1. Science and the Environment
Chapter 1

2. Environment Everything around us
My definition:
What the book says:
Everything around us
Includes the natural world as well as things produced by humans.

3. Environmental Science
The study of the impact of humans on the environment

4. The Goals of Environmental Science
To understand and solve environmental problems
Accomplished by studying 2 main types of interactions between humans and the environment
How we use natural resources
How our actions alter our environment

5. Environmental Science is an interdisciplinary science.
Involves many fields of study
Biology: the study of living organisms
Earth Science: the study of the Earth’s nonliving systems and the planet as a whole
Physics: the study of matter and energy
Chemistry: the study of chemicals and their interactions
Social Science: the study of human populations

7. Ecology vs. Environmental Science
The study of how things interact with each other & their nonliving environment
The study of the impact of humans on the environment

8. Examples of How Fields of Study Contribute to Environmental Science
A scientist is studying how pollutants travel underground.
A scientist is studying fossils to see how Earth’s climate has changed in the past.
A scientist is studying how windmills should be designed to provide the most energy.
Geology
or Geochemistry
Paleontology
or climatology
engineering

9. Examples of How Fields of Study Contribute to Environmental Science
Choose an article.
Write a short summary (3-5 sentences).
Identify what fields of study are involved in this research/news.
Provide evidence from the article to show this involvement.

10. Effects on the Environment
Characteristics
Effects on the Environment
Hunter-Gatherers
The Agricultural Revolution
The Industrial Revolution

11. Hunter-Gatherers
Characteristics
Effects on the environment
Obtain food by collecting plants, hunting wild animals, or scavenging their remains
Migrated during the year
Altered habitats to meet their needs
Ex: burned prairies to prevent tree growth so they could hunt bison
Overhunting may have led to the disappearance of some species of large mammals

12. The Agricultural Revolution
Characteristics
Effects on the environment
Began to collect seeds & domesticate animals
Allowed populations to grow at an unprecedented rate
Populations concentrated in smaller areas
Habitats were destroyed for farming
Soil loss, floods, water shortages

13. The Industrial Revolution
Characteristics
Effects on the environment
Shift from using animal sources & running water to fossil fuels
Increased the efficiency of agriculture, industry & transportation
Populations in urban areas grew
Allowed food & other goods to be transported
Machinery reduced the amount of land needed for farming
Pollution
Use of artificial substances, in place of plant & animal products, that caused more problems later (plastics)

14. Spaceship Earth Earth can be compared to a giant spaceship
Traveling through space
Living cargo
Limited supplies
Unable to dispose of waste or take on new supplies
Closed system: nothing comes in, nothing goes out

15. What Are Our Main Environmental Problems?
Can be grouped into 3 categories
Resource depletion
Pollution
Loss of biodiversity

16. Resource Depletion Natural resource
Any natural material that is used by humans
Renewable
DEF: Can be replaced relatively quickly by natural processes
EX: Fresh water, air, soil, trees, crops, energy from the sun
Nonrenewable
DEF:Forms at a much slower rate than the rate that it is consumed
EX: Minerals and fossil fuels

17. Pollution
DEF: An undesired change in air, water, or soil that adversely affects the health, survival, or activities of humans or other organisms
Biodegradable
DEF: Pollutants that can be broken down by natural processes
EX: Human sewage, food wastes
Nondegradable
DEF: Cannot be broken down by natural processes
EX: Mercury, lead, some plastics

18. Loss of Biodiversity Biodiversity
DEF: The number & variety of species that live in an area
The organisms we share the world with can be considered natural resources.
An extinct species: a nonrenewable resource
If current rates of extinction continue, it may cause problems for human populations in the future
All species have potential VALUE: economic, ecological, scientific, aesthetic, and recreational value.

19. Section 1-2
The Environment and Society

20. Tragedy of the Commons

21. “The Tragedy of the Commons”
1968, ecologist Garrett Hardin:
The main difficulty in solving environmental problems is the conflict between the short-term interests of individuals and the long-term welfare of society.
Someone or some group has to take responsibility for maintaining a resource.
If no one takes that responsibility, the resource can be overused and become depleted.

22. Economics and the Environment
Economic forces influence how we use resources
Supply and Demand
The greater the demand for a limited supply of something, the more that thing is worth
Costs and Benefits
Cost of environmental solutions can be high
A cost-benefit analysis balances the cost of the action against the benefits one expects from it
Risk Assessment
Helps us create cost-effective ways to protect our health and the environment

23. Developed & Developing Countries
Higher average incomes
Slower population growth
Diverse industrial economies
Stronger social support systems
Ex: US, Japan, Canada, countries of Western Europe
Developing
Lower average incomes
Simple & agricultural-based economies
Rapid population growth
Ex: Indonesia, Ethiopia

24. One way to express the differences in consumption between nations:
Developed nations use about 75% of the world’s resources, even though they make up only about 20% of the world’s population.
One way to express the differences in consumption between nations:
Ecological footprint
Shows the productive area of Earth needed to support one person in a particular country.

25. A key goal of environmental science 
Sustainability
The condition in which human needs are met in such a way that a human population can survive indefinitely