Description
answer these Question
Unformatted Attachment Preview
Module 1
Chapter 1: Environmental
Science and Sustainability
For each of the text’s 15 chapters we’ll cover “big questions”
for that chapter, then cover several important topics of the
chapter, and eventually comes back to the big question.
We’ll start each chapter with a review of what will be
covered in that particular chapter. Chapter 1 is divided into 6
sections, including
1.1) Why Should You Care About Sustainability?
1.2) What Do You Need to Know?
1.3) What Are the Problems?
1.4) What Can Be Done?
1.5) A Look to the Future and
1.6) What Would You Do?
In some ways Chapter 1 is a mini-review of the entire book and
course, and an introduction into what we will cover in more detail
later.
About Chapter 1
“Environmental Science and Sustainability”
– Concept of sustainability is central to the
study of ES
– Many environmental problems associated
with lack of sustainability of resource use and
human cultural systems.
– In many cases, the use of resources can also
degrade other resources necessary to life,
such as air, water and land.
Why Should You Care About
Sustainability?
Definition of Sustainability
– Sustainability as a word can be defined in several way but in ES it is the
capacity of natural systems to maintain human Society by providing
natural resources needed to survive and ideally to flourish.
– Natural resources may be easily recognizable, such as food, or not so
much, such as the ability of the Earth’s ozone layer to protect us from
harmful radiation from the Sun.
– Natural resources can come from a variety of places, but primarily
break down into
– 1) sunlight energy from the sun, and
– 2) resources from Earth’s geosphere or biosphere (Figure 1.1).
– We assume we have no impact on the Sun as a provider of resources,
but we can have dramatic impacts on the sustainability of resources
derived from the Earth.
What Do You Need to Know?
•
Environment includes everything around us, energy from the sun
and all organisms, minerals, living and nonliving in the air, water,
and soil with which we can interact (Figure 1.2).
•
Environment creates a complex web of interrelationships that we
depend on for our own survival.
•
Our environment is part of the human experience, whether or not
we recognize that.
•
Three basic goals of the course, which are also outlined in Chapter
1 of the text:
– Learn how the natural world works,
– Understand the major environmental issues we face, and
– Find ways to deal with these environmental issues.
•
You can apply these principles to a variety of college majors
What Do You Need to Know?
There are several terms important in ES that should be introduced
now.
•
Ecology is the biological science that studies how living things
interact with one another and with their environment, which is an
important component of environmental science.
•
Scientists refer to living things as organisms and they classify
organisms into species, or groups of organisms
with distinctive traits.
•
•
An ecosystem consists of one or more groups of organisms
interacting among themselves and with the nonliving matter and
energy in their physical environment within a specified place.
Key Terms to learn and
remember at this point
in the course.
The Scientific Process
–
Science may seem complicated, the basic process is not
–
Steps include:
1) a question is asked that will be investigated
2) get hold of knowledge that is already known
3) gather scientific data
4) ask a scientific hypothesis
5) test the hypothesis
6) evaluate the results
potential
7)
8)
–
makeup up a new hypothesis
repeat the process as many times as it takes to answer your basic
question. New questions almost certainly come up, and you sometimes
discover things you did not expect, called “Serendipity”.
Four factors dictate the success of the scientific process:
– Curiosity
– Skepticism
– Reproducibility
– Peer review
Components of Matter
– Matter is anything that has mass and takes up
space
– Matter also exists in two major chemical forms:
• elements
• compounds and molecules
– Exchange of electrons between atoms and elements
are chemical reactions. This exchange can create
• ions, or atoms or molecules with electrical
charge
Numbers in Environmental Science
Numbers are also important in ES and a source of frustration for
many. It is important to distinguish between extremely large and very
small numbers in ES
The Law of Conservation of Matter
It is important to understand some basic laws of conservation
of matter an energy to understand how resources and waste
apply to Environmental Science.
– We can never create or destroy matter
– Compounds can be changed into other compounds (i.e. by
burning or synthesis)
– Atoms in those compounds are mostly permanent
Types of Energy
– Energy is capacity to do work or transfer heat
– Two major types of energy
– Kinetic energy
– Energy of movement
– Electromagnetic radiation
– Potential energy
– Can be converted to kinetic, and kinetic can
be used to create potential energy
Energy Quality
– Determines usefulness
– High-quality energy
– Concentrated with high capacity to do useful
work
– Low-quality energy has low capacity for useful
work.
