1. Ionizing radiation: enough energy to knock electrons from
atoms forming ions, capable of causing cancer (ex gamma-Xrays-UV)
2. High Quality Energy: organized & concentrated, can perform
useful work (ex fossil fuel & nuclear)
3. Low Quality Energy: disorganized, dispersed (heat in ocean
or air wind, solar)
4. First Law of Thermodynamics: energy is neither created nor
destroyed, but may be converted from one form to another
5. Second Law of Thermodynamics: when energy is changed from one
form to another, some useful energy is always degraded into lower
quality energy (usually heat)
6. Natural radioactive decay: unstable radioisotopes decay releasing
gamma rays, alpha & beta particles
7. Half life: the time it takes for 1/2 the mass of a radioisotope
to decay
8. Estimate of how long a radioactive isotope must be stored until
it decays to a safe level: approximately 10 half-lives
9. Nuclear Fission: nuclei of isotopes split apart when struck
by neutrons
10. Nuclear Fusion: 2 isotopes of light elements (H) forced together
at high temperatures till they fuse to form a heavier nucleus.
Expensive, break even point not reached yet
11. Ore: a rock that contains a large enough concentration of
a mineral making it profitable to mine
12. Mineral Reserve: identified deposits currently profitable
to extract
13. Best solution to Energy shortage: conservation and increase
efficiency
14. Surface mining: cheaper & can remove more mineral, less
hazardous to workers
15. Humus: organic, dark material remaining after decomposition
by microorganisms
16. Leaching: removal of dissolved materials from soil by water
moving downwards
17. Illuviation: deposit of leached material in lower soil layers
(B)
18. Loam: perfect agricultural soil with equal portions of sand,
silt, clay
19. Solutions to soil problems: conservation tillage, crop rotation,
contour plowing, organic fertilizers
20. Parts of the hydrologic cycle: evaporation, transpiration,
runoff, condensation, precipitation, infiltration
21. Aquifer: any water bearing layer in the ground
22. Cone of depression: lowering of the water table around a pumping
well
23. Salt water intrusion: near the coast, overpumping of groundwater
causes saltwater to move into the acquifer
24. ENSO: El Nino Southern Oscillation, see-sawing of air pressure
over the S. Pacific
25. During an El Nino year: trade winds weaken & warm water
sloshed back to SA
During a Non El Nino year: Easterly trade winds and ocean currents
pool warm water in the western Pacific, allowing upwelling of
nutrient rich water off the West coast of South America
26. Effects of El Nino: upwelling decreases disrupting food chains,
N US has mild winters, SW US has increased rainfall, less Atlantic
Hurricanes
27. Nitrogen fixing: because atmospheric N cannot be used directly
by plants it must first be converted into ammonia by bacteria
28. Ammonification: decomposers covert organic waste into ammonia
29. Nitrification: ammonia is converted to nitrate ions (NO-3)
30. Assimilation: inorganic N is converted into organic molecules
such as DNA/amino acids & proteins
31. Denitrification: bacteria convert ammonia back into N
32. Phosphorus does not circulate as easily as N because: it does
not exist as a gas, but is released by weathering of phosphate
rocks
33. Because soils contain very little phosphorus: it is a major
limiting factor for plant growth
34. Excess phosphorus is added to aquatic ecosystems by: runoff
of animal wastes, fertilizer discharge of sewage
35. Photosynthesis: plants convert atmospheric C (CO2) into complex
carbohydrates (glucose C6H12O6)
36. Aerobic respiration: oxygen consuming producers, consumers
& decomposers break down complex organic compounds & convert
C back into CO2
37. Largest reservoirs of C: carbonate rocks first, oceans second
38. Biotic/abiotic: living & nonliving components of an ecosystem
39. Producer/Autotroph: photosynthetic life
40. Major trophic levels: producers-primary consumer-secondary
consumer-tertiary consumer
41. Energy flow in food webs: only 10% of the usable energy is
transferred
42. Why is only 10% transferred: usable energy lost as heat (2nd
