Introduction To Environmental Science PDF

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL z SCIENCE  z This lecture will help you understand ▪ The meaning of the term environment ▪ The importance of natural resources ▪ That environmental science is interdisciplinary ▪ The scientific method and how science op...

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL z SCIENCE  z This lecture will help you understand ▪ The meaning of the term environment ▪ The importance of natural resources ▪ That environmental science is interdisciplinary ▪ The scientific method and how science operates ▪ Some pressures facing the global environment ▪ Sustainability and sustainable development Environment z the total of our surroundings ✓ All the things that we interact. Living things (animals, plants, forest, fungi, etc. Non- living things (continents, oceans, clouds, soil, rocks) Our built environment (Buildings, human-created living centers) Social relationships and institutions Human exist within the environment z ▪ Human exist within the environment and are part of nature Our survival depends on a healthy, functioning planet. ▪ The fundamental insight of environmental science is that we are part of the natural world. Our interactions with its other parts matter a great deal. Humans and the world around us z ▪ Humans depend completely on the environment for survival. Enriched and longer lives, increased wealth, health, mobility, leisure time ▪ But natural systems have been degraded ▪ Pollution, erosion, and species extinction ▪ Environmental changes threaten long-term health and survival  Behavior emerges as a result of an z individual's personal characteristics and their environment. Lewin introduced the idea of: Psychological field: The total sum of all forces and influences that can impact a person's behavior. It incorporates situational, cultural, and social elements. Life space: This represents a person's unique experience and reality. It includes their feelings, thoughts, perceptions, goals, and experiences. The FATHER of modern social psychology.  VARIOUS z TYPES OF ENVIRONMENT (Kurt Lewin) ▪ Physical Environment -refers to geographical climate and weather or physical conditions ▪ Social Environment -include an individual’s social, economic and political condition where in he live. ▪ Psychological Environment -Psychological environment enables us to understand the personality of an individual. Both the person and his goal form psychological environment.  Environmental Science is z the study of How the natural world works. How the environment affects humans and vice versa ▪ With environmental problems come opportunities for solutions.  Natural resources vital to human z survival ▪ Natural resources=substances and energy sources needed for survival Renewable resources -Perpetually available (sunlight, wind, wave energy) -Renew themselves over short periods of time (timber, water, soil) -These can be destroyed Non-Renewable -can be depleted (Oil, coal, minerals)  THE SEVEN (7) z ENVIRONMENTAL PRINCIPLES 1.Everything is connected to everything else.  THE SEVEN (7) z ENVIRONMENTAL PRINCIPLES 2.All forms of life is important.  THE SEVEN (7) z ENVIRONMENTAL PRINCIPLES 3.Everything must go somewhere.  THE SEVEN (7) z ENVIRONMENTAL PRINCIPLES 4.Nature knows best.  THE SEVEN (7) z ENVIRONMENTAL PRINCIPLES 5.Ours is a finite earth.  THE SEVEN (7) z ENVIRONMENTAL PRINCIPLES 6.Nature is beautiful and we are the stewards of God’s creation.  THE SEVEN (7) z ENVIRONMENTAL PRINCIPLES 7.Everything changes.  GLOBAL z HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH ▪ More than 6.7 billion humans ▪ Why so many humans? -Agricultural revolution -Stable food supplies -Industrial revolution -Urbanized society powered by fossil fuels -Sanitation and medicines -More food Thomas Malthus and human population z ▪ Thomas Malthus ▪ Population growth must be controlled, or it will outstrip food production. Subject study Poor law, political economy, saving, population growth, human being. was an English economist and demographer who is best known for his 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.  Resource consumption exerts impacts z ▪ GARRET HARDIN’S ‘’tragedy of the commons’’ (1968) -Unregulated exploitation causes resource depletion -Grazing lands, forests, air, water -No one has the incentive to care for a Solution? resource. Private ownership? Voluntary organization to enforce responsible use? -Everyone takes what he or she can Governmental until the resource is depleted. regulations?  Thez ‘’ecological footprint’’ ▪ The environmental impact of a person or population ▪ Amount of biologically productive land + water ▪ For resources and to dispose/recycle waste ‘’Humans have surpassed the Earth’s capacity to support us’’ We are using 30% more of the planet’s resources than are available on a sustainable basis. Environmental z Science ▪ Can help us avoid mistakes made by past civilizations -Human survival depends on how we interact with our environment. -Our impacts are now global. -Many great civilizations have Eastern island fallen after depleting their resources.  Environmental Science z How the natural world works Environment Impact Human ▪ Its goal -developing solutions to environmental problems ▪ An interdisciplinary field -Natural sciences.. Information about the natural world -Environmental Science programs -Social sciences.. Study human interactions and behavior -Environmental Studies programs z Environmental science is not a environmentalism ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE ✓ The pursuit of knowledge about the natural world ✓ Scientists try to remain objective ENVIRONMENTALISM ✓ Environmental activism ✓ A social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world  The nature of Science z ▪ Science -A systematic process for learning about the world and testing our understanding of it - The accumulated body of knowledge that results from a dynamic process of observation, testing, and discovery ▪ Science is essential -To sort fact from fiction -Develop solutions to the problems we face  z Scientist test