Assessing Environmental Science

 

1. Describe how you anticipate our contemporary societal lifestyle might change if anthropological impacts ever reached the projected world’s species extinction rate of 25% during this century. How might this sixth mass extinction affect the lives of future generations? What are some steps you could take to help prevent this from happening?
Your response must be at least 200 words in length. No references or citations are necessary.

2. Using the HIPPCO acronym, list and describe the six major direct causes of species extinction leading to subsequent threats to ecosystem services.
Your response must be at least 75 words in length. No references or citations are necessary.

3. Describe the four main conservation approaches, learned by studying how natural ecosystems recover, that are currently being used to enhance ecological succession processes. Give at least one example for each approach, and discuss how they relate to the ecosystems of wild animal species, forest and terrestrial species, and aquatic or marine species in your response.
Your response must be at least 200 words in length. No references or citations are necessary.

Assessing Environmental Science

QUESTION 1
1. Large solar cell farms are being installed in remote desert environments, such as the Mojave Desert and the Sahara Desert. Our textbook authors list ecosystem disruption as a potential disadvantage to this type of renewable energy source. What type of ecosystem disruption may we expect from these farms? List and describe three steps that you, as an environmental scientist, might recommend for protecting the affected ecosystem while keeping these farms.
Your response must be at least 200 words in length. No references or citations are necessary.

QUESTION 2
2. Describe Earth’s three major resources used by humans and the conservation techniques used to protect the source for each resource.
Your response must be at least 75 words in length. No references or citations are necessary.

QUESTION 3
3. Describe six renewable energy sources and the benefits and limitations of each of these sources to the environment.
Your response must be at least 200 words in length. No references or citations are necessary.

QUESTION 4
4. Describe three current sustainability strategies for each of the three resources of water, minerals, and energy.
Your response must be at least 200 words in length. No references or citations are necessary.