Endangered Species

1. Defined – a species whose levels are reduced to the level where it is in immediate danger of becoming extinct without protection.

2. This is different from threatened species, which are at risk, but not to the point of extinction.

3. The Lacey Act (1900) – prohibited interstate transport of wild animals without a federal permit (dead or alive)

4. Endangered Species Act (1973) – identifies threatened / endangered species in the U.S., and places greater importance on their protection than on economic concerns

5. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, 1973) – international agreement to ensure that international trade of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival

6. What can cause endangerment: invasive species, excess hunting (for food, protection, etc.), climate change, habitat loss or fragmentation

7. There is some debate about whether or not to thinly allocate resources and save lots of species OR concentrate them more and save fewer, more important species

8. One approach to helping endangered species: establish international treaties and enforce them well.

9. Another approach: try to help endangered species, but capture many and breed them in captivity, then release them in the wild again.

10. Some major endangered species: the Indian Tiger, Black Rhino, African Elephant, Indian Elephant, Bald Eagle.

Ecosystems – Energy Flow, Trophic Roles, Productivity

1. A food chain is a sequence of organisms, each of which successively eats the one before it.a. Interconnected food chains make up larger networks of food webs.

2. There is very little waste in natural ecosystems, because everything that dies becomes food for something else.

3. Energy which starts off in the sun moves through ecosystems in the process of energy flow; an organism’s trophic level describes its place and role in this energy flow.

4. Producers – the first trophic level – plants, which absorb energy from the sun directly.5. Primary Consumers – the second trophic level – herbivores, which feed on plants.6. Secondary Consumers – the third trophic level – carnivores which feed on herbivores.7. Tertiary Consumers – the fourth trophic level – carnivores which feed on other carnivores

and/or herbivores as well. 8. Biomass – the dry weight of organic matter contained in a level’s organisms.9. Ecological Efficiency – the percentage of useful energy transferred as biomass from one trophic

level to the next (sharply decreases as you move up the energy pyramid).10. Productivity – a measurement of ecological efficiency over time.

a. Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) – the rate at which an ecosystem’s producers convert solar energy into chemical energy as biomass.

b. Net Primary Productivity (NPP) – GPP minus the rate at which producers use energy they absorb for themselves.

11. Plate Tectonics and the Rock Cycle

1. The theory states that Earth's outermost layer, the lithosphere, is broken into 7 large, rigid pieces called plates.

2. The plates move from 2 cm-10 cm per year.3. Two different plates: continental and oceanic 4. The three types of plate boundaries include:

a. Convergent boundaries: plates move together; creates volcanoes and mountains

b. Divergent boundaries: plates move apart; form rift valleys c. Transform Boundaries: plates slide past each other; causes earthquakes

5. Evidence of plate tectonics: d. Africa and South Africa look like they could fit together (huge continent called

Pangaea) e. Fossils on Australia were similar to the ones in Southern Asia

6. Magma: formed when metamorphic or igneous rock melts7. Igneous: formed from the cooling of magma8. Metamorphic: formed when heat and pressure are applied to sedimentary rock9. Sediment: formed when igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rock undergoes weathering

and erosion 10. Sedimentary rock: formed from the compaction of sediments

20 .Water Pollution, including water and wastewater treatment

1. Sources: a. Point- easily identifiable like factories and sewage plants b. Non-point- hard to define such as runoff

2. Classifications of Pollutants: a. Pathogensb. Organic wastesc. Chemical pollutantsd. Sedimentse. Nutrientsf. Synthetic organic compounds

3. BOD (Biological oxygen demand): the amount of dissolved oxygen consumed by aquatic decomposers.

4. The leading sources of water pollution are agriculture (erosion, overgrazing, fertilizers, pesticides, excess salt from irrigated soils), industries, and mining.

5. Clean Water Act of 1972 (renamed the Clean Water Act in 1977) sets standards for allowed levels of key water pollutants and requires polluters to get permits specifying how much of various pollutants they can discharge into aquatic systems.

