Enviromental Science Chapters 1

Front 1

How did the agricultural revolution affect human population size? How did the industrial revolution affect human population size? Explain your answers.

Back 1

They both Jump started the rise in population. The agricultural revolution happened first about 10,000 years ago. People began to grow crops, raise domestic animals, and live sedentary lifestyles. People began to live longer and produce more children. During the mid-1700s, the industrial revolution greatly increased population. It was a shift from an agricultural society to an urban society powered by fossil fuels.

Front 2

What is "the tragedy o the commons"? Explain how the concept might apply to an unregulated industry that is a source of water pollution?

Back 2

The tragedy of the commons was written by Garret Hardin. Hardin argued that unregulated exploitation would cause environmental depletion.

Front 3

What is environmental science? Name several disciplines involved in environmental science.

Back 3

Environmental Science is the study of how the natural world works and how humans and the environment interact. Environmental Science in an interdisciplinary field which requires expertise from ecology, earth science, chemistry, biology, economics, political science, demography, ethics, and others.

Front 4

Contrast the two meanings of science. Now name three applications of science.

Back 4

One description of science is a systematic process for learning about the world and testing our understanding of it. The term science is also commonly used to refer to the accumulated body of knowledge that arises from this dynamic process of observation, testing, and discovery. Developing Technology, to inform policy for management decisions.

Front 5

Describe the scientific method. What is its typical sequence of steps? What needs to occur before a researcher's results are published? Why is this process important?

Back 5

The scientific method is a technique for testing ideas with observations. Make Observations, Ask Questions, Develop Hypothesis, Make Predictions, Test The Predictions,Analyze Results. Before being published the results are are subject to a peer review. It guards against faulty science contaminating the literature in which all scientists rely.

Front 6

What does the study of ethics encompass? Describe three classic ethical standards. What is environmental ethics?

Back 6

Ethics is a branch of philosophy that involves the study of good and bad, of right and wrong. It includes theories such as relativism and universalism. Virtue, Categorical Imperative, and the principle of utility are three ethical standards. Environmental ethics is the application of ethical standards to relationships between humans and nonhuman entities.

Front 7

Compare and contrast anthropocentrism, biocentrism, and ecocentrism.

Back 7

Anthropocentrism describes a human-centered view of our relationship with the environment. An anthropocentric denies or ignores the notion that nonhuman entities can have rights. In contrast biocentrism ascribes value to certain living things or to the biotic realm in general. In this perpective human life and non human life both have ethical standing. Ecocentrism judges actions in terms of their effects on whole ecological systems, which consist of living and nonliving elements and the relationships among them.

Front 8

Differentiate between the preservation ethic and the conservation ethic. Explain the contributions of John Muir and Gifford Pinchot in the history of environmental ethics.

Back 8

The preservation ethic hold that we should protect our environment in a pristine, unaltered state whereas the conservation ethic people should put natural resources to use but that we have a responsibility to manage them wisely. John Muir argued that nature deserved protection for its own inherent value, but he also maintained that nature promoted human happiness and fulfillment. Gifford Pinchot founded what would become the U.S. Forest Service and served as its chief in Theodore Roosevelt's administration. Both Muir and Pinchot opposed the deforestation and unregulated economic development of North America.

Front 9

Describe Aldo Leopold's land ethic. How did Leopold define the 'community" to which ethical standards should be applied?

Back 9

Aldo Leopold's land ethic was an essay in which Aldo Leopold's land ethic called on people to include the environment in their ethical framework. Aldo Leopold's wanted to expand ethics to include the land and every organism in it.

Front 10

What is sustainable development, and why is it important? What is meant by the triple bottom line?

Back 10

Sustainable development is the use of resources in a manner that satisfies our current needs but does not compromise the future availability of resources. This is important because sustainable development enhances enhances peoples quality of life while preserving environmental quality. The triple bottom line is an approach to sustainability that attempts to meet environmental, economic, and social goals simultaneously.