Environment: the total of our surroundings

• All the things around us with which we

interact:
• Living things
Quick Overview of Environmental • Animals, plants, forests, fungi, etc.
Science • Nonliving things
• Continents, oceans, clouds, soil, rocks
• Our built environment
• Buildings, human-created living
centers
• Social relationships and institutions
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Humans and the world around us Natural resources: vital to human (& all life) survival
Natural resources = substances and energy sources needed for
• Humans change the environment, often in ways not fully survival and other uses
understood
• We (and all life) depend completely on the environment for
survival
- Increased wealth, health, mobility, leisure time
- But, natural systems have been degraded
- i.e., depletion, pollution, erosion and species extinction
- Environmental changes threaten long-term health and survival
• Environmental science is the study of: • Renewable resources:
- How the natural world works - Perpetually available: sunlight, wind, wave energy
- Renew themselves over short periods: timber, water, soil, hot springs
- How the environment affects humans (and other life forms) - These can be destroyed if used faster than renewed (unsustainably)
and vice versa • Nonrenewable resources: can be depleted
- Oil, coal, minerals, ancient ground water, some soil
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Global human population growth Thomas Malthus and human population

• More than 6.7 billion humans
• Why so many humans? • Thomas Malthus (1766-1834)
- Agricultural revolution • Population growth must be
restricted, or it will outstrip
- Stable food supplies
food production
- Industrial revolution
• Starvation, war, disease
- Urbanized society
powered by fossil fuels • Neo-Malthusians
- Sanitation and • Population growth has
medicines disastrous effects
- More food • Paul and Anne Ehrlich, The
- Humans learned to completely Population Bomb (1968)
dominate and control the • 200 years later still hasn’t
environment for their own happened; wrong or yet to
purposes come?
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 Garrett Hardin’s Tragedy of the Commons (1968)
Question

Which is closest to your sense or viewpoint?
•Example of cows grazing on common meadow
•Resource users will increase use until the resource is
A. Human population will continue to grow; technology
gone
will solve problems that arise (cornucopian viewpoint)

•=> Unregulated exploitation leads to resource destruction
B. Human population will continue to grow; disaster will
occur with many deaths (Neo-Malthusian viewpoint)
•Applies to any common ownership: e.g. Soil, air, water,
forests, fish, buffalos
C. Humans will learn to control our population;
•Basically privatizes profit and socializes loss!
standards of living will continue to increase

•Solution?
D. Humans will learn to control our population, but
somewhat too late; standards of living will decline
• Governmental regulations?
• Private ownership?
E. Other, or no viewpoint at this time

• Voluntary organization to enforce responsible use?
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The “ecological footprint” (aka “ecological Environmental science

… can help us avoid mistakes made by past civilizations.
Impact”)
• The environmental impact of
a person or population
- Amount of land,
water,air,energy, etc. used
- for both raw materials and
to dispose/recycle waste
• Problem: humans have
surpassed the Earth’s
capacity The lesson of Easter Island: people may have annihilated
their culture by destroying their environment. (or maybe
We are currently using more of the planet’s resources Europeans killed them?!) Can we act more wisely to
than are available on a sustainable basis! conserve our resources or are we doomed?
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Environmental science: how does the What is an “environmental problem”?

natural world work?
Environment  impacts  Humans - The perception of what
constitutes a problem varies
• It has an applied goal: developing between individuals and
solutions to environmental problems societies
• An interdisciplinary field - Ex.: DDT, a pesticide
- Natural sciences: information about the - In developing countries:
world welcome because it kills
- Environmental Science programs malaria-carrying mosquitoes
- Social sciences: values and human
behavior - In developed countries: not
- Environmental Studies programs welcome, due to health risks

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Environmental science is not environmentalism The nature of science

•Environmental science • Science:

- A systematic process for learning about the world and
• The pursuit of knowledge testing our understanding of it
about the natural world - A dynamic process of observation, testing, and
• Scientists must remain discovery
objective: be willing to change - The accumulated body of knowledge that results from
their minds when facts this process
demand it • Science is essential
•Environmentalism - To sort fact from fiction
• A social movement dedicated - Develop solutions to the problems we face
to protecting the natural world
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Applications of science The scientific method

Policy decisions and
management practices Technology • A technique for testing ideas
with observations
• Assumptions:
- The universe works
according to unchanging
natural laws
- Events arise from causes,
and cause other events
Energy-efficient methanol-
powered fuel cell car from - We use our senses and
DaimlerChrysler reason to understand
nature’s laws
Restoration of forest ecosystems altered
by human suppression of fire
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Not obvious assumptions hold! The scientific method

• A scientist makes an observation and
asks questions of some phenomenon
• The scientist formulates a hypothesis,
• So many things in life seem unpredictable and not caused a statement that attempts to explain the
by anything scientific question.
• Over 400 years humans have found some things that are • The hypothesis is used to generate
predictable and governed by understandable laws: these predictions, which are specific
are the subject of science. Other things (e.g. ethics/ statements that can be directly and
politics) are not. unequivocally tested.

