Environmental Science

1. Environmental Science What is it????

2. Environmental Science is the study of how humans interact with the environment. • What is the environment? • It is everything that surrounds us

3. Environmental Problems • Resource Depletion – when a large part of a resource has been used up • Natural resource – any natural substance that living things use (sunlight, air, water, soil, minerals, plants, fossil fuels, etc……) • Nonrenewable resource – cannot be replaced • Renewable resource – continually being replaced • Pollution – poisoning of our air, water or soil • Extinction – the last individual member of a species has died and the species is gone forever

4. Globally: • Coal-fired electric generators release SO2 to create acid rain • Cars release CO2, causing worldwide climate changes • Destruction of tropical rain forests, causing climate changes globally • Chlorofluorocarbons destroy ozone

5. Biosphere • Thin layer of life around the Earth

6. Two Types of Countries • Developed countries • Highly industrialized countries • Higher average income • Ex. – Japan, U.S., Australia, Canada • Developing countries • Less industrialized • Lower average income • Ex. – India, Kenya, Columbia

8. Population CrisisWhat is it? The number of people is growing too quickly for the Earth to support it

10. Root of all Environmental Problems: • Consumption crisis – people are using up, wasting or polluting natural resources faster than they can be renewed, replaced or cleaned up • Sustainable world – world in which human populations can continue to exist indefinitely with a high standard of living and health

12. Types of Science: • Pure science • Science that seeks answers to questions about how the world works • Ex. – Biology, Physics, Chemistry • Applied science • Uses the information provided by pure science to solve problems • Ex. – Engineering, Medicine, Environmental Science

13. Ecology • The study of how living things are related to each other • Is it a pure or applied science? • Pure Science

14. Scientific Method:(summary) • Observing • Hypothesizing and Predicting • Experimenting • Organizing and Interpreting Data • Using Graphics and Sharing Information • Communicating Results

15. The Scientific Method • All events in the universe can be explained by physical laws • Scientists proceed according to time-tested procedures known as the scientific method

16. The goal of science is to discover facts about the natural world and the laws that explain these facts • We learn about our outside world through our senses • Uses procedures to learn about our world

17. Two ways of thinking: • Induction – one starts with a number of separate observations and then arrives at a general principle • Observe a sailfish, a shark and a tuna all have gills, since all 3 are fishes you might conclude that all fish have gills

18. Deduction – reason from general principles to specific conclusions • If all marine animals have gills, and whales are marine animals, then whales must have gills.

19. Hypothesis • Both inductive and deductive reasoning lead scientists to make statements that might be true (a hypothesis) and are testable • All hypotheses are tested,and incorrect ones are quickly weeded out and discarded • Must be stated in a way that allows them to be tested (ex. – “somewhere in the ocean there are mermaids” cannot be proven to be false)

20. Testing the Hypothesis • Scientists spend most of their time trying to disprove, not prove, hypotheses • When comparing 2 hypotheses, often by rejecting one it strengthens the other • Usually simple observation is the best way to test a hypothesis

21. Experiments create situations to test hypotheses instead of relying on naturally occurring events • Controlled experiments have only 1 variable, which changes during the course of the experiment • Variables are factors that might affect observations

22. The Scientific Theory • Theory is a hypothesis that has passed so many tests that it is generally regarded as true • Like any hypothesis, it is still subject to rejection if enough evidence accumulates against it

23. Limitations of the scientific method: • Scientists are people with human shortcomings • No one can be completely objective all the time • The insistence on direct observation and testable hypotheses does not allow for value judgments (ex – what is beautiful?)

24. Decision-Making Model • Gather information • Consider values • Explore consequences • Make a decision

25. Decision-Making Model Template Names in your group • Identify the Problem • Your Proposed Solution • Values ProsCons • Short-term Effects • Long-term Effects • Group’s Position (regarding the solution) • Defend/Justify your solution!

26. Remember,these are Worldwide Problems

27. Applied science (& example) Biosphere Consumption Crisis Developed nation Developing nation Ecology Environment Experiment, scientific Extinction Hypothesis, scientific Natural resource Nonrenewable natural resource Observations Pollution Population Crisis Pure science (& ex.) Renewable natural resource Statistics Sustainable world Theory, scientific Unit. 1 Vocabulary Terms (20)

28. Chapter Review • Be able to cite or pick out examples describing the use of renewable resources • Know the difference between developing and developed countries • Be prepared to pick out a list of countries from either one • Which type would the population be increasing the slowest? Fastest? • Which country uses up the most natural resources in the world today?

29. Know examples of pure sciences, as well as the definitions for ecology and environmental science • Know the steps involved in a scientific experiment, including careful control of the experimental conditions, examples of what would constitute observations, and what makes an accurate prediction about the outcome or a correct scientific conclusion. Be able to list the steps in a scientific experiment as related to a scientific article.

30. Be able to pick out an example of how people’s values affect environmental decision making • Why are species being lost to extinction today? Be able to interpret a bar graph correctly. • Know what entails a decision-making model, and be prepared to state the problem, the proposed solution, the values to be considered, probable short-term and long-term consequences, and if you would support the proposed solution