6. Waste water treatment center: a. Primary treatment- physical process. Removes solids, forms sludge. b. Secondary treatment- biological process. Aeration tank with anaerobic bacteria, final

disinfection with UV rays to kill pathogens. 7. Nitrates and phosphates flow into a rivereutrophication and algal blooms. Kills fish. 8. Most disease-causing agents in water supplies are due to sewage from infected individuals. 9. Breakdown of pollutants by bacteria creates an oxygen sag curve; organisms with a high

oxygen demand can’t survive in the curve. Factors in size of curve include volume of the stream, volume of wastes entering, flow rate, temperature, pH levels.

10. Problems with sludge: dust particles, odors, exposure, livestock poisoning, surface runoff, groundwater contamination.

Agricultural Production1. 3 grains (wheat, rice, and corn) provide more than ½ the calories people

consume worldwide2. Traditional agriculture – Utilizes mostly human and animal labor to

produce crops. Puts back what it takes out and does not harm the ecosystem. The waste from animals is used to fertilize crops, while rotating crops from field to field helps replace nutrients in the soil.

a. Provides 20% of the world’s food supply3. Industrialized agriculture/Factory farming - Relies heavily on large

amounts of fossil fuels, water, commercial fertilizers and pesticides. These farms typically produce single crops (monocultures) and provide 80% of the worlds food supply.

4. Plantation agriculture in developing countries produces cash crops (a crop grown for profit)

5. Green Revolution - Norman Borlaug (US scientist) helped to develop a hybrid variety of wheat that would thrive well in the subtropical climate, which led to the production of crops with higher yields to try to help solve hunger and malnutrition problems

6. The best two ways to go about producing more food are to cultivate more land or increase yields on existing croplands

7. Most grain produced (75%) goes toward feeding livestock

8. The best type of agricultural soil is loam and the best area to grow crops is grassland.

9. The three elements that are particularly important to farmers are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

10. Agricultural production can be harmful to land because it causes soil erosion, salinization, and a reduction in microorganism diversity.

a. The best way to prevent this is through no-till agriculture

Environmental Laws and International Agreements

1. Definition: a complex and interlocking body of treaties, conventions, statutes, regulations, and common law that operates to regulate the interaction of humanity and the natural environment, toward the process of reducing the impacts of human activity

2. Two major subjects:1. Pollution control and remediation

1. Laws are media-limited and control both emissions of pollutants in the medium, as well as liability for exceeding permitted emissions and responsibility for clean up

2. Resource conservation and management1. Laws focus on a single resource and provide guidelines for and

limitations on the conservation, disturbance and use of those resources

3. These two areas are not mutually exclusive1. Example- laws governing water pollution in lakes and rivers may also

conserve the recreational value of such water bodies. 4. Many laws that are not exclusively “environmental” nonetheless include

significant environmental components and integrate environmental policy decisions

5. Environmental law draws from and is influenced by principles of environmentalism (ecology, conservation, stewardship, responsibility, and sustainability)

6. Pollution control laws are intended to protect and preserve both the natural environment and human health

7. Resource conservation and management laws balance the benefits of preservation and economic exploitation of resources

8. The limitations and expenses that the laws impose on commerce have generated and continue to generate significant controversy

9. Given the broad scope of environmental law, no fully definitive list of environmental laws is possible

10. Important conferences that adopt international agreements:1. United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (1972)2. World Commission on Environment and Development (1983)

3. United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (1992)4. World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002)

Ecosystems--Succession, Biodiversity, Island Biogeography

1. Primary succession—when life is established on previously lifeless terrain2. Secondary succession—succession in an area that was previously occupied by

organisms 1. EXAMPLES: fires, hurricanes, deforestation, and agriculture

3. The relationship between species behavior and succession (facilitation—species behave in such a way that facilitates the growing/survival of other species/ inhibition—early species hinder the establishment and growth of other species (kudzu)/ tolerance—late successional plants are largely unaffected by plants at earlier stages of succession)

4. Invasive species—non-native species of animals, plants, microorganisms or pathogens that usurp the habitat of other species, forcing the native species to decline in population or to disappear from their natural environment

5. Keystone species—a species that plays a critical role in maintaining the structure of an ecological community and whose impact on the community is greater than would be expected based on its relative abundance or total biomass.