law), not all biomass is digested & absorbed, predators expend
energy to catch prey
43. Primary succession: development of communities in a lifeless
area not previously inhabited by life (lava)
44. Secondary succession: life progresses where soil remains (clear
cut forest)
45. Mutualism: symbiotic relationship where both partners benefit
46. Commensalism: symbiotic relationship where one partner benefits
& the other is unaffected
47. Parasitism: relationship in which one partner obtains nutrients
at the expense of the host
48. Biome: large distinct terrestrial region having similar climate,
soil, plants & animals
49. Carrying capacity: the number of individuals that can be sustained
in an area
50. R strategist: reproduce early, many small unprotected offspring
51. K strategist: reproduce late, few, cared for offspring
52. Natural selection: organisms that possess favorable adaptations
pass them onto the next generation
53. Malthus: said human population cannot continue to increase..consequences
will be war, famine & disease
54. Doubling time: rule of 70 70 divided by the percent growth
rate
55. Replacement level fertility: the number of children a couple
must have to replace themselves (2.1 developed, 2.7 developing)
56. World Population is: over 6 billion
57. Preindustrial stage: birth & death rates high, population
grows slowly, infant mortality high
58. Transitional stage: death rate lower, better health care,
population grows fast
59. Industrial stage: decline in birth rate, population growth
slows
60. Postindustrial stage: low birth & death rates
61. Age structure diagrams: (broad base, rapid growth)(narrow
base, negative growth)(uniform shape, zero growth)
62. 1st & 2nd most populated countries: China & India
63. Most important thing affecting population growth: low status
of women
64. Ways to decrease birth rate: family planning, contraception,
economic rewards & penalties
65. Percent water on earth by type: 97.5% seawater, 2.5% freshwater
66. Salinazation of soil: in arid regions, water evaporates leaving
salts behind
67. Ways to conserve water: (agriculture, drip/trickle irrigation)(industry,recyling)(home,
use gray water, repair leaks, low flow fixtures)
68. Point vs non point sources: (Point, from specific location
such as pipe)(Non-point, from over an area such as runoff)
69. BOD: biological oxygen demand, amount of dissolved oxygen
needed by aerobic decomposers to break down organic materials
70. Eutrophication: rapid algal growth caused by an excess of
N & P
71. Hypoxia: when aquatic plants die, the BOD rises as aerobic
decomposers break down the plants, the DO drops & the water
cannot support life
72. Minamata Disease: mental impairments caused by mercury
73. Primary air pollutants: produced by humans & nature (CO,CO2,SO2,NO,hydrocarbons,
particulates)
74. Secondary pollutants: formed by reaction of primary pollutants
75. Particulate matter (source,effect,reduction): (burning fossil
fuels & car exhaust) (reduces visibility & respiratory
irritation) (filtering, electrostatic precipitators, alternative
energy)
76. Nitrogen Oxides: (Source: auto exhaust) (Effects: acidification
of lakes, respiratory irritation, leads to smog & ozone) (
Equation for acid formation: NO + O2 = NO2 + H2O = HNO3) (Reduction:
catalytic converter)
77. Sulfur oxides: (Source: coal burning) (Effects: acid deposition,
respiratory irritation, damages plants) (Equation for acid formation:
SO2 + O2 = SO3 + H2O = H2SO4) (Reduction: scrubbers, burn low
sulfur fuel)
78. Carbon oxides: (Source: auto exhaust, incomplete combustion)
(Effects: CO binds to hemoglobin reducing bloods ability to carry
O, CO2 contributes to global warming) (Reduction: catalytic converter,
emission testing, oxygenated fuel, mass transit)
79. Ozone: (Formation: secondary pollutant, NO2+UV=NO+O O+O2=O3,
with VOC's) (Effects: respiratory irritant, plant damage) (Reduction:
reduce NO emissions & VOCs)
80. Industrial smog: found in cities that burn large amounts of
coal
81. Photochemical smog: formed by chemical reactions involving
sunlight (NO, VOC,O)
82. Acid deposition: caused by sulfuric and nitric acids resulting
