LES107: Introduction to

Environmental Sciences
Lecture 1
Prof. Thomas Lei
Programme Coordinator for Bachelor of Environmental Science (BES)
Institute of Science and Environment, University of Saint Joseph, Macao
September 4, 2023
 #ise_usj
Prof. Thomas Lei
Job Title: Assistant Professor
Programme Coordinator for Bachelor of Environmental Science (BES)
Office: Institute of Science and Environment (ISE)
Email: [email protected]
Research Interests: Air Quality Modelling and Monitoring

ISE webpage: http://ise.usj.edu.mo/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/iseusj/ Instagram: ise-usj

Syllabus and Expectations of This
Course
´ Schedule: Monday, 3:30pm to 6:15 pm (2h45m)
´ Classroom: USJ NAPE Campus Speaker’s Hall
ISE Orientation and Welcome Session
´ Date: September 9, 2023 (Saturday)
´ Time: 11:00 am
´ Location: USJ NAPE Campus Speaker’s Hall
´ Agenda:

11:00 AM - 11:30 AM:

Welcome speech by ISE Dean, Prof. David Goncalves
Introduction of our teaching and support staff
Introduction of the BES (Bachelor of Environmental Science) Program by Prof.
Thomas Lei
Introduction of the MES (Master of Environmental Sciences and Management)
Program by Prof. Karen Tagulao
Introduction of the MNB (Master of Neuroscience and Behavior) Program by
Prof. David Goncalves

11:30 AM: Lab Tour guided by Dr. Alex Lebel and Mr. Saidu Bashir
12:00 PM: Light refreshments and interaction with our teaching staff
Marine and Environmental Science and Technology
Exchange and Study Tour to the Research Platforms
in the Greater Bay Area (MESTEX)
´ September 25 to 26, 2023
´ https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd-GB0Mv9D-
_d2yYAa4n07dl5R33trrDqrsl8nT8_yCeubcQw/viewform
BES WhatsApp Communication Group
Google Classroom

´ LES107 – Introduction to Environmental Science

´ https://classroom.google.com/u/3/c/NjE3NTEwNDcxODkx (Class code:
cbcufmi)
Textbook Used in this Course

´ Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S. (2018). Environmental science. Cengage Learning.

Chapter 1: The Environment and
Sustainability
´ The environment is everything around you
´ Living things
´ Plants
´ Animals
´ Bacteria
´ Nonliving things
´ Air
´ Water
´ Sunlight
Environmental Science

´ A study of connections in the natural environment nature

´ An interdisciplinary study of
´ How the earth (nature) works?
´ How humans interact with the environment?
´ How humans can live more sustainably?
Our Ecosystem

´ An ecosystem is a biological community of organisms within a defined area

of land or volume of water that interact with one another and with the
nonliving chemical and physical factors in their environment
´ For instance
´ A forest ecosystem consist of plants, animals, and organisms that decompose
organic materials
´ All interacting with one another and the chemicals in the forest’s air, water, and
soil
 Three Scientific Principle of
Sustainability
´ Solar Energy
´ The sun’s energy warms the planet and provide energy that plants
use to produce nutrients, the chemicals that plants and animals
need to survive
´ Biodiversity
´ The variety of genes, species, ecosystems, and ecosystem
processes
´ Chemical cycling (nutrient cycling)
´ The circulation of nutrients from the environment (mostly from soil
and water) through various organisms and back to the
environment
Types of Natural Resources

´ Natural resources are materials and energy provided by nature that are
essesntial or useful to humans
´ Three categories:
´ Inexhaustable Resources
´ Renewable Resources
´ Nonrenewable (exhausible) Resources
Inexhaustible Resources

´ One that is expected to last forever on human timescale

´ For instance:
´ Solar energy (expected to last for at least 5 billion years)
´ Wind energy
´ Geothermal energy
Renewable Resources

´ A resource that can be used repeatedly because it can be replenished

through natural processes as long as it is not used up faster than nature can
renew it
´ For instance
´ Forests, grasslands, fertile topsoil, fishes, clean air, and fresh water
´ Trees
Sustainable Yield

´ The highest rate at which people can use a renewable resource indefinitely
without reducing its available supply
Nonrenewable (exhaustable)
Resources
´ Those that exist in a fixed amount in the earth’s crust
´ Take millions to billions of years to form through geological processes
´ We can use these resources faster than nature can replace them
´ For instance
´ Fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal)
´ Metallic mineral resources (iron, copper and aluminum)
Ecosystem Services

´ The natural services provided by healthy ecosystems that support life and
human economies at no monetary cost
´ For instance
´ Forest help purify air and water, reduce soil erosion, regulate climate, and
recycle nutrients
´ Purification of air and water
´ Renewal of topsoil
´ Pollination
´ Pest Control
´ Nutrient cycling
Effect of Human Activities

