groups and institutions that work togetherm, forming distinct patterns and relationships that define society
Positive feedback amplifies changes away from equilibirum. Negative feedback helps to maintain stability.
What are the 4 main types of ecosystem services
Supporting services
Regulating services
Provisioning services
Cultural services
Pollutants can originate from a wide range of human activities e.g. combustion of fossil fuels. They can also be in the form of....? (minimum 3 points)
Organic or inorganic substances
Light
Sound
Thermal energy
Biological agents
Invasive species
A campaign by Greenpeace in the 1970s was aimed at preventing what action?
Whaling
Provide an ecocentrist worldview
Nature has an inherent value. Minimum disturbance of natural processes. Combines spiritual, social, environmental aspects. Sustainability. Self-restraint on use of natural resources.
Provide and example of a negative feedback mechanism using a predator-prey relationship
1. Increase in prey population = increase in predator population
2. Results in prey population decrease = predator population decrease.
Back to number 1
What are the economical aspects of sustainable development? (Minimum 3 points)
Economics of sufficiency not greed
Energy efficient buildings
Green commuting
Reduced Pollution
Reduce, reuse, recycle policies
NOx and VOCs are examples primary pollutants. How are these used to become a secondary pollutant and what do they form?
They both react with sunlight to form tropospheric (ground-level) ozone.
In 1984 an explosion in Bhopal, India released how many tonnes of toxic methyl isocyanate gas? (Round answer to the nearest 10 tonnes)
40 tonnes (42 tonnes approx.)
What are some of the limitations of technocentrism. (2 points minimum for correct answer)
May give rise to further environmental problems.
Does not solve issue of consumerism.
Allows for greater resourse consumption.
High costs.
What can contribute to the resilience of an ecological and social system?
Diversity and size of storages.
What are some of the criticisms of EIAs
Lack of standard practice or training for practitioners
Lack of clear definition of system boundaries
Lack of inclusion of indirect impacts
What are 3 broad groups of human factors that affect approached to pollution management
Cultural values
Political systems
Economic systems
In 1956, a chemical company in Minamata, Japan released a toxic substance into waste water. What was this substance and what were the effects?
Methyl mercury, local people developed illnesses from mercury poisoning and local fish + shellfish were contaminated.
Compare the role of nature from the viewpoint of a deep ecologist and cornucopian
DE: humans subject to nature (not in control), intrinsically important to human existence.
C: Nature is there to be used by humanity. Humans can control their environment.
Postive feedback loops amplify changes towards a tipping point. An example is human population growth but what are the associated factors?
Resource consumption
Habitatat transformation and fragmentation
Energy production and consumption
Climate change
The EIA for London 2012 identified the likely impacts of developement and proposed measures to offset the effects. What were they?
Limiting and controlling contruction traffic times
Use of waste management strategy, limiting amount being transported.
Use of local waterways to move materials on or off the site.
The environmental impact of DDT is based on which 2 processes? + description of each in this context.
Biolaccumulation: DDT gets stored in fat tissues as not recognised as a toxin therefore not excreted.
Biomagnification: increasing concentration of DDT at each trophic level, one result is thinning of eggshells of birds top of food chains.