Environmental Science Overview

Environmental Science

• Environmental science is the study of interactions between physical, chemical, and biological components of Earth's natural environment
• This includes energy, agriculture, water, and air
• Environmental science examines human impact on the environment

Learning Objectives

• Students will define environmental science and its multidisciplinary nature by the end of the lesson
• Students will identify major environmental challenges globally and locally
• Students will discuss the importance of environmental awareness and sustainable actions

Environmental Science Disciplines

• Biology: Focuses on living organisms and ecosystems, biodiversity, ecological relationships, and effects of human activities (e.g., deforestation, invasive species, bioremediation)
• Geology: Investigates Earth's physical structure, processes, and history, and natural resource availability (e.g., minerals, fossil fuels), and geohazards (e.g., earthquakes, landslides)
• Chemistry: Explores the composition and behavior of matter in the environment, including chemical pollutants, their pathways, and effects on air, water, and soil, and sustainable materials
• Social Sciences: Investigates human interactions with the environment, policies, and societal impacts, designing policies for sustainability, environmental justice, and analyzing climate change impact

Integrated Application

• Environmental science combines these disciplines to address environmental challenges
• Climate Change Mitigation: Combines biological understanding of ecosystems, geological knowledge of carbon storage, chemical analysis of greenhouse gases, and social sciences for policy-making
• Water Pollution Control: Involves biological studies of aquatic life, chemical testing of water quality, geological mapping of water sources, and social strategies for promoting sustainable practices

Importance of Environmental Science

• Understanding Human Impact: Explores human activities (deforestation, pollution, urbanization) and their impact on natural ecosystems; identifies harmful practices and proposes sustainable alternatives
• Promoting Sustainable Development: Provides strategies to balance economic growth and environmental conservation through renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and green technologies
• Conservation of Natural Resources: Guides management of essential resources (air, water, soil, biodiversity)

Climate Change

• Investigates causes and effects of global warming, extreme weather, and rising sea levels
• Develops mitigation (reducing carbon emissions) and adaptation (building resilient infrastructure) strategies
• Climate change refers to significant, long-term changes in climate characteristics, including temperature, precipitation, and wind patterns

Types of Pollution and Their Impacts

• Air: Contamination of the atmosphere by harmful gases, particulates, and biological molecules (sources: fossil fuel, industrial emissions, deforestation, pollutants: CO, SO2, NOx, PM, VOCs, impacts: respiratory issues, acid rain, smog formation, climate change);
• Water: Contamination of water bodies by harmful substances (sources: industrial discharge, chemical runoff, agricultural pesticides, sewage, pollutants: heavy metals, nutrients, oils, microplastics, impacts: human health concerns, environmental effects like eutrophication);
• Soil: Degradation of soil quality due to toxic substances (sources: improper waste disposal, industrial/mining activities, pesticide/fertilizer overuse; pollutants: heavy metals, hydrocarbons, synthetic chemicals, impacts: human health, agriculture, ecosystems);
• Noise: Excessive or disruptive sound (sources: transportation, industrial machinery, urbanization, impacts: human health (stress, hearing loss, sleep disorders), wildlife interference);
• Light: Excessive or misdirected artificial light (sources: urban lighting, billboards, vehicle headlights, impacts: human health (disruption of circadian rhythms), environmental (disorientation of nocturnal animals)), and astronomy impacts;
• Plastic: Accumulation of plastic products (sources: single-use plastics, microplastics, discarded packaging, impacts: human health (toxic chemicals), environment (wildlife ingestion/entanglement), ecosystems (persistent pollution, slow decomposition));
• Radioactive: Release of radioactive substances (sources: nuclear power plants, radioactive material mining, improper nuclear waste disposal, impacts: human health (cancer, genetic mutations), environment (long-term contamination of air, water, soil ));
• Thermal: Increase in water temperature due to human activities (sources: discharge of heated water from power plants, impacts: aquatic life (reduced oxygen levels), ecosystems (disruption of thermal-sensitive species));

### Ecosystems and Biodiversity

• Ecosystem: A community of living organisms (biotic components) interacting with their non-living environment (abiotic components) in a specific area.
• Biotic Factors: Plants, animals, microorganisms, and decomposers.
• Abiotic Factors: Sunlight, water, air, soil, temperature, and nutrients.
• Types of Ecosystems: Terrestrial and aquatic
• Importance of Ecosystems: Provide essential services like air purification, water filtration, and soil fertility; support life through processes (pollination, decomposition, nutrient cycling); and serve as habitats for diverse species, maintaining ecological balance.
• Biodiversity: Variety of life forms on Earth including levels of genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity; Genetic Diversity: variations in genes within a species; Species Diversity: variety of species; Ecosystem Diversity: variety of ecosystems.
• Importance of Biodiversity: Ecological Balance, Resource Provision, Cultural Value, Adaptation, and Survival.

Climate Science

• Earth's climate system: its components (atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, biosphere) and the processes influencing it
• Climate vs. Weather: short-term atmospheric conditions (weather) versus long-term patterns (climate)
• Energy Balance: solar energy and outgoing terrestrial radiation interaction, greenhouse gases influence on balance leading to climate change.

Global Climate Change

• Evidence of climate change: rising temperatures, melting ice, rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and ocean acidification