in lowered pH of surface waters
83. Greenhouse gases: (Examples: H2O, CO2, O3, methane (CH4),
CFC's) (EFFECT: they trap outgoing infrared (heat) energy causing
earth to warm
84. Effects of global warming: rising sealevel (thermal expansion),
extreme weather, droughts (famine), extinctions
85. Ozone depletion caused by: CFC's, methyl chloroform, carbon
tetrachloride, halon, methyl bromide all of which attack stratospheric
ozone
86. Effects of ozone depletion: increased UV, skin cancer, cataracts,
decreased plant growth
87. Love Canal, NY: chemicals buried in old canal and school &
homes built over it causing birth defects & cancer
88. Municpal solid waste is mostly: paper
89. Most municipal waste is: landfilled
90. Sanitary landfill problems and solutions: (leachate, liner
with collection system) (methane gas, collect gas and burn) (volume
of garbage, compact & reduce)
91. Incineration advantages: volume of waste reduced by 90% &
waste heat can be used
92. Incineration disadvantages: toxic emissions (polyvinyl chloride-dioxin),
scrubbers & electrostatic precipitators needed, ash disposal
93. Best way to solve waste problem: reduce the amounts of waste
at the source
94. Keystone species: species whose role in an ecosystem are more
important than others
95. Indicator species: species that serve as early warnings that
an ecosystem is being damaged
96. Most endangered species: have a small range, require large
territory or live on an island
97. In natural ecosystems, 50-90% of pest species are kept under
control by: predators, diseases, parasites
98. Major insecticide groups and examples: (chlorinated hydrocarbons,
DDT) (organophosphates, malathion) (carbamates, aldicarb)
99. Pesticide pros: saves lives from insect transmitted disease,
increases food supply, increases profits for farmers
100. Pesticide cons: genetic resistance, ecosystem imbalance,
pesticide treadmill, persistence, bioaccumulation, biological
magnification
101. Natural pest control: better agricultural practices, genetically
resistant plants, natural enemies, biopesticides, sex attractants
102. Electricity is generated by: using steam (from water boiled
by fossils fuels or nuclear) or falling water to turn a generator
103. Petroleum forms from: microscopic aquatic organisms in sediments
converted by heat & pressure into a mixture of hydrocarbons
104. Pros of petroleum: cheap, easily transported, high quality
energy
105. Cons of petroleum: reserves depleted soon, pollution during
drilling, transport and refining, burning makes CO2
106. Steps in coal formation: peat, lignite, bituminous, anthracite
107. Major parts of a nuclear reactor: core, control rods, steam
generator, turbine, containment building
108. Two most serious nuclear accidents: (Chernobyl,Ukraine) (Three
Mile Island, PA)
109. Alternate energy sources: wind, solar, waves, biomass, geothermal,
fuel cells
110. LD50: the amount of a chemical that kills 50% of the animals
in a test population
111. Mutagen, Teratogen, Carcinogen: causes hereditary changes,
Fetus deformities, cancer
112. Mutiple use US public land: National Forest & National
Resource lands
113. Moderately restricted use land: National Wildlife Refuges
114. Restricted Use lands: National Parks, National Wilderness
Preservation System
115. Volcanoes and Earthquakes occur: at plate boundaries (divergent,
spreading, mid-ocean ridges) (convergent, trenches) (transform,
sliding, San Andreas)
116. Survivorship Curves
Type I: low mortality at birth, survive to old age, and then
die (humans, annual plants)
Type 11: uniform death rates, subject to predation (insects,
birds)
Type III: high mortality at birth but long lifespans otherwise
(turtles, trees)
117. Density dependent factors: competition, parasitism, predation
118. Density independent factors: fires, floods, extreme cold
119. Biotic potential: maximum amount of offspring a species can
have
120. Effects of Global Warming: bleaching of coral reefs, animals
and plants forced out of their current range, melting glaciers,
rising sea level, droughts, spread of infectious diseases and
more extreme weather conditions.