´ Human activities can degrade natural capital

´ By using renewable resources faster than nature can restore them
´ By overloading the earth’s noramlly renewable air, water and soil with
pollution and wastes
´ Add pollutants to the air and dump chemicals and wastes into rivers, lakes,
and oceans faster than they can be cleansed through natural processes
´ Many of the plastics and other synthetic materials cannot be broken down
or used as nutrients by other organisms
Three Additional Principles of
Sustainability
´ Full-cost pricing (Economics)
´ To include in market prices the harmful environmental and health costs of
producing and using goods and service
´ Win-win solutions (Politics)
´ Based on cooperation and comprimises, that will benefit the largest number of
people as well as the environment

´ Responsibility to future generations (Ethics)

´ We have responsibility to leave the planet’s life-support systems in a condition as
good or better than what we inherited for the benefit of future generations and
for other species
The Tragedy of the Commons

´ Some renewable resources, called open-access resources, are not owned

by anyone and can be used by almost anyone
´ For instance:
´ Atmosphere, ocean and its fish
´ Grasslands, forests, streams, and aquifers
´ Many of these renewable resources have been environmentally degraded
´ In 1968, biologist Garrett Hardin called such degradation as the tragedy of
the commons
The Tradegy of the Commons (Cont.)

´ Degradation of such shared or open-access renewable resources occurs

because each user reasons, “The little bit that I use or pollute is not enough
to matter, and anyway, it’s a renewable resource.”
´ When the level of use is small, this logic works. Eventually, however, the total
effect of large number of people trying to exploit a widely available or
shared renewable resource can degrade it, eventually exhausting or
ruining it.
Ecological Footprint

´ The effects of environmental degradation by human activities

´ A rough measure of the total harmful environmental impacts of individuals,
cities, and countries on Earth’s natural resources, ecosystem services, and
life-support system
´ A per capaita ecological footprint is the average ecological footprint of an
individual in a given population or defined area
Biocapactiy

´ Also known as biological capacity

´ The ability of an area’s ecosystems to rgenerate the reneable resources
used by a population, city, region, country, or the world in a given time
period and to absorb gthe resulting wastes and pollution
´ If the total ecological footprint in a defined area is larger than its
biocapacity, the area is said to have an ecological deficit
´ Such a deficit occurs when people are living unsustainably by depleting
natural capital instead of living off the renewable resources and ecosystem
services
IPAT Environmental Impact Model

´ The IPAT model shows the environmental impact (I) of human activities is
the product three factors: population size (P) affluence (A) or resource
consumption per person, and the beneficial and harmful environmental
effects of technologies (T).
´ The following equation summarizes the IPAT model:
´ Impact (I) = Population (P) x Affluence (A) x Technology (T)
´ T factor can be either harmful or beneficial
´ Some forms of technology such as polluting factories, gaz-guzzling motor
vehicles, and coal-burning power plants increase our harmful
environmental impact by raising the T factor.
IPAT Model (Cont.)

´ Other technologies reduce our harmful environmental impact by

decreasing T factor
´ For Instance,
´ Pollution control and prevention technologies,
´ Fuel-efficient cars
´ Wind turbine and solar cells that generate electricity with a low environmental
impact
´ In a moderately developed country, population size is more important
factor than affluence (resource use per person)
´ In a highly developed country, resource use per person and the ability to
develop environmental beneficial technologies is more important
Poverty on Environmental and Health
Effects
´ Life-threatening Malnutrition
´ Limited access to adequate sanitation facilities and clean drinking water
´ Indoor air pollution, mostly from the smoke from open fires and poorly
vented stoces used for heating and cooking
´ According to World Health Organization (WHO), indoor air pollution caused 4.3
million people death per year
Categories of Environmental
Worldviews
´ Human-centered
´ Life-centered
´ Earth-centered
Human-Centered Environmental
Worldview
´ Sees the natural world primarily as a support system for human life
´ If we degrade or deplete a natural resource or ecosystem service, we can
use our technological ingenuity to find a substitute.
Life-Centered Environmental
Worldview
´ All species have value in fulfilling their ecological roles, regardless of their
potential or actual use to society
´ Most people with a life-centered worldview believe that we ought to avoid
hastening the extinction of species through human activities because each
species is a unique part of the biosphere that sustains all life
Earth-Centered Environmental
Worldview
´ People are part of and dependent on nature, and the earth’s natural
captial exists for all species, not just for humans.
Environmentally Sustainable Society

´ Protects natural capital and lives in its income

´ Such a society would meet the current and future basic resource needs of
its people without comprimising the ability of future generation to meet
their basic resource needs
In-class Activities: Work on IPAT Models
In-Class Activities (Cont.)

´ Work on the IPAT Equation (15 min)

´ Discussion on the IPAT Equation (15 min)
In-Class Activities: Environmental
Worldview
´ Discussison on environmental worldview (15 min)
´ Present about your own worldview (15 min)