• Mathematics is the main modeling tool: numbers are • The test results either support or
reject the hypothesis; scientists must be
key, testability is key, reproducibility is key
willing to give up their ideas when
experiments show they are wrong.

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Experiments test the validity of a hypothesis The scientific process is part of a larger process
Manipulative experiments yield the Natural or correlational tests show
strongest evidence (can prove causality) real-world complexity
• But, lots of things can’t be • Causality not proven so much • The scientific process
manipulated more evidence needed. Counter- includes peer review,
examples are important. publication, and debate
• A consistently supported
hypothesis becomes a
theory, a well-tested and
widely accepted
explanation
• With enough data, a
paradigm shift – a
change in the dominant
view – can occur

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Science is an amazing human development

Question

• Allows life work of genius’s to be recorded and used as a Are scientists subject to the same political/belief biases as the
starting point for next generation of scientists rest of the population?

• Has moved us far, far beyond the experience and A. Yes

capability of an individual
B. No

- Electronics, lasers, MRI, DNA, radio, space craft,
airplanes, modern medicine, atomic bomb, GPS, etc., C. Other

etc.
• Allows us to prove true and gain acceptance for even
extremely unpopular or dangerous (to ruling power) ideas
- Earth not center of universe, humans arose from
evolution, plate tectonics, etc., etc.

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Drivers of the problems: Population &

Question

consumption
Is science subject to the same political/belief biases as the
rest of the population?

• Human population growth at root of most environmental
problems
A. Yes

- The growth rate has slowed, but we still add more than
B. No
200,000 people to the planet each day
C. Other
• Our consumption of resources has risen even faster than
our population growth.
- Life has become more pleasant for us so far
- However, rising consumption amplifies the demands
we make on our environment.

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Ecological footprints are not all equal Methods of the Past have not been optimal
• The ecological footprints of
countries vary greatly •Input is amount of resources used (causes depletion)
•Output is waste afterward (usually causes pollution)
- The U.S. footprint is
almost 5 times greater •In the past effort has focused on dealing with output
than the world’s average since pollution/toxics has been main concern. Increasing
input was taken for granted as standards of living rose.
- Developing countries have •In future reducing input may be best method: reduces
much smaller footprints
than developed countries both depletion and pollution. But will comfort level of
humans go down?
- Example: U.S. uses 25% •Conflict between developing and developed regions.
of the world’s energy, but
only contains 5% of the
people. We use 5 times
our “fair” share of energy.
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We face challenges in agriculture We face challenges in pollution

• Waste products and artificial chemicals used in
• Expanded food production led to increased farms, industries, and households
population and consumption

• It’s one of humanity’s greatest achievements, but

at an enormous environmental cost
• Nearly half of the planet’s land surface is used
for agriculture (most non-sustainably)
• Chemical fertilizers
• Pesticides
• Erosion
• Changed natural systems Each year, millions of people die from pollution;
Many species are being depleted or driven to
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extinction, ecosystems destroyed
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We face challenges in climate We face challenges in biodiversity

• Human actions have driven many species extinct, and
• Science has firmly concluded that humans are changing biodiversity is declining dramatically
the composition of the atmosphere • We are at the onset of a mass extinction event
• The Earth’s surface is warming
• Melting glaciers
• Rising sea levels
• Impacted wildlife and crops
• Increasingly destructive weather

Since the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric carbon

dioxide concentrations have risen by 37%, to the highest
level in 650,000 years; science says this must change the Biodiversity loss may be our biggest environmental
climate; and the worst is yet to come. problem; once a species is extinct, it is gone forever
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The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Our energy choices will affect our future

• A comprehensive scientific assessment of the • The lives we live today are due to fossil fuels
condition of the world’s ecological systems • Machines
• Major findings: • Chemicals
• Transportation
• Humans have drastically altered ecosystems
• Products
• These changes have contributed to human well- • Fossil fuels were created millions of years ago and
being and economic development, but at a cost are a one-time bonanza; supplies will certainly
• Environmental degradation could get much worse decline

• Degradation can be reversed, but it requires much We have used up ½ of the world’s oil supplies; how
work will we handle this imminent fossil fuel shortage?
• Check out www.millenniumassessment.org
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Sustainable solutions exist Are things getting better or worse?

