An Introduction to Environmental Science

UNIT 1

What is our environment?

• Environment: is everything that affects a living organism.

• The environment includes: • Biotic factors - living things

• Examples: Animals, plants, forests, fungi, etc.

• Abiotic factors - nonliving things• Examples: Continents, oceans, clouds, soil,

rocks

Environmental Science

• Environmental Science –• the study of the air, water,

and land surrounding an organism or a community, which ranges from a small area to Earth’s entire biosphere.

Environmental science is defined as the interaction of humans with the environment.

Fields of Environmental Science

• Environmental science is an interdisciplinary science, which means that it involves many fields of study

• Important to the foundation of environmental science is ecology

• Ecology - the study of interactions of living organisms with one another and with their environment

Environmental science is not environmentalism

• Environmental science• The pursuit of knowledge

about the natural world• Scientists try to remain

objective• Environmentalism

• A social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world

The Goals of Environmental Science

• A major goal of environmental science is to understand and solve environmental problems.

• To accomplish this goal, environmental scientists study two main types of interactions between humans and their environment:• How our actions alter our

environment• The use of natural resources

1) Humans and the world around us• We depend completely on the

environment for survival • Increased wealth, health, mobility,

leisure time• Natural systems have been degraded

•Ex: pollution, erosion and species extinction

• Environmental changes threaten long-term health and survival

2) The use of natural resources

• Natural resources - substances and energy sources needed and vital for survival

• Renewable resources:• Always available: sunlight, wind, wave energy

• Renew themselves over short periods: timber, water, soil

•These can be destroyed• Nonrenewable resources:

• Can be depleted• Oil, coal, minerals

Renewable Resources

Sustainable yield Highest rate at which a potentially renewable resource

can be used without reducing its available supply throughout the world or in a particular area.

Environmental Degradation Depletion or destruction of a potentially renewable

resource such as soil, grassland, forest, or wildlife that is used faster than it is naturally replenished. If such use continues, the resource becomes nonrenewable (on a human time scale) or nonexistent (extinct).

Non-Renewable Resources

Resource that exists in a fixed amount (stock) in various places in the earth's crust and has the potential for renewal by geological, physical, and chemical processes taking place over hundreds of millions to billions of years such as:

Energy, metals, and other mineralsExamples are copper, aluminum, iron, salt, clay, coal, and oil.

Any potentially renewable resource can become non-renewable if used improperly

Theoretically, never exhaust due to economic feasibility for extracting.

Non-renewable resources and natural capital degradationExtracting, processing and use come at an environmental expense

Environmental science… can help us avoid mistakes made by past civilizations.

Understand how the natural world works Understand how human and natural systems interact Accurately assess the status and trends of crucialnatural ecosystems Establish long-term sustainable relationships with thenatural world

What is an “environmental problem”?

• The perception of what constitutes a problem varies between individuals and societies

• Ex: DDT, a pesticide • In developing countries:

welcome because it kills malaria-carrying mosquitoes

• In developed countries: not welcome, due to health risks

• Environmental problems generally involve pollution, resource depletion, loss of biodiversity

Tragedy of the Commons

• Unregulated exploitation leads to resource depletion

• Soil, air, water• Resource users are tempted to increase use until the resource is gone• Solution?

• Private ownership?• Voluntary organization to enforce

responsible use?• Governmental regulations?

The “ecological footprint”

• The environmental impact of a person or population• Amount of biologically

productive land + water • for raw materials and to

dispose/recycle waste

• Overshoot: humans have surpassed the Earth’s capacity We are using 30% more of the planet’s resources than are available on a

sustainable basis!

Ecological footprints are not all equal

• The ecological footprints of countries vary greatly• The U.S. footprint is

almost 5 times greater than the world’s average

• Developing countries have much smaller footprints than developed countries

Population & consumption

• Human population growth exacerbates all environmental problems

• The growth rate has slowed, but we still add more than 200,000 people to the planet each day

• Our consumption of resources has risen even faster than our population growth.

• Life has become more pleasant for us so far • However, rising consumption amplifies the

demands we make on our environment.

Global human population growth

• More than 6.7 billion humans

• Why so many humans?• Agricultural revolution

• Stable food supplies

• Industrial revolution• Urbanized society

powered by fossil fuels

• Sanitation and medicines

• More food

We face challenges in agriculture

• Expanded food production led to increased population and consumption

• It’s one of humanity’s greatest achievements, but at an enormous environmental cost

• Nearly half of the planet’s land surface is used for agriculture

• Chemical fertilizers • Pesticides • Erosion• Changed natural systems

We face challenges in pollution

• Waste products and artificial chemicals used in farms, industries, and households

Each year, millions of people die from pollution

We face challenges in climate

• Scientists have firmly concluded that humans are changing the composition of the atmosphere• The Earth’s surface is warming

• Melting glaciers• Rising sea levels• Impacted wildlife and crops• Increasingly destructive weather

Since the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have risen by 37%, to the highest level in 650,000 years

We face challenges in biodiversity

• Human actions have driven many species extinct, and biodiversity is declining dramatically

• We are at the onset of a mass extinction event

Biodiversity loss may be our biggest environmental problem; once a species is extinct, it is gone forever

Our energy choices will affect our future

• The lives we live today are due to fossil fuels

• Machines • Chemicals • Transportation • Products

• Fossil fuels are a one-time bonanza; supplies will certainly decline

We have used up ½ of the world’s oil supplies; how will we handle this imminent fossil fuel

shortage?

Sustainable solutions exist

We must develop solutions that protect both our quality of life and the environment:

1. Organic agriculture

2. Technology• Reduces pollution

3. Biodiversity• Protect species

4. Waste disposal• Recycling

5. Alternative fuels

Sustainability: a goal for the future

• How can humans live within the planet’s means?• Humans cannot exist without functioning natural

systems

• Sustainability • Leaves future generations with a rich and full Earth• Conserves the Earth’s natural resources• Maintains fully functioning ecological systems

• Sustainable development: the use of resources to satisfy current needs without compromising future availability of resources

Will we develop in a sustainable way?

• The triple bottom line: sustainable solutions that meet• Environmental goals• Economic goals• Social goals

• Requires that humans apply knowledge from the sciences to• Limit environmental impacts • Maintain functioning

ecological systems

The Nature of Science

• Science:• A systematic process for learning

about the world and testing our understanding of it

• A dynamic process of observation, testing, and discovery

• The accumulated body of knowledge that results from this process

• Science is essential • To sort fact from fiction • Develop solutions to the problems

we face

Applications of science

Restoration of forest ecosystems altered by human suppression of fire

1. Policy decisions and management practices

Energy-efficient methanol-powered fuel cell car from DaimlerChrysler

2. Technology

Conclusion

• Environmental science helps us understand our relationship with the environment and informs our attempts to solve and prevent problems.

• Identifying a problem is the first step in solving it

• Solving environmental problems can move us towards health, longevity, peace and prosperity

• Environmental science can help us find balanced solutions to environmental problems