EnvironmentalGeoscience

145. Know the differences between the 1960s Environmental Movement and the Conservation 146. Movement from the late 1800s. What factors contributed to both movements?
 * Both of these answers are addressed below GD **
 * ( page 9 -10 Wright and Boorse 2011) and lecture notes **
 * Conservation **
 * By the end of the 19th century most of the land and natural resources of the west had been claimed, and the “frontier had come to a close.” The perception of abundant unexploited lands teaming with wildlife and fertile soils turned into wasted resources and inefficient use. **
 * - timber companies cut trees without reforestation **
 * - rancher overgrazed the perennial grasslands **
 * - mining companies overexploited the land **


 * During this time, several people became aware of the misuse of land. This sparked the “conservation movement.” Around the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, several groups devoted to conservation were formed. These included the National Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Sierra Club founded in California by John Muir. **


 * Early conservationists were the social elite. They were affluent urbanites for the east that enjoyed hiking, fishing, camping, exploring, and hunting in the great outdoors. Among the early conservationists were authors who wrote about the beauty of the outdoors: **
 * Henry David Thoreau - Walden; Life in the Woods **
 * George Perkins Marsh – Man and Nature – in this book he was the first to **
 * have the point of view that humans are harming **
 * the environment **


 * Gifford Pinchot – Transferred the US forest Service form the Dept of the Interior to the Dept. of Agriculture. He instituted sustainable yields and reforestation after cutting. **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">President Roosevelt promoted the conservation of public lands by placing 230 million acres of wild lands under public protection. Many National Parks were established during the conservation movement. National Parks are and American Invention and the US was the first to set aside land for preservation. **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">During the first half of the 20th century there was an increasing awareness of the environment. The Dust Bowl was as result of drought and poor agricultural land management. During the Great Depression conservation provided a means of both restoring the land and providing work for the unemployed. The Civilian Conservation Corp built trails and buildings in parks, built canals, levees, and dams, and helped in wildfire suppression **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Environmental Movement **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The Environmental Movement represents a grassroots effort to raise public awareness and to help preserve the quality of life (clean air, safe drinking water, clean water, and endangered species). This movement was prompted by the general public. This is somewhat different then the Conservation Movement, which was more of an upper-middle class movement to preserve resources. Also different from the Conservation Movement, the Environmental movement sought to protect wildlife and nature not just because it had explicit value to humans, but because the environment should be preserved for its own sake. **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Instigator of the Environmental Movement was the book ** ** __<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Silent Spring __ ** **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">by Rachel Carson. Pesticides (DDT) were destroying innocent wildlife. This work greatly inspired JFK and may have contributed to the passing of many environmental policy legislation. **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Other factors contributing to the Environmental Movement included: **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Color TV’s – Blue and green toxins spilling into a stream and red blood from **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Whaling operations has more of an impact then seeing it in black **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">and white. **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Successful Campaigns – The Crying Indian **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Apollo 11 Landing on the Moon – Seeing “Mother Earth” and realizing the **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Physical bounds may have contributed to an environmental mindset **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Disappearance of wildlife – Due to overhunting, America saw population decline of several key species: **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">- Buffalo **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">- Alligators **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">- Bald Eagle **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The 60’s were a time of major social/political change in the US. These other movements may have helped influence the environmental movement. **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Looks good **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">JL **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Great, very thorough. Would add US response: NEPA, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Wilderness Act, Earth Day, etc. **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">DS **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">147. What is the Malthusian perspective on population growth? What was Thomas Malthus’ main prediction regarding unchecked human population growth? Did his prediction come true? Why or why not?


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The Malthusian view on population is that if 1) humans need food and 2) humans have sexual desire, then the power of population is indefinitely greater then the power in the Earth to produce subsistence, Therefore population will increase exponentially. **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Human growth = exponential **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Agricultural growth = arithmetic **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Eventually population would outstrip the available resources. The power of humans to reproduce would be more powerful than the ability of the Earth to sustain it. Consequences of population growth = poverty. Population growth leads to poverty when the population increases faster than the food supply. Overpopulation leads to lower wages and a labor surplus, further exasperating poverty. Malthus believed that the poor should incorporate “moral restraint” to curve their high reproductive habits. Poverty is to be blamed on the poor. It is the poor’s own fault that they are poor. The poor should adopt middle class values to avoid the consequences of over population. Malthus was skeptical that the poor were capable of doing this (social Darwinism) and thus the poor would remain poor. He was opposed to welfare because it might encourage more poverty. **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Malthusian ideas have been criticized by other scholars. One of his biggest criticisms, his interpretation about the arithmetic increase in the food supply was incorrect. Food production has skyrocketed in the last several decades, partly due to technological advances. Food supply has kept pace and may have possibly exceeded human population. **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">From Lecture notes - GD **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Great, DS **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">148. Know the characteristics of each phase of the Demographic Transition. What phase are most ‘developing’ nations in? What about ‘developed’ nations?
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The demographic transition generally occurs in four stages: **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">- Phase 1 - both birth and death rates are high, causing only slow and steady population growth. **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">- Phase 2 – advent of industrialization and better technology/health care cause Crude Death Rate (CDR) to decline and Crude Birth Rate (CBR) to remain high, resulting in faster population growth. **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">- Phase 3 – social/cultural shifts due to increased industrialization causes CBR to begin to decline. CDR continues to decline. Population still increases, but at a slower rate. **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">- Phase 4 – a country is now “developed” and is marked by stable population with low fertility and low CDR. **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Most of world’s population growth has occurred in last 100 or so years. Dramatic rise in population is a result of several factors (better healthcare and medicine, better nutrition and sanitary practices, increase in food production (“green revolution”), increased technological advances). **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">In recent years, population growth has slowed. The time needed to add one billion people is decreasing, but the amount of the decrease is becoming less and less. Even though the ** // **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">rate ** // **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">of population increase is lessening, the ** // **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">overall ** // **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">population is still increasing. **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Developed (Highly developed / high-income countries) – growing at a rate of 0.1%/year **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Developing (Moderately developed / middle-income; developing / low-income countries) – growing at a rate of 1.5%/year **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Consequently, more than 98% of world population is occurring in the developing (middle- and low-income) countries. In fact, population growth is highest in the least developed countries. **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">MLS **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Developing nations are in Phase 2 or 3. Developed nations are in Phase 4. (Notes from mid term exam review sheet) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">JL <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Good DS

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">149. Describe the relationship between population growth and environmental stress (& degradation).
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Increased population growth and its detrimental effects on human well-being, the decline of vital ecosystem services, the negative impact of global climate change, and a loss of biodiversity are contributors to the environmental stress and degradation we are currently experiencing on Earth. Expanding populations and increasing affluence means trouble for the environment. In countries experiencing rapid population growth, people overuse the land. Agriculture has had to increase yields in areas that once were sufficient to handle its population. Crop rotation kept the land from wearing out, but now is not an option with a growing number of mouths to feed. The results have been a deterioration of the soil and erosion. Opening up new land for agriculture is not in essence finding new land, but transferring a new use for an ecosystem that is compromised or destroyed in exchange. Deforestation is a loss of one environmental need to address a population increase need. High individual consumption places huge demands on the environment. Metals are mined, timber harvested, commodities grown, and oil extracted often far from the industrialized countries where these goods are consumed. Each one of these activities has a significant environmental impact. In high income countries, increased industrialization results in huge amounts of wealth but not with the transfer of environmental degradation to places where those most responsible for generating it do not have to deal with it. A way to generalize the effect of affluence is that it enables the wealthy to clean up their immediate environments by transferring their wastes to more distant locations and to obtain their goods from more distant locations so that they do not experience the negative impacts of their consumption. Wright/Boorse ‘Environmental Science – Towards a Sustainable Future pgs 4, 5, 204-209 PB **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Good. I would add the following: **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Ehrlich and Holdren – human factors that contribute to environmental destruction and depletion of resources include population, affluence (and consumption), and technology. **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> I = P x A x T **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">DS **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">150. Compare and contrast developing vs. developed nations in this regard. (You may want to include some of the following terms: ecological footprint, carrying capacity, population density, Rate of Natural increase etc.)
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The following numbers and rates are higher for developing countries than developed countries: Rate of Natural Increase, Crude Birth Rate, Total Fertility Rate, Population Density. (Noted from Mid Term review sheet) **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">JL **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">I would add the following: **
 * __Ecological footprint__: estimate of the amount of land and ocean required to provide the resources you need or absorb the wastes you produce. Average American – 20x average resident of poor country.**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">__Carrying capacity__: difficult to determine human CC; depends on our “standards;” CC has been increased in short term by development of agriculture, technology, trade, use of fossil fuels, medicine – essentially removing limiting factors. However new limiting factors in long term now include: pollution from own activities, limits on agricultural land and ocean fish, tradeoffs between using ecosystems for their services vs. recreation **
 * __Developed countries__ largely responsible for major world pollution problems, even though population is smaller:**
 * - depletion of ozone layer**
 * - global climate change**
 * - global emissions of CO2**
 * - global deforestation and loss of diversity due to consumer demands**
 * - accumulation of toxic wastes**
 * __Developing countries__ have a greater rate of population increase, however have a much lower rate of consumption (see formula above)**
 * - global environmental impact is much less than that of developed countries**
 * - population density is much greater in urban areas**
 * - growing population problem has created local environmental degradation (pollution of water, degradation of farm land, for example) and great needs (economic growth, employment, effective policies, technological/ financial help); meeting these is a matter of justice.**
 * DS**

