50. Planet Earth is remarkably suited for life. Make connections between external environmental factors and the Earth’s living organisms. Include in your discussion the concepts of habitability, evolution and emergence of dominant species.
Answer:
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Synthesis
Learning Objective 1: LO 1.1 Explain how human activities and development affect the environment. TERMINAL LO
Learning Objective 2: LO 1.1.1 Explain how human activities affect global systems.
human impact on the environment. ENABLING LO
Section Reference 1: 1.1 Human Impacts on Environment
Solution: External environmental factors include climate, terrain, and availability of food, water and shelter. The moderate amount of sunlight received on Earth is enough to power photosynthesis, which supports almost all the life forms that inhabit Earth. Water is important both in the internal composition of organisms as well as providing habitat in oceans and lakes. Lakes, rivers and wetlands provide terrestrial organisms with fresh water. These external environmental factors have supported life on Earth for about 3.8 billion years. The combination of natural resources, geological processes and atmosphere provided the raw materials and energy needed for early life forms to arise and adapt. Early cells evolved over time into simple multicellular organisms – early plants, animals, and fungi. Today several million species inhabit the planet. However a single species has emerged as a dominant species in terms of impact on these external environment factors that support the Earth’s living organisms. About 800,000 years ago, humans appeared in Africa. Over time, due to large brains and the ability to communicate, humans grew in number, expanded their range, and impacted the environment with demands on resources and bearing of technology.
51. Compare and contrast environmental science and ecology.
Answer:
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective 1: LO 1.4 Describe environmental science and the role of the scientific method. TERMINAL LO
Learning Objective 2: LO 1.4.1 Define environmental science and briefly describe the role of Earth systems in environmental science. ENABLIGN LO
Section Reference 1: 1.4 Environmental Science
Solution: Ecology is a basic tool used in environmental science. Ecology is branch of biology that studies the interrelationships between organisms and their environment. Environmental science is much broader. Environmental science combines information from many disciplines, such as biology, geography, chemistry, geology, physics, economics, sociology, demography, cultural anthropology, natural resources management, agriculture, engineering, law politics and ethics.
52. What is an Ecological Footprint? Based on the average global ecological footprint of 2.7 hectares per person in conjunction with the growing global population, what are some of the short-term results we can observe? What would the long term outlook be? How does an American’s ecological footprint differ from someone’s in India?
Answer:
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Synthesis
Learning Objective 1: LO 1.2 Describe how population growth and our choice of resources affect the environment. TERMINAL LO
Learning Objective 2: LO 1.2.3 Define ecological footprint. ENABLING LO
Section Reference 1: 1.2 Population, Resources, and the Environment
Solution: An ecological footprint is the average amount of productive land, fresh water, and ocean required on a continuous basis to supply that person with food, wood, energy, water, housing, clothing, transportation, and waste disposal.
Some of the short-term results we can observe are: forest destruction, degradation of croplands, loss of biological diversity, declining ocean fisheries, and local water shortages. The long term outlook, if all consumption stays the same or grows, is potentially disastrous. In the United States, the ecological footprint is about 9.6 hectares while a person from India would have a footprint of less then 1 hectare. If all the people in the world had the same lifestyle and level of consumption as the average North American, and assuming no changes in technology, we would need four additional planets the size of earth.
53. Compare and contrast highly developed countries (HDCs) and less developed countries (LDCs). Include in your answer examples of countries in each category, a description of the gap between categories, and the similarities and differences that one might expect to see in these types of countries.
Answer:
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis