Environmental Science :

Study of relationship btwn organisms & non-living

environment!
Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Sociology
Geography, Geology, Economics, Politics
Cultural Anthropology, Engineering, Law
Ethics
Problems associated w/above - - pollution, natural
resources..etc.
Environmental Problems
usually complex scientific guesstimates
Ecology :
Studies interrelationships btwn organism /environment
ie. human popul.growth Increase energy needs resource
depletion increase pollution
Current Ecological Problems
Yellowstone wolves
Everglades water
Ozone destruction
Endangered Species
Atmospheric issues:
Ozone levels Stratosphere
Absorbs UV radiation
hole over Antarctica
Originally blamed on CFCs
(chloroflurocarbons)
Aerosols / Freon
1985 seasonal thinning noticed onset of Antarctic
Spring (sept.)
Full recovery ?? 2050??

2005
7/09
02 August 2012
Ozone Animation Monthly
August 2013
Could see temps rise @ 2.5-10.4 by end of 21
st
century!
Melt ice/chg rainfall - -increase water levels..
* * MAY BE MOST PRESSING ENVIRO. ISSUE!!

Tropical Rain Forrest Destruction
90s @ 5 million acres Brazil
Loss of plants, animals, microorganisms,
Slash/Burn Agricultureforest cut/burned- cropland
Soil no longer heldwashes awayclogs streams fish
die

Pollution ~~
Alteration air/H2O/soil
HARMS living things
HELP is around the corner !!!
Green Architecture
Earth Friendly construction
mini-ecosystem
Green Landscape creating or using
natural/agricultural ecosys.
Wetlands frogs/birds
Native Trees
Orchards
Greenhouse
Cistern
Xeriscape
Green Tax
Movement to switch taxing goods to taxing bads
Tax pollution rather than investments / employment
Lower taxes on income, but raise taxes on
consumption.
Ie: fishing license, garbage disposal, emissions, use of
fossil fuels, extraction of minerals, etc
There are many different views to all things
environmental

Everyone has a worldview
Collection of values that help us make sense of the
world
Lead to behaviors/lifestyles that may not be compatible
with environmental sustainability
2 extreme / compelling environmental world views
Anthropocentric~
aka Western World View
Biocentric ~
aka Deep Ecology World View
Western World View
Expansionist worldview
Human centered / utilitarian
Frontier Attitude
Conquer / exploit nature ASAP!
Human superiority / dominance over nature
Can use nature at will .. Etc..
Deep Ecology founded by Arne Naess
Ecology, Community and Lifestyle
1. Human/Nonhuman life has value.
Value of non-human is independendent of the usefulness
they may have for narrow human purposes.
2. Richness & diversity of life are values themselves
& contribute to the flourishing of all life on earth
3. Humans have no right to reduce richness &
diversity except for vital needs.
4. Present human interference w/ non-human world
is excessive and worsening.
5. Flourishing of human life & cultures is compatible
w/ substantial decrease in human population - -
non-human life requires such a decrease.
6. Significant change of life conditions, for the
better, require a change in policies that affect
economic,technological, & ideological structure.
7. Ideological change mainly appreciating life
quality rather than high standards of living.
Profound difference between big and great!
If you subscribe to the above you have an
obligation directly/indirectly to participate in the
attempt to implement necessary changes.

Chief Seattle 1854
Pg. 18


How can you buy the land..
Or sell the sky whatever befalls the earth
befalls the sons of earth
Most people dont share either Western or Deep Ecology
view.
If EVERYONE had the Western view, the world WOULD
collapse
If the environment is to be sustainable for ourselves, other
living organisms and future generations, we need to develop
and incorporate a long-lasting, environmentally sensitive
worldview into our culture!
History, Legislation & Economics
Resources:
Part of natural environment used to promote welfare of
people/other species
Conservation:
Sensible/careful management of natural resources
Responsible current needs use for
available future needs
NOT same as preservation
Preservation:
Set aside undisturbed areas to protect from human
activities
Protect from anything that might alter natural state
John James Audubon
FAMOUS painter
Lifelike animals - - especially birds
Henry Thoreau
Walden Pond - MA
Contemplation - how people could live in
harmony w/ nature -
Economize/simplify lives
Theodore Roosevelt was arguably the most
environmentally active president
Saved 43 million
+
acres of forest from loggers
Pres.term Golden Age of Conservation
Appointed Gifford Pinchot
Gifford Pinchot park WA named for him
1
st
head of US Forest Service
Harvest trees only at rate at which they can regrow
sustainable harvest
1872
1
st
National Park
Yellowstone Ntl. Park

John Muir
Founded Sierra Club
Advocated for low impact recreational activities such as
hiking and camping
Garrett Hardin
Tragedy of the Commons
Georges Banks
Rachel Carson
Silent Spring, 1962
Heightened public awareness
@ DDT / other pesticides
Apollo missions allowed us to view
Spaceship Earth 1968 Earthrise
Paul Ehrlich
1968 The Population Bomb
John Deutschendorf aka
John Denver put the environmental movement to music

First Earth Day : 4/22/70
1970
EPA
Environmental Protection Agency
NEPA signed by R. Nixon, which allowed for the EIS
NEPA
National Environmental Policy Act
EIS
Environmental Impact Statements
1963
Clean Air Act
1972
Clean Water Act
Ecosystems
2 parts
Biotic
Living
Abiotic
Nonliving
Living space, temperature, sunlight, soil, wind, perception..

Eco House
Logy To Study
Study interactions among organisms & between
organisms and the abiotic enviro
BROADEST field of Biological Science
Includes Geology, Earth Science, Chem, Physics,
Botany, Zoology, Economics
Ecology
Ecologist study
Organisms / populations / communities / ecosystems
/ landscapes / biosphere
Ecosystem
Community w/ its environment
Bio / chem / energy/ nutrients/ organic material/ water
Community: an association of organisms, plant & animal, each occupying a certain
position or ecological niche, inhabiting a common environment, and interacting with
one another; all the plants and animals in a particular habitat that are bound
together by food chains and other interrelationships
Ecosystem process collectively regulate global cycles
ie. Water, Carbon, Nitrogen, O2
Changing ecosystems changes sustainability
Landscape Ecology

Connections between several ecosystems in a given area.
I.e.. forest ecosys next to pond ecosyst
Herons-fish-frogs-bugs-crustaceans-snakes
Spheres
Biosphere
Layer of earth that contains all living organisms
Communities/ecoystems/landscapes all depend on
one another
& on Earths physical environment
Atmosphere/hydrosphere/lithosphere
ALL ARE
INTERCONNECTED!
GOAL of the Environment
Sustainability!!!


A state or process that can be maintained indefinitely
This should be our goal as well!!
We ALL need to work for a sustainable world!!