• Thinking long term, we should develop solutions that • Many people think environmental conditions are better
enable both our quality of life and the environment • Cornucopians: Human ingenuity will solve any
problem
• Organic agriculture
• Technology • Some think things are much worse in the world
- Reduces pollution • Cassandras (aka neo-malthusians): predict doom
and disaster
• Biodiversity
- Protect species • How can you decide who is correct?
• Waste disposal • Are the impacts limited to humans, (or just your
- Recycling nation? Are other organisms or systems involved?
• Are the proponents thinking in the long or short term?
• Alternative energy/fuels • Are they considering ALL the costs and benefits?
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Sustainability: a goal for the future But how to move towards sustainability?
• Humans seem never to have done it! (tragedy of the
commons)
• How can humans live within the planet’s means? • Idea: Regulations requiring paying true costs (e.g. fees
- Humans cannot exist without functioning natural systems for clean-up, carbon dioxide emission, habitat
destruction, resource depletion, etc., adjusted to motivate
• Sustainability change (how to set prices and avoid black markets?)
- Leaves future generations with a rich and full Earth
• Idea: Policies to change technologies, reduce usage,
- Conserves the Earth’s natural resources
- Maintains fully functioning ecological systems
substitute resources with less impact (e.g. solar energy,
recycled paper, local agriculture, home insulation, etc.)
• Sustainable development: the use of resources to satisfy current • Policies to reduce human population (e.g. educate
needs without compromising future availability of resources women, reduce poverty, make contraceptives available)
- May require substantial changes to the ways things are done;
but humans have made many large changes in the past ( horses • Individual efforts (do they matter? Example of redwood)
to cars, end of slavery, women’s rights, electronic • Will these things happen? Will they be enough?
communication, etc.)
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Conclusion QUESTION: Review
The term “environment” includes
• Environmental science helps us understand our
relationship with the environment and informs our a) Animals and plants
attempts to solve and prevent problems. b) Oceans and rivers
c) Soil and atmosphere
• Identifying a problem is the first step in solving it
d) All of the above are included in this term
• Solving environmental problems can move us towards
health, longevity, peace and prosperity
- Environmental science can help us find balanced
solutions to environmental problems

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QUESTION: Review QUESTION: Weighing the Issues

Which do you think is the best way to protect
Adding various amounts of fertilizer to plants in a commonly owned resources (i.e., air, water, fisheries,
laboratory is a _____ type of experiment forests)?

a) Sell the resource to a private entity

a) Correlative
b) Voluntary organizations to encourage responsible
b) Natural
c) Manipulative use
c) Governmental regulations to enforce responsible use
d) Rare
d) Don’t do anything rash; let nature run its course

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QUESTION: Weighing the Issues 1. A large piece of ordinary paper is folded in

half 45 times. How thick is it after folding?
Do you think the rest of the world can have an A. 2 inches
ecological footprint as large as the footprint of the
B. 2 feet
United States?
C. 2 miles
D. 2 million miles
a) Yes, because we will find new technologies and
resources
b) Yes, because the footprint of the United States is
not really that large
c) Definitely not; the world does not have that many
resources
d) It does not matter; it’s not that important
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 2. Do you consider yourself a cornucopian or a 3. For a theory to be "scientific" it must
neo-Malthusian? a. be proven true
b. be testable, i.e. be able to be proven false
A. Cornucopian
c. be widely accepted by the majority of the population
B. Neo-Malthusian d. be widely accepted by the majority of other
C. In between scientists
D. Don’t know e. be able to explain a wide variety of phenomena
E. Don’t care

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QUESTION: Interpreting Graphs and Data QUESTION: Interpreting Graphs and Data
According to this graph, what has happened to the What happens if test results reject
population over the last 500 years? a hypothesis?

a) The scientist formulates a new

a) It has grown hypothesis
exponentially b) It shows the test failed
b) It has grown c) The hypothesis was supported
linearly d) The predictions may not have
c) It has decreased been correct
d) It has slowed
down recently

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QUESTION: Review
Which of the following is correct about the term
“environmentalism”?

a) It is very science-oriented
b) It is a social movement to protect the environment
c) It usually does not include advocacy for the
environment
d) It involves scientists trying to solve environmental
problems

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