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Apreal Jade Panuelos
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This document contains notes on environmental science including the scope, limitations and importance. It also includes topics on natural resources, and scientific thinking for the environment. These notes are suitable for undergraduate or higher level study.
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ENV SCI 1 Historical Apreal Jade Panuelos How did close...
ENV SCI 1 Historical Apreal Jade Panuelos How did close relationships between government and industry Lesson 1: Introduction to Environmental Science help build a carbon-intensive economy? Did the modernist belief in Definition, Scope, Limitations, and Importance material progress Environmental science is an interdisciplinary field exacerbate or reflect ○ Incorporates information and ideas from widespread carbon use? multiple disciplines How are 20th century ○ Biology, chemistry, geology, social sciences political conflict and (geography, economics, political science), neocolonialism related to humanities (philosophy, ethics) carbon emissions? Studies interaction of different components of the Scientific environment and the relationships and effects of these How does carbon dioxide components with the organisms in the environment lead to warming? How Learn how the natural world works and understand much carbon dioxide is how humans interact with it being emitted? How will Determine how we affect the environment an altered energy balance Natural Resources of earth after climate ○ Variety of substances and energy sources that change? we take from the environment and use ○ 6 Critical Skills ○ Renewable Healthy skepticism and awareness of Can be replenished over a period of political and social biases in oneself time (e.g., sun, wind) and within the environmental ○ Nonrenewable science Finite supply (e.g., oil) Familiarity with and willingness to use simple quantitative reasoning to Scientific Thinking for the Environment tackle unfamiliar problems Critical Thinking in Environmental Science Ability to use simple models, can be ○ Critical thinking is a skill that can be learned equations or illustrations of ○ Environmental science is composed of processes, to formalize thinking different disciplines which have different about unfamiliar problems traditions of what good critical thinking Effective use of what you already entails know to tackle new problems, ○ Environmental issues are strongly especially an awareness of how just a interdisciplinary in character; hence, a wide few basic scientific laws help clarify variety of critical thinking approaches can problems profitably be brought to bear on Understanding of how variability environmental issues influences what we know and what ○ For example, in considering problems related we can know about the world to global climate change, consider these around us perspectives: Ability to think quickly and Economic informally about scientific claims, External costs, time and especially developing an discounting, cost effective ability yo say “that makes effectiveness of alternative sense” or “that sounds implausible” management strategies when presented with quantitative Political estimates Common property Steps in Scientific Method management, international ○ Process or steps taken to produce reliable organizations, interest results to answer a specific question group politics, global governance ○ Observation and Research Earth as a System Make observations and develop a The Gaia Hypothesis question about the observations ○ Also known as Gaia Theory or Gaia Principle Observation ○ Proposes that all organisms and their Observed with 5 senses inorganic surroundings on Earth are closely Research integrated to form a single and self-regulating Use reliable sources to complex system, maintaining the conditions learn background for life on the planet of homeostasis information ○ Developed in 1972 largely by British chemist ○ Hypothesis James E. Lovelock and US biologist Lynn Develop a tentative answer to the Margulis question ○ Named for the Greek Earth goddess Gaia Prediction of what you believe will ○ Earth behaves like a living thing and it occur maintains constant temperature If-then-and specific Basic Systems Concepts ○ Experiment ○ System Design a controlled experiment to Set of components/parts that test the hypothesis which implies function together as a whole identifying and defining Any part of the universe that can be independent and dependent isolated physically or in thought for variables the purpose of the study Collect data in an organized form, ○ Open Systems Interpret the data visually (graphs), Some energy or material (solid, quantitatively (statistical analysis), liquid, or gas) moves into or out of and/or by other means the system Qualitative relies on descriptions Example: Ocean while quantitative relies on numbers ○ Close Systems Independent Variables For materially closed systems, no The thing the matter moves in or out of the system experimenter changes Example: Earth Dependent Variables ○ Static Systems The thing experimenter Has a fixed condition and