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The key takeaways are that environmental science studies human interactions with the natural world, humans depend on natural resources for survival but have degraded natural systems, and sustainability aims to meet current needs without compromising the future.
The main topics covered include natural resources, human population growth, environmental impacts, sustainability, and potential solutions.
The document defines sustainability as meeting current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs, through conserving resources and maintaining ecological systems.
Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
, publishing as Benjamin Cummings
This lecture will help you understand: The meaning of the term environment The importance of natural resources That environmental science is interdisciplinary The scientific method and how science operates Some pressures facing the global environment Sustainability and sustainable development Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Humans and the world around us Humans change the environment, often in ways not fully understood We depend completely on the environment for survival - Increased wealth, health, mobility, leisure time - But, natural systems have been degraded - i.e., pollution, erosion and species extinction - Environmental changes threaten long-term health and survival Environmental science is the study of: - How the natural world works - How the environment affects humans and vice versa Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Natural resources: vital to human survival Renewable resources: - Perpetually 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 Natural resources = substances and energy sources needed for survival Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Thomas Malthus and human population Thomas Malthus Population growth must be restricted, or it will outstrip food production Starvation, war, disease Neo-Malthusians Population growth has disastrous effects Paul and Anne Ehrlich, The Population Bomb (1968) Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Garrett Hardins 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? Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Earths capacity We are using 30% more of the planets resources than are available on a sustainable basis! Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Environmental science can help us avoid mistakes made by past civilizations.
The lesson of Easter Island: people annihilated their culture by destroying their environment. Can we act more wisely to conserve our resources? Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Environmental science: how does the natural world work? Environment impacts Humans
It has an applied goal: developing solutions to environmental problems
An interdisciplinary field -Natural sciences: information about the world - Environmental Science programs -Social sciences: values and human behavior - Environmental Studies programs Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Environmental science is not environmentalism Environmental science The pursuit of knowledge about the natural world Scientists try to remain objective Environmentalism A social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings The nature of science Science: - 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
Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Applications of science Restoration of forest ecosystems altered by human suppression of fire Policy decisions and management practices Energy-efficient methanol- powered fuel cell car from DaimlerChrysler Technology Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings The scientific method A technique for testing ideas with observations Assumptions: - The universe works according to unchanging natural laws - Events arise from causes, and cause other events - We use our senses and reason to understand natures laws Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings The scientific method A scientist makes an observation and asks questions of some phenomenon The scientist formulates a hypothesis, a statement that attempts to explain the scientific question. The hypothesis is used to generate predictions, which are specific statements that can be directly and unequivocally tested. The test results either support or reject the hypothesis Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Experiments test the validity of a hypothesis Manipulative experiments yield the strongest evidence But, lots of things cant be manipulated Natural or correlational tests show real-world complexity Results are not so neat and clean, so answers arent simply black and white Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings The scientific process is part of a larger process The scientific process includes peer review, publication, and debate A consistently supported hypothesis becomes a theory, a well-tested and widely accepted explanation With enough data, a paradigm shift a change in the dominant view can occur Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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.
Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Ecological footprints are not all equal The ecological footprints of countries vary greatly - The U.S. footprint is almost 5 times greater than the worlds average - Developing countries have much smaller footprints than developed countries Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings We face challenges in agriculture Expanded food production led to increased population and consumption
Its one of humanitys greatest achievements, but at an enormous environmental cost Nearly half of the planets land surface is used for agriculture Chemical fertilizers Pesticides Erosion Changed natural systems Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings We face challenges in pollution Waste products and artificial chemicals used in farms, industries, and households
Each year, millions of people die from pollution Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings We face challenges in climate Scientists have firmly concluded that humans are changing the composition of the atmosphere The Earths 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 Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment The most comprehensive scientific assessment of the condition of the worlds ecological systems Major findings: Humans have drastically altered ecosystems These changes have contributed to human well- being and economic development, but at a cost Environmental degradation could get much worse Degradation can be reversed, but it requires work
Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 of the worlds oil supplies; how will we handle this imminent fossil fuel shortage? Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Are things getting better or worse? Many people think environmental conditions are better Cornucopians: Human ingenuity will solve any problem
Some think things are much worse in the world Cassandras: predict doom and disaster
How can you decide who is correct? Are the impacts limited to humans, or are other organisms or systems involved? Are the proponents thinking in the long or short term? Are they considering all costs and benefits?
Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Sustainability: a goal for the future How can humans live within the planets means? - Humans cannot exist without functioning natural systems
Sustainability - Leaves future generations with a rich and full Earth - Conserves the Earths natural resources - Maintains fully functioning ecological systems
Sustainable development: the use of resources to satisfy current needs without compromising future availability of resources Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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
Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings