Foundations of Environmental Science - Lecture

Environmental Science = The study of how the natural world works and how humans interact

Pillars

  • Environment

    • organic (living): animals, plants, fungi, bacteria

    • inorganic (non-living): rocks, soil, air, water

  • Social

    • culture and ethics

  • Economic

    • money drives environmental science, fossil fuels are cheap

  • History

    • history of environment

    • how systems got set up

  • The environment is made up of all abiotic and biotic things

Fundamental Concepts

  • Population growth, sustainability, earth as a system, hazardous earth processes, scientific knowledge, geology as a function, limitation of resources, uniformitarianism

Careers in ES

  • Soil scientist, environmental engineer, ecologist, environmental geologist, environmental consultant, environmental lawyer

Environmental Concepts

  • Population Growth

    • #1 problem = increase in human population

      • exponential growth: population doubled from 1-2 billion from 1830-1930 and by 1970 it doubled again

  • Sustainability

    • we are using our natural resources (land, soil, water, forest, fish, oil) faster than they can be replenished which leads to a struggle to define stability

      • environment vs. economic vs. society

  • Earth as a System - Biogeochemical Cycles

    • atmosphere (air), hydrosphere (water), biosphere (life), cryosphere (ice), lithosphere (rock+soil) all interact

  • Limitation of Resources

    • earth’s resources are limited

    • must find ways to use large-scale recycling of materials

    • how far are we willing to go?

  • Uniformitarianism/Chemical

    • physical processes modifying our landscape today have operated throughout much of geologic time

    • however, the magnitude of frequency are subject to natural and artificial change

      • natural: finding fossil evidence in LS

      • artificial: river floods, but humans can increase/decrease influence of flooding

    • Natural Hazards

      • there have always been natural hazards that have affected people

        • must be recognized where possible threat to human life and property be minimized

    • Geology as a Foundation

      • a fundamental component of every person’s environment