Science and the Environment

1. Understanding Our Environment2. The Environment and Society

p.5-23

Key Terms

• Environmental Science• Ecology• Agriculture• Natural resources• Pollution• Biodiversity• Law of supply and demand• Ecological footprint• Sustainability

Understanding our Environment

1. Define environmental science, and compare environmental science with ecology

2. List five major fields of study that contribute to environmental science

3. Describe the major environmental effects of hunter-gathers, the agricultural revolution, and the Industrial Revolution

4. Distinguish between renewable and nonrenewable resources.

5. Classify environmental problems into three major categories

How do you define Environment?

• Rain-forest• Backyard or neighborhood• Everything around us• Both natural and manmade• Complex web of relationships that connects us

with the world we live in (interconnectedness)

What is Environmental Science?

• The study of how humans interact with the environment.

Goals:1. To understand and solve environmental

problems by studying humans and their environments

a. How we use natural resources (water and plants)b. How our actions alter our environment

Many Fields of Study1. Ecology- study how living things interact with each other and their

nonliving environment2. Biology- study of living things (Zoology, Botany, Microbiology,

Ecology)3. Earth Science- is the study of the Earth’s nonlving systems and the

planet as a whole (Geology, Paleontology, Climatology, Hydrology)4. Physics- study of matter and energy (Engineering)5. Chemistry- study of chemicals and their interactions (Biochemistry,

Geochemisty)6. Social sciences- study of human populations (geography,

anthropology, sociology)http://thefunworks.edc.org/SPTUI--FunWorks/funworks/page.php?class=4

Our Environment Through Time

• Manhattan was a place where Native Americans hunted and fished (Hunters-Gathers)

• The Native American set fires to burn prairies to prevent succession (growth of trees) keeping them as open grasslands so they could hunt

• Gathers spread plants to areas they didn’t normally grow in

• Over hunting- lost of species

Agricultural Revolution

• 10,000 years ago• The practice of growing, breeding and caring for

plants and animals that are used for food, clothing, housing, transpiration and other

• Growth of human populations (500x times support than HG)

• Changed food we ate• Caused soil loss, floods, water shortages, non

fertile soils, loss of habitats

Industrial Revolution• 1700’s shift from animal muscle and running

waters to fossil fuels (coal and oil)• Increased the efficiency of agriculture, industry

and transportation• Large scale productions of goods became less

expensive then manmade• Light bulbs, sanitations, nutrition and medical

care pollution and habitat loss more common • Artificial products makes life easier but just

starting to see environmental problems it caused

Spaceship Earth

• Earth is like a spaceship traveling that cannot dispose of its waste

• Earth is a Close System (large amounts of energy enter and large amounts of heat leave)

• Resources are limited and produces more waste than we can dispose of

• IR and AR allowed for human populations to grow to large too fast

• Major problems- habitat loss, pesticide pollutions and feeding the world

Main Environmental Problems

1. Resource Depletion (non and renewable)Natural resources- any natural material that is used by

humans2. Pollution- undesired change in air, water, soil

that adversely affects the health, survival, or activities of humans or other living things (bio and nondegradable)

3. Loss of Biodiversity- number and variety of species that live in an area (extinction)

The Environment and Society

1. Describe the “Tragedy of the Commons”2. Explain the law of supply and demand3. List 3 differences between developed and

developing countries4. Explain what sustainability is, and describe

why it is a goal of environmental science

The Tragedy of the Commons- Hardin

• Take human societies and how they act before we can solve problems

• Short term interest of the individual and the long-term welfare of society

• Overuse and depleting- someone hast to take responsibility for maintaining a resource

• Community gardens

Economics and the Environment1. Supply and Demand- greater the demand for

a limited supply of something, the more that the things is worth (oil- pay higher prices, use less, find new resources)

2. Cost and Benefits- the cost of the action against the benefits one expect from it. Who does the analysis can change the outcome)

3. Risk Assessment- perception of the risk, used to protect our health and environment

Developed and Developing Countries• World choices affect us ALL !!• Unequal distribution of wealth and resources around

the world influences the environmental problem• Developed- higher incomes, slower population

growth, diverse industries and strong social support (US, Canada and Japan)

• Developing- lower incomes, simple agriculture based economies, rapid pop growth ( Mexico, Brazil and Malaysia)

Population and Consumption1. Local population pressures- populations grows

rapidly and may not be enough natural resources for everyone to live healthy

2. Consumption Trends-75% of worlds resources used by developed nations that

make up 20% of world pop which also creates more waste and pollution per person than developing countries

3. Ecological footprints- shows the productive area of Earth needed to support one person in a particular country

Critical Science in Context

• Critical Thinking and your Environment- no easy solution to the problem, people feel passionately about their cause

• Be critical thinkers about what you see and hear on TV, Radio and internet. Often information maybe be miss interpreted or over simplified

• Who is to gain? Is there bias? (new energy resources – fracking)

Sustainable World

• Sustainability- is the condition in which human needs are met in such a way that a human population can survive indefinitely

• Does not mean it cant be a changing world• All parts of society – individuals, industry, and

government cooperate• Bald Eagles are no longer endangered species

because we reduces the use of DDT WW