IB Environmental Systems & Societies 1
Midterm Review 2013-2014
Unit 1: Systems (chapter 1-3)
Chapter 1- Our Changing Environment
green architecture
environmental science
pollution
poverty
hunter-gatherers
agriculture revolution
industrial revolution
technology revolution
endocrine disrupters
hormones
synergism
antagonism
commercially extinct
invasive species
subsidy
forest edge
nest parasitism
stratosphere
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
ecology
deforestation
environmental sustainability
sustainable development
ethics
environmental ethics
environmental worldviews
deep ecology vs. western
ecocentric
anthropocentric
technocentric
deep ecologists
self-reliant soft ecologists
environmental managers
cornucopians
natural capital
solar capital
renewable
nonrenewable
potentially renewable
replenishable
sustainable yield
biomass
immigration / emigration
natural capital
natural income
carrying capacity
harvesting
eco footprint
IPAT
Agenda 21 & World Summit
Georges Bank
Endangered Species Act (ESA)
Kyoto Protocol
Montreal Protocol
Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act
Chapter Objectives:
1. Define environmental science and explain why environmental sustainability is an important concern of environmental science.
2. Summarize human population issues, including population size and level of consumption.
3. Describe the three factors that are most important in determining human impact on the environment and solve a problem using the IPAT equation.
4. Briefly describe some of the data that suggest that certain chemicals used by humans may also function as endocrine disrupters in animals, including humans.
5. Provide an overview of how human activities have affected the following: the Georges Bank fishery, tropical migrant birds, wolf populations in Yellowstone National Park, and invasive species such as comb jellies and zebra mussels.
6. Characterize human impacts on the global atmosphere, including stratospheric ozone depletion and climate warming.
7. Be able to calculate Sustainable Yield, given a set of data. (see class website for practice questions, if needed)
Questions to think about:
1. Define environmental ethics and discuss distinguishing features of the Western and deep ecology worldviews. Why is neither worldview practical for widespread adoption? How do the deep ecologist – self-reliance soft ecologist – environmental managers – cornucopians relate to this dichotomous perspective? Name some groups or people who would subscribe to each worldview.
2. Explain the term green architecture.
3. Define environmental science. What is environmental sustainability, and why is it important?
4. What are endocrine disrupters? List three examples of chemicals that fall into this group.
5. Compare and contrast synergism and antagonism.
6. Explain the term commercial extinction.
7. In 3 to 5 sentences, explain the potential relationship between coffee and the decline of some species of migratory songbirds.
8. What are exotic species? Identify two invasive aquatic species & describe how they were (probably) introduced into the U.S. waters
9. Identify four different consequences that result from the destruction of tropical rain forests.
10. Compare and contrast ecology and environmental science.
11. What is environmental ethics?
12. Explain what environmental sustainability is, and then discuss three reasons why experts in environmental science think that human society is not operating sustainably.
13. Compare and contrast ecology and environmental science.
14. Explain why we need to consider both human population and level of consumption in assessing the impact of humans on their environment.
15. Explain each component of the following equation and then discuss why the equation is not a completely reliable predictive tool: I = P · A · T.
16. What role does excess carbon dioxide play in the atmosphere? What steps are being taken nationally and internationally to deal with this global problem?
17. Summarize the issue of ozone depletion.
18. Differentiate between the Kyoto Protocol and the Montreal Protocol.
19. Identify three issues that were discussed at the 1992 Earth Summit. Discuss what was proposed and what progress has been made since the summit. Why have more changes not occurred in the time since the summit?What was the topic of the 2002 U.N. World Summit? What progress has been made to date? What are the challenges facing the implementation of the goals?
Chapter 2- Using Science to Address Environmental Problems
science
model
data
scientific method
hypothesis
inductive reasoning
deductive reasoning
variable
control
theory
law
risk
risk assessment
risk management
toxicant
toxicology
acute vs. chronic toxicity
dose vs. response
LD50 vs. ED50
dose-response curve
threshold
carcinogen
precautionary principle
ecological risk assessment
environmental stressors
system
inputs vs. outputs
cost-benefit analysis
eutrophication
environmental sustainability
global commons
stewardship
Chapter Objectives:
1. Outline the steps of the scientific method.
2. Distinguish between deductive and inductive reasoning.
3. Define risk assessment and explain how it helps determine adverse health effects.
4. Describe how a dose-response curve is used in determining the health effects of environmental pollutants.
5. Discuss the precautionary principle as it relates to the introduction of new technologies or products.
6. Explain how policy makers use cost-benefit analyses to help formulate and evaluate environmental legislation.
7. List and briefly describe the five stages of solving environmental problems.
8. Describe the history of the Lake Washington pollution problem of the 1950s and how it was resolved.
9. What happened at the Salton Sea? What’s the current state of the ecosystem there?
Questions to Think about:
1. What is a model and how is it used in addressing environmental problems?List the steps of the scientific method and provide a one-sentence description of each.
