DSST Environmental Science Practice Test Questions and Answers

Aldo Leopold wrote A Sand County Almanac published a year after his death in 1948; promoted a "Land Ethic" in which humans are ethically responsible for serving as the protectors of nature. John Muir founded Sierra Club in 1892; preservationist Rachel Carson one of the first people to realize the global dangers of pesticide abuse (DDT). Wrote Silent Spring. Fourier or Pouillet Person who coined phrase "Greenhouse Effect" Murray Bookchin social ecology Tragedy of the Commons situation in which people acting individually and in their own interest use up commonly available but limited resources, creating disaster for the entire community; by Garrett Hardin Ecology Scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment Ecosystem Performs Water purification, biological control of pests, natural (good) greenhouse effects (keep us warm) Biosphere part of Earth in which life exists including land, water, and air or atmosphere Biomass the total mass of organisms in a given area or volume. Abiotic Non-living things (water, air, minerals, chemicals) Biotic living things (plants and animals) organic substances plant and animal products inorganic substances Metals, minerals, water, and air are examples of Law of Conservation of Matter Matter is not created nor destroyed in any chemical or physical change. The AMOUNT of matter doesn't change