Environment Conditions that surround an organism or group(s) of organisms
Complex of social or cultural conditions that affect an individual or community
Environmental Science is the systematic study of our environment as well as our proper role in it
Interdisciplinary
- Natural Science
- Social Science
- Humanities
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Many kinds of knowledge contribute to our understanding in Environmental Science
Human Population is >
7.1 Billion
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Current Conditions
What impact does a population of 7 billion have on the planet?
Climate Change: burning fossil fuels causes global climate change.
Food: food is inequitably distributed across the globe and 2/3 of agricultural lands show signs of degradation.
Water: may be the most critical resource in the
21st century.
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Signs of Hope
Energy: fossil fuel use causes pollution, there is a shift to using more renewable energy resources. Progress has been made on many fronts.
Air Pollution: air quality has worsened dramatically in many areas.
Biodiversity: species are being lost at a rapid rate.
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Population & Pollution: Many cities are more livable today than a century ago due to human birth rate stabilization and clean technology use.
Health: Incidence of life-threatening diseases has been reduced in most countries.
Access to Current Information: Expanding access to knowledge is essential to progress.
Habitat Conservation: Tropical forest destruction has slowed & habitat protection has improved in some areas.
Renewable Energy: Progress is being made in the transition to renewable energy sources.
International Cooperation: helps solve global environmental problems.
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Historical Perspective
Over time there were four distinct stages
Pragmatic Resource Conservation
Moral and Aesthetic Nature Preservation
Concern about Health and Ecological Damage
Global Environmental Citizenship
“The problems that overwhelm us today are precisely those we failed to solve decades ago.” Mostafa K. Tolba
These stages are not mutually exclusive and parts of each persist today in the environmental movement.
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Pragmatic Resource Conservation
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Ethical and Aesthetic Nature Preservation
Theodore Roosevelt and his conservation advisor,
Gifford Pinchot.
- Pinchot’s policy was one of
Pragmatic Utilitarian Conservation
“For the greatest good for the greatest number for the longest time”
Reflected today in the Multiple Use
Policies of USFS
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John Muir - President Sierra Club
Nature deserves to exist for its own sake regardless of degree of usefulness to humans.
Biocentric Preservation – “Why ought man to value himself more than…the one great unit of creation”. He opposed Pinchot’s view.
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Modern Environmental Movement
Muir Woods, California
The industrial expansion after
WW II added new concerns to the environmental agenda. Rachel Carson – awakened the public to the environmental threat posed by pesticides in her book Silent Spring
(1962)
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An example…
► By
1963 fewer that 500 Bald Eagle nests in the lower 48, Today more that 7,000 pairs
(Possibly half a million before settlers)
► The eggs become brittle
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DDT
► Created
in 1873, pesticide in 1936, creator was awarded the Nobel Prize
► Used to control mosquitoes that spread diseases like malaria
► Estimated to have
