Chapter 1 - Intro to Environmental Science

Question 1

• What is the difference between Environmental Science and Environmentalism?

Answer 1

• Environmental Science is an unbiased look at the effect humans and the environment have on each other
• Environmentalism is humans trying to use political influence to protect the environment from other competing interests (business, home growth, etc)

(Similar to protesting or standing for a cause)

Question 2

• What is a good working definition of Environmental Science?

Answer 2

• The study of our planet and how humans and the environment affect one another

Question 3

• What is included when we say the “environment” in an Environmental Science context?
• What is excluded from the environment for our purposes?

Answer 3

• The environment is everything (living and not) in our world with the sole execption of human beings

Question 4

• What is a renewable resource? Can you give three examples of them?

Answer 4

• A renewable resource is one that can be replenished in a resonable amount of time.
• Sunlight, wind energy and forests. Sunlight comes back in 12 hours, the wind blows almost constantly in some places of the world, and trees can always be replanted so they can grow and be used in 5 to 10 years.

Question 5

• What is a non renewable resource?
• Can you give two examples of these

Answer 5

• A non renewable resource is a resource that either cant be replaced ever or one that would take a very large time to make.
• Oil and coal are examples of non renewable sources. Yes, they can be made again but it would take millions of years to do so.

Question 6

• What is the difference between a theory (used in everyday speech) and a Scientific Theory?

Answer 6

• A theory (small T) used in everyday speech is a hunch or a guess; whereas, a Scientific Theory (capital T) is a large body of work and evidence that attempts to fully explain a certain natural pheneomenaon (example: Cell Theory, Gravitational Theory, Atomic Theory, Theory of Evolution, Germ Theory)

6 min Youtube video to help you understand a bit more

Question 7

• When a system or resource is considered sustainable, what exactly does that mean?
• Give a good working example of a sustainble system.

Answer 7

• A system is considered sustainable when we humans consume a portion of the resources available but the environment can regenerate those resources faster than we consume them.
• Example: Fish in a lake can reproduce quicker than the humans can fish them out of it. Or, the humans deliberately fish only a small number of fish to allow their reproduction to keep up with consumption.

Youtube Vid to help

Question 8

• In your own words define Environmental Ethics

Answer 8

• Ethics is the study of what is right and wrong. So environmental ethics is the study of how humans take from the environment and if that consumption of resources is good or bad for the planet, other animals, and other humans

Youtube - Environmental Ethics

Question 9

• How is human population and environmetal issues related? (how does one affect the other)

Answer 9

• As more people inhabit the earth (currently 7+ billion) more resources* will have to be consumed to keep the current “standard of living”.

*More food to eat, more lumber for homes, more gasoline and more metals for the production of more automobiles, etc.

Question 10

• When somebody asks about your Ecological Footprint or your Carbon Footprint, what exactly are they looking for?

Answer 10

• Your Ecological Footprint (or Carbon Footprint) is an attempt to measure and compare how much natrual resources (food, water, land, etc) you (or your family) are using compaired to some average*

*maybe a national average, or town average

Question 11

• Science (all sciences not just Environmental Science) assumes that the natural world functions how?

1. Consistantly
2. Randomly
3. Simply
4. Recurrently

Answer 11

• Consistantly - what we observe and study today we assume will be the same tomorrow or next year.
• Randomly and Recurrently are wrong because if things happened this time but not next time, we could never be sure what was going to happen. Imagine gravity working today but not tomorrow - YIKES
• Simply is wrong because sometimes things just are simple as much as we would like them to be.

Question 12

• Science’s two main avenues of discovery are from…

Answer 12

• Observations and Measurements.
• If we cant observe something (either with our senses or some sort of instrument) it is very difficult to understand its behavior
• Without measurements predicting an outcome to the degree of certainty we desire to study something would make understanding the subject incredibly difficult if not impossible.

Question 13

• When an experiment or “would be discovery” is peer reviewed, what exactly is happening and why is it important?

Answer 13

• Peer Review is when scientists publish their findings and understanding in some sort of journal (or magazine). This allows other scientists (who are also experts in that field) to critique and test your experiemnt to make sure you didn’t overlook anything.

Question 14

• Why is it important to have a worldview understanding of ecological issues and topics you are studying?

Answer 14

• Humans have a way of seeing only problems that affect them “right now” and “in only their backyards”. There are other people in the world with significant concerns who might need our help.

Example: Global Warming - The US and China (for the most part) dont care much about the issue because it will not affect much of our countries; whereas, the Netherlands, Bangledesh, any island nation (Philippeans), etc, care much more about it because it is their nations that will be underwater first. (see link for more at risk nations)