121. Exotic species are known as invasive species because they
often can grow at an uncontrolled rate because they have no natural
predators, disrupt the balance of the ecosystem and have no competition
because they kill off many natural inhabitants.
122. Forests regulate climate, control water runoff, produce oxygen
and provide food and shelter for many creatures.
123. Clear cutting is bad because it increases soil erosion dramatically,
increases nitrate runoff into water bodies, makes it hard for
an area to recover, leaves animals no place to live and can lead
to extinctions.
124. Selective Cutting: harvesting only mature trees of certain
species and size. More expensive but less disruptive to wildlife
than clear cutting.
125. Utilitarianism is the belief that something is right if it
produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people for
the longest time.
126. Conservation is the management of a resource to make certain
to produces the greatest benefit to humans in the future.
127. Preservation is the concept that the land should be kept
in its natural state- never touched or developed.
128. NIMBY- public protests cause wastes and other pollutants
to be dumped in someone else's backyard. Mostly hurts the poor
who cannot pay for representation to fight against potential pollution.
129. Range of Tolerance: minimum and maximum levels of conditions
in which organisms can survive.
130 1.5 billion people lack access to clean drinking water and
3 billion people lack good sanitation need to prevent communicable
diseases from spreading.
131. 75% of water pollution in the US come from soil erosion,
atmospheric deposition and surface run off.
132. 95% of water pollution in developing countries come from
raw sewage (high population growth without the money for treatment
plants)
133. The US uses 77% of all pesticides used in world
134. The troposphere contains weather and stratosphere contains
the ozone.
135. The atmosphere is 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and a small amount
of argon, carbon dioxide, water, salt and dust.
136. Weather moves from west to east across America and winds
are named for the direction they come from.
137. Bioaccumulation is the selective absorption and storage of
a great variety of molecules
138. Biomagnification is a continued increase in the concentration
of pollutants in higher levels of a food chain.
139. Acute effects are caused by a single exposure to a toxin
and results in an immediate health crisis of some sort.
140. Chronic effects are long lasting and can result from a single
exposure of a very toxic substance or a continuous exposure to
the toxin.
141. Salt water intrusion is the movement of salt water into freshwater
aquifers in coastal areas where groundwater is withdrawn faster
than it's replenished
142. Watershed: land surface and groundwater aquifers drained
by a particular river system.
143. Forests cover 32% of the land surface, 11% is used for crops
and 26% is range and pasture.
144. 99% of all the species that ever existed are now extinct
but the average rate of extinction was one species per decade.
145. Human have caused extinction rates of hundreds to thousands
of species per YEAR. If these trends continue, 1/3 to 2/3 of all
current species will be lost by the year 2050. (That is definitely
a reason to go APE!!!)
