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Studying the State of our Earth

Studying the State of our Earth. Chapter 1. The Mysterious Neuse River Fish Killer. 1991 – billion fish die in North Carolina river Pfiesteria a. emits toxin into fish b. 24 life stages c. introduced through hog farming, agricultural fields and rapidly growing suburban areas

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Studying the State of our Earth

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  1. Studying the State of our Earth Chapter 1

  2. The Mysterious Neuse River Fish Killer • 1991 – billion fish die in North Carolina river • Pfiesteria a. emits toxin into fish b. 24 life stages c. introduced through hog farming, agricultural fields and rapidly growing suburban areas • Example of human activities effect on environment

  3. What is Environmental Science? • Environmental Science: field that looks at interactions among human systems and those found in nature http://bcs.whfreeman.com/friedlandapes/#t_668210____

  4. System: set of interacting components that influence one another by exchanging energy or materials a. environmental system (man-made or natural) - ecosystem: includes biotic and abiotic components

  5. Humans Altering Natural Systems • Humans manipulate environment more than any other species intentionally and unintentionally • Human activities have created opportunities for certain species to thrive • As the human population grows, their effect on the environment will grow

  6. Environmental services: provided by natural environment such as clean water, timber, fisheries • Environmental indicators: describe current state of environment ex) human population, extinction rate - used to help guide towards sustainability - five global (biodiversity, food production, carbon dioxide concentrations, human population and resource depletion)

  7. Biological Diversity or Biodiversity • “diversity of life forms in an environment” • 3 scales a. genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity • Important indicator of environmental health and quality

  8. Genetic diversity: measure of genetic variation among individuals in a population a. high genetic diversity = responding to environmental change

  9. Species Diversity: number of species in a region or in a particular type of habitat a. critical environmental indicator ex) frogs for environmental health b. speciation: evolution of new species http://blogs.thehindu.com/delhi/?p=13294

  10. Ecosystem diversity: measure of the diversity of ecosystems or habitats that exist in a given region a. land area is used as a measurement of biodiversity (hectaresha)

  11. Food Production • Ability to grow food and nourish the human population • Wheat, corn and rice • Food shortages have led to higher food prices http://www.goldismoney2.com/showthread.php?8330-A-world-wide-food-shortage-will-it-hit-here

  12. Average Global Surface Temperature and Carbon Dioxide Concentrations • Greenhouse gases: heat trapping gases ex) CO2 a. help keep Earth’s surface within a range of temperatures b. have risen over time (anthropogenicreasons) http://content.bfwpub.com/webroot_pubcontent/Content/BCS_4/Friedland,%20Environmental%20Science%20AP/Art%20Notebook/friedland_ch01.pdf

  13. Human Population • Current population: 6.8 billion and growing

  14. Resource Depletion • As the human population increases, the resources needed for survival decreases • Renewable (timber) and nonrenewable (coal)

  15. What is a Hectare? • Area that is 100 meters by 100 meters Things to know: 1 square mile = 640 acres 1 Hectare (Ha) = 2.47 acres 1 acre = 0.40 Ha a. 340 square mile = ______ Ha

  16. Basic Needs • “essentials that sustain life” such as water, air, food and shelter

  17. Sustainable Development • Easter Island a. key example • Obtained 3 ways a. environmental systems must not be damaged beyond their ability to recover b. renewable resources must not be depleted faster than they can regenerate c. nonrenewable resources must be used sparingly http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/02/travel/easter-island-travel/index.html

  18. Ecological Footprint • “the output from the total amount of land required to support a person’s lifestyle” • Unsustainable living v. Sustainable living • Human Ecological Footprint = 14 billion hectares (______ acres?)  125% of Earth’s total usable land area

  19. Scientific Method http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_scientific_method.shtml

  20. Controlled v. Natural Experiments • Controlled Experiments a. controlled settings such as laboratory • Natural Experiments a. environment b. example: volcano destroying large amounts of land showing forest regrowth

  21. Unique Challenges in Environmental Science • Lack of Baseline data: no “control planet” • Subjectivity • Interactions • Human Well-Being

  22. Working Towards Sustainability • San Francisco, California a. 10 environmental concerns b. showing major improvements through their 5-year and long-term objectives http://www.califliving.com/title24-energy/index.php/green-building-programs/48-san-francisco-greenpoint-rated

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