Lecture 1: Introduction to Environmental Studies - Mashreq University PDF

Environmental Studies Lecture (1): Introduction of Environmental Studies Eng. Aneesa Elhaj disteducation.mashreq.edu.sd/ Reference  Course Outlines ▶ Unit 1: Introduction to Environmental Studies ▶ Unit 2: Natural Resources. ▶...

Environmental Studies Lecture (1): Introduction of Environmental Studies Eng. Aneesa Elhaj disteducation.mashreq.edu.sd/ Reference  Course Outlines ▶ Unit 1: Introduction to Environmental Studies ▶ Unit 2: Natural Resources. ▶ Unit 3: Ecosystems. ▶ Unit 4: Biodiversity and Its Conservation. ▶ Unit 5: Environmental Pollution.  Objectives ▶ To impart basic knowledge about the environment and its allied problems. ▶ To create the awareness about environmental problems among people. ▶ To develop an attitude of concern for the environment. ▶ Motivate public to participate in environment protection and environment improvement. ▶ To suggest the pathways to attain harmony with nature.  Learning Outcomes 1. Demonstrate mastery of core ecological and physical science concepts and methods as they pertain to environmental problem-solving. 2. Recognize and integrate the international, cross-cultural, and transdisciplinary nature of environmental problems in analyses and solutions.  Cont. 1. 3. Produce a culminating/multi-scale piece of work demonstrating the ability to synthesize concepts and methods to make a contribution to environmental solutions. 2. Apply proficiency in analytical methods, critical thinking, communication, and leadership skills sufficient to make a contribution in environmental and related fields. Introduction of Environmental Studies  Outlines  Definition of Environmental.  Environmental Issues.  Definition of Environmental Studies.  Scope.  Sustainable Utilization (Development).  Some of Environmental terminologies.  Environment Segments.  Environment Environment : It is the Complex of Physical, Chemical & Biotic factors affecting an organism and ultimately determining its form and survival. Environmental Issues  Environmental Issues It is the adverse effects that human endeavors have on their natural surroundings. Environmental issues can manifest themselves in the form of momentary or long-lasting shifts in water, the atmosphere, and terrain as a direct consequence of human activity. These shifts can have permanent or reversible consequences for the planet. Environmental studies  Environmental studies Environmental studies :  It is a multidisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human interaction with the environment. Environmental studies connects principles from the physical sciences, commerce, economics, the humanities, and social sciences to address complex contemporary environmental issues  Cont.  Environment Studies : Individuals study the environment to gain an awareness of living things and environmental characteristics and how to handle difficult ecological challenges impacting nature. Learning how humans should live or how they might build viable solutions to safeguard the global ecosystem is the central focus of the academic discipline.  Cont.  It deals with every issue that affects an organism.  It is essentially a multidisciplinary approach that brings about an appreciation of our natural world and human impacts on its integrity.  Cont.  It is an applied science as its seeks practical answers to making human civilization sustainable on the earth’s finite re-sources.  Its components include biology, geology, chemistry, physics, engineering, sociology, health, anthropology, economics, statistics, computers and philosophy. Scope of Environmental Studies  Scope of Environmental Studies  At the area in which we live, we see that our surroundings were originally a natural landscape such as a forest, a river, a mountain, a desert, or a combination of these elements.  Most of us live in landscapes that have been heavily modified by human beings, in villages, towns or cities.  Cont.  Even those of us who live in cities get food supply from surrounding villages and these in turn are dependent on natural landscapes such as forests, grasslands, rivers, seashores, for resources such as water for agriculture, fuel wood, fodder, and fish.  Thus our daily lives are linked with our surroundings and inevitably affects them.  We use water to drink and for other day-to-day activities.  Cont.  We breathe air, we use resources from which food is made and we depend on the community of living plants and animals which form a web of life, of which we are also a part.  Everything around us forms our environment and our lives depend on keeping its vital systems as intact as possible.  Cont.  Our dependence on nature is so great that we cannot continue to live without protecting the earth’s environmental resources.  Thus most traditions refer to our environment as ‘Mother Nature’ and most traditional societies have learned that respecting nature is vital for their livelihoods.  Cont.  The industrial development and intensive agriculture that provides the goods for our increasingly consumer oriented society uses up large amounts of natural resources such as water, minerals, petroleum products, wood, etc.  