Pages: 1-6

MODULE 1 GUIDE Due: 8/25/2020

"Environmental Science"
Key Term ID's (flashcards):
Fracking Environment Environmental Science Ecosystem
Biotic Abiotic Environmentalist Environmental studies
1. Opening Story - What is fracking used for, and how does the process work?
Fracking is used to allow extraction of natural gas from locations that were
difficult to reach that extraction. It uses high-pressure fluids to force open existing cracks
in rocks deep underground.

2. Opening Story - What are the advantages and disadvantages to fracking?

The advantages of fracking are that a large amount of natural gas is available in the
U.S. at a lower cost and electricity generation uses less coal and more natural gas now.
The disadvantages of fracking are that a lot of water is used during fracking and a lot of
chemicals are added to the fracking fluid to facilitate the release of natural gas.

3. Opening Story - What does the debate about fracking demonstrate about the types of
problems Env Sci addresses?
The debate about fracking illustrates how human activities that were perceived or
known as causing little harm to the environment can have adverse and negative effects.
We might not be able to recognize these effects until we understand the science
surrounding the issue better. This also highlights the difficulty of obtaining absolute
answers to the questions about the environment and displays how environmental science
can be controversial or argumentative. Additionally, this debate implies that making
assessments and choosing appropriate actions in environmental science might not always
be clear.

4. What is the importance of studying systems in ES, rather than isolated events or
individual actors?
It is important to study systems in environmental science because in systems,
interacting components influence one another by exchanging energy or materials. This
exchange can cause changes throughout the entire system.

5. Why does the blending of many different disciplines present both challenges and
opportunities to environmental scientists? (Figure 1.1)
The blending of different disciplines present challenges and opportunities to
environmental scientists because as human activities affect the environment,
environmental science can help us understand the consequences of our interactions with
our planet and help us make better decisions to preserve our planet. It also helps scientists
view a situation at multiple perspectives—the disciplines. A challenge of these different
 disciplines is that environmental science is a rapidly growing area of study. It can be
difficult for scientists to figure out the disciplines and its impact on the environment.

6. The Earth is a single interconnected system, but it can be subdivided into many
smaller systems. How does the nature of the problem to be studied determine the scale
of the system chosen? (Figure 1.2)
This division of the system determines the scale of the system chosen in various
situations. For example, if physiologists want to study how codfish survive in the North
Atlantic’s freezing waters, they must consider all the biological adaptations of the codfish
that allows it to be part of one system. If marine biologists want to study the predator-prey
relationship between cod and herring, this creates another system that consists of two fish
species and their environment. Scientists are also able to examine a system that includes
everything including people, fishing technology, policy, and law.

7. How have tool use and social cooperation enabled humans to alter their environment
more than other species?
Humans are developing a capacity to directly alter their environment in substantial
ways. For example, we can change the chemistry of our air, water, and soil by adding
fertilizers or by our activities that generate pollution in our environment. Even though it is
unintentional, the number of humans in the environment can affect their surroundings.

8. How did early homo sapiens impact their environment when they entered a new area?
What does this show?
When early homo sapiens entered a new environment, they hunted a lot of animal
species to extinction. Studies show that humans are responsible for the extinction of
mammoths, giant ground sloths, types of birds, and other species.

9. List at least 5 major ways humans have altered our environment in the last 10,000
years.
For thousands of years, Native Americans on the Great Plains used fire to capture
animals for food. These fires also kept trees from encroaching or sneaking on the
plains and allowed the tallgrass prairie to be a home to many species. Another way that
humans have altered our environment is the rapid and widespread development of
technology has increased the rate of our global environmental impact. Additionally,
modern cities with electricity, running water, sewer systems, Internet, and public
transportation systems have improved our well-being. Unfortunately, this forced species to
emigrate. Furthermore, changes in climate are affecting the health of natural systems on a
global science. Finally, modern changes in land use and climate are quickly outpacing the
rate where natural systems can evolve. Some species can no longer compete in the human-
modified environment.
10. So far in history, technological development has led to both increased human well-
being and increased environmental disruption. Why has this been the case?
Technological development has increased human well-being because human well-
being is improving during the development of modern cities with electricity, running
water, sewer systems, Internet, and public transportation systems. Technological
development has increased environmental disruption because it is impossible for millions
of people to inhabit an area without altering it. If a city, such as Los Angeles, is very
crowded, the citizens’ combined activity will cause environmental damage that will
pollute the water, air, and soil. As the population of an environment rise, so does the
amount of harm in the environment.

Module Summary (your own words - What's important? Connections? Meaning?)

Environmental science is the study of interactions in human systems and

nature. Scientists who study environmental science, including biotic and abiotic
components, use knowledge from many disciplines such as economics, politics, chemistry,
law, and earth sciences. This is important because these disciplines help us understand the
consequences of our selfish actions towards our planet and environment. They can also
help us realize how our decisions can cause a negative effect on our environment and help
us come up with better decisions to save and preserve our planet. In addition, the
boundaries of an environmental system are based on the scientist’s or researcher’s point of
view. Scientists that study different majors can have different procedures to learn about
our environment. Furthermore, humans have a large impact on our environment because
as new technology develop, the health of humans can increase, but also decrease. It can
increase because modern cities with electricity, good sewer systems, modern Internet, and
public transportation systems can improve humans’ well-beings. On the other hand, this
can lead to the increase of migration. The increase of migration can have a negative
impact on our environment because as more people live in an area, their effect will
multiply. Their multiplied effects will cause environmental damage, especially in large
and crowded cities, that will pollute the water and air. This can cause health problems and
body malfunctions.