6. “r” selected species—rapid growth when conditions are favorable/ “opportunists”7. “k” selected species—do well in competitive situations/ “specialists”8. Island Biogeography—a field within biogeography that attempts to establish and

explain the factors that affect the species richness of natural communities9. Principles of ecosystem sustainability:

Ecosystems use sunlight as their source of energy Ecosystems dispose of wastes and replenish nutrients by recycling all

elements The size of a consumer population is maintained such that overgrazing and

other forms of overuse do not occur Biodiversity is maintained

10. Ecological Stability and Sustainability:

a. Stability - is maintained only by constant dynamic change in response to changing environmental conditions.

a. Inertia (or persistence) - the ability of a living system to resist being disturbed or altered.

b. Constancy - the ability of a living system to maintain a certain size or keep its numbers within the limits imposed by available resources.

c. Resilience - the ability of a living system to bounce back after an external disturbance that is not too drastic. The signs of ill health in a stressed ecosystem include:

The Atmosphere

1. Composition1. Gases

1. N2, O2, Ar, Ne, He, Kr, H2, Xe2. Most abundant is nitrogen gas, oxygen, and argon 3. Variable concentrations

2. Structure1. Troposphere

1. Closest to the surface 2. Contains weather 3. Densest layer4. Bad ozone

1. Photochemical smog and eye irritant 2. Stratosphere

1. Contains good O33. Mesosphere

1. Coldest layer4. Thermosphere

1. Hottest layer 3. Weather and climate

1. (in layers) 4. Atmospheric circulation and the Coriolis Effect

1. Low pressure cool, dry air falls and is compressed and warmed2. The air becomes high pressure and flows toward low pressure, picking up

moisture and heat3. Wet, hot air rises, expands and cools and goes to high pressure areas of

condensation and precipitation4. The heat is released and radiated into space and goes back to the low

pressure cool, dry air 5. Atmosphere – ocean interactions

1. Ocean currents and winds redistribute heat received from the sun from one place to another

6. ENSO

Lakes, Streams, Rivers, and Wetlands

1. Lakes 1. Lakes consist of sunlit layers near and away from the shore, and at deeper

levels a dark layer and a bottom zone 1. Littoral zone

1. Shallow sunlit waters near the shore 2. Limnetic zone

1. Open sunlit water away from shore3. Profundal zone

1. Deep open water where it is too dark for photosynthesis 4. Benthic zone

1. Mostly decomposers and detritus 5. Oligotrophic lake

1. Newly formed lakes have a small supply of plant nutrients 6. Eutrophic lake

1. Nutrient-rich needed by producers 2. Streams/ rivers

1. Source zone1. Mountain streams, rush over rapids and tumble down dissolving a

lot of oxygen, lack nutrients2. Cold water fish

2. Transition zone1. Headwater streams form wider, deeper streams that flow down

more gentle slope2. Warmer water

3. Floodplain zone 1. Streams join to rivers of flat valleys 2. Higher temperatures3. Less DO

4. Runoff 5. Watershed/ drainage basin

1. Land area that delivers runoff and sediment to a stream 3. Wetlands

1. Inland wetlands 1. Absorb and store excess water from storms and provide a variety

of wildlife habitats

Energy Production with Fossil Fuels (Moser)

1. Fossil fuels are formed by natural resources such as anaerobic decomposition of organic materials

1. Petroleum, coal, oil, natural gas, etc. 2. Coal

1. Abundant and majority is carbon2. Coal is recovered from the earth by surface mining or deep mining.3. Coal gasification  

3. Oil1. Oil comes from crude oil, which is a mix of hydrocarbons with some oxygen,

nitrogen, and sulfur impurities.2. Oil sands in Canada

1. Largest supplier of oil for United States

4. Natural Gas1. Natural gas is the gas component of coal and oil formation. It is used in industrial

and commercial heating and cooking, and, increasingly, to fuel electricity generation. In a compressed form, natural gas can also be used as a transportation fuel. Natural gas is either found mixed in oil or is released from coal.

