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Understanding our Environment

Understanding our Environment. Chapter 1. What is environmental science?. The study of how humans interact with the environment. Environment is everything that surrounds us including natural and man made things. What is environmental science?.

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Understanding our Environment

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  1. Understanding our Environment Chapter 1

  2. What is environmental science? • The study of how humans interact with the environment. • Environment is everything that surrounds us including natural and man made things

  3. What is environmental science? • A major focus of environmental science is solving environmental problems. Can you think of at least three environmental problems that concern you?

  4. What is environmental science? • Some problems are local. Example: pollution of Lake Erie or the Gulf of Mexico • Some problems are global. Example: ozone depletion or global warming or garbage

  5. Environmental Problems Almost all problems fall into one of three categories. 1. Resource Depletion 2. Pollution 3. Extinction

  6. Resource Depletion A natural resource is any natural substance that living things use. Examples: sunlight, air, water, soil, minerals, plants, animals, forests, fossil fuels

  7. Resources – Renewable/Nonrenewable

  8. Resources – Renewable/Nonrenewable

  9. Resource Depletion Examples: sunlight, air, water, soil, minerals, plants, animals, forests, fossil fuels Some resources are renewable and some are nonrenewable. Look above and categorize the examples.

  10. Resource Depletion • Over fishing of ocean fish – our food source

  11. Resource Depletion • Destruction of the Rain Forest

  12. Resource Depletion • Polar Sea Ice Loss

  13. Resource Depletion • Population Explosion from the first days of man on earth until the early 1800’s – to reach a global population of 1 billion. In just 200 years, we’ve managed to reach 6.5 billion.

  14. Pollution • CO2 Levels in the Atmosphere. Carbon dioxide levels are building up in the atmosphere – the main force behind global warming.

  15. Pollution • The Ocean Dead Zones In oceans around the world, there are eerie areas that are devoid of nearly all life. These ‘dead zones’ are characterized by a lack of oxygen, and they’re caused by excess nitrogen from farm fertilizers, emissions from vehicles and factories, and sewage.

  16. Extinction • Mammal Extinction– mostly due to our own disregard for our surroundings – so much of the awe-inspiring diversity of nature, mass extinctions like this would cause a serious imbalance in the world’s food chain.

  17. A Global Perspective • The biosphere is the thin layer of life around the Earth. It is only about 8km above the surface of Earth and 8km below the surface of Earth.

  18. Environment Through Time Society started out as hunter-gatherers, then we moved to the agricultural revolution, then to the industrial revolution. Hunter-gatherers migrated from place to place to follow food supply, set fires to burn the prairies to prevent tree growth, and overhunted animals to extinction.

  19. Environment Through Time Agricultural revolution involved gathering seeds to plant and domesticating some of the animals. More people can be supported by farming methods, but now the land is being converted to farmland. Habitats like grasslands, forests, and wetlands are being turned into farmland.

  20. Environment Through Time The industrial revolution started in the 1700s where we shifted from animal power to using fossil fuels like coal and oil. Better technology and inventions to save time and money were making positive changes.

  21. Environment Through Time Class work: Make a pro (positive) and con (negative) list of the Industrial Revolution and how it changed peoples’ lives and the environment. AND Write a 8 sentence persuasive argument answering: Have the changes with the Industrial Revolution improved our quality of life?

  22. Use of Resources How do we as humans share common resources? From fishing the oceans to using the water at Portage Lakes State Park, how do we make sure these common resources are not ruined?

  23. Use of Resources Tragedy of the Commons: When no one owns the resource, no one takes responsibility for it. Then resource is overused and becomes depleted. tragedy of the commons part 1 tragedy of the commons

  24. Use of Resources A group or individual needs to take responsibility for it. We have park rangers paid by the government, volunteers to watch for violations, and we have laws to prevent depletion.

  25. Use of Resources Economics helps to influence society on how to use a resource too. If a resource is limited, then price goes up and humans tend to use less of it. (Supply and demand) Cost benefit analysis helps to weigh pros and cons to spending money on an issue.

  26. A Global Perspective • In the world, there are two types of categories countries can be placed. Developed – high average incomes highly industrialized Examples: United States, Canada, Japan, Australia

  27. A Global Perspective • The second category countries can be placed into is developing countries. Developing – less industrialized less average income Examples: India, Kenya

  28. A Global Perspective Many environmental problems are linked to increasing human populations and increasing demand on natural resources. Example: more vehicles on road using more oil • Can you come up with an example?

  29. Population Crisis Increasing human population too quickly for the area to support • Where do you think this is happening? Developing or Developed countries countries

  30. Consumption Crisis • When people use up or waste natural resources faster than they can be replaced. • Where do you think that is happening? Developing or Developed countries countries

  31. Consumption Crisis • Developed nations use close to 75% of the resources used every year but only make up about 20% of the world’s population. • What is your view on this statistic?

  32. Consumption Crisis • What are three things you do on a normal day to contribute to the consumption crisis?

  33. Ecological Footprint This is a calculation of the amount of land and resources needed to support one person’s lifestyle from a particular country. ecological footprint

  34. HOMEWORK Go to: http://calc.zerofootprint.net/youth/ Answer questions and find how many earths you would need for your lifestyle. AND Pick three ways you could reduce your CO2 output. Write how you plan to do the reductions in the next two weeks.

  35. Global Goal Our goal as humans is to achieve a sustainable world. - High standards of living for all - Habitats would be preserved - Garbage would be turned into something useful - Stop wasting natural resources

  36. Sustainable World • How can you contribute to a sustainable world in your own life? Give at least three specific examples.

  37. 1.2 Types of Sciences • There are two basic types of sciences. Pure Science Applied Science • Answers how - Uses pure the natural world science information works to solve problems

  38. Types of Sciences Look at the sciences below and decide if they are pure or applied. Biology Environmental Engineering Medicine Chemistry Physics Zoology Astronomy

  39. The Scientific Method

  40. What is it? • It is a process that is used to find answers to questions about the world around us.

  41. Is there only one? • No, there are several versions. Some versions have more steps, while others may have only a few. • They all begin with the identification of a problem or a question to be answered based on observations of the world around us and provide an organized method for conductingand analyzing an experiment.

  42. What is a hypothesis? • It is an educatedguess based on observations and your knowledge of the topic.

  43. What is data? • It is information gathered during an experiment.

  44. Identify the Problem • What do you want to know or explain? • Use observations you have made to write a question about the problem.

  45. Form a Hypothesis • What do you think will happen? • Predict the answer to your question.

  46. Create an Experiment • How will you test your hypothesis? • Design an experiment to test it.

  47. Perform an Experiment • Follow the steps in your procedure to perform your experiment. • Record data and make observations.

  48. Analyze the Data • Is the data reliable? Does the data support your hypothesis? • If the data does NOT support your hypothesis, then Modify the Experiment. Rewrite the experiment to address flaws. • Retest.

  49. Communicate the Results • When data supports your hypothesis, write a conclusion that summarizes the important parts of your experiment and the results. • This step is needed to complete the scientific method.

  50. Making Environmental Decisions When suggesting environmental solutions to a problem, voters must weigh the pros and cons of the issue. • How will the solution affect people’s lives? • How much will the solution cost? How much will it cost if we do nothing?

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