Environmental Science

Chapter 1

What is 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.

• It includes the study of the impact of humans on the environment.

Goals of Environmental Science

• Understand and solve environmental problems.• To accomplish this goal, environmental scientists

study two main types of interactions between humans and their environment:1)How our actions alter our

environment.

1)The use of natural

resources.

Fields of Study Involved in ES

• Physics– Engineering

• Chemistry– Geochemistry– Biochemistry

• Social Sciences– Geography– Anthropology– Sociology

• Biology– Zoology– Botany– Ecology

• Earth science– Climatology– Geology– Paleontology– Hydrology

Environment Through Time

• Hunter-gatherers– Up to 10,000 years ago

• Agricultural (Neolithic) Revolution– 8,000 – 3,000 BC

• Industrial Revolution– 18th – 19th centuries

• Improving the quality of life

Population Growth

• Medicine and sanitation has allowed the population to grow

• Causes resource depletion, pollution, habitat destruction

Main Environmental Problems

• Resource Depletion• Pollution• Loss of Biodiversity

“The Tragedy of the Commons”• the main difficulty in solving environmental problems is the

conflict between the short-term interests of the individual and the long-term welfare of society (Garrett Hardin)

• Animals grazing in commons areas– Eventually divided into sections

• Modern commons = Natural Resources

Environmental Economics

• Supply and Demand– Oil production

• Cost and Benefits– Cost of environmental solutions

• Risk Assessment– Possible negative outcome

Developed vs. Developing Countries

• Developed countries have higher incomes, slower population growth, diverse industrial economies, and stronger social support

• Developing countries have lower average incomes, simple agriculture-based communities, and rapid population growth

Population and Consumption

• Almost all environmental problems can be traced back to two root causes:• The human population in some areas is

growing too quickly for the local environment to support.

• People are using up, wasting, or polluting many natural resources faster than they can be renewed, replaced, or cleaned up.

Consumption Trends

Sustainable World• Sustainability: the condition in which human needs are met in such a way that a human population can survive indefinitely

• Key goal of Environmental Science