Intro/Ecological Footprint
What is the environment?
The natural world which includes both living and nonliving things
All of the information gathered from an experiment is called....?
Data
What is a scientific theory?
Explains a phenomenon and is supported by many different fields of evidence
Define economics
The study of the production and composition of scarce resources and the way they affect behavior
What are regulation policies? Provide an example
Policies that focus on the threat of punishment if rules are not followed Ex: Clean Water Act
What is an ecological footprint? Which countries/regions have the largest and smallest?
A measurement of the demands made by one person or group on global natural resources.
Large = North America, Russia, Middle East
Small = India, Africa, South America
What is a hypothesis? What are the 2 types of reasoning associated with a hypothesis?
Hypothesis - a testable explanation for a question or problem
Inductive reasoning - looks for patterns/rules in the natural world
Deductive reasoning - compares new things to the rules of the natural world
What is the branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles?
Ethics
Define supply & demand
Supply - the amount of resource available
Demand - the # of people willing to purchase or use that resource
What type of policy involves the encouragement of an environmentally friendly activity through subsidies?
How do renewable and nonrenewable resources differ?
Renewable resources - naturally replenish over short periods of time ex:sunlight
Nonrenewable resources - take a long time to replenish ex:fossil fuels
What are possible ways to communicate results of an experiment?
Charts, tables, graphs, conferences, publications, etc
Define ecocentrism?
A world-view that values the ecosystem or community as a whole rather than
individuals
What is the process of deciding whether the gain brought by the resource is worth the cost?
Cost-benefit analysis
Carrie loves to take her dogs on hikes and for a swim in the nearby lake. What kind of ecosystem service is this?
Cultural
What is a controlled experiment? What are all the variables of the experiment?
Controlled experiment - experiment that changes only 1 variable at a time
Control - what remains the same
Independent variable - what you are changing
Dependent variable - what you are measuring as a result of the independent variable
You notice that the strawberries in your garden all have tiny bite marks in them. You hypothesize that rabbits are the culprits, so you put a wire fence around half of the strawberry patch. List the independent variable, the dependent variable, and 3 possible controlled variables in this experiment
Independent - fence
Dependent - # of bites on strawberries
3 controls - location of garden, type of strawberries, amount of water for berries, length of time before checking berries, when you check for bite marks
Which world view focuses on the value of humans and human welfare?
Anthroocentrism
What are the 4 ecosystem services?
Regulating
Cultural
Supporting
During every storm, sediment fills in your neighborhood pond and raises the soil level by 3 cm. How many storms will it take to raise the water level the remaining 20 inches? 1 inch= 2.54 cm
24 Storms
What is the Tragedy of the Commons w/an example
The Tragedy of Commons explains how when a shared resource is unregulated, individuals will consume it at a selfish rate leading to depletion of resources
Ex: commercial fishing & deforestation
What are the 7 steps of the scientific method in order and what happens in each one?
1) Problem/Question - develop a problem/question that can be solved through experimentation
2) Observation/Research - conducting observations and researching the topic of choice
3) Formulate a Hypothesis - predict a possible answer to the problem or question
4) Experiment - develop and follow a procedure
5) Collect & Analyze Results - modify the procedure as needed; confirm the results by retesting
6) Conclusion - written portion that includes a statement either accepting or rejecting the hypothesis; make recommendation for future research
7) Communicate the Results - be prepared to present the results to an audience
The new house your parents are building is on a lot that contains a rare species of lizard. The individuals concerned about protecting this lizard would likely have what type of ethical worldview?
Biocentric
Josh lives near the mangroves in Florida. While many people find them unpleasant, he is grateful for their contributions to protecting the coast. What ecosystem service do the mangroves provide?
Regulating
Define Cap-and-Trade Policies COMPLETELY w/an example
A combination of both regulations and incentives
Regulation: the total amount of pollutant is limited with a cap
Incentive: polluting companies buy permits that can be sold and traded to other companies if is not reached
Example: Greenhouse gas emissions