Studying the State of Our Earth The Neuse River Fish Killer

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Environmental science offers important insights into our world and how we influence it.

Environment
Environment: a sum of all the conditions surrounding us that influence life.
These conditions include living organisms and non-living components such as.

Environmental science: the field that looks at interactions among humans and nature.

Living versus Non-Living

The environment may also be divided in another way, into two parts:

The Biotic: the living part of the Earth (animals, plants, microorganisms)
The Abiotic: the non-living part of the Earth (soil, air, water, sunlight)

Ecosystem
System: a set of interacting components that influence one another by exchanging energy or materials. Eco: from the Greek, oikos, house + system, giving the word:

Ecosystem: the living and non-living components of a particular place on Earth.

Environmental Studies
Environmental studies includes environmental science, the study of interactions among human systems and those found in nature, along with other subjects such as environmental policy, law, political science, sociology, economics, literature, and ethics.

Identify ways in which humans have altered and continue to alter our environment.

Humans Alter Natural Systems

Humans manipulate and alter their environment more than any other species.
How many people are living on our planet today? http://www.census.gov/main/www/pop clock.html

Its impossible for millions of people to inhabit an area without altering it.

Los Angeles above in 1880 w/ fewer than 6,000 people and in 2009 with 3.8 million people.

Environmental Scientists Monitor Natural Systems for Signs of Stress

Ecosystem services: environments provide life-supporting services such as clean water, timber, fisheries, crops.
You can also think about this in terms of natural resources

Environmental indicators: describe the current state of the environment.

 The five key global indicators help us to monitor the health of our planet. We use this information to guide us toward sustainability: Sustainability: living on Earth in a way that allows us to use its resources without depriving future generations of those resources.

 Environmental indicators help us describe the current state of an environmental system. The five global environmental indicators are:

1. Biological diversity (biodiversity) 2. Food production 3. Average global surface temperature and carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere 4. Human population 5. Resource depletion

Environmental Indicator: Biological Diversity

Biological Diversity or Biodiversity: the variety of life formed in an environment

Biological Diversity
Biological diversity includes:
Genetic diversity Species diversity Ecosystem diversity

Genetic Diversity
A measure of the genetic variation found among individuals in a population. Populations with high genetic diversity are better able to respond to environmental changes than populations with lower genetic diversity.
Darwins Theory of Evolution

Species Diversity
The number of species in a region or in a particular type of habitat. Species: a group of organisms that is distinct from other groups in form, behavior, or biochemical properties. Individuals in a species can breed and produce fertile offspring.
Also a part of the Theory of Evolution

Ecosystem Diversity
A measure of the variety of ecosystems or habitats that exist in a particular region.
Diversity on a larger scale.

Environmental Indicator: Food Production

Our ability to grow food to nourish the entire human population. We use science and agricultural technology to increase the amount of food we can produce on a given area of land.

CNN article food crisis 2008

Environmental Indicator: Average Global Surface Temperatures and Carbon Dioxide Concentrations
Greenhouse gases: gases in the atmosphere that act like a blanket, trapping heat near Earths surface. The most important greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide.
Anthropogenic: caused by human activities.

Environmental Indicator: Human Population

The current human population is ~ 7.0 billion.
Over one million additional people are added to the Earth every five days.

Environmental Indicator: Resource Depletion

As the human population grows, the resources necessary for our survival become increasingly depleted. Some natural resources such as coal, oil, and uranium are finite in quantity and cannot be renewed or reused. Other natural resources like aluminum or copper also exist in finite amounts but can be recycled.

Resource Depletion
Development: improvement in human wellbeing through economic advancement. As economies develop, resource consumption also increases.

Sustainability
Sustainability: the practice of living on Earth in a way that allows humans to use resources without depriving future generations of those resources.

Continued Human Well-Being Depends on Sustainable Practices

Sustainable Development: development that balances current human well-being and economic advancement with resource management for the benefit of future generations.

Human Well-Being Depends on Sustainable Practices

In order to live sustainably:
Environmental systems must not be damaged beyond their ability to recover.

