esc110 chapter one understanding our environment principles of environmental science - inquiry and...
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ESC110 Chapter One Understanding our
Environment
Principles of EnvironmentalScience - Inquiry and Applications,
2nd Editionby William and Mary Ann Cunningham
Chapter One Some Key Terms
McGraw-Hill Course Glossary
analytical thinking
creative thinking
critical thinking
deductive reasoning
environment
environmental science global environmentalism hypothesis
inductive reasoning
logical thinking paradigms
positivism
reflective thinking
remediation
restoration ecology
scientific theory
sustainability
sustainable development
Chapter 1
• Understanding Our Environment;
• Science as a Way of Knowing;
• A Brief History of Conservation and Environmentalism; and
• Current Environmental Conditions
• Human Dimensions of Environmental Science.
The Planet Earth
• Unique in the universe (?);• Mild, relatively constant
temperatures;• Biogeochemical cycles;• Millions of species; and• Diverse, self-sustaining
communities.
Understanding Our Environment
What is Environmental Science??• The Natural World
– biosphere (plants & animals), – lithosphere (soils & rocks), – atmosphere (air), and the – hydrosphere (water)
• Humans – social institutions and their artifacts(eg, political orgs, science, technology, etc)
• Interaction Negatively?? so the more we learn about the environment the better we can develop solutions– Environmental Science
Environmental Science
Environment is the circumstances and conditions that surround organism(s) as well as the complex of social & cultural conditions that affect an individual or community;
Environmental science is the systematic study of our environment and our place in it.
What's Happening to the Frogs?In some places, up to sixty-percent of frogs and salamandershave abnormal limbs, digits, eyes, or internal organs.
Environmental science allows us to explore the possible causes of such problems.(observational &/or experimental)
Science as a Way of Knowing
• Modern science has its roots in antiquity;
• Greek philosophers;
• Arabic mathematicians and astronomers; and
• Chinese naturalists.
Scientific Investigation
• Hypothesis - a conditional explanation that can be verified or falsified; and
• Scientific theory - an explanation that is supported by an overwhelming body of data and experience
Experiments and Models
Natural Experiments• Gathering of historic evidence; and• Conducted by scientists who can't test their
hypotheses directly.
Manipulative Experiments• Manipulate environment• Gather data on effects - quantification• Use statistics (tools) and determine probabilities
Models• Simulate real environmental systems;• Can be physical or mathematical;• Provide heuristic information (suggestions of how
things MIGHT be); and• Are influenced by researchers' assumptions.• Develop ‘paradigms’-overarching models of the world
that guide our interpretation of events
Applied Science
Many environmental scientists want to use their knowledge torepair ecological systems that have been damaged by humans.
Restoration EcologyRestoration - the re-creation of species composition andecosystem functions in areas disrupted by human actions
The Kissimmee River - the focus of an ambitious $8 billion restoration project.
Artificial Ecosystems• Example: human-designed wetlands can be used to
treat sewage effluent
History of Conservation and Environmentalism
• Stages of Activism– Pragmatic resource conservation– Moral & aesthetic nature preservation– Growing concern about health & ecological
damage cause by pollution (modern environmentalism)
– Global environmental citizenship
Pragmatic Resource Conservation
• 1864 George Perkins Marsh wrote Man & Nature
“We are never justified in assuming a force to be insignificant because its measure is unknown, or even because no physical effect can now be traced to it as its origin”
• Influenced President Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot (his chief conservation advisor)
• Roosevelt created Forest Service w/ Pinchot as chief• Their policies were utilitarian conservation
(save forests for utility not aesthetics or ecology)
Preservation - moral & aesthetic
• John Muir (first president of Sierra Club) opposed Pinchot’s utilitarian policies
• Nature deserves to exist for its own sake-regardless of its usefulness
• Biocentric preservation – fundamental right of other organisms to exist and pursue their own interests (spiritual values & aesthetics)
Modern Environmentalism
• 1962 Rachel Carson wrote Silent Springs(about pollution & the threat of toxic chemicals to humans & other species)
• Mostly considered local, regional or maybe even national effects to environment
• A fusion of conservation of natural resources and preservation of nature with concerns about pollution, environmental health, and social justice.
Global Environmentalism
• International travel and communication today has created a - Global Village or Spaceship Earth
• Earth Summits (eg Rio de Janeiro) or Earth Days or ….
• Have created all of us into a Global Citizen(whatever we do locally may influence someone/something around the world!!!)
Current Environmental Conditions
• Half the world's wetlands were lost in the last 100 years.
• Land conversion and logging have shrunk the world's forests by as much as 50%.
• Nearly three-quarters of the world's major marine fish stocks are over fished or are being harvested beyond a sustainable rate.
• Soil degradation has affected two-thirds of the world's agricultural lands in the last 50 years.
Major Causes of Environmental Degradation
(1) Population Growth– More than 6 billion people now occupy
the earth, and we are adding about 85 million more each year.
– In the next decade, most population growth will be in the poorer countries - countries where present populations already strain resources and services.
• Burning of fossil fuels• Destruction of
tropical rainforests and other biologically rich landscapes
• Production of toxic wastes
(2) Resource Extraction and Use
Acid Deposition
Human Dimensions of Environmental Science
• More than 1.3 billion people live in acute poverty, with an income of less than $1 (US) per day. These people generally lack access to an adequate diet, decent housing, basic sanitation, clean water, education, medical care, and other essentials.
• Four out of five people in the world live in what would be considered poverty in the US or Canada.
• The world's poorest people are often forced to meet short-term survival needs at the cost of long-term sustainability.
The American LifestyleTo get an average American through the day takesabout 1000 pounds of raw materials, including• 40 pounds of fossil fuels;• 22 pounds of wood and paper; and• 119 gallons of water.
Every year, Americans throw away some 160 million tons of garbage, including• 50 million tons of paper;• 67 billion cans and bottles; and• 18 billion disposable diapers.
Obviously, if everyone in the world tried to live atconsumption levels approaching ours, the results would be
disastrous.
SustainabilityHow can the nations of the world produce the goods and
services needed to improve life for everyone without overtaxing the environmental systems and natural
resources on which we all depend?
Sustainable development:progress in human well-being that we can extend or prolong
over many generations, rather than just a few years.
To be truly enduring, the benefits of sustainable development must be available to all humans, not just to the
members of a privileged group.
(McKinney & Schoch)
Conservation/Preservation
ModernEnvironmentalism
GlobalCitizen
Basic Causes of
Environmental Problems
P = number of peopleA = affluence or average resource-use per personT = technology or the beneficial & harmful environmental effects of the
technologies used to provide & consume each unit of resource
Obviously, if everyone in the world tried to live atconsumption levels approaching ours, the results would be
disastrous.
Environmental Science looks at these complex interactions
Signs of Hope• Many areas have made progress in
– controlling air and water pollution and – reducing wasteful resource uses.
• Population has stabilized in most industrialized countries, and even in some very poor countries. We have discovered many new resources and invented more efficient ways of using existing supplies.
• Increased media coverage has made people more aware of environmental issues.
• Young people are showing a great deal of interest in environmental science!