APES Vocabulary 1 Flashcards

4679845362	Sustainability	the ability to meet humanities current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The 3 components of sustainability are economic, environmental, and societal (culture)	0
4679852636	Ecosystem services	The process by which life-supporting resources such as clean water, timber, fisheries, and agricultural crops are produced. Four functions are: Supporting, Provisioning, Regulating, and Cultural	1
4679862487	Tragedy of the Commons	1968 Paper by ecologist GARRETT HARDIN. When no individual has ownership, no one takes responsibility. The rational choice is increased personal consumption. Depletion or degradation of a potentially renewable resource to which people have free and unmanaged access. An example is the depletion of commercially desirable fish species in the open ocean beyond areas controlled by coastal countries.	2
4679886546	First Law of Thermodynamics	Energy is neither created nor destroyed, but may be converted from one form to another (Law of Conservation of Energy)	3
4679888096	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)	4
4679895135	Love Canal, N.Y.	Community sat atop a decades old toxic waste dump, citizens had a rising number of health problems(birth defects and cancer) in their community. President Carter declared Love Canal a federal disaster area and moved over 600 remaining families to new locations.	5
4679897699	Resource Conservation & Recovery Act RCRA	1976. Amended 1984. Regulates hazardous waste storage and disposal. "Cradle to grave" management.	6
4679899758	Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act CERCLA	(1980) ―Superfund, designed to identify and clean up abandoned hazardous waste dump sites. Established federal authority for emergency response and clean-up of hazardous substances that have been spilled, improperly disposed, or released into the environment	7
4679904884	Positive feedback loop	A change in a condition triggers a response that intensifies the changing condition. Example: Warmer earth-->snow melts-->less sunlight is reflected and more is absorbed= warmer Earth	8
4679908010	Negative feedback loop	A change in condition triggers a response that minimizes or counteracts the changing condition. Example: Warmer Earth-->more ocean evaporation--> more stratus clouds--> less sunlight reaches the ground= cooler Earth	9