Download Ch.1 - HCC Learning Web

Houston Community College/ Southeast
GEOL1305
Environmental Science
Fourteen Edition
Enger & Smith
Topics








Ecological Systems
Environmental Ethics & Risk
Natural Resources & Biodiversity
Energy Resources
Pollution
Land Use & Agriculture
Water Management
Environmental Regulations & Policy
Chapter 1
Environmental Interrelationships





The Nature of
Environmental Science
Interrelatedness
Ecological Systems
Emerging Global
Issues
Human Well-Being
and the Environment
What is Environmental Science?
* Environment is everything that surrounds organisms
and affects them during their lifetime.
* Surroundings might be Biotic (living) and Abiotic
(nonliving).
* Earth is composed of 4 major subsystems: the air, the
oceans, the land and the biosphere.
4. The effect of human activities on these subsystems is
of particular interest to be studied and understood,
therefore science is needed.
What is science?




Science is a process of discovery… a continuing
adventure of making approximations about how the
world works.
Science does not deal with things that cannot be tested by
observation.
Science also does not deal with questions that involve
values, such as standards of beauty or issues of good and
evil.
In science we use the Scientific Method to make
conclusions.
Continue
* To better understand the
interaction between people
and the environment we
need information from
many disciplines, such as
Therefore…
* Environmental Science is an
interdisciplinary subject that
includes scientific & social
aspects of human impact on
the world.
Ecology
Ecology (eco: house, logy: study): study of “one’s
house”.
2.
“One’s house” consist of two parts:
a.
Living (biotic) environment, such as people,
animals, plants (organisms).
b.
Nonliving (abiotic) environment, such as space,
temperature, light, wind, soil, rain (physical).
3. Ecology is the study of the interactions among
organisms and between them and their abiotic
environment.
1.
Interrelatedness
The study of environmental science is so interesting,
frustrating, and challenging because of the
interrelatedness among seeming unrelated factors.
 “Tug on anything at all and you’ll find it connected to
everything else in the universe.” John Muir
 Charles Darwin proposed that seed production in red
clover was related to the number of cats in the area.
ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG9XxgRRRTk

Continue






The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park
has resulted in many changes.
31 wolves were introduced in 1995.
In 1996 there were about 320 wolves.
The wolves have caused reduction in elk population (from
19,000 to 11,000), which caused increase in willow and aspen
trees, as well as songbirds and coyotes.
The decrease of coyotes led to increase of foxes, mice,
beavers, hawks, and owls.
The increase of beavers resulted in building more dams,
which slowed the flow of water, which affected fish habitat.
Discussion Question

1)
2)
3)
4)
What aspects did the reintroduction have?
Scientific
Ethical
Economical
Political
Continue





The Yellowstone wolves are connected to social, economic,
and political realms of human activity.
It was important to environmentalists and biologists to restore
the wolf to its former habitat.
Ranchers could lose money if wolves killed livestock.
The farm lobby fought long and hard in congress to prevent
the reintroduction.
A fund was developed to pay ranchers for cattle killed by
wolves.
Ecological Systems


An ecosystem is a region in which the
organisms and the physical environment form
an interacting unit.
The task of an environmental scientist is to
recognize and understand the natural
interactions that take place, and to integrate
these with the uses humans must make of the
natural world.
Continue

1)
2)
3)
Boundaries of ecosystems might be:
Clear, such as lakes, rivers, islands.
Large, such as forests, and contain smaller
ecosystems (river, lake, park…)
Indistinct, transition from grassland to desert.
Emerging Global Issues


Environmental change threatens people’s health,
physical security, material needs, and social
cohesion.
The World Commission on Environment and
Development (Brundtland Commission) concluded
25 years ago that “humanity has the ability to make
development sustainable.”
Environmental Governance


Trade, economic development, good governance,
transfer of technology, science and education policies,
and globalization have become even more central to
sustainable development.
Development strategies need to maintain the ecosystem
needs on which long-term development goals depend.
 Hurricane Katrina in 2005 demonstrated the link
between destruction of coastal wetlands and
vulnerability to storms.
Continue

Most social and political decisions are made with
respect to political jurisdictions, but environmental
problems do not necessarily coincide with these
artificial human made political boundaries.
 Air pollution generated in China affects air
quality in western coastal states in the United
States and in British Columbia, Canada.
 Air pollution generated in Juarez, Mexico, causes
problems in the neighboring city of EI Paso, TX.
Human Well-Being and the Environment


The end point of development is human wellbeing.
Human well-being and the quality of the
environment are strongly interrelated.

Environmental changes have impacts on human
wellbeing.
Continue



Resources people have, such as money and other
assets. The environment is seen only as a means to
promote economic growth.
How people feel about their lives, including the
cultural importance that environment has for life
satisfaction.
What people are able to be and to do. This
multidimensional view focuses on what the
environment allows individuals to be and to do.
Defining Human Well-Being


Ecosystem services include
 Provisioning services: food, water
 Regulating services: flood control, disease control
 Cultural services: spiritual, recreational, and cultural
benefits
 Supporting services: nutrient cycling
The world’s poorest people depend primarily on
environmental goods and services for their livelihoods.
Environment and Health

The World Health Organization estimates that
13 million deaths worldwide could be
prevented every year by environmental
improvement.




Cancer
Malaria
Coronary Heart Disease
Diarrhea
Environment and Security


Security means having stable and reliable
access to resources and the ability to be secure
from natural and human disasters.
Scarcity of water or other resources can lead
to armed conflicts.
Energy and the Environment



Threat of inadequate and insecure supplies of
energy at affordable prices.
Threat of environmental damage due to
overconsumption of energy.
Global increases in carbon dioxide emissions
are primarily due to fossil fuel use.

Fossil fuels met 82% of the world’s energy
demand in 2010.
10 Things You Can Do to Protect Your
Environment










1. Reduce driving
2. Save electricity
3. Recycle
4. Conserve water
5. Safely dispose of hazardous waste
6. Eat locally
7. Donate reusable items
8. Buy in bulk
9. Learn how to avoid the use of insect repellants
10. Be an informed and active citizen