LAWS, LAWS & MORE LAWS
1. Surface Mining Control & Reclamation Act: requires coal
strip mines to reclaim the land
2. Madrid Protocol: Moratorium on mineral exploration for 50 years
in Antarctica
3. Safe Drinking Water Act: set maximum contaminant levels for
pollutants that may have adverse effects on human health
4. Clean Water Act: set maximum permissible amounts of water pollutants
that can be discharged into waterways..aim to make surface waters
swimmable and fishable
5. Water Quality Act: attempt to reduce non-point source pollution
6. Ocean Dumping Ban Act: bans ocean dumping of sewage sludge
& industrial waste
7. National Environmental Policy Act: Environmental Impact Statements
must be done before any project affecting federal lands can be
started
8. Clean Air Act: Set emission standards for cars, and limits
for release of air pollutants
9. Kyoto Protocol: controlling global warming by setting greenhouse
gas emissions targets for developed countries
10. Montreal Protocol: phaseout of ozone deleting substances
11. Resource Conservation & Recovery Act: controls hazardous
waste with a cradle to grave system
12. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability
Act: Superfund, designed to identify and clean up abandoned hazardous
waste dump sites
13. Endangered Species Act: identifies threatened and endangered
species in the US, and puts their protection ahead of economic
considerations
14. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species: lists
species that cannot be commercially traded as live specimens or
wildlife products
15. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, Rodenticide Act: regulates
the effectiveness of pesticides
16. Food Quality Protection Act: set pesticide limits in food,
& all active and inactive ingredients must be screened for
estrogenic/endocrine effects
17. Low Level Radioactive Policy Act: all states must have facilities
to handle low level radioactive wastes
18. Nuclear Waste Policy Act: US government must develop a high
level nuclear waste site by 2015
30 More Ways to Go APE
1. Survivorship Curves
Type I: low mortality at birth, survive to old age, and then die
(humans, annual plants)
Type 11: uniform death rates, subject to predation (insects, birds)
Type III: high mortality at birth but long lifespans otherwise
(turtles, trees)
2. Density dependent factors: competition, parasitism, predation
3. Density independent factors: fires, floods, extreme cold
4. Biotic potential: maximum amount of offspring a species can
have
5. Effects of Global Warming: bleaching of coral reefs, animals
and plants forced out of their current range, melting glaciers,
rising sea level, droughts, spread of infectious diseases and
more extreme weather conditions.
6. Exotic species are known as invasive species because they often
can grow at an uncontrolled rate because they have no natural
predators, disrupt the balance of the ecosystem and have no competition
because they kill off many natural inhabitants.
7. Forests regulate climate, control water runoff, produce oxygen
and provide food and shelter for many creatures.
8. Clear cutting is bad because it increases soil erosion dramatically,
increases nitrate runoff into water bodies, makes it hard for
an area to recover, leaves animals no place to live and can lead
to extinctions.
9. Selective Cutting: harvesting only mature trees of certain
species and size. More expensive but less disruptive to wildlife
than clear cutting.
10. Utilitarianism is the belief that something is right if it
produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people for
the longest time.
11. Conservation is the management of a resource to make certain
to produces the greatest benefit to humans in the future.
12. Preservation is the concept that the land should be kept in
its natural state- never touched or developed.
13. NIMBY- public protests cause wastes and other pollutants to
be dumped in someone else's backyard. Mostly hurts the poor who
cannot pay for representation to fight against potential pollution.
14. Range of Tolerance: minimum and maximum levels of conditions
in which organisms can survive.
15. 1.5 billion people lack access to clean drinking water and
3 billion people lack good sanitation need to prevent communicable
diseases from spreading.
16. 75% of water pollution in the US come from soil erosion, atmospheric
deposition and surface run off.
17. 95% of water pollution in developing countries come from raw
sewage (high population growth without the money for treatment
plants)
18. The US uses 77% of all pesticides used in world
19. The troposphere contains weather and stratosphere contains
the ozone.
20. The atmosphere is 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and a small amount
of argon, carbon dioxide, water, salt and dust.
21. Weather moves from west to east across America and winds are
named for the direction they come from.
22. Bioaccumulation is the selective absorption and storage of
a great variety of molecules
23. Biomagnification is a continued increase in the concentration
of pollutants in higher levels of a food chain.
24. Acute effects are caused by a single exposure to a toxin and
results in an immediate health crisis of some sort.
25. Chronic effects are long lasting and can result from a single
exposure of a very toxic substance or a continuous exposure to
the toxin.
26. Salt water intrusion is the movement of salt water into freshwater
aquifers in coastal areas where groundwater is withdrawn faster
than it's replenished
27. Watershed: land surface and groundwater aquifers drained by
a particular river system.
28. Forests cover 32% of the land surface, 11% is used for crops
and 26% is range and pasture.
29. 99% of all the species that ever existed are now extinct but
the average rate of extinction was one species per decade.
30. Human have caused extinction rates of hundreds to thousands
of species per YEAR. If these trends continue, 1/3 to 2/3 of all
current species will be lost by the year 2050. (That is definitely
a reason to go APE!!!)