1. Unit 1: Environmental Issues
Mr. Ross Brown
Brooklyn School for Law and Technology

2. How do we use Earth Science in our everyday lives?
8 September 2017
Do now: Base your answers to these questions on the map below and on your knowledge of earth science. The map shows the partial storm track of a hurricane and the hurricane watch area where it is predicted to reach land. Numbers 1 through 4 show positions of the hurricane on four different days at 12 noon
Why was a hurricane watch posted for the coastal areas shown?
to tell people where
the hurricane started
to encourage residents
to travel to the watch area
to warn people of
life-threatening conditions
to alert residents
of climate changes

3. How do we use Earth Science in our everyday lives?
8 September 2017
Do now: Base your answers to these questions on the map below and on your knowledge of earth science. The map shows the partial storm track of a hurricane and the hurricane watch area where it is predicted to reach land. Numbers 1 through 4 show positions of the hurricane on four different days at 12 noon
In which compass direction did the hurricane travel from day 1 to day 4?
northwest
northeast
southwest
southeast

4. Aim: What are the many areas of Earth Science?
11 Sept 2017
Do now:

5. Aim: What are the many areas of Earth Science?
11 Sept 2017
Do now:

6. Aim: What are the many areas of Earth Science?
11 Sept 2017
Exit:

7. Why do we study Environmental Science?
12 Sept 2017
Do now: What is your environment? What components make up your environment?
Make a list of 10 things in your immediate environment.

8. Why do we study Environmental Science?
Environment: the sum of all the conditions surrounding us that influence life.
Environmental Science: field of study that looks at interactions among human systems and those found in nature.

9. Why do we study Environmental Science?
Ecosystem: a particular location on Earth with interacting components that include biotic (living) or abiotic (nonliving) components.
Environmentalism: a social movement seeking to protect the environment through lobbying, activism, and education. This is different than environmental science.

10. Why do we study Environmental Science?

11. Why do we study Environmental Science?
Environmental Studies: includes environmental science AND economics, environmental policy, ethics, literature, etc.

12. Aim: In what ways does technological change impact human lives?
13 Sept 2017
Do now: List everything you ate for breakfast today or dinner last night. For each item or ingredient, how and where and by whom was it all produced/ grown/ manufactured?

13. Neolithic & Industrial Revolutions

14. Aim: In what ways does technological change impact human lives?
Please read and annotate the article you received.
On the back, jot down some of the pros and cons of either the Neolithic or Industrial Revolution. Be prepared to share some of your thoughts with the class.

17. Aim: In what ways does technological change impact human lives?
13 Sept 2017
Exit – Briefly write on one of these topics:
I wish I were a hunter-gatherer because….or;
I am glad there was a Neolithic Revolution because….or;
I wish I was alive before the Industrial Revolution because….or;
I am thankful I live today, in a post-industrial society, because……

18. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
14 Sept 2017
Do now:

19. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
Los Angeles in 1880… ….and 2009

20. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?

21. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
Natural environments have ecosystem services, processes that produce life-supporting resources
Clean water
Timber
Fisheries
Agricultural crops

22. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
Environmental indicators: describe the current state of an environmental system
Biological diversity
Food production
Average global surface temperature & CO2 levels
Human population
Resource depletion

23. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?

24. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
Biodiversity exists on three levels
Ecosystem
Species
Genetic

25. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
Genetic diversity – variation within a population
Higher diversity means better able to respond to environmental change

26. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
15 Sept 2017
Do now: The environment provides resources, such as clean water, habitats for fisheries and wild game, timber, and pollination of food crops. Additionally, the environment is responsible for cycling nutrients, moderating weather, cleaning water, and much more. These benefits are referred to as:
Natural goods
Provisioning services
Regulating services
Ecosystem services
Support services

27. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
Species – a group of organisms distinct from other groups based on morphology (body form and structure,) behavior, or biochemical properties.
Species diversity – number of species in a region or habitat
Higher diversity means more productive and resilient

28. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?

29. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?

30. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
Not all extinction is our fault
Background extinction rate – rate at which species go extinct over long terms.
Speciation – evolution of new species

31. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?

32. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
Ecosystem diversity – how diverse are the habitats in a particular region?

33. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
Food production, the ability to grow food to nourish the human population
We measure this per person, or per capita (capita = head, like cabeza!)

34. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
18 Sept 2017
Do now: Common global-scale environmental indicators include all of the following except:
Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations
Human population
Natural resource depletion
Ocean fish harvest
Pollution in a local stream

35. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
Average Global Surface Temperature and Carbon Dioxide (CO2 ) Concentrations
Diversity and food production rely on stable climate
Regulated by our atmosphere

36. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
Greenhouse Gases: atmospheric gases that trap heat near Earth’s surface
CO2
H20v (water vapor)
CH4 (methane)

37. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
Scientists believe the increase in greenhouse gases has anthropogenic causes
Cause by humans!

38. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
Human Population – size as indicator
Currently about ___________________
Every 24 hours, _________ infants are born….
….but only ___________ people die
~ 8.1 and 9.6 BB by 2050
Can the Earth support all these people?
Finite resources!
7.2 Billion
387,000
155,000

39. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
Resource depletion: the absolute quantities diminish
Some are finite and can’t be reused
Coal, oil, uranium
Some are finite but can be reused
Aluminum, copper
Some are renewable, but require time
Timber

40. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
Rate of resource consumption is a function of rate of development
Development: improvement in human-well being through economic advancement.

41. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
19 Sept 2017
Do now: How does fish and meat consumption in developed and developing nations compare?
Developing countries consume slightly more meat and fish per capita
Developed countries consume slightly more meat and fish per capita
Developed and developing countries consume about the same amount of meat and fish per capita
Developing countries consume about four times more meat and fish per capita
Developed countries consume about four time more meat and fish per capita

42. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
How quickly are we using the resources?
Do the math!
Estimates of amount of forest clearing worldwide
Est #1: 1 acre/ second
Est #2: 80,000 acres/ day
Est #3: 32,000 hectares/ day
Convert the first 2 estimates to hectares per year and compare
The significant figures of a number are digits that carry meaning contributing to its measurement resolution. 
1 hectare = 100 meters2
2.47 acres per hectare
(think sig fig)
0.40 hectares per acre

43. Aim: How can we measure impact of humans on the environment?
The Cats of Borneo – Place these events in order

44. THE DAY THEY PARACHUTED CATS IN BORNEO (Operation Cat Drop)
In the early 1950’s the Dayak people in Borneo suffered from malaria. The World Health Organization had a solution: they sprayed large amounts of DDT to kill off mosquitoes which carried the malaria. The mosquitoes died and the malaria declined. But there were some unforeseen side-effects. Among the first was that the roofs of people’s houses began to fall down on their heads. It seemed that the DDT was also killing a parasitic wasp which had previously controlled thatch-eating caterpillars. Also, while the DDT killed mosquitoes, others insects, such as roaches, merely stored DDT in their bodies. The roaches were eaten by lizards which also inhabited Borneo. Instead of killing the lizards the DDT only slowed them down. This made it easier for cats to catch the lizards, one of their favorite foods. The lizards eventually disappeared and the cats died from eating the poisoned lizards. Rats moved in because there were no cats to control their population. Rats brought in plague and typhus which threatened the human population. With no way to bring the rats under control the World Health Organization sent out emergency calls for cats. An air drop was organized that parachuted 14,000 live cats into Borneo in an attempt to solve the problems created by the original actions of WHO.

45. Aim: What is Sustainability?
25 Sept 2017
Do now: Which of the following events has increased the impact of humans on the environment?
I. advances in technology
II. reduced human population growth
III. use of tools for hunting
I only
I and II only
II and III only
I and III only
I, II, and III

46. Aim: What is Sustainability?
Review: what did we say were the five key environmental indicators?
Biological diversity
Food production
Average global surface temperature & CO2 levels
Human population
Resource depletion
We use this information to guide us toward sustainability, living on Earth in a way that allows us to use its resources without depriving future generations of those resources.

47. Aim: What is Sustainability?
Perpetual resources: we won’t run out (Sun)
Renewable resources: we can generate more of them (timber)
We must not deplete faster than they can regenerate
Unrenewable: limited, & then gone. (Oil, gas)
We must use sparingly
Environmental systems must not be damaged beyond ability to recover

48. Aim: What is Sustainability?
Sustainable development: balances current human well-being and economic advancement with resource management for the benefit of future generations.
Easter Island

49. Aim: What is Sustainability?
Sustainability and consumption
What do we need? How much?
Basic needs
Complex needs
Biophilia: love of life. Humans love life, so we protect it. Parks, preserves, etc
Ecological footprint: a measure of how much a person consumes, in terms of the area of land required to support that person’s lifestyle

50. Aim: What is Sustainability?

51. Who decides how to best manage resources?
27 Sept 2017
Do now: Please take your seats quickly. We have a lot to do with today’s activity and we need every minute of our time.

52. Who decides how to best manage resources?

53. Aim: How do we undertake scientific investigation?
2 Oct 2017
Do now: In science, which of the following is the most certain?
Hypothesis
Idea
Natural law
Observation
Theory

54. Aim: How do we undertake scientific investigation?
Science is a process
Scientific method
Objectivity!

55. Aim: How do we undertake scientific investigation?
Observation
Think about what you observed  Hypothesis
Testable conjecture
Relationships
Sometimes, easier to prove there’s no relationship
Null Hypothesis: predict that there’s no relationship

56. Aim: How do we undertake scientific investigation?
Collect data
Replication: take measurements several times
Sample size (n): number of times replicated
Testing, control group

57. Aim: How do we undertake scientific investigation?
Accuracy vs. Precision
Accuracy: how close to the true value
Precision: how close to each other repeated measures are
Uncertainty: estimate of degree to which measured or calculated value differs from actual

58. Aim: How do we undertake scientific investigation?

59. Aim: How do we undertake scientific investigation?
Interpret results
Inductive reasoning: make general statements from specific facts
Deductive reasoning: Apply general statement to specific facts
Most scientists maintain multiple working theories, just in case…..

60. Aim: How do we undertake scientific investigation?
Disseminating results
Share with other scientists
Publish (or perish)
A hypothesis that has been repeatedly tested and confirmed by numerous people becomes a theory

61. Aim: How do we undertake scientific investigation?
Challenges to research in environmental science
No baseline data (no control group)
Can’t compare our Earth to anything else!
Subjectivity: personal values
Interactions/ observer bias
Human well-being

63. Aim: How will we take measurements in AP Environmental Science?
International System of Units (SI): the modern form of the metric system (base 10) and the most widely used system of measurement. It is built on seven (7) base units and has 20 prefixes for multiples and fractions.