tends to measures remain in that exact condition Experimental Group Example: A tied balloon Has one independent Stable Static System variable altered With a classical stability Control Group which remains in constant Normal group condition ○ Conclusion ○ Dynamic Systems Draw a conclusion from the data Changes, often continually, over ○ Share and Compare time Compare the conclusion with the Moves in response to natural winds, hypothesis and determine whether air, density, etc the results support or disprove the Example: Hot air balloon hypothesis Earth Systems If the hypothesis is consistent with observations in some limited experiments, conduct additional experiments to test it further If the hypothesis is rejected, make additional observations and construct a new one Components of the Environment and Functions of Nature ○ Soil Pollution Four Major Components of Earth’s Life Support Caused by industrial waste that System deprives soil from essential nutrients ○ Global Warming Result of human practices like emission of greenhouse gases Leads to rising temperatures ○ Overpopulation Reaching unsustainable levels as it faces the shortage of resources In less developed countries, it is already straining the already scarce resources ○ Natural Resource Depletion People are effort to shift to ○ Atmosphere renewable sources of energy like A thin spherical envelope of gasses solar surrounding the earth’s surface ○ Waste Disposal Contains breathable air Overconsumption of resources and 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% usage of plastic greenhouse gasses Nuclear waste disposal has ○ Hydrosphere tremendous health hazards Consists of all of the water on or associated to it near the earth’s surface ○ Climate Change Liquid, water, ice, and water vapor Due to rise in global warming ○ Geosphere Burning of fossil fuels Consists of the earth’s intensely hot ○ Biodiversity Loss core, a thick mantle composed Human activity is leading to the mostly of rock, and a thin outer extinction of species crust The balance of natural processes is ○ Biosphere crucial to survival of biodiversity, Occupies those parts of the other but humans are usually a threat to components where life exists this Biotic ○ Deforestation Living Forests are natural sinks of carbon Plants, animals, bacteria dioxide and they produces fresh Abiotic oxygen Non-living Due to growing population Sun, temperature, water Clearing of green cover and making a land available Major Environmental Problems ○ Urban Sprawl Pollution Migration of population from high ○ Pollutants density urban areas to low density Industry and motor vehicle exhaust rural areas ○ Materials Responsible for Pollution Results to land degradation Heavy metals, nitrates, and plastic ○ Ozone Layer Depletion ○ Water Pollution Attributed to pollution caused by Caused by oil spill, acid drain, and CFCs urban runoff Valuable as it prevents harmful UV ○ Air Pollution radiation from reaching the earth Caused by various gases and toxins released by factories Combustion of fossil fuels Sustainable Development For people, this unit of time is a year Climate System or greater ○ Ensures that temperature is correct Sometimes expressed as actual ○ Atmosphere emits exactly the right amount numbers within a population of solar energy during a specified time ○ Emitting harmful greenhouse gases clogs the atmosphere which changes temperature in Philippines’ Population Dynamics earth Economic ○ Everything we develop, buy, and trade starts with nature ○ Be more aware of what ones buy and how they are produced Social Progress ○ Humans have minds to create different creative things Lesson 2: The Human Population and the Environment Basic Concepts of Population Dynamics Species ○ All individuals that are capable of interbreeding ○ Composed of one or more populations Demography ○ Statistical study of human populations ○ Demographers People who study the human population 5 Key Properties of Any Population Projecting Future Population Growth ○ Age Structure ○ Abundance Size of a population ○ Growth Rates How rapidly a population’s abundance changes over time Difference between the birth and death rate ○ Birth, Death, and Growth Rates Usually expressed as a percentage of a population per unit of time Population change in terms of actual numbers in a Philippines’ Age Structure population: P2 = P1 + (B - D) + (I - E) More female are alive as the years goes by than male ○ P1: The number of individuals in a There is the possibility of underlying factors that may population at time 1 be the reason for this phenomenon (e.g. diseases that ○ P2: The number of individuals in that only men can get) population at some later time ○ B: The number of births in the period from The Demographic Transition time 1 to time 2 ○ D: The number of deaths from time 1 to time 2 ○ I: The number entering as immigrants ○ E: The number leaving as emigrants Age Structure Phase 1: Philippines Phase 2: Thailand Phase 3: South Korea ○ Lesser growth population, thus, inverted pyramid ○ Slow down in economic growth = they have reached their aim Long term trends of birth and death rates, as well as the population dynamics ○ Stage 1: High mortality and high birth rates ○ Stage 2: Mortality falls but birth rates still high ○ Stage 3: Mortality low and birth rates fall ○ Stage 4: Mortality low and birth rates low ○ Stage 5: Mortality low and some evidence of rising fertility Longevity and its Effect on Population Growth Two bar graphs which shows population by age and is divided by male and female Age groups that can be affected by several factors such as environmental or economical aspects Can help in policy making How many people fight for resources? Each city must know their maximum carrying capacity Overpopulation can only be stated if there is proof (e.g. global aspect) 4 General Types ○ Pyramid ○ Inverted Pyramid ○ Bell-Shaped ○ Column When it is still industrializing, it is similar to 1987 developing countries Hierarchical Levels of Diversity Lesson 3: Biodiversity Genetic ○ Different features for one kind of animal ○ Diversity of genetic materials carried by Biodiversity different individuals ○ Factors that influences this diversity are the following: Inbreeding Genetic drift Mutation Migration Small population size Monoculture (Agriculture and aquaculture) Species ○ Unique collection of species in an area ○ Richness, evenness, or dominance ○ Megabiodiverse Countries Also known as biodiversity hotspots 70% of its original primary habitat has been lose Philippines, one of the megadiverse countries, and has a high indinism Countries that are rich in endemic species but threatened by human activities Globally, there are 36 hotspots, Diversity of living things in the planet covering 2.4% of the earth, Most important feature of life harboring 50% endemic plant Responsible for the life that we know species, and 42% endemic terrestrial Relies on the environment, which relies on the species ecosystems ○ Keystone Species Variation among genes, species, and ecosystems Has a disproportionality large effect Environment on its natural environment relative ○ Natural Changes to its abundance Pristine Hold together the complex web of ○ Anthropogenic Changes relationships in an ecosystem Human-induced changes Can be animals, plants, or Ecosystems microorganisms ○ Biotic and abiotic factors ○ Red List Index ○ Provides ecosystem services RLI value of 1 equates to all species ○ Processes qualifying as ‘least concern’ Allows transfer of energy which Habitual allows life ○ Ecosystem Keystone Species ○ Very vital to inherent characteristic of an ecological system ○ Give impact to the ecosystem ○ Disappearing means nonsensical to the ecosystem Sea otters, wolves, elephants, beetles, eagles Variation in an ecosystems within a geographical location Lesson 4: Agriculture, Aquaculture, and the Environment Terrestrial Freshwater Marine Ecological Perspective on Agriculture Ecosystem Services Ecological Succession Provided for free ○ Halted to keep the agroecosystem in an early There are man-made successional state forests ○ Complex interrelatedness of each system ○ Provisioning/Pro ○ Based on how the forest is growing vincial Biological diversity and food chains are simplified ○ Regulating ○ Focus is on monoculture, one plant species ○ Supporting rather than many ○ Cultural or ○ Complex food chain -> direct and simplified Recreational food chain ○ Wetlands Crops are planted in neat rows and fields Agroecosystems require plowing, which is unlike any natural soil disturbance ○ Soil disturbance can be wild animals (light pressure) ○ Prone to soil erosion May include genetically modified crops Crops Exist in every country and in every climatic zone There is a big change (declining) and only scientists are concerned about this loses Drivers of Change Land conversion Water withdrawal Infrastructure development Eutrophication and pollution Overharvesting and overexploitation Introduction of invasive species Functional ○ Value and range of those species and organismal traits that influence ecosystem functioning Only about 3000 species have been used as agricultural ○ Includes morphology, ecology, environmental crops and only 150 species have been cultivated on a tolerances, behavior, and even phenology large scale ○ Measures The country's main agricultural crops are rice, corn, Richness coconut, sugarcane, bananas, pineapple, coffee, Number of species mangoes, tobacco, and abaca (a banana-like plant) inhabiting a particular Secondary crops include peanut, cassava, camote (a niche type of root crop), garlic, onion, cabbage, eggplant, Evenness calamansi (a variety of lemon), rubber, and cotton How evenly the species are distributed Rangeland Negros Sugar cane capital ○ Provides food for grazing and browsing Central Luzon Perfect for rice field since flat land animals without plowing and planting Posture Rice capital ○ Plowed, planted, and harvested to provide forage for animals Laguna Coconut capital Philippines Livestock Agriculture Types of Farms Davao Banana capital Backyard Farm ○ Any livestock/poultry farm household, Dole plantation whether farming or non-farming, tending at least one head/bird of animals and does not Bukidnon Pineapple capital qualify as a commercial farm Commercial Farm Del monte plantation ○ Any livestock/poultry farm which satisfies