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">151. What do the terms renewable & non-renewable mean? Be able to describe a renewable and a non-renewable energy source. What are the advantages/disadvantages of each example?
 * __<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">What do the terms renewable & non-renewable mean? __ ** // **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Renewable ** // **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">is simply that which can be renewed, replenished, reformed, or regrown. ** // **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Renewable ** // **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">resources can be biological resources, such as trees, that van be renewed by reproduction and regrowth. ** // **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Renewable ** // **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">energy is an energy source, such as solar, wind, and geothermal, that will not be depleted by use. ** // **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Non-renewable ** // **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">is that which is not able to be renewed, replenished, reformed, or regrown. ** // **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Non-renewable ** // **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">resources, such as metal ores, oil, and coal that exist as finite deposits within Earth’s crust and cannot be replenished as they are consumed. **
 * __<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Be able to describe a renewable and a non-renewable energy source __ ****<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">. ** // **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">A renewable energy source ** // **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">is geothermal energy. In many locations worldwide, one of which being Yellowstone National Park, there are springs that yield very hot water along with natural steam vents. These occur where the hot, molten rock of Earth’s interior is located very near the surface and are able to heat groundwater, especially in volcanic regions. Use of this geothermal energy can heat water and create steam to warm buildings or drive turbogenerators. ** // **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">A non renewable energy source ** // **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">would be fossil fuels, which are found within the rocks of the Earth's surface. They are called fossil fuels because they are thought to have been formed many millions of years ago by geological processes acting on dead animals and plants, just like fossils. Coal, oil and natural gas are fossil fuels. Gas and oil were formed from the remains of small sea creatures and plants that died and fell to the bottom of seas. Over many millions of years, layers of mud or other sediments built up on top of these dead animals and plants. The pressure from these layers and heat from below the Earth's crust gradually changed the once-living material into oil and natural gas. Over time, the layers of rocks in the Earth's crust move and may become squashed and folded. Gas and oil may move through porous rocks and may even come to the surface. In some places, pockets of oil and gas can be found, because non-porous rocks have trapped them. Coal mainly consists of carbon atoms that come from plant material from ancient swamp forests. Millions of years ago, trees and other plants grew rapidly in a tropical climate, and when they died they fell into swamps. The water in the swamps prevented the plant material from decaying completely and peat was formed. As time passed, layer upon layer of peat built up. The pressure from these layers and heat from below the Earth's crust gradually changed the material into coal. Because they took millions of years to form, once they are used up they cannot be replaced. ** [|**http://www.scienceonline.co.uk/energy/nonrenewable.html**] **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Wright/Boorse ‘Environmental Science – Towards a Sustainable Future pgs 29, 415, 648, 652 PB **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Renewal energy sources such as wind and solar have the advantage of being non-polluting but the disadvantage of not being economically feasible in all places and at all times. **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Non-renewable energy sources such as coal and oil have the advantage of being able to be stored until ready to use but the disadvantage of increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere when they are used. **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(Notes from mid term review sheet) **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">JL **
 * Good DS**

152. Explain how nuclear energy works. Do you support an increase in the use of nuclear energy in the US? Why/why not?
 * The generation of electricity in a Nuclear Power Plant is made by splitting uranium atoms (fission) in a continuous chain reaction. Control is achieved by enriching the uranium (the separation and concentration of U235 from U238) to 3-5%. When the atoms split, they also release heat. This heat is known as nuclear energy and is essentially responsible for creating electricity. **
 * MLS **
 * Clarification: Enrichment is done to increase % of U235 necessary for chain reaction (it occurs naturally at a much lower percentage). Control of chain reactions is achieved by used neutron absorbing material (like pure, lightweight water) in control rods placed in the reactor core with the fuel rods. **
 * DS **
 * Coolant water is circulated throughout the reactor and superheated. Heat exchangers produce steam which is used to drive turbogenerators and produce electricity. **
 * -PM **

