Intro to Environmental Science PDF

 The “environment” is often a term used to describe the natural world. In fact, the environment includes all living things and the nonliving things with which they interact. Humans are part of the environment. We interact with it and rely on it for our survival.  Environmental Science is not…...

 The “environment” is often a term used to describe the natural world. In fact, the environment includes all living things and the nonliving things with which they interact. Humans are part of the environment. We interact with it and rely on it for our survival.  Environmental Science is not… Environmental activism- A social movement in which people or organizations advocate for protection of the natural environment. Ecology- A purely scientific study of natural environments. Environmental Science is… The study of ecology as well as focusing on how humans affect the environment and ways to address environmental problems. An interdisciplinary approach- involves biology, chemistry, earth science, economics, and political science  Renewable natural resources are naturally replenished over short periods of time. Nonrenewable natural resources take a long time to replenish. All resources can be found somewhere on this continuum. Resources must be used at a sustainable rate- one that replaces what’s used at the same rate. Environmental scientists can help us determine how to use resources sustainably.  Two major events have changed the course of human history and the way we interact with natural resources. 1. The Agricultural Revolution- Humans shifted from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to live in communities, raise livestock and plant crops. 2. The Industrial Revolution- The production of machinery allowed for advances in medicine, agriculture, and other technologies. Both events led to increases in human life spans, health, and the human population overall.  Environmental science is the study of the interactions of living and nonliving things as well as the economic and political issues that arise from using natural resources. Increases in the human population from the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions have made it challenging to use resources in a sustainable way.  It is not just the number of humans on earth that presents a problem in consuming resources. We also need to consider how much of the resources are used per person. An ecological footprint is a measure of the demands made by one person or group on global natural resources. An ecological footprint includes the materials and resources consumed AND the resources needed to dispose of the waste produced  This map shows the comparison of ecological footprints for each country. Although ecological footprints are generally used to refer to humans, all organisms have some ecological footprint.  Communal Resources Activity To complete this activity, use the instructions given on the activity paper. Family #10 Family #1 Family #9 Family #2 Family #8 Family #3 Family #4 Family #7 Family #5 Family #6 © Gnature with Gnat 2016  Tragedy of the Commons- When a shared (common) resource is unregulated, individuals will consume it at a selfish rate. In order to sustainably use our natural resources, we need individual responsibility, community cooperation or government regulations. Commercial fishing can deplete marine resources without any regulation. What other examples of the Tragedy of the Commons can you think of?  The natural resources consumed and the waste produced contributes to an individual’s ecological footprint. If this consumption rate is unchecked, it can lead to the Tragedy of the Commons, in which our natural resources are depleted too quickly.  Economics is the study of the production and consumption of scarce resources and they way they affect behavior. Supply and demand drive economics. Supply= the amount of a resource available. Demand= the number of people that are willing to purchase or use that resource. Examples of environmental resources in scarce supply: fresh water, minerals, coal, oil, animals, topsoil, etc.  When supply is high and demand is low, the price of a resource is low. When demand increases, however, or supply decreases, the price of the resource can be driven up.  Economics comes into play in every environmental decision. Not only do decision makers need to think about the cost of a resource, but also whether it is worth what is gained. This process of decision making is called a cost-benefit analysis. When using environmental resource, costs can include supply prices, labor, time, and environmental impacts.  The values applied to a portion of the environment is based on the ecosystem services for that area. There are 4 types of ecosystem services: Provisioning Regulating Cultural Supporting  Provisioning= goods that humans use directly from the ecosystem. Example: Marine ecosystems provide provisioning services because humans eat the animals living there.  Regulating= the ability of an ecosystem to regulate air, soil, or water quality, provide flood control or disease control. Example: Wetlands provide regulating services by improving water quality and holding water to provide flood control.  Cultural= non-material benefits that people obtain from the ecosystem Example: Rivers provide recreational opportunities for water sport enthusiasts.  Supporting= provides the necessities to allow an ecosystem to function Example: Forests provide organic matter for decomposers, provide wind breaks allowing other plants to survive, and provide oxygen for animals to breathe.  All ecosystem services must be evaluated as part of a cost-benefit analysis when an ecosystem will be disrupted.  The economics of supply and demand affect the cost-benefit analysis for making environmental decisions. Every ecosystem provides services that must also be evaluated when making these decisions.  Centuries ago, the resources found in the environment seemed limitless. As the US and global population grew, resources began to be depleted. Without government policies in place, individual self-interest may create irreparable damage to the environment. (Tragedy of the Commons)  Environmental policies are simply rules put in place to regulate the effects of human activities on the environment. Environmental policies can be made on local, state, national, or global levels.  Environmental policies generally fit into 2 categories: Regulations Incentives  1. Regulations These policies focus on the threat of punishment if rules are not followed. Although these worked well for some of the first US environmental policies, they are expensive to enforce and often not the best way to manage industry. Example: Clean Water Act regulates the discharge of pollutants into surface water.  2. Incentives- the encouragement of an environmentally friendly activity through subsidies (payments by government) or tax breaks (reduction of taxes owed). Example: Residential homeowners can receive a tax credit for adding solar panels to their homes.  Cap-and-trade policies are a combination of both regulations & incentives. Regulation: the total amount of a pollutant is limited (capped). Incentive (trade): polluting companies buy permits that can be sold and traded to other companies if the limit is not reached. Example: Greenhouse gas emissions.  Environmental policies are rules and regulations to help conserve common resources. They can be categorized into regulations or incentives. The cap-and-trade policies are a combination of both types.