5. The burning of fossil fuels releases CO2 6. CO2 is a major greenhouse gas that contributes to air pollution and global warming7. Natural processes can only deplete about half of all the CO2 we release into the

atmosphere 8. Combustion of fossil fuels also produces other harmful substances in the air like:9. Nitrogen oxides, Sulfur oxide, Volatile organic compounds, Heavy metals 10. The advantages to fossil fuels are that they are expensive, but they are harmful for the

environment

Nitrogen and Phosphorus Cycles

1. Steps to the Nitrogen Cycle1. Nitrogen-fixation- bacteria in the roots of legumes and in the soil “fix” the

nitrogen so it can be used by plants. When nitrogen is fixed, it is converted from a gas to a solid.

1. NH3+ NH4+2. Nitrification- NH4+ NO3-3. Assimilation- inorganic to organic. NO3- protein 4. Ammonification- protein NH4+

1. Occurs when organic matter dies 5. Dentrification- goes back into the atmosphere

2. Human influence on the nitrogen cycle1. Burning of gas at high temperatures releases NO2 2. Chemical fertilizers (N2O evaporates off)3. Runoff

3. “nitrogen supplies life quality”4. Steps of the Phosphorous cycle

1. Weathering of phosphate from rocks 2. Phosphate goes into the soil3. Assimilated into plants4. Animals eat the plants5. Phosphorous goes back into the ground as waste products

5. Phosphorous is an essential nutrient 6. Phosphates serve as energy storage within cells (ATP) and they form the nucleic

acids of DNA and RNA7. Too much phosphorous causes eutrophication

Ozone Depletion

1. Steps

1. Factories and homes spew out CFC’s2. Sunlight breaks down the CFC’s into the atmosphere which then breaks

down Ozone3. Cl+O3 ClO +O24. CLO+OO2+Cl5. UV radiation breaks off a chlorine atom, the chlorine atom attacks the

ozone molecule, destroying it. The result is an ordinary oxygen and chlorine monoxide molecule. This means the chlorine molecule can attack many more ozone molecules.

6. In 1987 over 180 nations signed the Montreal Protocol which restricts the use of CFC’s

7. Ozone is really important because it blocks UV radiation in the Stratosphere

 Environmental disasters

1. Chernobyla. The worst nuclear-power-plant disaster in history. 1986, one of the

reactors at the Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine exploded, resulting in a nuclear meltdown that sent massive amounts of radiation into the atmosphere, reportedly more than the fallout from Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

2. Bhopal, Indiaa. Around midnight on Dec. 2, 1984, an accident at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India,

resulted in 45 tons of poisonous methyl isocyanate escaping from the facility. Thousands died within hours. 

3. Kuwaiti oil firesa. As the 1991 Persian Gulf War drew to a close, Hussein sent men to blow up Kuwaiti oil wells.

Approximately 600 were set ablaze, and the fires — literally towering infernos — burned for seven months. The Gulf was awash in poisonous smoke, soot and ash.

4. Love Canala. In 1978, Love Canal, located near Niagara Falls in upstate New York, was a nice little working-

class enclave with hundreds of houses and a school. It just happened to sit atop 21,000 tons of toxic industrial waste that had been buried underground in the 1940s and '50s by a local company.

5. The Exxon Valdeza. On the night of March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground on Bligh Reef in the

pristine waters of Alaska's Prince William Sound. The first of what would turn out to be 10.8 million gal. of oil began to spew forth into the cold waters.

6. Tokaimura nuclear planta. On Sept. 30, 1999, Japan's worst nuclear accident happened in a facility northeast of Tokyo. Three

workers at a uranium-processing plant in Tokaimura, then the center of the Japanese nuclear-power industry, improperly mixed a uranium solution.

7. The Aral Seaa. In early April 2010, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon traveled to Central Asia, where

he laid eyes upon a "graveyard of ships" — rusting fishing trawlers and other vessels stranded in a desert that stretched for miles in all directions.

8. Seveso Dioxin Clouda. On July 10, 1976, an explosion at a northern Italian chemical plant released a thick, white cloud of

dioxin that quickly settled on the town of Seveso, north of Milan.

