Category 1: Natural Resources – Uses & Management
What is the difference between natural capital and natural income?
Natural capital refers to natural resources that provide goods and services, while natural income is the yield or benefit we gain from them (e.g., timber from a forest).
What are the three main fossil fuels?
Coal, oil, and natural gas.
What are the 3Rs of waste management?
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
What does the first law of thermodynamics state? Give an example.
Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed. Example: Sunlight energy is converted into chemical energy via photosynthesis.
What is the difference between GPP and NPP?
GPP (Gross Primary Productivity): Total energy produced by plants.
NPP (Net Primary Productivity): GPP minus energy used for respiration (NPP = GPP - R).
What are the four types of ecosystem services?
Supporting (e.g., nutrient cycling), Provisioning (e.g., food, water), Regulating (e.g., climate regulation), and Cultural (e.g., recreation).
Give two examples of energy conservation in daily life.
Using LED bulbs and increasing public transportation use.
Give one advantage and one disadvantage of landfills.
Advantage: Efficient waste disposal.
Disadvantage: Pollution (leachate, methane emissions).
What is carrying capacity?
The maximum population size an ecosystem can support based on available resources.
What are the three levels of biodiversity?
Genetic diversity, Species diversity, Ecosystem diversity.
Give one example of a renewable and one example of a non-renewable resource.
Renewable: Solar energy, wind energy, timber (if managed sustainably).
Non-renewable: Coal, oil, natural gas, minerals.
Give one advantage and one disadvantage of solar energy.
Advantage: Renewable, no greenhouse gas emissions.
Disadvantage: High initial cost, depends on sunlight.
What is the difference between a circular economy and a linear economy?
Circular economy: Reuses, recycles, reduces waste.
Linear economy: "Take-make-dispose" model.
What is a keystone species? Give an example.
A species with a disproportionately large effect on its ecosystem. Example: Wolves in Yellowstone.
What are the four main greenhouse gases?
Carbon dioxide (CO₂), Methane (CH₄), Nitrous oxide (N₂O), Water vapor (H₂O).
What are three factors that influence how a society values natural capital?
Economic value, Ecological value, Cultural/Intrinsic value.
What is energy security, and why is it important?
A country’s reliable and affordable energy supply; affects economic and political stability.
What is composting, and what are its benefits?
Biological decomposition of organic waste into soil. Benefits: reduces landfill waste, improves soil health, decreases methane emissions.
What is the "Tragedy of the Commons"? Give an example.
Overexploitation of a shared resource. Example: Overfishing in the ocean.
What is an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and when is it used?
A report assessing the environmental effects of a project before construction (e.g., highways, factories, dams).
What does sustainability mean in resource management? Give an example.
Using resources at a rate that allows them to regenerate naturally while maintaining ecosystem balance. Example: Selective logging in sustainable forestry.
Compare nuclear power and hydroelectric power.
Nuclear: Minimal greenhouse gas emissions but generates hazardous radioactive waste.
Hydroelectric: Renewable, but dams can destroy habitats.
What is e-waste, and how can we reduce its environmental impact?
Electronic waste with toxic substances. Solutions: Recycling electronics and designing longer-lasting devices.
Explain the difference between a positive and a negative feedback loop.
Positive feedback: A change reinforces itself (e.g., ice melting → more warming).
Positive feedback: A change reinforces itself (e.g., ice melting → more warming).
A report assessing the environmental effects of a project before construction (e.g., highways, factories, dams).
If an action has potential harm, precautionary measures should be taken even if scientific proof isn’t fully established. Example: Banning a chemical suspected of causing cancer.