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Science and The Environment

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13 views26 pages

Science and The Environment

Uploaded by

salma19.as
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Science and the

Environment
Do Now
What is the study of environmental
science?

 Write your answers in the do now section of your notebook


Objectives
Define environmental science and
compare environmental science
with ecology.
List the five major fields of study
that contribute to environmental
science.
Describe the major environmental
effects of hunter-gatherers, the
agricultural revolution, and the
Industrial Revolution.
Distinguish between renewable
and nonrenewable resources.
Classify environmental problems
into three major categories.
What Is Environmental Science?
-The study of the air,
water, and land
surrounding an organism.

-Ranges from a small


area to Earth’s entire
biosphere.

-Includes the study of the


impact of humans on the
environment.
The Goals of Environmental
Science
 -To understand and
solve environmental
problems.

 -Primarily through the


study of two main
types of interactions
1) 1)How our actions
alter our
environment.
2) 2)The use of natural
resources.
Contributing Fields of Study

-Environmental
science is an
interdisciplinary
science, which
means that it
involves many fields
of study.
Contributing Fields of Study
Scientists as Citizens, Citizens
as Scientists
-Governments,
businesses, and cities
recognize that our
environment is vital to
maintaining a healthy
and productive society.

-Observations of
nonscientists are the
first steps toward
addressing an
environmental problem.
Hunter-Gatherers
 -Hunter-gatherers:
people who obtain food
by collecting plants and
by hunting wild animals
or their remains.
 Hunter-gatherers affect
their environment in many
ways:
1) 1-Native American tribes
hunted buffalo, and other
species.
2) 2-The tribes also set fires
to burn prairies and
prevent the grow of trees..
The Agricultural Revolution
Agriculture is the
raising of crops and
livestock for food or
for other products.
Started in many
different parts of the
world over 10,000
years ago.

Changed the food


we eat
The Agricultural Revolution
 -The plants we grow and eat
today are descended from wild
plants.

 -During harvest season farmers


collected seeds from plants that
exhibited the qualities they
desired, such as large kernels.

 -These seeds were then planted


and harvested again.

 - Overtime, the domesticated


plants became very different
from their wild ancestors.
The Agricultural Revolution
(Negative impacts)
-Many habitats were destroyed
as grasslands, forests, and
wetlands were replaced with
farmland.

 -Replacing forest with farmland


on a large scale can cause soil
loss, floods, and water shortages

 -The slash-and-burn technique


was one of the earliest ways that
land was converted to farmland.

 -Much of this converted land


was poorly farmed and is no
longer fertile.
The Industrial Revolution
 -Involved a shift from energy sources
from animals and running water to
fossil fuels: coal and oil.

 -Increased use of fossil fuels greatly


increased the efficiency of
agriculture, industry, and
transportation.

 -In factories, the large-scale
production of goods became less
expensive than the local production
of handmade goods.

 -On the farm, machinery reduced the


amount of land and human labor
needed to produce food.

 -Caused a surge in populations


Industrial Revolution Pros and Cons
Pros Cons
- Agricultural productivity - Introduced many new
increased, and sanitation, environmental problems such
nutrition, and medical care as pollution and habitat loss.
vastly improved.
- Modern societies began to - -Utilized different resources
use artificial substances in that have different
place of raw animals and environmental affects
plant products.
Examples: plastics, artificial
pesticides, and fertilizers.
Spaceship Earth
 It cannot dispose of its
waste or take on new
supplies.

It is a closed system: the


only thing that enters the Earth’s
atmosphere in large amounts is
energy from the sun, and the only
thing that leaves in large
amounts is heat.
Spaceship Earth
Potential Problems
-Some resources are
limited and as the
population grows the
resources will be used
more rapidly.

- Possibility that we will


produce wastes more
quickly than we can
dispose of them.
Spaceship Earth
Environmental problems
can occur on different
scales: local, regional, or
global.
 Examples:
- Local: your community
discussing where to build
a new landfill.
- Regional: a polluted river
1000 miles away affecting
the region’s water.
- Global: the depletion of
the ozone layer.
Population Growth
 Modern medicine, and sanitation all
allowed the human population to
grow faster than it ever had before.

 Vast amounts of resources are used


to meet the worlds need for food.

 Increased food production has


environmental consequences. ex:
habitat destruction and pesticide
pollution.

 Scientists expect the pressure on the


environment will continue to increase
and the human population and its need
for food and resources grow.
Main Environmental Problems
3 main categories
1) 1- Resource
Depletion:

2) 2- Pollution:

3) 3- Loss of
Biodiversity:
Resource Depletion
Natural Resources:
are any natural
materials that are used
by humans. Ex: water,
petroleum, minerals, forests, and
animals.

Classified as renewable
or nonrenewable:
 -Renewable resources can be
replaced relatively quickly by
natural process.
 -Nonrenewable resources form
at a much slower rate than
they are consumed.
Pollution
-Pollution: an
undesirable change in the
natural environment that
is caused by the
introduction of substances
that are harmful to living
organisms or by excessive
wastes, heat, noise, or
radiation

- Most pollution is
produced by human
activities and the
accumulation of wastes
Pollution
2 Main Types of Pollutants:

• 1-Biodegradable pollutants,
which can be broken down by
natural processes and include
materials such as newspaper.
(Problem only when they
accumulate faster than they can be
broken down.)

• 2-Nondegradable pollutants,
which cannot be broken down by
natural processes and include
materials such as mercury. (Can
build up to dangerous levels in the
environment.)
Loss of Biodiversity
 -Biodiversity:
 1-The variety of organisms
in a given area

 2- The genetic variation


within a population

 3-The variety of species in a
community

 4- The variety of
communities in an
ecosystem.
Loss of Biodiversity
 Organisms that share the
world with us can be
considered natural resources.
(We depend on them for food, the
oxygen we breathe, and for many
other things).

 Only a fraction of all the


species that once roamed the
Earth are alive today.

 Organisms have potential


economic, scientific,
aesthetics, and recreational
value, so it is important to
preserve them.

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