Chapter 1: History of Environmental ScienceLearning Goals

Key vocabulary

Sustainability

Biodiversity

Biodegradable

Renewable resource

Nonrenewable resource

Pollution

Nondegradable

Resource depletion

Closed system

extinction

Define Environmental Science and compare/contrast environmental science to Ecology

List and briefly describe the five major fields of study that contribute to environmental science

Describe environmental effects of hunter-gatherers, agricultural revolution, and industrial revolution

Distinguish the difference between renewable and non-renewable resources and give examples

Describe the 3 major categories of environmental problems

Describe what the “Tragedy of the Commons” is and what it means

Explain the law of supply and demand

What are the differences between a developed and a developing country? Give examples of each

Explain what sustainability is and describe why this is the goal of environmental science

Define Environmental Science and compare/contrast environmental science to Ecology

Collection of different sciences

Goal is to understand relationship between humans & the world/environment

Focuses on 3 main areas:Conservation + protection of natural sciences

Environmental education

Environmental research

Difference between Env. Sci. & Ecology

Ecology- how living things interact with each other and the nonliving environment

Ecology is the foundation for Env. Sci.

5 fields of Study included in Env. Sci.

Biology-study of living things

Earth science-study of Earths nonliving systems & planet

Physics- study of matter & energy

Chemistry- study of chemicals & their interactions

Social science- study of human populations

Environmental Effects from…

Hunter-gatherers- collected plants and hunted/scavenged animals

changed environment to hunt prey , spread plants

Agricultural revolution—growing, breeding, & caring for plants & animals

as food & resources increased the number of people increased, changed the food we eat (selective breeding) and destroyed habitats for farming

Industrial Revolution-shift from using energy (E) from animals & running H2O to using fossil fuelsIncreased agriculture industry & transportation, therefore prices dropped, increased food production & populations

These things lead to environmental problems: pollution, habitat loss, etc.

ResourcesRenewable

Resource that can be replaced by natural processes somewhat quickly

examples?

Nonrenewable

Resources that form at a slower rate than the rate it’s consumed or used

Depleted-when a resource is mostly used up

examples?

3 Categories of env. problems

resource depletion- when large amounts of a resource are used up

pollution- an undesirable change in air,water, or soil that has a negative impact on living things, examples?

loss of biodiversity- a decrease in the variety of species where extinction could lead to economic, ecological, scientific, aesthetic, and recreational hardship

2 main causes of env. problems: population growth is too rapid for environment to maintain & people are using up, wasting, or polluting natural resources faster than they can be replenished

"Tragedy of the Commons"pg.16

an essay written by Garrett Hardin

describes the attitude of how people use resources

states that environmental problems is due to conflict between short term interest and long term welfare of society

take away:people need to take responsibility for maintaining resources

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Law of Supply & Demand

economics- a science concerned with the process or system by which goods and services are produced, sold, and bought

law of supply and demand- the greater the demand for a limited supply of something, the more it is worth

application- gasoline, oil

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Developed Country

higher incomes

slower population growth

diverse industrial economics

strong social support

examples: U.S., Canada, Japan, Western Europe 1

3

Developing Country

lower incomes

simple & agricultural based economies

rapid population growth

examples:Mexico, Brazil, Malaysia

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Ecological Footprint

shows the productive area of Earth needed to support one person in a particular country

see pg. 19

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Sustainabilty

Where the needs of a population are met so that the population can survive indefinitely

developed countries are using resources faster than they can be replaced

goal=find solutions so all people can live healthy good lives!

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