Chapter 1: Understanding Our Environment

The natural world and the world of social institutions and artifacts are mutually exclusive.

Environmental science is the study of only the natural world.

Sustainable development is about meeting the needs of future generations without compromising the needs of the present.

At least 2 billion people lack an adequate supply of safe drinking water.

Environmental ethics is concerned with the way we interpret environmental issues.

Environmental science is a highly specialized field that focuses on a single discipline.

Polluted water and lack of sanitation are estimated to contribute to the ill health of less than 1 billion people annually.

Environmental science is an old and established field of study.

Soil degradation affects less than half of all agricultural lands.

Fossil fuels provide less than half of the energy used in industrialized countries.

Burning fossil fuels does not release gases that trap heat in the atmosphere.

Air pollution is no longer a local problem, but a global issue.

Habitat destruction is not a significant cause of biodiversity loss.

Renewable energy sources can meet all of China's energy needs.

Air pollution causes only a few hundred deaths per year.

There are no signs of hope in addressing environmental problems.

Human beings inhabit two worlds: the natural world and the world of social institutions and artifacts created by humans.

Environmental science is the systematic study of our environment and our place in it.
It is an interdisciplinary field that integrates natural science, social sciences, and humanities.

Definition: meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

The way we interpret environmental issues depends on our basic worldviews and decisions about natural resources.

Clean Water: 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, and 2.5 billion lack modern sanitation, contributing to the ill health of 1.2 billion people annually.
Food Supplies: global food production has kept pace with population growth, but soil degradation and biotechnology/ intensive farming techniques are concerns.
Energy: fossil fuels provide 80% of energy used in industrialized countries, contributing to air and water pollution.
Climate Change: human activities release CO2 and other gases, causing severe weather events, seasonal changes, droughts, floods, and ice disappearance.
Air Pollution: worsened air quality causes 3 million deaths annually, with pollutants accumulating and being transported across thousands of kilometers.
Biodiversity Loss: habitat destruction, overexploitation, pollution, and exotic species introduction threaten ecological life systems.

Renewable Energy: China is making progress using wind, biogas generators, and solar collectors, with potential to get all energy from renewable sources.
Health: many cities are becoming cleaner and more livable.