GEE-ES Environmental Science

An Introduction to
Environmental Science

College of Engineering
CTU - Danao Campus
Environmental
Issues
 Scope and Importance

This lecture will help you understand:

๏ the definition of the disciplines that comprise the environmental

science
๏ the cycles of elements and environmental interactions
๏ the history of environmental science
๏ the interdisciplinary nature of environmental science
๏ the meaning of the term environment and environmentalism
๏ the attitudes to the natural world and the way they change over
time
 Scope and Importance

❖ Several environmental problems in the last four decades— such as

Pollution, global warming, ozone layer depletion, acid rain,
deforestation, and desertification —have remained a major focus
of scientists, policy makers, and common public across the world.
❖ These problems are perceived as the major threats to the life-
supporting environment of the earth, thus making our survival on
the planet increasingly unsafe.
❖ Environmental science evolved as an academic discipline to fill
the gap in having a holistic knowledge about working of our life-
supporting environment and thorough understanding of the
dynamics of these problems.
 What is Environment?

All the things around us with which we interact:

❖ Living things (Biotic factors)

➡ Animals, plants forests, fungi, etc.
❖ Non-living things (Abiotic factors)
➡ Continents, oceans, clouds, soil, rocks
❖ Built environment
➡ Buildings, human-created living centers
❖ Social relationships and institutions, and cultural environment
➡ cultural elements such as economic, social and political
elements

“In short, environment is the living objects in general and man in particular.”
 Scope of the
Environment
The environment consists of four segments as
under:
1.Atmosphere - it implies the protective blanket of gases
surrounding the earth
➡ it sustains life on the earth

➡ it saves it from the hostile environment of outer space

➡ it absorbs most of the cosmic rays from outer space and a

major potion of the electromagnetic radiation from the sun

➡ it transmits only the UV, visible, near infrared radiation and

radio waves while filtering the tissue-damaging ultraviolet

waves
2.Lithosphere - is the outer mantle of the solid earth which
consists of minerals occurring in the earth’s crusts and the
soil (e.g. minerals, organic matter)
 Scope of the
Environment
The environment consists of four segments as
under:
3.Biosphere - it indicates the realm of living organisms and
their interactions with environment
4.Hydrosphere - comprises all types of water resources
➡ 97% of the earth’s water supply is in the oceans

➡ about 2% of the water resources is locked in the polar

icecaps and glaciers

➡ only about 1% is available as fresh surface water (e.g.

rivers, lakes, streams, and ground water) fit for human

consumption and other uses
 Environment Studies:
Importance

The environment studies enlighten us, about the

importance of protection and conservation of
our indiscriminate release of pollution into the
environment.

At present a great number of environment

issues, have grown in size and complexity day by
day, threatening the survival of mankind on
earth.
 Environment Studies:
Importance

Some of the environmental challenges we face

today are:
❖ Growing population
❖ Poverty
❖ Agricultural growth
❖ Needs of ground water
❖ Development and Forests
❖ Degradation of land
❖ Reorientation of institutions
❖ Reduction of genetic diversity
❖ Evil consequences of urbanization
❖ Air and water population
 Environmental Science
(EVS)

➡ It is defined as an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates

various fields (particularly sciences) to study the structure and
function of our life-supporting environment and to understand
causes, effects, and solutions of different environmental problems.

➡ In simpler words, EVS is the scientific study of all the components or

factors that make or influence our life-supporting biophysical
environment.
❖ Environmental science is the study
of:
➡ How the natural world
works?
➡ How the environment affects
humans and vice versa?
 Environmental Science
(EVS)

Natural resources: vital to human survival

๏ Natural resources - are substances and energy sources needed for
survival. There are two types of natural resources:
❖ Renewable resources
➡ perpetually available (e.g. sunlight, wind, wave energy)
➡ renew themselves over short periods of
time (e.g. timber,
water, soil)
❖ Non-renewable resources
➡ can be depleted
(e.g. oil, coal, minerals)
 Environmental Science:
Brief History

Environmental history emerged as a new field of study as environmental

problems began to rise up the global political agenda in the 1960s and
1970s. Its primary goal is to show how environmental change and
human actions are interconnected.
Environmental historians, whatever their backgrounds may be, are
breaking down disciplinary borders to examine the complexities of
human-environment relationships over the long term. By exploring the
interactions between social systems and ecological processes in the past,
environmental history aims to promote better informed planning and
policymaking for the future.
A number of research studies has been made related ti environmental
issues, however, the number of truly global studies remains relatively
small in an otherwise fast-growing field.
 Environmental Science in
Relation to Environment

Environmental science: how the natural

world works
Environment Impacts Humans

๏ Goal: developing solutions to

environmental problems
๏ An interdisciplinary field
‣ Natural sciences: information
about the natural world
‣ Social sciences: study human
interactions and behavior
Environmental Science in
Relation to Environment

➡A d e p i c t i o n o f t h e
sustainability paradigm
in terms of its three main
components, showing
various interaction
among them
 Environmental Science in
Relation to Environment

Environmental science can mitigate the impact

of Population Growth to the Environment

๏ Can help avoid mistakes made by past civilizations

‣ Human survival depends on how we interact with old
environment
‣ Our impacts are now global
‣ Many great civilizations have fallen after depleting their
resources.
 Environmental Science in
Relation to Environment

“Nauru: An Island Country Destroyed by Phosphate Mining”

 Population and
Environmental Challenges

Global human population growth

๏ More than 7.8 billion humans (as of
September 2020)
๏ Why so many humans?
‣ Agricultural revolution
- stable food supplies
‣ Industrial revolution
- urbanized society powered by
fossil fuels
- sanitation and medicines
- more food