at Amadeo, Cavite Coffee capital least one of the following conditions: Tending at least 21 heads of adult Guimaras Mango capital and at least zero head of young Tending at least 41 heads of young Ilocos Tobacco capital animals Tending at least 10 heads of adult Nueva Vizcaya Onion capital and at least 22 heads of young At least 500 layer, or 1, 000 broiler Festivals are celebrated for a productive harvest chicken Forage At least 100 layers and 100 broilers ○ Crops that are grown as food for domestic if raised in combination animals At least 100 birds of duck regardless of age Livestock PSA usually surveys the following major commodities: ○ 4 livestock (cattle, carabao, goat and swine) and 4 poultry (chicken, chicken egg, duck and duck egg) Food Security Is grazing on rangelands an environmental benefit or problem? Advantages Disadvantages Can be used to control Damage habitats and invasive plants cause soil erosion Incorporates organic Destroy native plants matter from plants into soils Can enhance mineral Can lead to water variability through contamination in nutrient cycling riparian/water habitats Global Food Security In 2021, the number of people in Crisis or worse ○ Hunger levels remain high (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above) or equivalent reached the ○ Increasing food insecurity highest level in the six editions of the Global Report ○ Agricultural Price Index is 14% higher in on Food Crises ○ June 16, 2022 compared to January 2022 ○ Domestic price inflation continues to rise: 94% of low-income 89% of lower-middle-income 83% of upper-middle-income 70% of high-income countries ○ IPC Acute Food Insecurity Classification Phase 1: Minimal/None Phase 2: Stressed Phase 3: Crisis Phase 4: Emergency Phase 5: Catastrophe/Famine Populations in Emergency Philippines under IPC Chronic Food Insecurity Classification Populations in Stressed Soils Soil Fertility ○ Capacity of the soil to supply nutrients necessary for plant growth ○ Soils from geologically young materials are rich in nutrients ○ Humid and tropical areas may have heavily leached soils Restoring our Soils ○ Organic fertilizers and animal manure improves soil fertility, but with drawbacks ○ Limiting factors include the types of chemicals (macro and micronutrients) required by crops ○ Liebig’s Law of the Minimum ○ Impact of aquaculture drugs and chemicals The growth of a plant is affected by on the environment and public health one limiting factor at a time—the ○ Lack of culture technologies for new species one whose availability is the least in ○ Effective quarantine measures for new comparison to the needs of a plant aquaculture species brought into the country Fertilizers and Pesticides ○ Pollution and environmental degradation ○ Major Inorganic Fertilizers in the ○ Technology for recycling wastewater from Philippines (N-P-K ratio) intensive and semi-intensive farms Urea (46-0-0) ○ Weak information exchange and networking Ammonium Sulfate (21-0-0) in the marketing of aquaculture Ammonium Phosphate (16-20-0) ○ products Diammonium Phosphate (18-46-0) ○ Lack of appropriate policies in aquaculture Complete (14-14-14) Muriate of Potash (0-0-60) Best Management Practices in Agriculture ○ Common Types of Pesticides in the Defined as a means, a practice or combination of Philippines practices determined by the coordinating agencies, Organophosphates based on research, field testing and expert review, to be Carbamates the most effective and practicable on-location means, Pyrethroids including economic and technological considerations, ○ Common Crops that Use Pesticides for improving water quality in agricultural and urban Vegetables discharges Banana Categories of Practices Rice ○ Nutrient management to determine nutrient needs and sources and manage nutrient Philippine Aquaculture applications (including manure) to minimize Objective of Aquaculture Development impacts to water resources. ○ Increased aquaculture contribution to total ○ Irrigation management to address the food fish requirement method and scheduling of irrigation to ○ Improved incomes for rural families reduce water and nutrient losses to the ○ Improved and efficient utilization of culture environment. areas and accelerated development of ○ Water resource protection using buffers, underutilized fishponds setbacks and swales to reduce or prevent the ○ Increased utilization of lakes, rivers, other transport of sediments and nutrients from inland bodies of water, and coastal areas production areas to water bodies appropriate for mariculture ○ Increased export of aquaculture produced products Major Aquaculture Species in the Philippines ○ Seaweed (Kappaphycus and eucheuma spp.) ○ Milkfish (Chanos chanos) ○ Tilapia (Nile tilapia oreochromis niloticus) ○ Shrimp (Giant tiger prawn penaeus monodon) ○ Carp (Bighead carp aristichthys nobilis) ○ Oyster (Slipper cupped oyster crassostrea iredalei) ○ Mussel (Green mussel perna viridis) General Constraints and Problems ○ Poor quality, dwindling supply, low survival rate, high incidence of abnormalities, outbreak of diseases in some aquaculture species ○ High cost and poor quality of feeds ○ Lack of biodegradable pesticides