Renewable resources must not be depleted faster than they can regenerate.
Nonrenewable resources must be used sparingly.

Defining Human Needs

People in developed nations might say that they need electricity. Many people in the developing world have never heard of this modern convenience. Basic human needs are air, water, food, and shelter.

The Ecological Footprint

A measure of how much a person consumes, expressed in area of land.

Science is a process.

The Scientific Method

Observations and questions Hypothesis Collecting data Interpreting results Disseminating findings

Observations and Questions

Observing and questioning is the first step of the scientific process.

Hypothesis
An educated guess, An imaginative preconception of what the truth might be. (P. B. Medawar) A null hypothesis is a statement that can be unsupported or proved wrong.

Collecting Data
Replication: taking repeated measurements.

Sample size: the number of times the measurement is repeated. Scientists try to make sure the sample size is large enough to minimize the opportunity for chance to affect the results.

Collecting Data
Three aspects of taking a measurement: Accuracy: how close a measured value is to the actual or true value Precision: how close the repeated measurements are to one another Uncertainty: how much the measure differs from the true value

Interpreting Results

Once results have been obtained, analysis of the data begins. This process involves two types of reasoning, inductive and deductive.

Interpreting Results
Inductive reasoning: the process of developing general statements from specific facts or examples.
A survey of 500 coal burning power plants emit SO2:

therefore all coal burning power plants emit SO2

Deductive reasoning: the process of applying a general statement to specific facts or situations. Acid precipitation is a global problem; small organisms in
NY State are dying from high exposure to acid environments, therefore, these organisms are exposed to acid precipitation.

Disseminating Findings
Scientists present papers at conferences and publish the detailed results of their investigations. This allows other scientists to repeat the original experiment and verify or challenge the results.

 Theory: a hypothesis that has been repeatedly tested and confirmed by multiple groups of researchers and is widely accepted. For example, Theory of Relativity. Natural law: When a theory has been tested multiple times and there are no known exceptions. For example, law of gravity and laws of thermodynamics.

Controlled Experiments and Natural Experiments

Controlled Experiments and Natural Experiments

Controlled experiment: an experiment conducted in controlled conditions, such as in a laboratory.

Controlled Experiments and Natural Experiments

Natural experiments: when a natural event, such as a volcano, acts as an experimental treatment in an ecosystem.

Environmental Science Presents Unique Challenges

There is no control planet with which to compare the Earth. This means there is a lack of baseline data. It is often difficult to decide whether one thing is better or worse for the environment than something else.

Environmental Science Presents Unique Challenges

Environmental science has so many interacting parts; it is not easy to apply one system to another. Human well-being is a concern for moral reasons, and because people that are unable to meet their basic needs are less likely to be interested in saving the environment.

Environmental Science Presents Unique Challenges

Environmental issues are very complex, and therefore are poorly understood.

Many environmental choices are exactly thatpreferences dictated by human desires as well as needs, and many problems must be solved through political and social changes, and not by science.

Review Questions
1. What is meant by the environment? 2. What is the difference between the terms biotic and abiotic? 3. What components make up an ecosystem? 4. Environmental scientists monitor natural systems for signs of _________.

Review Questions
5. How are biological indicators used in environmental science? 6. What are the three forms of biological diversity? 7. Environmental scientists monitor natural systems for signs of _________.

Review Questions
1. Environmental Indicator: average global surface __________and _________ _________ concentrations.
1. How many people currently inhabit the Earth?

1. Another environmental indicator is ___________ depletion.

11. Define sustainability.

Review Questions
1. In order to live sustainably, environmental systems must not be damaged beyond their ability to ____________. Define ecological footprint.

1.

1.

A ________hypothesis is a statement that can be proved wrong.

15. Distinguish between accuracy and precision.

Review Questions
17. What are several challenges that make environmental science unique?

18. Put these in the correct order:

Interpreting results Collecting data Hypothesis Collecting data Observations and questions Disseminating findings