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Introduction to
Environmental Science
In every deliberation, we must consider our impact on the next seven generations.
- The Iroqouis Confederacy
What Is Environmental Science?
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Environmental science is
the study of the air, water,
and land surrounding an
organism or a community,
which ranges from a small
area to Earth’s entire
biosphere.
It includes the study of the
impact of humans on the
environment.
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What is the Goal of Environmental
Science?
A major goal of environmental
science is to understand and
solve environmental problems.
To accomplish this goal,
environmental scientists study
two main types of interactions
between humans and their
environment:
1) How our actions alter our
environment.
2) The use of natural resources
like water, coal, and oil.
Our Environment through Time
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Wherever humans have hunted, grown
food, or settled, they have changed the
environment.
For example, the environmental change
that occurred on Manhattan Island over
the last 300 years was immense, yet that
period was just a “blink” in human history.
Manhattan Island-1624 and today
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First Impact: Hunter-Gatherers
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Hunter-gatherers are people who obtain
food by collecting plants and by hunting
wild animals or scavenging their
remains.
Hunter-gatherers affect their
environment in many ways:
1)
Native American tribes hunted
buffalo.
2)
The tribes also set fires to burn
prairies and prevent the grow of
trees. This left the prairie as an open
grassland ideal for hunting bison.
First Impact: Hunter-Gatherers
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In North America, a combination of rapid
climate changes and overhunting by huntergatherers may have led to the disappearance of
some large mammal species, including:
1) giant sloths
2) giant bison
3) mastodons
4) cave bears
5) saber-toothed cats
The Agricultural Revolution
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Agriculture is the raising of crops
and livestock for food or for other
products that are useful to humans.
The practice of agriculture started in
many different parts of the world
over 10,000 years ago.
The change had such a dramatic
impact on human societies and their
environment that it is often called
the agricultural revolution.
The Agricultural Revolution
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The Agricultural Revolution allowed
human populations to grow at an
unprecedented rate.
As populations grew, they began to
concentrate in smaller areas
placing increased pressure on the
local environments.
The Agricultural Revolution
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The agricultural revolution changed the food
we eat.
The plants we grow and eat today are
descended from wild plants.
However, during harvest season farmers
collected seeds from plants that exhibited
the qualities they desired, such as large
kernels.
These seeds were then planted and
harvested again. Overtime, the domesticated
plants became very different from their wild
ancestors.
The Agricultural Revolution
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Many habitats were destroyed as
grasslands, forests, and wetlands were
replaced with farmland.
Replacing forest with farmland on a large
scale can cause soil loss, floods, and
water shortages.
The Agricultural Revolution
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The slash-and-burn technique was one of
the earliest ways that land was converted
to farmland.
Much of this converted land was poorly
farmed and is no longer fertile.
Iowa Before Agriculture
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The Industrial Revolution
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The Industrial Revolution involved a
shift from energy sources such as
animals and running water to fossil
fuels such as coal and oil.
This increased use of fossil fuels
changed society and greatly increased
the efficiency of agriculture, industry,
and transportation.
For example, motorized vehicles
allowed food to be transported cheaply
across greater distances.
The Industrial Revolution
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In factories, the large-scale
production of goods
became less expensive
than the local production of
handmade goods.
On the farm, machinery
reduced the amount of land
and human labor needed to
produce food.
With fewer people
producing their own food,
the populations in urban
areas steadily grew.
HunterGatherers
The Agricultural
Revolution
The Industrial
Revolution
Characteristics Get food by
collecting plants
and hunting wild
animals
Practiced growing
food, breeding, and
caring for plants
Started using
fossil fuels such
as coal and oil
(Energy Shift)
Effects on
Environment
Habitats were
destroyed because
grasslands, forests,
and wetlands were
replaced with
farmland.
Introduced
artificial
substances into
the environment
that cannot be
recycled like
plastic.
Over-hunting
caused extinction
of some species
Our Environment Through Time Continued:
Improving the Quality of Life
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The Industrial
Revolution introduced
many positive changes
such as the light bulb.
Agricultural productivity
increased, and
sanitation, nutrition, and
medical care vastly
improved.
Improving the Quality of Life
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However, the Industrial Revolution
also introduced many new
environmental problems such as
pollution and habitat loss.
In the 1900s, modern societies
began to use artificial substances in
place of raw animals and plant
products.
As a result, we know have materials
such as plastics, artificial pesticides,
and fertilizers.
Improving the Quality of Life
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Many of these products
make life easier, but we are
now beginning to understand
some of the environmental
problems they present.
In fact, much of
environmental science is
concerned with the problems
associated with the Industrial
Revolution.
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What are our Main Environmental
Problems?
Environmental problems can generally be
grouped into three categories:
1)
2)
3)
Resource Depletion
Pollution
Loss of Biodiversity
Major Environmental Problems
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Resource Depletion
 Resources can be renewable (water) or
nonrenewable (petroleum).
 The supply of nonrenewable resources like
fossil fuels and minerals will eventually run
out.
 The supply of renewable resources is often
used so quickly that it cannot be
replenished.
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Major Environmental Problems
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Pollution
 Undesired change in air,
water, or soil that affects
the health of living
things.
 Biodegradable pollution
will break down naturally
over time.
 Nondegradable pollution
does not break down.
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Major Environmental Problems
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Loss of Biodiversity
 Biodiversity is the number of different
species present in an ecosystem.
 Extinction, or the complete loss of a
species, is a natural event that can be
accelerated by human actions.
The Tasmanian tiger is the only known mammal to become
extinct in the past 200 years on the island of Tasmania.
During the same period of time, on nearby Australia,
23 birds, 4 amphibians, and 27 mammal species have become
extinct.
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Tragedy of the Commons
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An ecologist named Garrett Hardin wrote an
essay describing the source of environmental
problems as a conflict:
 Short-term interests of individuals
versus…
Long-term interests of civilization and the
Earth itself
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The Tragedy of the Commons
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Garrett Hardin wrote an essay called “The
Tragedy of the Commons”, describing a
major source of environmental conflict:
resources that are not privately owned or
regulated will often be depleted.
 The self-interest of individuals takes
priority over the best interests of the entire
population.
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Tragedy of the Commons
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Each villager owns a small
herd of sheep.
The only place for the sheep
to graze is a commons in the
center of the village.
A commons is an area that
belongs to an entire village.
 Likely outcome: Villagers
obtain as many sheep as
possible, allow to graze in
the commons.
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What if the commons was instead divided into
sections that was owned by each villager?
 Because the land is owned, individuals are much
more likely to plan and use it for the long-term.
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A small village consists mostly of farmers
that raise and sell sheep at a nearby city.
The only place for the sheep to graze is
a commons in the center of the village.
 A commons is an area that belongs to
no individual; it is shared by the entire
society.
The villagers in this situation will have an
incentive to obtain and graze as many
sheep as possible, leading to
overgrazing and barren lands.
A second village has its grazing land
divided into nine fenced sections, each of
which is owned by a different family.
 These families will carefully control
the amount of grazing to ensure their
land is usable in the long-term.
Sheep grazing, Hawf Protected Area,
Yemen.
Picture by Sebastian Kennerknecht
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Tragedy of the
Commons
Activity
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Ecological Footprint
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An ecological footprint is one
measurement of a person’s
resource use.
 Includes the amount of
space needed to support
each person in a nation,
including forests, farms,
cities, etc.
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The Goal: A Sustainable World
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Sustainability
 Human needs are met so that the
population can survive
indefinitely.
 “Meeting the needs of the
present without
compromising the ability of
future generations to meet
their own needs.”
- Brundtland Commission, 1987
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