ideas ▪ Scientist examine how the world works by observing, measuring,and testing -Involves critical thinking and sketicism ▪ Observational (descriptive)science.. Scientists gather information about something not well known or that cannot be manipulated in experiments -Astronomy, paleonthology, taxonomy, molecular biology ▪ Hypothesis-driven science.. Research that proceeds in a structured manner using experiments to test hypotheses through the scientific method. The Scientific method z ▪ A technique for testing ideas ▪ A scientist makes an observation and ask questions of some phenomenon. ▪ The scientist formulates a hypothesis, a statement that attempts to answer the question ▪ The hypothesis is used to generate predictions/experiment, specific statements that can be tested ▪ The conclusion support the reject hypothesis ▪ Experiment z -An activity that tests the validity of a hypothesis ▪ Variables -condition that can be manipulated and/or measured Dependent variable Independent Variable A variable that is affected by the A condition that is manipulated manipulation of thr independent variable Controlled experiment Control Treatment The unmanipulated point of The manipulated point of comparison comparoson Data –information that is generally quantitative (numerical)  Experiments test the validity of a hypothesis z ▪ MANIPULATIVE EXPERIMENTS –yield the strongest evidence -Provides the strongest type of evidence -Reveal causal relationships –Changes in independent variables cause changes in dependent variables -But many things can’t be manipulated –long-term or large scale questions (i.e. global climate change) NATURAL –experiments show real-world complexity -Only feasible approach for ecosystem or planet scale -Results are not so neat and clean, so answers aren’t simply black and white  The z scientific process is part of a larger process ▪ Peer-review – other scientists comments and criticism -Guard against faulty science ▪ Conference presentations improve the quality of the science -Sentists interact with their colleagues ▪ Grants and funding come from private or government agencies. -Can lead to conflict of interest if the data show the funding source in an unfavorable light. -The scientist may be reluctant to publish or doctor the results.  THEORIES AND PARADIGMS z ▪ A consistently supported hypothesis becomes a theory, a widely accepted explanation of one or more cause- asnd –effect relationships -Has been extensively and rigorously tested, so confidence in a theory is extremely strong -Darwin’s theory of evolution, atomic theory, cell theory, big bang theory, plate tectonics, general relativity -Differs from the popular meaning of theory, which suggests a speculative idea without much substance ▪ With enough data, a paradigm shift- a change in the dominant view- can occur.  z ETHICS ▪ The study of good and bad, right and wrong -The set of moral principles or values held by a person or society that tells us how we ought to behave -People use criteria, standards, or rules when making judgements. -Different cultures or worldviews lead to different values, which lead to different actions. RELATIVIST- ethics vary with social context ▪ UNIVERSALISTS- right and wrong remains the same across cultures and situations  z Ethical standards ▪ Ethical Standards –criteria that help differentiate right from wrong -Classical standard=virtue -The golden rule –treat others as you want to be treated -UTILITY – something right procedures the most benefits for the most people  ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS z ▪ Environmental ethics –application of ethical standards to relationships between human and non-human entities -Hard to resolve –depends on the person’s ethical standards -Depends on the person’s domain of ethical concern Should we conserve It is OK to destroy resources for future a forest to create generations? jobs for people? It is OK for some Should we drive communities to other species to be exposed to extinction? excess pollution? THREE ETHICAL PERSPECTIVES z ▪ ANTROPOCENTRISM- Only humans have rights -Costs and benefits are measured only according to their impact -Anything not providing benefit to people has no value ▪ BIOCENTRISM-certain living things else have value -All life has ethical standing -Development is opposed if it destroys life, even if it creates jobs ▪ ECOCENTRISM-whole ecological systems have value -Values the well being of species, communities, or ecosystems -Holistic perspective, stresses preserving connections z The preservation ethic ▪ Unspoiled nature should be pro z  z The preservation ethic ▪ Unspoiled nature should be protected for its own inherent value. -We should protect our environment in a pristine state, because it promotes human happiness and fulfillment.  The conservation ethic z ▪ Use natural resources wisely for the greatest good for the most people GIFFORD PINCHOT – had an anthropocentric viewpoint was an important figure in the American conservation movement Pinchot tripled the nation’s forest reserves, protecting their long term health for both conservation and recreational use. protecting the parks as a “social good” and recognized that national forests had value not only because of their beauty but also because of the resources they provided to citizens.  z The Land Ethic ▪ Healthy ecological systems depend on protecting all parts. -Aldo Leopold believed that humans should view themselves and the land as members of the same community -We are obligated to treat the land ethically -The land ethic will help guide decision making  ECOFEMINISM z ▪ In the 1960s and 1970s, feminist scholars saw parallels in how people treated nature and how men treated women. -degradation, social oppression ▪ A patriarchal (male- dominated)society is a root cause of both social and environmental problems.  z Environmental Justice ▪ Involves the fair treatment of all people with respect to the environment, regardless of race, income, or ethnicity. ▪ The poor and minorities are exposed to more pollution, hazards, and environmental degradation. ▪ Despite progress, significant inequalities remain. z