Environmental ScienceCh. 1, sect. 1

Environment…• Includes all of the living and

non-living things with which organisms interact.

• The environment includes humans, although humans often forget that they are a part of the environment.

• We cannot survive without a healthy environment. How we interact with the environment is important.

Environmental Science• The study of how the natural

world works, how environment affects us, and how we affect our environment.

• Understanding the interactions between humans and the environment is the first step in understanding our environmental problems.

• Objective approach to environmental challenges and issues.

Environmental Science

• Multiple subject areas contribute to the study of environmental science.

• Ecology, Earth Science, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Political Science, and More!

• Therefore, environmental science is an interdisciplinary field…one that borrows expertise and techniques from many different backgrounds and experiences.

Environmentalism VS. Environmental Science• Environmentalism is a social

movement dedicated to protecting the natural world from undesirable changes brought about by human actions.

• Environmental scientists maintain an objective approach to work and try to avoid bias, or a preference that is personal and not scientific.

Population Up…Resources Down

• In the last several hundred years, both human population and resource consumption have increased dramatically.

• There are limits to our natural resources, or materials, and energy sources found in nature that humans need to survive.

• There are 2 types of natural resources, renewable and non-renewable.

RenewableMust Be Sustained

Non-Renewable

SunshineWind

WavesGeothermal

Constantly available,

always renewable.

Fresh WaterForest Products

Agricultural CropsSoils

These items can be lost if not used sustainably and if

they are not allowed to be

renewed.

OilCoal

Natural GasMetals

Mined Materials

Formed over millions of years,

once they are gone, they are gone for good.

The Renewability Continuum

Population Growth • Nearly 7 billion people live on this planet. • The increase in human population in the

last 100 to 200 years can be attributed to two events in recent human history…1. The Agricultural Revolution

Transition from hunters to gatherers. Growing crops, raising animals, and live in villages.

2. The Industrial Revolution Shift from rural life with animal powered agriculture

to urban lifestyle using fossil fuels. Advances in medicines, manufacturing,

transportation, communication, etc.

The Environment Over Time…

Hunter –Gatherers• For most of human history, only a few

million people lived on Earth at any one time.

• Those people obtained food by gathering and hunting food from the regions in which they lived.

• Human impact on the environment during that time period was minimal.

• Despite that, it is still speculated that hunters in North America caused the disappearance of some large animals such as giant bison, saber-toothed cats, and mastodons.

Environment Over Time…Agricultural Revolution• About 10,000 years ago, a transition began.

People began to grow crops, raise domestic animals, and live in villages.

• This made it easier to meet food needs and to survive longer!

• This revolution changed how and WHAT we eat. Humans gathered wild seeds and planted them. Those seeds that produced the best crop, were planted again.

• Human impact upon the environment was much larger. – Forest land was being cleared to make way for

crops and grazing. – Water was overused to keep crops watered. – Soil was overworked and nutrients depleted.

• The Story of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

Environment Over Time…

The Industrial Revolution• About 300 years ago in the early 1700s,

the industrial revolution began. • There was a shift from rural life to urban

life. • Fossil fuels and engines replaced animals

and humans. • Technology advanced improving our

access to EVERYTHING…we began to live longer, healthier lives.

• In order to maintain technological advances and continue to improve, more resources are extracted from the environment. Can this way of life be sustained or maintained?

Problems…• At first, population growth and

development were considered positive, today our opinion has changed.

• With increased demand for resources we see several environmental problems develop:1. Resource Depletion2. Pollution of water, land and air3. Loss of Biodiversity4. Agriculture and Food Production

Challenges5. Over use of Land

What Do We Do?

• Strike a balance?– Allow resources to renew? – Use resources that renew themselves more

quickly?

• Learn from the past?• Do Nothing? Let Nature take its course?• Find ways to share effectively?

What Do You Think We Should Do?What Do Environmental Scientists Think?