Environmental Science - Chapter I Introduction

GE-Elect: Environmental Science Chapter I: Introduction to Environmental Science CJQ Learning Objectives Brief History of Environmental Science Principle of the Population Silent Spring Tragedy of the Commons...

GE-Elect: Environmental Science Chapter I: Introduction to Environmental Science CJQ Learning Objectives Brief History of Environmental Science Principle of the Population Silent Spring Tragedy of the Commons 1960s-1970s 1980s-1990s 2000s-present Integrative Fields in the Environmental Science PALAWAN STATE UNIVERSITY Mission and Vision “For Sustainable Development” Overview The term “Environment” was derived from a French word “environner” which means to encircle or to surround. These include living(biotic) and nonliving(abiotic) things that surround us. In this Chapter I, we will mainly focus on tracing the brief history of Environmental Science. Each student will accomplish an exit pass by the end of discussion. 1.1 Brief History of Environmental Science 1. Principle of the Population by Thomas Robert Malthus 1798, English economist and demographer Theory that population growth will always tend to outrun the food supply and that betterment of humankind is impossible without stern limits on reproduction. This thinking is commonly referred to as Malthusianism. 2. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (DDT) It meticulously described how DDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) entered the food chain and accumulated in the fatty tissues of animals, including human beings, and caused cancer and genetic damage. The book's most haunting and famous chapter, "A Fable for Tomorrow," depicted a nameless American town where all life—from fish to birds to apple blossoms to human children—had been "silenced" by the insidious effects of DDT. 3. Tragedy of the Commons by Garrett Hardin 1968 Explored the concept of the environment as a common area, subject to misuse in the absence of regulation. The proliferation of publications and community protests sent the message to state and national government that the pollution problem needed to appear on their agendas. According to the commons theory, each individual gains much more than he or she loses by overusing a commonly held resource, so its destruction is simply an inevitable consequence of normal and rational behavior. 4. 1960s-1970s A period of growth for the environmental movement. The movement began with a newfound interest in preservationist issues. Wilderness Act of 1964 - which permanently set aside certain federal lands from commercial economic development in order to preserve them in their natural state.; controlling pollution. Clean Air Acts of 1963 and 1967 ; Clean Water Act of 1960, and the Water Quality Act of 1965. a. Earth Day (22 April 1970, New York) - to focus the public's attention on threats to the environment. - Earth Day was organized by Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson, who wanted to send "a big message to the politicians—a message to tell them to wake up and do something." 4. 1960s-1970s In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed into law the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which required an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for all "major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.“ Congress passed important legislation to control pollution. The most significant of these new laws included the Clear Air Act of 1970, Pesticide Control Act of 1972, Ocean Dumping Act of 1972, Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 Clean Air Act of 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976 5. 1980s-1990s The 1980s: Environmental Backlash And Radical Environmentalism Espousing a conservative, pro-business ideology, Reagan sought to free American corporations from an expanding regulatory apparatus. Reagan capitalized on the late 1970s Sagebrush Rebellion On Earth Day 1990, President Bush stated that "Every day is Earth Day“ a. Summits - 1992 Earth Summit - The result was that the NGOs drafted their own alternative plans, put together daily news on their conference and delivered it to the hotels of those attending the main conference, and essentially—not much was truly accomplished at the first Earth Summit. 5. 1980s-1990s The Global Environment And The 1990s B. Protocol Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987, United States) The protocol pledged the signees to eliminate the production of chlorofluorocarbons, which cause destruction to the ozone layer. Kyoto Protocol which set forth timetables and emission targets for the reduction of greenhouse gases that cause global warming 6. 2000-present September 2000, 189 countries gathered at the United Nations and signed the historic Millennium Declaration Goals (MDGs) 6. 2000-present The Global Consultation of Sustainable Development Goals 1.2. INTEGRATIVE FIELDS IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Ecology a plethora of things, including how a specific species or a group of living creatures are influenced by their environment or some specific aspects of it. Chemistry Environmental chemistry goes into more detail, and it explores things like chemical effects on different plants, the chemical degradation of the environment, and the way chemicals get transported through the environment. 1.2. INTEGRATIVE FIELDS IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Physics as the branch of physics concerned with the measurement and analysis of interactions between organisms and their environment. Most commonly, the organisms are plants and animals, and the environment is the atmospheric or soil environment in which they are surrounded. Social Science broadly the study of the relationship between individuals in their context within society – and its application to our understanding of environmental issues. EXIT PASS