college environmental science mrs. cirillo chapter 1 introduction to environmental science and the...
TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MRS. CIRILLO CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE](https://reader030.vdocuments.mx/reader030/viewer/2022032802/56649e0f5503460f94af9e60/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
C O L L E G E E N V I R O N M E N T A L S C I E N C EM R S . C I R I L L O
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND THE
NATURE OF SCIENCE
![Page 2: COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MRS. CIRILLO CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE](https://reader030.vdocuments.mx/reader030/viewer/2022032802/56649e0f5503460f94af9e60/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
OUR ISLAND, EARTH
• The Earth may seem enormous to us• But Earth and its systems are finite and limited• We can change Earth and damage its systems
• Environment: all the living and nonliving things around us• Continents, oceans, clouds, ice caps• Animals, plants, forests, farms, etc.• Structures, urban centers, living spaces• Social relationships and institutions
![Page 3: COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MRS. CIRILLO CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE](https://reader030.vdocuments.mx/reader030/viewer/2022032802/56649e0f5503460f94af9e60/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
PEOPLE EXIST WITHIN THE ENVIRONMENT
• Humans depend on a healthy, functioning planet• The fundamental insights of environmental science:• We are part of the natural world, but we can also change it• Our interactions with its other parts matter a great deal
• We depend completely on the environment for survival • Increased health, longer lives, wealth, mobility, leisure
• But natural systems have been degraded by pollution, soil erosion, species extinction, etc.• Environmental changes threaten our long-term well-being
and survival
![Page 4: COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MRS. CIRILLO CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE](https://reader030.vdocuments.mx/reader030/viewer/2022032802/56649e0f5503460f94af9e60/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE EXPLORES OUR INTERACTIONS WITH THE WORLD
• Environmental science is the study of:• How the natural world works• How the environment affects humans and vice versa
• We need to understand our interactions with the environment• To creatively solve environmental problems
• Global conditions are rapidly changing• We are also rapidly gaining knowledge• We still have the opportunity to solve problems
![Page 5: COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MRS. CIRILLO CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE](https://reader030.vdocuments.mx/reader030/viewer/2022032802/56649e0f5503460f94af9e60/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
WE RELY ON NATURAL RESOURCES
• Natural resources: substances and energy sources we need for survival• Renewable natural resources: replenished
over short periods• Perpetually renewed: sunlight, wind, wave energy• Renewed over short periods and can be depleted:
timber, water, soil• Nonrenewable natural resources: unavailable
after depletion• Oil, coal, minerals
![Page 6: COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MRS. CIRILLO CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE](https://reader030.vdocuments.mx/reader030/viewer/2022032802/56649e0f5503460f94af9e60/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
WE RELY ON ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
• Natural resources are “goods” produced by nature• Earth’s natural resources provide “services” to us
• Ecosystem services: arise from the normal functioning of natural services and allow us to survive• Purify air and water, cycle nutrients, regulate climate• Pollinate plants, receive and recycle wastes
• We degrade ecosystem services by depleting resources, destroying habitat, generating pollution• Increased human affluence and population have intensified
degradation
![Page 7: COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MRS. CIRILLO CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE](https://reader030.vdocuments.mx/reader030/viewer/2022032802/56649e0f5503460f94af9e60/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH AMPLIFIES IMPACTS
• There are now over 7 billion humans• Agricultural revolution: 10,000 years ago• Growing crops and livestock led to sedentary lives• Stable food supplies increased survival and children
• Industrial revolution: mid 1700s• Urbanized society powered
by fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal)
• Sanitation and medicines• Pesticides, fertilizers
![Page 8: COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MRS. CIRILLO CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE](https://reader030.vdocuments.mx/reader030/viewer/2022032802/56649e0f5503460f94af9e60/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
THE NATURE OF SCIENCE
• Science: a systematic process for learning about the world and testing our understanding of it• The body of knowledge arising from the dynamic process of
questioning, observation, testing, discovery
• Knowledge gained from science can solve society’s needs• Develop technology • Inform policy and management decisions
• Scientists are motivated to:• Develop useful applications• Understand how the world works
