Environmental Science Ch. 1:Environmental Science:

A Global Perspective

Ch. 1-1: Understanding Our Environment

Key Terms• Biosphere• Developed Countries• Developing Countries• Environment• Environmental Science• Natural Resource• Nonrenewable Resource• Renewable Resource

Why Do I Need To Know This?

1. Because we are all part of an ecosystem and humans are having a profound effect on the world’s ecosystems.

2. Because in your lifetime you will make thousands of decisions that will affect our environment and ecosystem.

3. Because if you do not make good choices about the environment and our ecosystem, it will cost us billions or trillions of dollars.

Understanding Our Environment

• Environmental Science is a new field that tries to solve problems that affect how and where we live.

• The environment refers to all the things that surround us, including those things that are natural and those that are produced by humans.

Solving Environmental Problems

• About 40 years ago, most people did not think much about the environment.

• However, since then, most people agree that humans have altered the planet so much that we are hurting our way of life.

• While environmental problems may seem large, expensive or time consuming, we still have time to solve many of our problems.

What Are Our Main Environmental Problems?

• While there are many environmental problems, most of them fall into 3 main categories. They are:

1. Resource Depletion2. Pollution3. Extinction

Resource Depletion• A natural resource is anything that

living things use.

• Resources can either be renewable or nonrenewable.

– Renewable resources are replaced by nature in a relatively short period of time.

• Examples include wood, freshwater, flowers, soil.

– Nonrenewable resources are not replaced by nature in a fast manner

• Examples include oil, coal, gold.

• Presently, humans are using almost all resources faster than they can be replaced—even if they are renewable!

Pollution

• Pollution is the introduction of something harmful or unwanted into an ecosystem

• Pollution can wipeout entire ecosystems and can harm human health.

• Even if the pollution is emitted in areas where most humans do not go, it can still harm humans because we eat plants and animals that are often affected by pollution.

Extinction• Every year, thousands of species are

going extinct.• Although extinction does happen

naturally, scientists estimate that extinction is happening about 1000 times faster than normal.

• Most species are becoming extinct because the areas in which they live are being destroyed.

A Global Perspective

• Because the entire Earth is connected, what happens in one part of the planet affects all other parts of the planet. John Muir quote…– All life on Earth resides in the

biosphere, which is covers about 8 km above the ground and 8 km below the ground.

• Consequently, most environmental problems are global problems.

• And, most solutions to environmental problems require global cooperation.

The Biosphere

Developed and Developing Countries

• Developed countries are those countries where the people have high incomes and high standards of living.– Examples include the United

States, England, Sweden and Canada.

• Developing countries are those countries where the people have low incomes and low standards of living.– Examples include China,

Ethiopia, Romania and Mexico.

Population and Consumption

• The population crisis results from the fact that the human population is growing in many regions faster than the region can support.– The population crisis is most severe

in developing countries, which is why many developing countries often have major famines.

• This leads to the consumption crisis which is that humans are consuming resources faster than they can be replaced by nature.– The consumption crisis is the worst

in the developed countries because they are consuming far more resources than the larger populations in the developing countries.

A Sustainable World

• The goal of environmental science is to create a sustainable world.– A sustainable world is one in which we can continue to

live indefinitely with a high standard of living and health.– If we start now, we can achieve a sustainable world

without sacrificing too much and before environmental problems become too massive to control.

Ch. 1-2: Using Science To Solve Environmental Problems

Key Terms• Applied Science

• Ecology

• Experiment

• Hypothesis

• Pure Science

Why Do I Need To Know This?

1. Because science is based on a certain method of determining theories.

2. Because scientific theories apply to almost every aspect of your life—whether it is from a medication prescribed from a doctor or how the battery in a cell phone works.

3. Because the Scientific Method is an ideal way to approach any problem that you may encounter in your life..

Using Science To Solve Environmental Problems

• Science can be divided into two types of fields:– Pure Science; and– Applied Science

• A pure science seeks to explain how the natural world works– Physics, chemistry and biology

are pure sciences.

• An applied science uses the information from pure sciences to solve modern problems.– Environmental science is an

applied science.

What is Science?

• Science consists of 2 things:– All the information

that scientists know; and

– The Scientific Method which allows scientists to learn new things.

Observing

• All science begins and rests upon observation.– Therefore, science requires

good, accurate and detailed observations.

• For information to be valuable, it needs to be recorded so that it can be shared with others.

• A hypothesis is a testable explanations for an observation.

• A hypothesis does not have to be right.– Often, much can be

learned by testing false hypothesis.

• The key is to formulate a hypothesis and test it.

Hypothesizing and Predicting

Experimenting

• In order to check a hypothesis, an experiment needs to be done.

• In an experiment, there are usual two groups which are identical in every way except one:– The group that receives the

difference is called the “Test Group”.

– The group that does not receive the difference is the “Control Group”.

Organizing and Interpreting Data

• Once the experiment is done, scientists need to organize and assemble all the facts that they gathered.

• Often scientists use math to determine whether their observations are important and to explain relationships in their observations.

Using Graphics and Sharing Information

• Scientific data and information is often best shown in charts and graphs.

• Charts and graphs can show different relationships between things that may not be seen using other methods.

Communicating Results• The last step in conducting

scientific experiments is to communicate the results to others.– This is very important as it

allows other scientists to check to see if the information is accurate and to use that information for other purposes.

• The best science comes from scientists who write and publish their findings in journals that and papers that are reviewed by other scientists and open for everyone to see. PEER REVIEW is one of the most important steps in this process

Ch. 1-3: Making Environmental Decisions

Key Terms• None.

Why Do I Need To Know This?

1. Because you will have to make many environmental decisions in your life, ranging from easy ones (such as recycling) to difficult ones (such as supporting government bonds to protect wetlands).

2. Because you can use this decision-making model in any aspect of your life.

Making Environmental Decisions

• Making good environmental decisions requires balancing many needs and answering many questions.

• These include– How much will it cost?– Who or what will benefit?– Is it possible to do that?– What alternatives are

there?

An Environmental Decision-Making Model

• There are 4 steps to the Environmental Decision-Making Model.

• They are:– Gather Information– Consider Values– Explore Consequences–Make a Decision

A Hypothetical Situation

• The environmental decision-making model can apply to real situations or hypothetical situations.

How To Use The Decision-Making Model

• You can use the decision-making model for any situation that you encounter.

• The key is to follow it in order.• The more information that you gather AND the

more consequences that you consider, the better your decision will be.

• As with anything in life, not making a decision is a decision in and of itself.