9. Minamata Diseasea. Minamata disease was identified. Symptoms included convulsions, slurred speech, loss of motor

functions and uncontrollable limb movements. Three years later, an investigation concluded that the affliction was a result of industrial poisoning of Minamata Bay by the Chisso Corp., which had long been one of the port town's biggest employers. As a result of wastewater pollution by the plastic manufacturer, large amounts of mercury and other heavy metals found their way into the fish and shellfish that comprised a large part of the local diet. 

10. Three Mile Islanda. "Nuclear Nightmare," screamed the April 9, 1979, cover of TIME magazine. On March 28, the

Three Mile Island nuclear reactor near Harrisburg, Pa., partially melted down.

Human population growth

1. What is the current human population growth rate? (for 2010)

r = 1.1%

2. What is the current population of the world? (for 2010)- 6.8 billion people

3. Based on these 2 figures, how many people are being added to the world…

a. Every year?

- 75,734,945; 6.8 x 109 x 1.110-2

b. Every day?

- 207,4934. At this rate of growth, how long will it take for the world population to double?

a. Doubling time = 70/r

- 63 years5. Before the Agricultural Revolution (10,000 years ago), total world population was only a

few million people. (hunter-gatherer societies)

6. Until the Middle Ages, human pop was held in check by diseases, famines, and wars. (Environmental Resistance)

7. Thomas Malthus (1798) argued human populations tend to increase exponentially while food production is plentiful.

8. Karl Marx a. Population growth is a symptom rather than a root cause of poverty and other social

problems.b. Real causes of these problems are exploitation and oppression.

9. Demography: the statistical study of human populations relating to growth rate, age structure, and geographic distribution.

10. Demographic transition

10 Things to Know about Air Pollution: Lara Liszka

1. SO2 burning coal: S2 + O2 = SO2 (industrial smog) SO2 + H2O = H2SO4 (70% acid rain)

2. NO2 cars: N2 + O2= 2NO (photochemical smog) NO2 + H2O= HNO3 (30% acid rain)

3. Ozone formation: ozone= respiratory irritant; oxidative pollutant; harmful in troposphere

N2 + O2 = 2NO & VOC’s + NOx + sunlight + UV radiation= O3

NO + O2 = NO2

NO2= NO + OO + O2= O3 Ozone is a component of

Photochemical smog.

4.

5. Ozone in the stratosphere is good (blocks UV radiation) where as ozone in the troposphere is bad (leads to photochemical smog).

6. Anthropogenic: man-made pollutants such as methane (cows), nitrous oxide (fertilizers), carbon dioxide (burning of fossil fuels), Chlorofluorocarbons (CFS- aerosols and refrigerants.)

7. VOCS: hydrocarbons which escape into the atmosphere, causing photochemical smog; cargogenic; come from cars, paint thinners, and cleaning solvents.

8. Hydroxyl radical: “detergent of atmosphere”; oxidizes many pollutants ( helps toward removal) ; primary removal mechanism for O: OH* + CO H* + CO2

9. Primary pollutants are emitted directly into the lower atmosphere and are toxic (carbon monoxide) where as secondary pollutants are formed by a combination of primary pollutants in the atmosphere (acid rain)

10.The six major pollutants named by the EPA carbon monoxide, lead, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulates

Global Warming – Brent and Mark

a. Caused by greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. b. UV radiation (short wave length) from the sun comes into the atmosphere. It tries

to leave as infrared radiation (long wave length), but the greenhouse gases hold the infrared rays in the troposphere, which warms the Earth.

c. Global Warming causes environmental problems like melting ice caps, rising sea levels, and heavy rain and more severe droughts in concentrated areas.

d. The most prevalent greenhouse gas is CO2 (burning fossil fuels).e. Some other greenhouse gases are CH4 (livestock and landfills), H20 (water

cycle), N2O (chemical or synthetic fertilizers), and CFCs (aerosol cans, refrigerators, outlawed by Montreal Protocol)

f. Global Warming causes the Earth’s average temperature to rise annually. (It has risen 1.4oF since 1880.)

g. Many countries signed the Kyoto Protocol to cut down on CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S., under the Bush administration, refused to sign the agreement.

