Environmental Science M1

ENVIRONMENT

(French origin : ENVIRONNER = to encircle or to surround) The physical, non-living, and living surroundings of a society with which it has a reciprocal relationship.

FUNCTIONS OF ENVIRONMENT

the various roles and contributions that the environment makes to support life and human activities

Source of resource inputs

various natural resources that are essential for human survival and economic activities

Source of amenity services

aesthetic and recreational benefits from the natural environments

Provides life support

by providing clean air, clean water, and a stable climate

Receptacle for waste

disposal of waste materials generated by human activities

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

various benefits that humans derive from healthy ecosystems

PROVISIONING SERVICES

The products directly obtained from ecosystems

Provisioning Services (products)

Food, water, raw materials, medicine

CULTURAL SERVICES

Nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems

Cultural Services (products)

Recreation and mental and physical health, Tourism, Aesthetic appreciation and inspiration for culture, art and design, Spiritual experience and sense of place

REGULATING SERVICES

The benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes

Regulating Services (products)

Local climate air quality, Carbon sequestration and storage, Moderation of extreme events, Waste water treatment, Erosion prevention and maintenance of soil fertility, Pollination, Biological control, Regulation of water flow,

SUPPORTING SERVICES

Indirect services, as they are necessary for the production of provisioning, regulating or cultural services

Supporting Services (products)

Habitat for species

NATURAL RESOURCES

essential components of the environment that humans use to meet their needs and enhance their quality of life

RENEWABLE RESOURCES

Natural resources that can be replenished in a short period of time (e.g., Wind, Solar, Water, Forest, products)

NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES

Natural resource that cannot be re-made or re-grown at a scale comparable to its consumption (e.g., Nuclear Energy, Fossil fuels,  Petroleum, Natural Gas)

SEVEN ENVIRONMENTAL PRINCIPLES

Nature knows best, All forms of life are important, Everything is connected to everything else, Everything changes, Everything must go somewhere, Ours is a finite Earth, Nature is beautiful and that humans are the stewards of God

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

The systematic study of our environment and our place in it; Application of fundamental knowledge to real-world problems

INTEGRATIVE

Politics, Ethics, Demography, Anthropology, Geography, Geology, Ecology, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Philosophy, Economics

GLOBAL

Global dependence on resources ▪ Global environmental problems ▪ Global solutions

HELPS US UNDERSTAND OUR REMARKABLE PLANET

Earth's Systems ▪ Earth's natural processes ▪ The impacts of human activities ▪ The challenges facing our planet

MAIN GOALS OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

LEARN HOW THE NATURAL WORLD WORKS. UNDERSTAND HOW HUMANS INTERACT WITH THE ENVIRONMENT. DETERMINE HOW WE AFFECT THE ENVIRONMENT

ENVIRONMENTALISM

A social movement or an ideology focused on the welfare of the environment, environmentalism seeks to protect and conserve the elements of earth's ecosystem

(PLATO) 4th CENTURY B.C.

“Deforestation has adverse effects.” The connections between deforestation, soil erosion, and local climate change were already observed and understood.

18th CENTURY B.C.

Some of the earliest recorded scientific studies of environmental damage were carried out by French or British colonial administrators.

STEPHEN HALES (1764)

Hales’ idea of conserving green plants preserves rainfall was put into practice on the Caribbean island, where about 20 percent of the land was marked as STEPHEN “reserved in wood for rains.”

1769

Poivre was appalled at the environmental and social devastation caused by destruction of wildlife Mauritius remains a model for balancing nature and human needs.

PIERRE POIVRE

an early French governor of Mauritius (/mr-i-shuhs/) ordered that one-quarter of Mauritius be preserved in forests

FOUR STAGES BEFORE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTALISM

resource waste triggered pragmatic resource conservation, ethical and aesthetic concerns motivated the preservation movement, rising pollution levels led to the modern environmental movement, environmental quality is tied to social progress

David Lowenthal

“All Nature is linked together by invisible bonds and every organic creature, however low, however feeble, however dependent, is necessary to the wellbeing of some other among the myriad forms of life.”

Theodore Roosevelt

Progressive Movement leader (1905) - Moved forest management into the Department of Agriculture

Gifford Pinchot

first American forester - First chief of the new Forest Service

utilitarian conservation

Both recognized the framework of the national forest, park, and wildlife refuge system. The basis of Roosevelt’s and Pinchot’s policies

John Muir

geologist, author, first Sierra Club president “Nature deserves to exist for its own sake, regardless of its usefulness to us.”

Aldo Leopold

wildlife ecologist “Conservation is the positive exercise of skill and insight, not merely a negative exercise of abstinence or caution.”

Rachel Carson

stimulated modern environmentalism through her book (1962)

David Brower

Father of Modern Environmental Movement

Barry Commoner

molecular biologist ▪ public campaigns against nuclear testing, chemical pollution and environmental decay

Wangari Maathai

Green Belt Movement Founder ▪ planted more than 30 million trees while mobilizing communities ▪ Nobel Peace Prize for her work (2004)

Environmental Quality (challenges)

GREENHOUSE GASES, CLEAN WATER, AIR QUALITY

GREENHOUSE GASES

concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere have increased nearly 50 percent

CLEAN WATER

1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water

AIR QUALITY

2 billion metric tons of air pollutants are released each year (UN)

Human population and well-being

Population growth, Hunger and Food

7 billion

Number of people on earth

two-thirds

Number of degraded agricultural lands

850 million

Number of people chronically hungry

60 million

Number of people with food shortages

Natural Resources (Challenges)

BIODIVERSITY LOSS, MARINE RESOURCES, ENERGY RESOURCES

BIODIVERSITY LOSS

800 species have disappeared and 10,000 species are now considered threatened. In 2004, bird and butterfly populations had declined by 50 to 75% Half of the forests existing before the introduction of agriculture have been cleared

MARINE RESOURCES

More than threequarters of the 441 fish stocks are severely depleted. • 90 percent of all the large predators have been removed from the ocean

ENERGY RESOURCES

Costs of extracting and burning these fuels: air and water pollution, mining damage, violent conflicts, and climate change

Garrett Hardin

Freedom in a commons brings RUIN TO ALL

Sustainable development

meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs

GRO HARLEM BRUNDTLAND

Sustainable development: meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs.

Environmental Sustainability

living within the means of our natural resource

Economic Sustainability

requires a business or a country to use its resources efficiently

ability of society to persistently achieve good social well-being