Humanities Study Flashcards

Pregunta	Respuesta
What is environmental vegetarianism?	Environmental vegetarianism is the choice to not consume any meat products in order to reduce your environmental footprint.
What is veganism?	The decision to not consume any animal-based products, whether this be for health, environmental or ethical reasons.
What % of agricultural land in the USA is used for the meat industry?	80%.
What are the 3 main ways eggs are farmed?	1. Cage Eggs: The eggs are produced in large barns where the hens are kept in cages. 2. Free-Range Eggs: There is no specific definition, but it generally means that the hens are allowed to roam freely outdoors in a pen. 3. Barn-Laid Eggs: The hens are housed in large barns but aren't kept in cages.
What is crop yield?	A measurement of the amount of a crop harvested per unit of land area (usually measured in tonnes per hectare)
What does crop yield reflect?	The amount of seed or grain generated by the plant.
What are the 6 basic biophysical resources successful crop growth depends on?	1. Solar Radiation - Provides light (for photosynthesis) and heat 2. Atmospheric carbon dioxide 3. Soil Water - Contained in the pore spaces between soil particles 4. Mineral Nutrients - Dissolved in soil water 5. Oxygen - Above + below ground 6. Nitrogen - Within the soil, contained in soil air
What are 3 ways in which humans have manipulated the environment in order to produce good, high-yielding crops?	1. Determine the amount of soil water available to plants through irrigation 2. Improve soil quality through addition of fertilisers 3. Improve oxygen supply to plant roots through soil aeration
What are 4 examples of new technologies that have raised crop yields?	1. Mechanisation - Makes cultivation and harvest more efficient 2. Plant Breeding - Produces new, high-yielding, adaptable crop varieties 3. Agrochemicals - Protect plants and improve growth rates 4. Highly sophisticated irrigation methods
What does the success of an agricultural enterprise depend on?	How the crop/s and agricultural environment are managed and protected.
What negative impact can human intervention of agriculture lead to?	The base of the entire agricultural system becoming damaged due to land degradation, which usually leads to crop failings.
What is there an urgent need for in the agricultural industry in the coming decades?	- New, high-yield crop varieties that use less water, fertiliser and other inputs. - Expansion of food production without a significant increase in the amount of land used.
What is the Gene Revolution?	The revolutionisation and rapid advancement of genetic engineering and GM foods in order to improve crop yields, make produce more appealing to consumers and make crops more adaptable, among other things.
What do supporters of GM foods believe?	Supporters of GM foods believe that GM food has the potential to end global food shortages.
What do critics of GM foods believe?	Critics of GM foods believe that GM foods may be dangerous, as their long-term impacts on human health and the environment are not yet known.
What are the advantages of GM foods?	- Need less fertiliser and water - More resistant to pests, disease, frost and drought - Grow faster - Higher salinity tolerance - May need less pesticides - Higher yields - Less spoilage - Can tolerate higher levels of herbicides
What are the disadvantages of GM foods?	- Irrereversable and unpredictable genetic and ecological impacts - Harmful toxins - New allergens in foods - Lower nutritional value - Increase in agrochemical-resistant weeds and insects - Increase in plant diseases - Can harm beneficial insects - Lower genetic diversity
What was the Green Revolution?	- The Green Revolution was a revolution in agricultural production that began in Mexico in 1943. It began with the production and successful introduction of new varieties of wheat and maize, followed by a crop yields in wheat and maize doubling and tripling respectively between 1944 and 1967.
What occurred during the first Green Revolution?	The first Green Revolution was mainly based around developed countries (USA, most of Europe, New Zealand) and was a period between 1950 and 1970 when crop yields in these countries increased dramatically due to the development of key agricultural advances.
What were the key agricultural advances made during the first Green Revolution?	- New, high-yield crop varieties - Domination of monocultures - Large inputs of agrochemicals (artificial fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides, fungicides) - Irrigation - Multiple cropping
How did the 2nd Green Revolution start?	- When thousands of people died in India from the drought of the mid-1060's, the government began importing new high-yield crop seeds from Mexico in 1967. - New varieties of rice + wheat were bred for tropical and subtropical climates - The revolution spread to China, India and countries of Central + South America. - The introduction of new technologies and crops boosted yields up to five times those of traditional crop varieties in these countries.
What were some of the positive impacts of the Green Revolution?	- Global grain production has tripled since the 1950's - Both India and China are now mostly self-sufficient in food - The Green Revolution helped save millions from hunger + starvation
How did diets change after the Green Revolutions?	- While grain production greatly increased, it was not necessarily used to feed people - As incomes grow, people tend to buy more meat - As meat production intensifies, grain is used to feed livestock rather than people - Grain is also used to make biofuel for cars
What were the environmental impacts of the Green Revolution?	- Loss of biodiversity (loss of habitats, loss marine life due to water pollution, etc.) - Impacts on Soil (erosion infertility, salinisation, waterlogging, etc.) - Air Pollution (greenhouse gas emissions [from burning fossil fuels], pollution from agrochemicals - Impacts on Water (Water waste, increased run-off from land clearing, sediment pollution from erosion, etc. - Impacts on human health (nitrates in drinking water, contamination of water from livestock wastes + agrochemicals, etc.)
