ENVR 1000 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Ecosystem, Climate Change, Canada
12 Oct 2018
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ENVR 1000
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
1
Unit 1: Introduction to Environmental Problems and Causes
What is the Environment?
- A broad term that describes our surroundings and/or conditions
- We might consider in our definition:
o Living and non-living things that we find around us AND with which we
interact
o Spaces and places
o Resource extraction and economic wealth
Important though is our acknowledgement that our environment…
- Provides us with the goods and services essential to support life (e.g. fresh water,
air, fertile soils, food, timber, textiles, energy)
- Is not separate from Humanity. Its not “us and the environment” but rather “us in
the environment”
o We are connected with out environment and we are as much affected by it
as we are able to influence it
Resources –Perpetual Renewable and Nonrenewable
- Perpetual resource: unlimited, (sunlight, wind energy, wave energy) → you will
never run out of wind or sun
o We cannot affect its availability or production
- Renewable: fresh water, forest products, soils etc.
o Deforestation → forests have limited supply
o Forests can become perpetual if managed correctly
- Nonrenewable: copper, coal, crude oil, (fossil fuels)
o Fossil fuels take millions of years to form
Two Themes Explain Humanities Negative Impacts on the Environment
1. Overpopulation:
- What happens to the environment and the availability of resources when
you have a high density of people living in confined spaces?
o Increasing population = increasing demands on the environment
2. Over-Consumption of Natural Resources: One individual in a developed nation
such as Canada or the United States consumes far more resources when compared
to an individual in a less developed nation
- The reason is that we like to shop!
o An individual in North America will purchase and consume items
to not only meet basic living requirements but there is a large
component that falls into the category of luxury items
o Affluent lifestyles and desire to have the “comforts of life”
o 20% of the worlds population actually consumes more than 50% of
the world’s resources
o Consequently 1 person in Canada has more impact on the
environment as 12 individuals in a less developed nation
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
2
Using the Ecological Footprint to Evaluate Impacts on the Environment
An accounting tool that compares the supply of resources (biocapacity) with demands for
resources (ecological footprint) to identify whether the resources will be available in the
future or if we will run out.
- We can determine if we run the risk of exceeding the ability of the
environment to sustain itself; and if we are threatening our future
generations with resource depletion
- If the environment cannot sustain itself and resource depletion is projected
to occur, we call this ecological deficit and ecological overshoot
o Like when you bank account is in deficit
Outcomes of the Ecological Footprint Assessment
1) Ecological footprint assessments can be done at any scale (individual,
organization, location, nations)
2) Are we living within our means or are we in a deficit or a credit?
a. Studies show that most of us are living in a situation where our demand
exceeds supply → Ecological Overshoot
3) What are our largest demands on the environment?
a. Which component of the ecological footprint is largest?
4) By conducting the assessment, we gain a truer sense of our overall impacts on the
environment
The “Science” in Environmental Science
Why do we use a foundation of scientific study to examine environmental issues?
- We can devise experiments
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Unit 1: introduction to environmental problems and causes. A broad term that describes our surroundings and/or conditions. We might consider in our definition: living and non-living things that we find around us and with which we interact, spaces and places, resource extraction and economic wealth. Important though is our acknowledgement that our environment . Provides us with the goods and services essential to support life (e. g. fresh water, air, fertile soils, food, timber, textiles, energy) Its not us and the environment but rather us in the environment : we are connected with out environment and we are as much affected by it as we are able to influence it. Perpetual resource: unlimited, (sunlight, wind energy, wave energy) you will never run out of wind or sun: we cannot affect its availability or production. Renewable: fresh water, forest products, soils etc: deforestation forests have limited supply, forests can become perpetual if managed correctly.
