INTRODUCTION: UNDERSTANDING

OUR ENVIRONMENT

What is Environmental Science?

Environment (French environner: to encircle or
surround) the circumstances and conditions
that surround an organism or a group of
organisms
- the social and cultural conditions
that affect an individual or a community

Environmental Science
The systematic study of our environment and
our place in it.
It is mission oriented: it shows that we all have
responsibility to get involved and try to do
something about the problems we have
created.

Environmental science draws many

types of knowledge

Environmental problems and

Opportunities
1. Clean water people lack access to safe
drinking water, and dont have adequate
sanitation

Environmental problems
2. Food supplies- global food production kept
pace with human population growth but
scientist report that about two-thirds of all
agricultural lands starts degradation

Environmental problems
3. Energy resources supplies of fossil fuels (oil,
crude, and natural gas) are diminishing.
Cleaner, renewable energy resources solar,
wind, geothermal, and biomass powertogether with conservation could give us
cleaner, less destructive options if we invest in
appropriate technology

Environmental problems
4. Climate change human activities
contributes to the increase accumulation of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Further
warming increase severe weather events,
including droughts and floods

Environmental problems
5. Air Quality satellite images revealed a 3-km
(2-mile) thick toxic haze of ash, acids, aerosols,
dust, and photochemical products. More than
2 billion metric tons of air pollutants are
released each year. Mercury, polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCB), DDT and other long lasting
pollutants accumulate in arctic ecosystems.

Environmental problems
6. Biodiversity loss habitat destruction,
overexploitation, pollution, and introduction
of exotic organisms are eliminating species at
a rate comparable to the great extinction that
marked the end of the dinosaurs. The UN
Environment Program reports, more that 800
species have disappeared and at least 10,000
species are now considered threatened.

Environmental problems
7. Marine resources more than a billion
people in developing countries depend on
seafood for their main source of animal
protein, but most commercial fisheries around
the world are in steep decline. An estimate of
90% of all large predators, are remove in the
ocean.

Finding your strengths in this class

Environmental science draws on many kinds of
knowledge and skills. A key strategy is to
figure out what your strengths are in solving
problems in environmental science. Select one
of the environmental problems presented and
explain how each of the following might
contribute to understanding or solving that
problems.

Pick your Color!

Yellow Clean water: artist, writer,

Brown Food supplies: chemist, hunter
Red Energy resources: angler, truck driver,
Blue Climate Change: parent, builder, planner
Green biodiversity loss: speaker of multiple
languages, musician
Violet Air Quality: negotiator, writer
Aqua Blue marine resources: economist, cook

Environmental Opportunities
1. Marine resources establishment of marine
reserves to protect reproductive areas
2. Population and pollution Population has
stabilized in most industrialized countries and
even in some very poor countries where
social security and democracy have been
established.

Environmental Opportunities
3. Health the incidence of life-threatening
infectious diseases has been reduced sharply
in most countries during the past century,
while life expectancies have nearly doubled.
4. Conservation of forests and nature
preserves- nature preserves and protected
areas have increased dramatically over the
past few decades.

Environmental Opportunities
5. Renewable energy The European Union has
announced a goal of obtaining 22% of its
electricity and 12% of all energy from
renewable resources by 2010.
6. Information the increased speed at which
information and technology now flow around
the world holds promise that we can
continue to find solutions to our
environmental dilemmas.

Human Dimensions of
Environmental Science

Sustainability is a central theme

Sustainability is a search for ecological
stability and human progress that can last
over the long term
Sustainable development defined as meeting
the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own need

Indigenous peoples are guardians of

much of the worlds biodiversity
500 million IP who remain in traditional
homelands still possess valuable ecological
wisdom and remain the guardians of littledisturbed habitats that are refuges for rare
and endangered species and undamaged
ecosystem

Figure 1.15

Science Helps Us Understand our

Environment

What is Science?
Science (from Latin word scire, to know) is a
process for producing empirical knowledge by
observing natural phenomena.
Science also refers to the cumulative body
of knowledge produced by many scientist.

Basic Principles of Science

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Empiricism
Uniformitarianism
Parsimony
Uncertainty
Repeatability
Proof is elusive
Testable questions

Science depends on skepticism and

accuracy
Scientists are cautious about accepting
proposed explanations until there is
substantial evidence to support them.
Scientists also aim to be methodical and
unbiased.

Steps of Scientific Method

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Observe
Hypothesis
Test/ Experiment
Gather Data
Interpret results

When an explanation has been supported by a large

number of tests, it is called scientific theory

Understanding probability helps

reduce uncertainty
Probability is a measure of how likely
something is to occur. It does not tell you
what will happen, but it tells you what is likely
to happen
Statistics can help in experimental design as
well as in interpreting data

Experimental design can reduce bias

Natural experiment involves observation of
events that have already happened
Ex. Ecologist want to learn how species evolve.
Manipulative experiment conditions are
deliberately altered, and all variables are held
constant
Ex. introducing chemicals in mango fruit
Controlled variable

 Blind Experiments the researcher does not

know which group is treated until after the
data have been analyzed
Different variables:
Dependent variable- response variable
Independent variable explanatory variable

Critical Thinking
Is a term use to describe logical, orderly,
analytical assessment of ideas, evidence, and
arguments
Critical thinking helps analyze information

Steps use in critical thinking

1. Identify and evaluate premises and conclusions
in an argument.
2. Acknowledge and clarify uncertainties,
vagueness, equivocation, and contradictions.
3. Distinguish between facts and values.
4. Recognize and assess assumptions.
5. Distinguish source reliability or unreliability.
6. Recognize and understand conceptual
framework.