![Page 9: COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MRS. CIRILLO CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE](https://reader030.vdocuments.mx/reader030/viewer/2022032802/56649e0f5503460f94af9e60/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
APPLICATIONS OF SCIENCE
Prescribed burning restores healthy forests
Engineering and technology
Energy-efficient electric car
Policy and management
![Page 10: COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MRS. CIRILLO CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE](https://reader030.vdocuments.mx/reader030/viewer/2022032802/56649e0f5503460f94af9e60/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
SCIENCE TESTS IDEAS BY EXAMINING EVIDENCE
• Science asks and answers questions• Scientists do not simply accept conventional wisdom• They judge ideas by the strength of their evidence
• Observational (descriptive) science: information is gathered about organisms, systems, processes, etc.• Cannot be manipulated by experiments• Phenomena are observed and measured• Used in astronomy, paleontology, taxonomy, genomics
• Hypothesis-driven science: targeted, structured research • Experiments test hypotheses using the scientific method
![Page 11: COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MRS. CIRILLO CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE](https://reader030.vdocuments.mx/reader030/viewer/2022032802/56649e0f5503460f94af9e60/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD: A TRADITIONAL APPROACH• It tests ideas with
observations• A scientist makes an
observation and asks questions about some phenomenon• Hypothesis: a statement that
tries to answer the question• The hypothesis generates
predictions: specific statements that can be directly tested
![Page 12: COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MRS. CIRILLO CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE](https://reader030.vdocuments.mx/reader030/viewer/2022032802/56649e0f5503460f94af9e60/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD TESTS HYPOTHESES
• Experiment: tests the validity of a prediction or hypothesis
• Variables: conditions that can change or be manipulated
• The data (information) are analyzed and interpreted• By statistical tests
• The experiment either supports or rejects the hypothesis
![Page 13: COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MRS. CIRILLO CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE](https://reader030.vdocuments.mx/reader030/viewer/2022032802/56649e0f5503460f94af9e60/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
EXPERIMENTS MANIPULATE VARIABLES• Independent variable: can be manipulated
• Dependent variable: depends on the independent variable
• Controlled experiment: the effects of all variables are controlled
• Except the independent variable whose effect is being tested
• Control: an unmanipulated point of comparison
• Treatment: a manipulated point of comparison
• Quantitative data: information expressed by numbers
• Qualitative Data: information that describes something
![Page 14: COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MRS. CIRILLO CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE](https://reader030.vdocuments.mx/reader030/viewer/2022032802/56649e0f5503460f94af9e60/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
HYPOTHESES ARE TESTED IN DIFFERENT WAYS
• Manipulative experiments: reveal causal relationships• The independent variable is manipulated • Yields the strongest evidence• Long-term, large-scale processes can’t be manipulated
• Natural tests: search for correlations among variables
• Compare how dependent variables are expressed in different contexts
• Weaker evidence, but shows real-world complexity
• Results are not neat-and-clean, or black-and-white
• Addresses immense-scale questions (i.e., ecosystems)
![Page 15: COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MRS. CIRILLO CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE](https://reader030.vdocuments.mx/reader030/viewer/2022032802/56649e0f5503460f94af9e60/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS: PART OF THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY
• Peer review: other scientists judge the work
• Conferences: scientists interact with others
• Grants and funding: from private or government sources• Intense competition
• Repeatability: others try to reproduce the results
![Page 16: COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MRS. CIRILLO CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE](https://reader030.vdocuments.mx/reader030/viewer/2022032802/56649e0f5503460f94af9e60/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
THEORIES AND PARADIGM SHIFTS
• Theory: a well-tested and widely accepted explanation• Extensively validated by great amounts of research• Consolidates widely supported, related hypotheses• It is not “just a theory” (speculation)• Example: Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection
• With more data, scientific interpretations can change• Paradigm shift: a new dominant view replaces the
old • Example: Earth, not the sun, is the center of the universe• Example: plate tectonics move continents
![Page 17: COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MRS. CIRILLO CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE](https://reader030.vdocuments.mx/reader030/viewer/2022032802/56649e0f5503460f94af9e60/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)