Non-renewable resources ,such as minerals and oil are those which will be exhausted in the future if we continue to extract these without a thought for subsequent generations.  Cont.  Renewable resources, such as timber and water, are those which can be used but can be regenerated by natural processes such as regrowth or rainfall. But these too will be depleted if we continue to use them faster than nature can replace them.  Cont.  For example, if the removal of timber and firewood from a forest is faster than the regrowth and regeneration of trees, it can-not replenish the supply. And loss of forest cover not only depletes the forest of its resources, such as timber and other non-wood products, but affect our water resources because an intact natural forest acts like a sponge which holds water and releases it slowly.  Sustainable Utilization (Development)  Our natural resources can be compared with money in a bank. If we use it rapidly, the capital will be reduced to zero.  On the other hand, if we use only the interest, it can sustain us over the longer term. This is called sustainable utilization or development.  Some of Environmental terminologies These terms of Environment are most important and we must know about these technical terms. 1. Ecology. 2. Organisms. 3. Species. 4. Ecosystem. 5. Micro Organism. 6. Microbes. 7. Pathogens. 8. Biodiversity.  Cont. 1. Ecology: Ecology deals with the living & non-living components of the environment in relation to their surrounding. 2. Organisms: Any living entity Animal or Plant which capable of growth and reproduction are called organisms.  Cont. 3.Species: A group of organisms having common attributes/quality are called Species. 4. Ecosystem: An ecosystem is a community of living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment (things like air, water and mineral soil), interacting as a system.  Cont. 5. Micro Organism: Very small living entity see only with the help of microscope is called micro-organisms. 6.Microbes: Micro Organisms are simply called microbes, all microbes are not harmful for human health. 7. Pathogens: Harmful microbes which causes disease.  Cont. 8. Biodiversity : Biodiversity is the variety of different types of life found on earth. It is a measure of the variety of organisms present in different ecosystems.  Environment Segments Environment is consists of following four segments: 1. Lithosphere. 2. Hydrosphere. 3. Biosphere. 4. Atmosphere.  Lithosphere  The earth is divided in to layers as shown in fig: 2  The lithosphere consists of upper mantle and the crust.  The crust is the earth’s outer skin that is accessible to human. The crust consists of rocks and soil of which the latter is the important part of Fig 2 : Layers of earth lithosphere.  Hydrosphere  The hydrosphere is a collective term given to all different forms of water.  It includes all types of water resources such as oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, streams, reservoirs, glaciers and ground waters. Fig 3: Distribution of earth's water supply  Biosphere  The biosphere refers to the realm of living organisms and their interactions with the environment (atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere).  The biosphere is very large and complex and is divided into smaller units called ecosystems.  Plants, animals and microorganisms which live in a definite zone along with physical factors such as soil, water and air constitute an ecosystem.  Within each ecosystems there are dynamic inter relationships between living forms and their physical environment.  Atmosphere  The atmosphere is the protective blanket of gases which is surrounding the earth. It protects the earth from the hostile environment of outer space.  The lowest layer, the troposphere, the only part warm enough for us to survive in, is only 12 kilometers thick.  It absorbs IR radiations emitted by the sun and reemitted from the earth and thus controls the temperature of the earth.  Cont.  It allows transmission of significant amounts of radiation only in the regions of 300 – 2500 nm (near UV, Visible, and near IR) and 0.01 – 40 meters (radio waves). i.e it filters tissue damaging UV radiation below 300 nm.  The stratosphere is 50 kilometers thick and contains a layer of sulphates which is important for the formation of rain.  Cont.  It also contains a layer of ozone, which absorbs ultra-violet light known to cause cancer and without which, no life could exist on earth.  The atmosphere is not uniformly warmed by the sun. This leads to air flows and variations in climate, temperature and rainfall in different parts of the earth.  Cont.  It acts as a source for CO2 for plant photosynthesis and O2 for respiration.  It acts as a source for nitrogen for nitrogen fixing bacteria and ammonia producing plants.  The atmosphere transports water from ocean to land.  Review Questions 1. What is the rarity of the resource and where does it originate? 2. Who uses it most intensively and how? 3. How is it being overused or misused? 4. Who is responsible for its improper use the resource collector, the middleman, the end user? 5. How can we help to conserve it and prevent its unsustainable use? 40