h. Global Warming could be a natural cyclical phenomenon, but it also could be caused by man’s rising CO2 emissions (along with other green house gases). Either way, humans ought to be better stewards of the Earth’s resources that God has provided for us to use, but use wisely.

i. Chlorine is released into the atmosphere when CFCs react with UV radiation in the stratosphere. The chlorine attacks the ozone, breaking it down, allowing more UV to come to Earth, which can have harmful effects. This hole in the ozone is primarily above Antarctica which further continues to melt the ice caps, decreasing the Earth’s Albedo effect, which continues to add to the global warming problem.

j. Albedo Effect (Defined) - The Albedo Effect is the Earth reflectivity of the sun’s rays back into the atmosphere.

Oceans – Brent and Marka. Oceans cover 71% of the Earth’s Surface.b. Currents distribute solar heat which helps regulate the Earth’s climate.c. Phytoplanktons are producers and support most of the aquatic food chains.d. The oceans participate in the Earth’s nutrient cycles, like the carbon cycle and

hydrologic cycles.e. Ocean Water Properties: 1) buoyancy- provides physical support; 2) limited

fluctuations in temperature; 3) Nutrients are soluble and are readily available; 4) Potentially toxic material is diluted and dispersed.

f. Four major factors of determining types and numbers of organisms found in the three oceanic zone:

i. Temperatureii. Access to Sunlight

iii. Dissolved Oxygen Contentiv. Available Nutrients

g. Oceanic Zones:v. Coastal Zone

vi. Euphotic Zonevii. Bathyal Zone

viii. Abyssal Zoneh. Ecological Services- Climate moderation, carbon dioxide absorption, nutrient

cycling, waste treatment and dilution, reduced storm impact, habitats and nursery areas for marine and terrestrial species, genetic resources and biodiversity, scientific information

i. Economic Services- Food, animal and pet feed, pharmaceuticals, harbors and transportation routes, coastal habitats for humans, recreation, employment, offshore oil and natural gas, minerals, building materials

j. Coral reefs are formed by polyps which secrete a protective limestone crust to protect themselves. When the polyps die, that crust remains and makes up the Earth’s coral reefs. Algae that live in the tissue of the polyps provide the polyps with color, food, and oxygen. As part of the Carbon Cycle, polyps remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere which they use when they form their limestone shells.

10 Things to Know- Mining & Mine Reclamation

1. Mining = the extraction of useful minerals (such as coal, oil, and other fossil fuels) from source within the earth; a.k.a. extraction of any nonrenewable resource (petroleum, natural gas, etc.)

2. OPEC controls 78% of world’s oil reserves; Russia controls over 30% of worlds’ natural gas supply; US controls 25% of proven coal reserves

3. Strip or surface mining is done by removing (stripping) surface vegetation, dirt, and if necessary, layers of bedrock in order to reach buried ore deposits (much more common); underground mining: consists of digging tunnels or shafts into the earth to reach buried ore deposits

4. Strip or surface mining causes acid mine drainage, increased water pollution, acids and minerals in the water damaging metal plumbing, formation of sinkholes, loss of biodiversity,

contamination of surface water, and destruction of natural environments and mountains; as well as noise pollution and serious health problems for residents living near mines

5. Although mining does provide jobs for people throughout the mountainous areas (specifically Appalachian) and stimulate economy, mining is very dangerous for the people working in the shafts and has many environmental problems (such as blowing up the mountain)

6. Mine reclamation is the process of creating useful landscapes from mined land (typically productive ecosystems)

7. Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 requires that any surface mining be reclaimed (soil must be returned to original condition)

8. Mountaintop Removal is the newest and swiftly growing version of strip mining. It is much quicker and more efficient because it can be done primarily by machines requiring less human work. This is bad because it takes away jobs from community, kills of lots of acres of biodiversity, and pollutes the rivers in the area

9. Gangue: the material remaining after the ore has been extracted from the rock, released into river beds below which goes on to pollute much of the surrounding area

10. Most times in situations with large companies coming into smaller towns to mine, the big companies have no care for the people or locations of the community and care only to make the biggest profit. This leaves the poorer people of the community in a hard spot to get out of.