Study AP Environmental Science (APES) with flashcards covering ecosystems, biogeochemical cycles, pollution, energy resources, and environmental law.
Must-Know APES Terms
- Ecological Footprint: Measure of human demand on Earth's ecosystems, expressed as the area of biologically productive land needed to provide resources and absorb waste. Global overshoot occurs when demand exceeds Earth's biocapacity.
- IPAT Equation: Environmental Impact = Population × Affluence × Technology. Useful for analyzing how different factors drive environmental degradation.
- Bioaccumulation: Increase in concentration of a substance in an organism's tissues over time. Biomagnification: increase in concentration as the substance moves up the food chain.
- Tragedy of the Commons: Overexploitation of shared resources because individuals act in self-interest. Solutions: privatization, government regulation, or community management.
- Eutrophication: Excessive nutrient enrichment (usually nitrogen and phosphorus) in aquatic systems, causing algal blooms, oxygen depletion, and dead zones.
- Carbon Cycle: Carbon moves between atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. Human burning of fossil fuels adds ~10 Gt C/year, disrupting natural balance. Oceans and land each absorb ~25% of emissions.
- CAFE Standards: Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards — US regulations requiring automakers to meet minimum fuel efficiency standards. Example of command-and-control environmental regulation.
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