2. Define deductive reasoning and give an example of the application of this process.
3. Differentiate between control & experimental groups. Explain the role of a control group in a scientific experiment.
4. Differentiate between acute & chronic toxicity, and give an example of each.
5. Briefly explain what a dose-response curve is and how it is applied in determining the health effects of environmental pollutants.
6. Briefly explain the term ecological risk assessment.
7. Explain what the term eutrophication means and how it can occur.
8. What is a system? What are the characteristics of one?
9. Differentiate between positive and negative feedback loops, giving examples of each.
10. What is the tragedy of the commons?
11. Compare and contrast the processes of inductive and deductive reasoning, and explain how both processes can be successfully used by scientists. Use examples to clarify your explanation.
12. What is risk? What are the 4 steps of risk assessment? How are risk assessment and risk management applied to environmental issues? Identify the difficulties in applying risk assessment and risk management to human issues, in particular, environmental problems.
13. Compare and contrast LD50 and ED50. How are these values used to evaluate / regulate chemical pollutants? How are these applications affected when the chemicals occur in combination, rather than individually? Relate to synergism & antagonism.
14. Explain how risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis are applied to environmental issues. What are the weaknesses or problems of using this approach to identifying and solving environmental problems?
Chapter 3- Environmental History, Legislation and Economics
resources
conservation
preservation
frontier attitude
Gaylord Nelson
economics
source vs. sink
natural capital
external cost
salvage logging
subsidy
emission charge
GDP vs NDP
cost-benefit diagram
marginal cost
m.c. of pollution
m.c.of poll. abatement
optim. amt. of pollut.
emission charge
waste-discharge permits
command-control vs. incentive based reg.
emission reduction credits (ERCs)
marketable waste-discharge permits
environmental impact statements (EISs)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
Northwest Forest Plan (owls vs. timber)
Chapter Objectives:
1. Define conservation and distinguish between conservation and preservation.
2. During what decade did environmentalism really take off in US history? Who were the “forefathers” of environmentalism?
3. What environmental disaster in Ohio was really “the last straw” that effectively spurred the US government to enact the first strong environmental legislation?
4. What was the first environmental agency in US government? What year was this created? What was their first major law, enacted in the same year?
5. Explain why the National Environmental Policy Act is the cornerstone of U.S. environmental law.
6. NEPA requires an environmental impact statement for every ______action. What is an EIS, and why do EISs provide such powerful protection of the environment?
7. Sketch a simple diagram showing how economics is related to natural capital. Include sources sinks.
8. Describe various approaches to pollution control, including command and control regulation and incentive-based regulation (that is, emissions charges and marketable waste-discharge permits).
9. Give 2 reasons why national income accounts (GDP/NDP) are incomplete estimates of national economic performance.
10. Distinguish among the following economic terms: marginal cost of pollution, marginal cost of pollution abatement, optimum amount of pollution. Sketch a diagram showing each, and use your diagram to discuss what should be done if the ACTUAL level of pollution is higher or lower than optimal, and why.
11. Discuss some of the complexities of the "jobs versus the environment" issue in the Pacific Northwest.
Questions to think about:
1. Briefly discuss the environmental implications of the work of the following environmentalists: Thoreau, Carson, T.Roosevelt, Pinchot, Muir, Hardin, Lovelock.
2. Explain the frontier attitude and the effect it had on early development of western North America.
3. Identify three major environmental laws, addressing three distinctly different aspects of the environment, that have been passed since 1970.
4. What is environmental ethics?
5. What is an external cost? Why is pollution typically considered to be an external cost?
6. Identify three economic and/or legislative strategies used to control pollution. Include at least one command-control and one incentive-based strategy.
7. Discuss the role of economics government on the environmental status in Central and Eastern Europe.
Unit 2: Cycles & Soils (chapters 6,14, 21)
Chapter 6- Ecosystems and the Physical Environment
Gaia hypothesis
feedback loops
homeostasis
biogeochemical cycles
carbon cycle
fossil fuels
combustion
nitrogen cycle
nitrogen fixation
nodules
nitrification
assimilation
ammonification
denitrification
nitrogen oxides
acid deposition
phosphorus cycle
sulfur cycle
hydrologic cycle
transpiration
estuaries
runoff
infiltration
groundwater
transfer
transformation
aerosols
albedo
troposphere
stratosphere
mesosphere
thermosphere
exosphere
lapse rate
humidity
latent heat & phase changes
Coriolis effect
trade winds
prevailing westerlies
polar easterlies
weather vs. climate
rain shadow
tornado
tropical cyclones
pressure centers
convection & density
Rossby waves
winds
isobars
fronts
currents & gyres
upwelling
density & ocean conveyor belt
El Niño (ENSO)
La Niña
continental drift
plate tectonics
plate boundaries
subduction
layers of Earth
lithosphere
asthenosphere
hot spot
volcano types
viscosity & gas & silica
seismic waves (P/S/L)
earthquakes
focus vs. epicenter
seismograph / seismogram
Richter Scale
Moment Magnitude Scale
Chapter Objectives:
1. Diagram the carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and hydrologic cycles. Which steps are transfers? Which are transformations?
2. Describe how humans have influenced the carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and hydrologic cycles.
3. Summarize the effects of solar energy on Earth's temperature, including the influence of albedos of various surfaces.
4. Discuss the roles of solar energy and the Coriolis effect in the production of global air and water flow patterns.
5. Define El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and La Niña. What causes each to occur? Describe some of their effects.
6. Distinguish between weather and climate and give three causes of regional precipitation differences.
7. Contrast tornadoes and tropical cyclones.
8. How does convection impact the three main spheres of earth (lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere)?
Questions to think about:
1. Explain the meaning of “nitrogen fixation” and provide an example of organisms capable of conducting this process.
2. Bacteria are key participants in the carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles. Briefly describe the role of bacteria in each.
3. List four ways in which solar radiation makes life on Earth possible.
4. Briefly discuss the role of the Earth’s rotation and inclination on its axis on both global temperature variations and seasonality.
5. Define/diagram “rain shadow” and explain why deserts form in the rain shadows of mountains.
6. What are the specific roles of the troposphere and stratosphere in the overall ecology of the Earth?
7. Where is air densest? Why? Where is ocean water densest? Why? What layer of earth is densest? Why?
8. Discuss the effect of wind patterns, water density, and the position of land masses on ocean water circulation. What role does the Coriolis Effect have in determining ocean circulation patterns?
9. Be able to interpret an isobar map to determine direction and strength of winds.
10. What CAUSES wind? What influences the DIRECTION of wind?
11. Diagram the convection cells and the global surface winds on earth. How do these convection cells influence general climates along regular intervals on Earth?
12. Briefly explain why earthquakes and volcanoes occur with high frequency at crustal plate boundaries.
13. Differentiate between the three main types of volcanoes on earth. What type of magma creates each?
14. Be able to use a world relief map to find various plate boundaries.
15. Describe the 3 types of plate interactions. See diagram below for a list of boundaries and land features.
Chapter 14: Soils and their Preservation end of Chapter 21: Soil Pollution
soil
weathering processes
topography
mineral matter, humus
soil water, soil air
porosity / permeability
infiltration
leaching, illuviation
soil horizons (O, A, E, B, C)
soil profile
ecosystem services
castings
mycorrhizae
nutrient cycling
soil texture
sand, silt, clay
ionic charge
soil acidity
soil conditioners (lime, compost)
loam
soil inputs / outputs
transfers / transformations
spodosols
alfisols
mollisols
aridisols
oxisols
sustainable soil use
soil erosion
sheet vs. gully vs. rill erosion (Miller 354)
manure vs. green manure
organic vs. inorganic fertilizers
desertification (R&B 322, Miller 356)
Dust Bowl
compost
mulch
municipal solid waste composting
soil pollution
salinization
soil remediation
dilution vs. vapor extraction
bioremediation vs. phytoremediation
Chapter Objectives
1. Identify the 5 soil-forming factors. Which is most important, and why?