WELCOME TO

ENVIRONMENTAL

SCIENCE

WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL

SCIENCE?

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE IS A STUDY THAT USES INFORMATION FROM PHYSICAL SCIENCE, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE, AND SOCIAL SCIENCE TO LEARN HOW THE EARTH WORKS, HOW WE INTERACT WITH THE EARTH, AND HOW TO DEAL WITH ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS.

Environmental science is the science of the interactions between the physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment, including their effects on all types of organisms but more often refers to human impact on the environment.- Wikipedia -

WAIT, WHAT’S THE ENVIRONMENT?

WHAT IS THE ENVIRONMENT?

EVERYTHING THAT AFFECTS AN ORGANISM DURING ITS LIFETIME IS COLLECTIVELY KNOWN AS ITS ENVIRONMENT.

ECOLOGY - A BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE THAT STUDIES THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN LIVING ORGANISMS AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT.

SOME PROBLEMS WE ARE CONCERNED WITH:

1. POPULATION GROWTH

2. RESOURCE USE AND WASTE

3. POVERTY

4. LOSS OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

5. GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

SOME QUESTIONS WE WILL CONSIDER:

1. WHAT KEEPS US ALIVE? WHAT IS AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY?

2. HOW FAST IS THE HUMAN POPULATION INCREASING? WHAT DO WE MEAN BY ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND GLOBALIZATION?

3. WHAT ARE THE EARTH’S MAIN TYPES OF RESOURCES? ARE THEY RENEWABLE OR NOT?

4. WHAT ARE THE MAIN TYPES OF POLLUTION? WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT POLLUTION?

5. WHAT ARE THE BASIC CAUSES OF TODAY’S ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS? HOW ARE THESE CAUSES CONNECTED?

6. IS OUR CURRENT COURSE SUSTAINABLE? WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?

QUESTIONS FROM MILLER, 14TH EDITION

DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF SEPARATE FROM THE ENVIRONMENT?

IN OTHER WORDS, DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE HERE AND THE ENVIRONMENT IS EVERYTHING OUT THERE?

WHEN WE TRY TO PICK OUT ANYTHING BY ITSELF, WE FIND IT HITCHED TO EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE UNIVERSE.

- JOHN MUIR -