Two Laws of Thermodynamics
– Conversion of energy from one form to another
doesn’t create it or destroy it
– No perpetual motion machines
– Energy converted from one form to another is
degraded to a lower-quality, less useful form of
energy
– Second law is obvious in the amount of biomass
supported at different tropic levels
Natural Capital
A major component of sustainability
– Resources are anything we take from the
environment to meet our needs
– Matter
– Energy
– Natural or ecosystem services
– Renewable
– Nonrenewable
Life-Sustaining Solar Energy
– Energy from sun provides the natural capital
(Figure 1.15)
– High-quality (very useful) energy flows from the
sun
– incoming solar energy changes, is degraded into
lower-quality (less useful) waste heat
Life-Sustaining Biodiversity
Biodiversity plays vital roles
Biodiversity
is
Biodiversity
interacts with
Biodiversity
provides
• variety of
species
• genetic
makeup
• natural
ecosystems
• other
biodiversity
• soil
• water
• air
• food
• wood
• fibers
• energy
Energy Flow in Ecosystems
– Trophic levels
– Producers
– Plants on land
– Phytoplankton, algae, plants in water
– Consumers
– Decomposers
– Bacteria
– Fungi
– More biomass at lower tropic level
– 10% rule
– Food webs
– Complex interrelationships of matter and energy
– Chemical cycling
The Water Cycle
Water supply
– Does not grow or shrink
– Constantly recycled (Figure 1.20)
– Supplied from
• Surface water
▪ Streams
▪ Rivers
▪ Lakes
• Groundwater
Water cycle:
– Collects
– Purifies
– Recycles
– Distributes water
Carbon Cycle
– Circulates carbon
– Photosynthesis removes from atmosphere into
complex C molecules
– Respiration returns CO2 to atmosphere, provides
energy
– Carbon dioxide
– Greenhouse gas
– Increased CO2 warmer atmosphere
– Major environmental problem caused by humans
What Are the Problems?
Economic Growth, Pollution, and Wastes
– Advanced industrialized countries have
– high-consumption, high-waste economies
– high use of matter and energy resources (Figure 1.22)
– high use of matter and energy resources
– high production of heat, wastes, and pollution
– high degradion and depletion of natural resources and services
– can exceed the capacity of the environment
Environmental Degradation and Ecological Footprints
– Evidence we are damaging environment’s capacity to provide resources
– Pollution of renewable resources
– Use and depletion of nonrenewable resources
– Ecological is use of resources, usually per-capita
What Can Be Done?
Three Scientific Principles of Sustainability
– Solar energy
– Chemical cycling
– Biodiversity
A Look to the Future
Our environmental future?
– New and surprising events and changes
– We influence futures
– Current path, rapid degradation
– More sustainable living limits degradation
What Would You Do?
Largest harmful effects:
– Food production and consumption
– Transportation
– Home energy use
– Overall resource use
Ideas for reduction in impact
– Food Production and Consumption
– Reducing meat consumption
– Buying or growing organic food
– Buying locally grown food
– Transportation
– Driving energy-efficient vehicles
– Reducing car use
– Working at home
What Would You Do?
Ideas for reduction in impact (continued)
– Home Energy Use
– Insulating living spaces
– Plugging air leaks
– Installing energy-efficient windows
– Energy-efficient heating and cooling
– Energy-efficient lights, and appliances
– Using renewable energy sources
– Resource Use
– Reducing, reusing, recycling, composting, and sharing
– Focusing on prevention of pollution and waste
– Using renewable energy
Multiple Choice Assignment 1: Environmental Policy and Solution
1) What is sustainability?
a) The ability to maintain economic growth indefinitely.
b) The capacity of a system to survive, flourish, and adapt to changing conditions into the long-term
future.
c) A method of reducing waste in industrial processes.
d) A government policy for environmental conservation.
2) Which of the following is NOT a part of Earth’s life-support system?
a) Geosphere
b) Hydrosphere
c) Cryosphere
d) Biosphere
3) What is the primary focus of Environmental Science?
a) Studying the impact of human activity on the environment.
b) Learning about different animal species.
c) Analyzing the earth’s mineral resources.
d) Understanding the universe and space.
4) Which is a step in the scientific process?
a) Forming a belief based on personal values.
b) Testing a hypothesis through controlled experiments.
c) Accepting the first explanation for a phenomenon.
d) Ignoring peer reviews and criticisms.
5) Critical thinking in science involves:
a) Relying solely on intuition.
b) Being skeptical and evaluating evidence carefully.
c) Accepting facts without questioning.
d) Separating facts from government propaganda.
6) What does a scientific theory represent?
a) A guess or hypothesis that is yet to be tested.
b) A tested and well-accepted explanation.
c) A principle that is proven wrong.
d) An idea that cannot be tested.
7) What are atoms primarily made up of?
a) Molecules and compounds.
b) Protons, neutrons, and electrons.
c) Water and carbon.
d) Ions and isotopes.
8) The law of conservation of matter implies that:
a) Matter can be created during chemical reactions.
b) Matter can be destroyed in physical changes.
c) We cannot destroy or get rid of our wastes.
d) Matter can change into energy.
9) What is the significance of biodiversity?
a) It is only important for aesthetic reasons.
b) It plays a vital role in sustaining life, providing resources, and adapting to environmental
changes.
c) It has no real impact on the environment.
d) It is significant only for scientific research.
10) Which of these is a principle of sustainability?
a) Increasing consumption of nonrenewable resources.
b) Relying solely on high-quality energy sources.
c) Emphasizing solar energy flow, chemical cycling, and biodiversity.
d) Discouraging the use of renewable resources.
Purchase answer to see full
attachment