❖ Human population growth amplifies all

environmental problems
 Population and
Environmental Challenges

Global human
population
growth
 Population and
Environmental Challenges

Resource consumption exerts impacts

๏ Economically and industrially, Asia is the fastest-growing region in
the world but this economic and industrial development is
inevitably accompanied by changing patterns of
consumption.
‣ interplay between population growth, resource depletion,
and environmental degradation causes concern
๏ Economic development contributes to environmental stress
‣ results to persistence of poverty since environmental
deterioration affects the poor and disadvantaged
 Population and
Environmental Challenges

The “ecological footprint”

๏ The environmental impact of a person
or population
‣ Amount of biologically productive land
& water needed to supply the people
in a particular area
‣ with renewable resources and
absorbs and recycle wastes

Overshoot: humans have surpassed

the Earth’s capacity to support us
 Environmental Ethics

It is the study of the moral relationship of human

beings with the environment and its non-human
contents.
‣ deals with the issues related to the rights and duties of
individuals that are fundamental to life and well-being of
present human society, future generations, as well as other
beings present on the earth

Definition of Terms:
❖ Ethics: the study of good and bad, right and wrong
❖ Relativist: ethics vary with social context
❖ Universalists: right and wrong remains the same across cultures and
situations
 Environmental Ethics

The need of environmental ethics has arisen

‣ ethical issues are hard to resolve; depends on the person’s

ethical standards
‣ depends on the person’s domain of ethical concerns
‣ Questions such as the following always arise:
- Should we conserve resources for future generations?
- Is it OK to destroy a forest to create jobs for people?
- Should we drive other species to extinction?
- It is OK for some communities to be exposed to excess
pollution?
 Environmental Ethics

Three Ethical Perspectives

๏ Anthropocentrism: only humans have rights
‣ Costs and benefits are measured only according to their impact
on people
‣ Anything not providing benefit to people has no value

๏ Biocentrism: certain living things also have value

‣ All life has ethical standing

‣ Development is opposed if it destroys life, even if it creates jobs

๏ Ecocentrism: whole ecological systems have value

‣ Values the well-being of species, communities, or ecosystems

‣ Holistic perspective, stresses preserving connections

 Environmental
Economics
Environmental Economics
๏ A distinct branch of economics that acknowledges the
value of both the environment and the economic activity
and make choices based on those values.
‣ the theories are designed to consider the costs of
pollution and natural resource depletion
‣ Scarcity is a misallocation of environmental resources
due to a pricing
problem
 Environmental Science to
Environmentalism

Environmental Science is not Environmentalism

๏ Environmental science
‣ the pursuit of knowledge
about the natural world
‣ Scientists try to remain
objective
๏ Environmentalism
‣ Environmentalism activism
‣ a social movement dedicated
to protecting the natural world
 Environmental Science to
Environmentalism

What is Environmentalism?

๏ is a social movement through which citizens are involved in

activism to further the protection of environmental landmarks and
natural resources
๏ This is not a science, but incorporates some aspects of
environmental knowledge to advance conservations and
sustainability efforts
 Environmental Science to
➡ Jane Goodall is most well-known Environmentalism
for her love of chimpanzees and
her extensive years of field
research on the species.
➡ In July 1960, she traveled from
England to Tanzania and set out to
discover the secrets of the
chimpanzee species. Her
unconventional approach to her
research transformed relationships
between humans and animals.
➡ Currently, Jane travels the world Jane Goodall
speaking about environmental
concerns while encouraging young
people to get active about the
future of the planet
 Global Assessment
Report on Environment

From the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

๏ The most comprehensive scientific assessment of the condition

of the world’s ecological systems
๏ Major findings:
‣ Humans have drastically altered ecosystems.
‣ These changes have contributed to human well-being
and economic development, but at a cost.
‣ Environmental degradation could get much worse.
‣ Degradation can be reversed, but it requires work.
 Changing attitudes to the
world

If environmental science has a long history, so

do the environmental problems that concern us
today
๏ Urban air pollution was thought to be a recent phenomenon, dating
mainly from the rapid industrialization in Europe & North America
in the late 18th century, yet even in the 1300 many manufacturers
are tried and executed for disobeying law forbidding the burning of
coal.
๏ As early as the 17th century there were laws restricting the felling
of trees, clearing woodland, and even taking the dead wood. Most
conflicts between farms and forests was resolved in favor of farms.
๏ Mountains, upland moors, and wetlands were wastelands that
could not be cultivated and they were no less alarming.
 Changing attitudes to the
world

If environmental science has a long history, so

do the environmental problems that concern us
today
๏ Today, the love of wilderness and desire to protect it probably
represents the majority view, at least in most industrialized
societies.
๏ Similarly, most people recognize pollution as harmful and will
support measures to reduce it, provided they are not too
expensive or disruptive.
๏ These are not new ideas or attitudes but have emerged at
various times in the past and then concerns has waned.
Modern concerns continue to follow this cycle.
 Conclusion
➡ Finding ways to live sustainably on Earth requires a solid ethical
grounding and scientific understanding of our natural and social
systems.
➡ Environmental science helps us understand our relationship
with the environment and informs ours attempts to solve and
prevent problems.
➡ Identifying a problem is the first step in solving it.
➡ Solving environmental problems can move us toward health,
longevity, peace, and prosperity.
- Environmental science can help find balanced solutions
to environmental problems.
 GEE-ES Environmental
Science

Thank You and

Keep Safe
Always…