153. What is the difference between point and non-point source pollution? Be able to give examples of each. Which is more difficult to control and why?
 * Point sources of pollution are specific points of origin of pollutants, such as factory drains or outlets from sewage-treatment plants. Non-point sources of pollution such are the general runoff of sediments, fertilizers, pesticides, and other materials from farms and urban areas, as opposed to specific points of discharge such as factories. It is harder to combat non-point sources, as they are often difficult to identify. **
 * MLS **
 * Looks good **
 * JL **
 * Good **
 * DS **

154. What is eutrophication? How does this occur? Why is eutrophication a problem? Describe this issue in the context of point source vs. non-point source pollution.
 * Eutrophication is characterized by nutrient-rich water supporting an abundant growth of algae or other aquatic plants at the surface. Cultural eutrophication is the process of natural eutrophication accelerated by human activities. Causes: nutrient enrichment (e.g., phosphorous, nitrogen), followed by the growth and die-off of phytoplankton, the accumulation of detritus, the growth of bacteria, the depletion of DO, and the suffocation of higher organisms. Eutrophication is a problem because it is unappealing for swimming, boating, and sportfishing; phytoplankton rapidly clog water filters and cause a foul taste in drinking water; some species of phytoplankton secrete various toxins into the water that may kill other aquatic life and be injurious to human health as well. (Lecture 8, Slides 38, 39). (From Wikipedia) Nonpoint pollution is the most difficult source of nutrients to manage. The literature suggests, though, that when these sources are controlled, eutrophication decreases. **
 * MLS **
 * Looks good **
 * JL **
 * Would add sources of pollution that cause eutrophication: **
 * Point: sewage outfall (most notorious) **
 * Nonpoint: agricultural runoff (manure, fertilizer), lawns and gardens, golf courses, storm drains, atmospheric deposition (from acid rain) **
 * DS **

155. What is the largest component of municipal solid waste (MSW) (by % volume)? Is it Paper, yard waste, metals, wood, plastics etc.? How do we currently deal with MSW? What are some of the ways that we could reduce our municipal solid waste?
 * **The largest component of MSW is paper/paperboard (32.7%), followed by yard waste (12.8%)**
 * **The majority of MSW is sent to a landfill. A smaller portion in incinerated, and an even smaller fraction is recycled.**
 * **We could reduce our MSW by reducing our consumption, reusing or repurposing what we have, and recycling as much as possible.**
 * MLS **
 * Looks good **
 * JL **
 * Good DS **

156. What is an invasive species? Why are they considered a major environmental threat? Be able to describe 2 invasive species in detail. How/why were these species introduced? What are the factors that make invasive species ‘successful’ in their introduced habitat?
 * __What is an invasive species?__ An invasive species is also referred to as an exotic or alien species. It is one that is introduced into an environment from another environment, often times another continent or hemisphere. **
 * __Why are they considered a major environmental threat?__ When the alien species finds the environment favorable to its survival it can become an invasive species. It thrives, repopulates, and spreads outward, often eliminating other species in order to sustain its survival through predation or competition for space and resources. Invasive species are instrumental in the extinction of native species. Since 1600c.e. invasive species have been major players in the extinction of approximately 39% of all animal extinctions. **
 * __Be able to describe 2 invasive species in detail.__ __How/why were these species introduced?__ There are accidental and deliberate introductions of alien species into a new environment. An example of an accidental introduction of a species was the brown tree snake. The brown tree snake stowed aboard cargo ships traveling around the world during World War II. When these ships docked in the various ports, the snakes made their onboard with the cargo. When the ships docked in Guam, the brown tree snakes made their way onshore. As this snake eats almost anything smaller than itself and grows to a length of 8 feet, over a 50+ year period 9 of Guam’s 12 native species of birds were eradicated. Wildlife officials are working to prevent a further spread of the brown tree snake in the other islands of the Marianas chain. **
 * An example of a deliberate introduction of a native species is the Kudzu. It is a vigorous vine from Japan that was introduced in the southeastern United States in 1876. It was widely planted on farms throughout the southeastern United States to provide cattle fodder and assist in erosion control. The fast growing plant was intended to provide an extensive root system to hold soil in place in areas suffering from erosion. However, the Kudzu invaded and climbed over forests adjacent to the farms. It now occupies more than 7 million acres of the Deep South. It is a threat to the survival and expansion of existing forests, therefore the U. S. Forest Service is working diligently to contain its growth. **
 * __What are the factors that make invasive species ‘successful’ in their introduced habitat?__ Despite all the studies that have been made on the adaptation of alien species into new areas, the problem is increasing rather than decreasing mainly due to world trade and travel expansions. When a species becomes invasive, it has found physical conditions and a food supply conducive to its survival. It also has an insufficient number of enemies to inhibit its population growth. Then when its population booms, it edges out the native species either by predation or by outcompeting them for space, food, and other resources pertinent to survival. **
 * Wright/Boorse ‘Environmental Science – Towards a Sustainable Future pgs 98,99, 142,143 PB **
 * Looks good **
 * JL **
 * I would add to the definition that it is not only from another place but also "thrives, spreads out and perhaps eliminates native species by predation or competition for food or space." This was included later, but needs to be part of what defines an invasive species, i.e., species can be from other places but not be invasive. **
 * Also I would add to factors that make them successful - dispersal ability, short generation time, produce large number of offspring (i.e., are pioneer species, r-strategists), often well adapted to human activity **
 * DS **