What were the social impacts of the Green Revolutions?	- Gave many countries an improved level of food security - Lifted large numbers of people out of poverty - Also increased inequalities in many countries, as not all farmers could afford the necessary inputs
What is food security?	Food security is achieved when all people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet the dietary needs and food preferences for a healthy and active life.
How many people in the world are undernourished?	Though enough food is currently being produced to adequately feed all the people of the world, 1 billion people are undernourished.
What are the 8 threats and limitations to global food security?	1. Increasing demand for food 2. Population growth 3. Changing consumption patterns 4. Dwindling crop yields 5. Fresh water shortages 6. Competing uses of land 7. Globalisation 8. Climate change
What is the climate of a coniferous forest?	Cold, high rainfall
What is the climate of a deciduous forest?	Temperate, high rainfall
What is the climate of a tropical rainforest?	Hot, high rainfall
What is the climate of tundra?	Cold, moderate rainfall
What is the climate of temperate grassland?	Temperate, moderate rainfall
What is the climate of a tropical savanna?	Hot, moderate rainfall
What is the climate of a cool desert?	Cold, low rainfall
What is the climate of a temperate desert?	Temperate, low rainfall
What is the climate of a tropical desert?	Hot, low rainfall
In what year did the enclosed agricultural system accelerate in Britain?	1750.
In what year did James Hargreaves invent the Spinning Jenny?	1767.
In what year did Richard Arkwright invent the water frame?	1769.
In what year did Samuel Crompton invent the Spinning Mule?	1779.
In what year did James Watt invent a steam engine to drive machines?	1781.
In what year did Henry Cort invent puddling to produce wrought iron?	1783.
In what year did Edmund Cartwright invent the power loom?	1785.
In what year did George Stephenson invent 'the Rocket', the first working locomotive?	1829.
In what year did gas street lighting become common in Britain?	1830.
In what year did Samuel Morse send the first successful telegraph message?	1844.
In what year was the Bessemer Process invented to enable the mass production of steel?	1956.
In what year did Alexander Graham Bell invent the telephone?	1876.
In what year did Thomas Edison invent the invent the first reliable electric lightbulb?	1879.
In what year did the Wright Brothers invent modern flight?	1903.
In what year did Henry Ford begin mass producing the Model T Ford?	1913.
What was the ancient Confucian belief about China?	The Mandarin word for China means 'Middle Earth', as there is an ancient belief that China is, physically and culturally, the centre of the universe.
What did the Chinese believe about the Western World?	The Chinese believed that Westerners were 'uncivilised barbarians', and refused to trade with them for many years in fear of having their culture contaminated.
How did opinions in China begin to change?	Over time, Chinese officials began to see the value in European ideals and allowed to Jesuit missionaries into the country to spread the concept of Christianity.
What was the first known European country to establish a trading post with China, and when?	Portugal, 1557.
What were the main Chinese imports Britain wanted?	Tea, silk and rhubarb.
What was the problem with Chinese/British trade?	There was a large market for Chinese imports in Britain, but very little interest in British imports in China, due to China's hesitation to bring in anything with a Western influence.
What did China make Britain pay for goods in?	Silver.
By 1800, what product accounted for 90% of trade between Britain and China?	Tea (costs for this made up 10% of total government revenue during 1808).
What was the Canton System?	The Canton System was a system of trade used to deter foreign merchants from entering China. It only allowed allowed foreigners to trade through the port of Canton with Chinese Hong Merchants, and all merchant ships underwent rigorous observation.
How did Britain attempt to gain further trading privileges with China?	They opened a market for opium.
Where did Britain source the opium from?	Opium poppies in Bengal, a region in British-owned India.
At the height of the opium trade, how many people in China were addicted to the drug?	up to 10-12 million.
How did China respond to the illegal opium trade?	In 1839, the emperor appointed Lin Zexu as imperial commissioner responsible for destroying opium. Lin placed very strict penalties on anyone caught smuggling opium, and demanded Britain end their opium trade with China.
What did Lin instruct the British to do in 1839?	He ordered that thy hand over all their opium, and over 20 000 chests ($9 million worth) of opium were publicly destroyed.
What did the British demand as a rebuttal to this?	They demanded compensation for the money lost in giving up the opium. This began the Opium Wars.
What was the Nanking Treaty?	After the first Opium War, the Nanking Treaty (created by the British) was signed in 1842. This stated that control of Hong Kong be given to Britain, that China must open 4 new ports to foreign merchants and that Britain be compensated for the money lost in giving China all their opium. This was followed by a series of unequal treaties placed upon China over the coming decades and founded the base of modern China.
What were the main areas that were impacted thanks to the Industrial Revolution?	- Landscapes - Transport - Communications - The environment - Population distribution and growth - The rise of the middle class - The growth of trade unions

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