Earth Science and Society Notes

  • Supports other organisms.

  • Keystone species for all species.

  • Gaia Earth Hypothesis: Earth is a self-regulating system.

  • Polluters include gas, oil, plastic, chemical, pharmaceutical, and mining industries.

Hydrosphere

  • Understand the water cycle and its role in life.

  • How humans are ruining it (mining, agriculture).

  • Almost no fresh water on earth (3%).

  • Wasting fresh water: a 150-acre golf course uses approximately 200 million gallons of water a year which is enough to supply 1,800 residences with 300300 GPD of water

Fresh Water

  • Most precious natural resource.

  • Humans can’t make it at scale - too expensive and energy intensive.

  • Hydrologic cycle does it for free, using solar energy; Purifies and adds just enough minerals.

Summary

  • What’s so special about the Earth?

    • Life, only place we know it exists

  • We are in a precarious position

  • How we steward our resources matters

  • If we do not live sustainably the next generations will pay

Sustainability

  • Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.