157. What is biodiversity? Why is it important to preserve biodiversity on Earth? How is biodiversity on earth threatened?
 * Biodiversity refers to the variability among living organisms and the ecosystems that they are a part of. **
 * Biodiversity should be preserved for intrinsic reasons (Nature for Nature’s sake) and for Instrumental reasons (Anthropocentric reasons). **
 * Biodiversity is currently under threat from the introduction of non-native species, the loss of native habitats, overfishing and illegal hunting and collecting. **
 * (Environmental Science. Wright/Boorse. Pp. 7, 132) **
 * JL **
 * I would add HIPPO as a way of remembering threats:**
 * **Habitat destruction**
 * **Introduction of nonnative species (greatest threat)**
 * **Population increase and pressure on resources (overfishing, etc.)**
 * **Pollution - nutrient overloading, pathogens**
 * **Overexploitation - exotic trade, collecting, greed**
 * DS**

158. Should Trees have Standing? Review this reading and summarize the main points made by the author. Do you think trees should have standing? Why or why not?

159. What is the Superfund program? Why was Superfund created? Give an example of a Superfund site [either from your local area or from the course]
 * Superfund is the federal program with the responsibility for cleaning up sites that are in imminent danger of jeopardizing human health through groundwater contamination. Superfund sites are polluted sites deemed serious enough to require government intervention and remediation. In the suburbs of Chattanooga, TN, there are 12 hazardous waste sites that have been classified as Superfund sites. More than 145 former municipal landfill sites in Florida appear on the Superfund list. The Superfund Act of 1960 addressed abandoned hazardous waste sites throughout the country, 41% of which were old landfills. The Environmental Protection Agency administers the Superfund program. Prompted by the public outrage over the Love Canal fiasco, Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), popularly known as Superfund. Through a tax on chemical raw materials, this legislation provides a trust fund for the identification of abandoned chemical waste sites, protection of groundwater near the sites, remediation of groundwater if it has been contaminated, and cleanup of the sites. The Superfund program was greatly expanded by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA). Between 1980 and 2008, 1063 Superfund sites on the National Priorities List have been completely cleaned up. One of the earliest Superfund sites to appear on the national priorities list (NPL) is known as the Industri-Plex 128 site in Woburn, MA. Started in the mid 19th century Woburn Chemical Works produced arsenic based insecticides, sulfuric and acetic acids, glue from raw animal hides and organic chemicals such as phenol, benzene, and toluene. The company operated until the late 1960’s. When a developer excavated the site 10 years later, the uncovered land yielded decaying animal hides and buried chemical wastes. Two wells installed slightly downstream of the buried wastes became the center of a civil lawsuit on the behalf of several children living in Woburn who developed leukemia. This was the inspiration for the 1996 movie ‘A Civil Action’.** **Wright/Boorse, __Environmental Science__ pgs 19, 44,45, 548,560,577 PB**
 * Good DS**