1. An Introduction to Environmental Science
UNIT 1

2. What is our environment?
Environment: is everything that affects a living organism.
The environment includes:
Biotic factors - living things
Examples: Animals, plants, forests, fungi, etc.
Abiotic factors - nonliving things
Examples: Continents, oceans, clouds, soil, rocks

3. 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.
Environmental science is defined as the interaction of humans with the environment.

4. Fields of Environmental Science
Environmental science is an interdisciplinary science, which means that it involves many fields of study
Important to the foundation of environmental science is ecology
Ecology - the study of interactions of living organisms with one another and with their environment

5. Environmental science is not environmentalism
The pursuit of knowledge about the natural world
Scientists try to remain objective
Environmentalism
A social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world

6. The Goals of Environmental Science
A major goal of environmental science is to understand and solve environmental problems.
To accomplish this goal, environmental scientists study two main types of interactions between humans and their environment:
How our actions alter our environment
The use of natural resources

7. 1) Humans and the world around us
We depend completely on the environment for survival
Increased wealth, health, mobility, leisure time
Natural systems have been degraded
Ex: pollution, erosion and species extinction
Environmental changes threaten long-term health and survival

8. 2) The use of natural resources
Natural resources - substances and energy sources needed and vital for survival
Renewable resources:
Always available: sunlight, wind, wave energy
Renew themselves over short periods: timber, water, soil
These can be destroyed
Nonrenewable resources:
Can be depleted
Oil, coal, minerals

10. Renewable Resources Sustainable yield Environmental Degradation
Highest rate at which a potentially renewable resource can be used without reducing its available supply throughout the world or in a particular area.
Environmental Degradation
Depletion or destruction of a potentially renewable resource such as soil, grassland, forest, or wildlife that is used faster than it is naturally replenished. If such use continues, the resource becomes nonrenewable (on a human time scale) or nonexistent (extinct).

11. Non-Renewable Resources
Resource that exists in a fixed amount (stock) in various places in the earth's crust and has the potential for renewal by geological, physical, and chemical processes taking place over hundreds of millions to billions of years such as:
Energy, metals, and other minerals
Examples are copper, aluminum, iron, salt, clay, coal, and oil.
Any potentially renewable resource can become non- renewable if used improperly
Theoretically, never exhaust due to economic feasibility for extracting.

12. Non-renewable resources and natural capital degradation Extracting, processing and use come at an environmental expense

13. Environmental science… can help us avoid mistakes made by past civilizations.
Understand how the natural world works
Understand how human and natural systems interact
Accurately assess the status and trends of crucial
natural ecosystems
Establish long-term sustainable relationships with the
natural world

14. What is an “environmental problem”?
The perception of what constitutes a problem varies between individuals and societies
Ex: DDT, a pesticide
In developing countries: welcome because it kills malaria-carrying mosquitoes
In developed countries: not welcome, due to health risks
Environmental problems generally involve pollution, resource depletion, loss of biodiversity

15. Tragedy of the Commons
Unregulated exploitation leads to resource depletion
Soil, air, water
Resource users are tempted to increase use until the resource is gone
Solution?
Private ownership?
Voluntary organization to enforce responsible use?
Governmental regulations?

16. The “ecological footprint”
The environmental impact of a person or population
Amount of biologically productive land + water
for raw materials and to dispose/recycle waste
Overshoot: humans have surpassed the Earth’s capacity
We are using 30% more of the planet’s resources than are available on a sustainable basis!

17. Ecological footprints are not all equal
The ecological footprints of countries vary greatly
The U.S. footprint is almost 5 times greater than the world’s average
Developing countries have much smaller footprints than developed countries

18. Population & consumption
Human population growth exacerbates all environmental problems
The growth rate has slowed, but we still add more than 200,000 people to the planet each day
Our consumption of resources has risen even faster than our population growth.
Life has become more pleasant for us so far
However, rising consumption amplifies the demands we make on our environment.

19. Global human population growth
More than 6.7 billion humans
Why so many humans?
Agricultural revolution
Stable food supplies
Industrial revolution
Urbanized society powered by fossil fuels
Sanitation and medicines
More food

20. We face challenges in agriculture
Expanded food production led to increased population and consumption
It’s one of humanity’s greatest achievements, but at an enormous environmental cost
Nearly half of the planet’s land surface is used for agriculture
Chemical fertilizers
Pesticides
Erosion
Changed natural systems

21. We face challenges in pollution
Waste products and artificial chemicals used in farms, industries, and households
Each year, millions of people die from pollution

22. We face challenges in climate
Scientists have firmly concluded that humans are changing the composition of the atmosphere
The Earth’s surface is warming
Melting glaciers
Rising sea levels
Impacted wildlife and crops
Increasingly destructive weather
Since the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have risen by 37%, to the highest level in 650,000 years

23. We face challenges in biodiversity
Human actions have driven many species extinct, and biodiversity is declining dramatically
We are at the onset of a mass extinction event
Biodiversity loss may be our biggest environmental problem; once a species is extinct, it is gone forever

24. Our energy choices will affect our future
The lives we live today are due to fossil fuels
Machines
Chemicals
Transportation
Products
Fossil fuels are a one-time bonanza; supplies will certainly decline
We have used up ½ of the world’s oil supplies; how will we handle this imminent fossil fuel shortage?

25. Sustainable solutions exist
We must develop solutions that protect both our quality of life and the environment:
Organic agriculture
Technology
Reduces pollution
Biodiversity
Protect species
Waste disposal
Recycling
Alternative fuels

26. Sustainability: a goal for the future
How can humans live within the planet’s means?
Humans cannot exist without functioning natural systems
Sustainability
Leaves future generations with a rich and full Earth
Conserves the Earth’s natural resources
Maintains fully functioning ecological systems
Sustainable development: the use of resources to satisfy current needs without compromising future availability of resources

27. Will we develop in a sustainable way?
The triple bottom line: sustainable solutions that meet
Environmental goals
Economic goals
Social goals
Requires that humans apply knowledge from the sciences to
Limit environmental impacts
Maintain functioning ecological systems

28. The Nature of Science Science: Science is essential
A systematic process for learning about the world and testing our understanding of it
A dynamic process of observation, testing, and discovery
The accumulated body of knowledge that results from this process
Science is essential
To sort fact from fiction
Develop solutions to the problems we face

29. Applications of science
1. Policy decisions and management practices
2. Technology
Energy-efficient methanol-powered fuel cell car from DaimlerChrysler
Restoration of forest ecosystems altered by human suppression of fire

30. Conclusion
Environmental science helps us understand our relationship with the environment and informs our attempts to solve and prevent problems.
Identifying a problem is the first step in solving it
Solving environmental problems can move us towards health, longevity, peace and prosperity
Environmental science can help us find balanced solutions to environmental problems