Environmental Biology (BSC 300) Lecture Notes PDF

无忧PPT整理发布 1  Environmental Biology (BSC 300) Course Instructor: Dr. Humaira Yasmin Assistant Professor Dept. of Biosciences COMSATS University, Islamabad...

无忧PPT整理发布 1  Environmental Biology (BSC 300) Course Instructor: Dr. Humaira Yasmin Assistant Professor Dept. of Biosciences COMSATS University, Islamabad Email: [email protected] 无忧PPT整理发布 2 Objective of the Course 1. The objective of the course is to introduce the subject and give the students a basic understanding of the concepts of Environmental biology 无忧PPT整理发布 3  Course outline 1. Introduction and importance 2. Concept of living environment and global Ecosystems (atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere, ecosphere) 3. Carbon-energy balance and climate change 4. Solar radiation and primary production 5. Energy resources for now and for future 6. Carbon dioxide and global climate change 无忧PPT整理发布 4  Cont… Pollution control through ecology Species response to pollutants, microcosms and mesocosms to study effects of pollutants on communities Phytoremediations and bioremediations 无忧PPT整理发布 5  Cont… Conservation and management of wild species human influence on biodiversity extinction, biodiversity conservation coexistence of species species-area relationship 无忧PPT整理发布 6  Marks weightage/distributio n 1st Sessional Exam : (10) 2nd Sessional Exam : (15) Assignments/ Presentations (4) : (10) Quizzes (4) : (15) Final Exam : (50) 无忧PPT整理发布 7  Paper pattern Objectives  MCQs,  Fill in the blanks  True/false  Label the diagrams  Short questions Definitions 无忧PPT整理发布 8  LOGO Unit 1 Introduction to Environmental Science 无忧PPT整理发布  Basic terms Environmental science Environmental studies Environmentalism Ecology Ecosystem 无忧PPT整理发布  Definitions Environmental science (or studies) It is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physical, biological and information sciences (including ecology, biology, physics, chemistry, plant science, zoology , mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geography (geodesy), and atmospheric science) to study the environment, and the solution of environmental problems. 无忧PPT整理发布 Environmental science: how the natural world works Its goal: developing solutions to environmental problems An interdisciplinary field Natural sciences: information about the natural world Social sciences: study human interactions and behavior 无忧PPT整理发布  Definitions Environmentalism The political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities. Environmentalism is a different way of thinking in which people try to care more about the planet and the long-term survival of life on Earth. It means recognizing the planet's environmental problems and coming up with solutions (individually and collectively). 无忧PPT整理发布 Environmental science is not 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 无忧PPT整理发布  More definitions Ecology the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings/natural environment. Ecosystem An ecosystem includes all of the living things (plants, animals and organisms) in a given area, interacting with each other, and also with their non-living environments (weather, earth, sun, soil, 无忧PPT整理发布 climate, atmosphere). Environment: the total of our surroundings All the things around us with which we interact: Living things Animals, plants, forests, fungi, etc. Non-living things Continents, oceans, clouds, soil, rocks Our built environment Buildings, human-created living centers Social relationships and institutions 无忧PPT整理发布 16  Humans exist within the environment Humans exist within the environment and are part of nature. Our survival depends on a healthy, functioning planet. We are part of the natural world. Our interactions with its other parts matter a great deal. This idea is fundamental to environmental science and conservation biology 无忧PPT整理发布 17  Humans and the world around us 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 Species extinction Environmental changes threaten long-term health and survival. 无忧PPT整理发布 18  Environmental science is the study of  How the natural world works  How the environment affects humans and vice versa  With environmental problems come opportunities for solutions. 无忧PPT整理发布 19  Natural resources: vital to human survival substances and energy sources needed for survival  Perpetually renewable resources: sunlight, wind, wave energy  Renewable over short periods of time: timber, water, soil, wildlife These can be destroyed  Non-renewable resources: Oil, coal, minerals 无忧PPT整理发布 These can be depleted  Ethics Ethics: the study of good and bad, right and wrong "the branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles”  The set of moral principles or values held by a person or society that tells us how we ought to behave. 无忧PPT整理发布  Environmental ethics is the discipline in philosophy that studies the moral relationship of human beings to the environment and its non- human contents. “The field of environmental ethics concerns human beings' ethical relationship with the natural environment” The application of ethical standards to relationship between human and nonhuman entities  Hard to resolve: it depends on the person’s ethical standards and domain of ethical concern. 无忧PPT整理发布 22  Environmental ethics Should we Is it OK to destroy conserve wildlife a forest to create for future certain jobs for generations? people? Should we drive other species to extinction Is it OK to hunt or to maintain economic trap animals? growth? 无忧PPT整理发布  Three ethical perspectives  Anthropocentrism: only humans have rights – Anything not providing benefits to people has no value y  Biocentrism: certain living things have value – All life-human and nonhuman-has ethical standing – Opposes development that destroys life-even if it creates jobs  Ecocentrism: whole ecological system have value – Values the well-being of species, communities, ecosystems – Holistic – it preserves connections between entities 无忧PPT整理发布 24  无忧PPT整理发布 25  Environment & Sustainability  Environmental sustainability is defined as responsible interaction with the environment to avoid depletion or degradation of natural resources and allow for long-term environmental quality.... However, when man enters the picture and uses many of the natural resources provided by the environment, things change. 无忧PPT整理发布 26  Sustainable development  It defines sustainable development in the following ways…  …development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.  … sustainable development is not a fixed state of harmony, but rather a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the orientation of the technological development, and institutional change are made consistent with future as well 无忧PPT整理发布 as present needs. 27  Environmental equity  While much progress is being made to improve resource efficiency, far less progress has been made to improve resource distribution. Currently, just one- fifth of the global population is consuming three-quarters of the earth’s resources (Figure 1). 无忧PPT整理发布 28  无忧PPT整理发布 29  precautionary principle  The precautionary principle is an important concept in environmental sustainability. A 1998 consensus statement characterized the precautionary principle this way: “when an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically”. 无忧PPT整理发布 30  For example, if a new pesticide chemical is created, the precautionary principle would dictate that we presume, for the sake of safety, that the chemical may have potential negative consequences for the environment and/or human health, even if such consequences have not been proven yet.  In other words, it is best to proceed cautiously in the face of incomplete knowledge about something’s potential harm. 无忧PPT整理发布 31