Introduction to Environmental Science

1. Introduction to Environmental Science

2. Introduction to Environmnetal Science How do you define “environment”?

3. Introduction to Environmental Science • Environment – • Everything around us, living and nonliving, natural and man-made • Includes the relationships between these components of the environment

4. What is Environmental Science? One definition of environmental science: “the systematic, scientific study of our environment as well as our role in it”

5. Two main focuses: 1. how the natural world works 2. how humans use and impact the natural world What will we study in Environmental Science?

6. Environmental Science is a broad, interdisciplinary field ES includes many fields that end in “–ology” which means “the study of”, for example Biology How can we get a handle on such a BIG PICTURE?

7. Fields of study in ES See Table 1, p. 7, to study later • Biology • Zoology – the study of ______ • Botany – the study of ______ • Microbiology – the study of _____ • Ecology – the study of ______

8. Fields of study in ES • Biology • Zoology – the study of animals • Botany – the study of plants • Microbiology – the study of microorganisms • Ecology – the study of how organisms interact with their environment and each other

9. Fields of study in ES • Earth Science • Geology – the study of _______ • Paleontology – the study of _____ • Climatology – the study of _____ • Hydrology – the study of _____

10. Fields of study in ES • Earth Science • Geology • the study of the Earth’s surface, interior and processes • Paleontology • the study of fossils, ancient life • Climatology • the study of Earth’s climate, atmosphere • Hydrology • the study of Earth’s water

11. Fields of study in ES • Physics • Engineering – the science by which matter and energy are made useful in _________________

12. Fields of study in ES • Physics • Engineering – the science by which matter and energy of made useful in structures, machines, products

13. Fields of study in ES • Chemistry • Biochemistry – the chemistry of ____ • Geochemistry – the chemistry of ____

14. Fields of study in ES • Chemistry • Biochemistry – the chemistry of living things • Geochemistry – the chemistry of geological materials

15. Fields of study in ES • Social sciences • Geography – ? • Anthropology – ? • Sociology – ?

16. Fields of study in ES • Social sciences • Geography – humans and earth’s features • Anthropology – development and characteristics of human culture • Sociology – human social behavior, populations

17. Why study Environmental Science? Rapid changes in earth’s environment due to human activities can be traced to two “revolutions”:

18. Agricultural Revolution Gradual move from nomadic lifestyle of hunter-gatherers to the farming of domesticated animals and plants Started about 10,000 years ago Led to human population explosion Can you explain why???

19. Industrial Revolution Development of machines to do manual/animal labor Led to use of non-renewable energy sources (fossil fuels) that disrupt the balance of our ecosystems (started in mid-1700’s – recent!)

20. The Human Population Over Time:Locate agricultural and industrial revolutions…. Yr. each billion was reached 2015* 1999 1987 1974 1960 1930 1880 * projected

21. Why study Environmental Science? Goal of ES: To understand and solve environmental problems.

22. Scale of Environmental Problems Environmental problems are typically categorized by the affected population. • Global problems, like global warming and the hole in the ozone layer affect the entire world population. • Other problems, such as deforestation or pollution, can occur on a local scale

23. A World Apart

24. More Money, More Consumers The countries which have more wealth also use more of the Earth’s resources. We also produce more of the substances which may damage the Earth

25. Earth-a closed system, meaning materials do not enter or leave, only energy does Damage that occurs stays in the system (Figure 2, p. 536) “Spaceship Earth”

26. 10 Major Problems Facing Earth’s Environment • Destruction of natural habitat • Loss of biodiversity • Soil damage and erosion • Use of fossil fuels as our main energy source • Overuse of freshwater resources

27. 10 Major Problems Facing Earth’s Environment 6. Release of toxic materials 7. Introduction of “alien” species 8. Release of harmful gases into atmosphere 9. Human population growth 10. Increasing standard of living

28. A tragic metaphor for “Spaceship Earth” ? Easter Island is a relatively small, isolated Pacific island on which there are hundreds of large stone sculptures, indicating that a complex society once lived there Reference on Easter Island, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, by Jared Diamond

29. When European explorers arrived in the 1700’s they found a mostly barren landscape, with no trees over 10 feet tall, yet there were hundreds of toppled statues all over the island. The few people living on the island had no horses or oxen, were using grass to build fires and lived a primitive lifestyle. A tragic metaphor for “Spaceship Earth” ?

30. The mystery: How did the Easter Islanders build and erect the statues, why did they do it and what happened to the civilization that accomplished this?

31. A tragic metaphor for “Spaceship Earth” ? Evidence has been pieced together to provide the following explanation: The island was settled by Polynesians from other islands around 400 CE. At that time there were trees, including palms, on the island as shown by pollen studies. There is evidence that land and sea birds were abundant. The human population grew as high as 30,000 as the islanders harvested dolphins and fish for food using wooden canoes. They also ate native island birds and rats. Farms were started to provide more food.

32. A tragic metaphor for “Spaceship Earth” ? Like other Polynesian cultures, society was divided into chiefs and commoners, which were established into clans. On Easter Island, there was collaboration between the clans, but also competition that resulted in building the large stone heads using rock from an island quarry and moving them into place on their territory. One theory is that this process required many workers to move them by pulling them along wooden tracks, possibly on a wooden sled. All of this required a huge expenditure of resources to support the structures and feeding the workers.

33. A tragic metaphor for “Spaceship Earth” ? Eventually, the island was completely deforested, leading to local extinction of many species on which the islanders depended, as well as the loss of the raw materials to sustain their standard of living. Deforestation also led to soil erosion and a decrease in crop yield from farms. Climate change may have contributed to deforestation.

34. A tragic metaphor for “Spaceship Earth” ? By 1680, civil war replaced the organized clans. People survived as best they could, raising more domesticated chickens for food. The statues that had once been erected as a sign of superiority between clans were then toppled over by rival clans, and remained as evidence of the societal collapse when the Europeans arrived.

35. A tragic metaphor for “Spaceship Earth” ? Is this a small scale model of what could happen to our planet? Similarities: overexploitation of resources in a fragile, closed system, with no where to escape, no place to get more resources

36. The Good News Jared Diamond writes in Collapse, “One basis for hope is that, realistically, we are not beset by insoluble problems. While we do face big risks, the most serious ones are not ones beyond our control, like a possible collision with an asteroid…. Instead, they are ones that we are generating ourselves. Because we are the cause of our environmental problems, we are the ones in control of them, and we can choose or not choose to stop causing them and start solving them. The future is up for grabs, lying in our own hands.”

37. The Good News Diamond also writes: “Another basis for hope is the increasing diffusion of environmental thinking among the public around the world. While such thinking has been with us for a long time, its spread has accelerated, especially since the 1962 publication of Silent Spring.”

38. Ecological Footprint This is one way to measure our impact on the environment globally. What is an ecological footprint? https://auscalc.footprintnetwork.org/ecological_footprint.html