ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Practices
Human System Natural System
Population Earth
Life
Interactions
Land/water Energy Pollution Global Change
Sustainability
Environment
-Everything that isn’t me ( Dr. Albert Einstein)
Goals of Environment Science
1. Learn how nature works
2. Understand how we interact with environment
3. Find ways to deal with environmental problems and live more sustainably
Water cycle
Evaporation- from lakes (transpiration for plants)
Condensation
Precipitation- ex. Rain, Hail, Snow
Ecology
Studies how organisms, or living things, interact with one another and with their environment.
Major component of Environmental Science
Ecosystem
Sets of organisms within a defined area or volume interacting with one another and with
their environment or non-living matter and energy.
Major focus of Ecology
Environmentalism
A social movement dedicated to protecting the Earth’s life support systems for all forms
of life
Practiced more in the political and ethical arenas than in the realm of science.
Environmentally sustainable society
Living sustainably means living off the Earth’s natural income without depleting or
regarding the natural capital supplies it.
Natural capital
Natural resources and natural services that keep us and other forms of life alive and
support our economies
Critical component of sustainability
Renewable
1. Air 2. Water 3. Soil 4. Plants 5. Wind
Non-Renewable
1. Copper 2. Oil 3. Coal
Natural services
Processes in nature such as purification of air and water
Nutrient Cycling
The circulation of chemicals necessary for life, from the environment (mostly from soil
and water) through organisms and back to the environment.
Ex. Photosynthesis
Indirect forms of solar energy
Wind flowing, water and bio fuels made from plants and plants residues.
Ecological Footprints
The impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of
land required to sustain their use of natural resources.
As ecological foot prints grow, we deplete and degrade more of the Earth’s natural capital
Environmental Degradation
When use of a renewable resources, exceeds its natural replacement rate, the available
supply begins to shrink.
Sustainable Yield
The highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing its
available supply
Humanity needs 1.3 Earths to indefinitely supply the current average use of
renewable resources per person.
Time delays can allow an environmental problem to build slowly until it reaches a threshold
level, or ecological tipping point, which causes an often irreversible shift in the behavior of a
natural system.
Point sources- is single identifiable sounds
- pinangagalingan ng Pollution
Non-point sources- are dispersed and often difficult to identify
-di alam kung saan nanggagaling
Addressing Pollution
1. Pollution Clean-up- Cleaning of pollutants ( the end pipe)
2. Pollution Prevention- Eliminates the production of Pollutants ( front of pipe)
4 Causes of environmental problem
1. Population Growth
2. Poverty
3. Unsustainable resource use
4. Excluding environmental costs from market prices
Exponential Growth
Occurs when a quantity such as the human population or pollution increases at a fixed
percentage per unit of time.
Poverty
Occurs when people are unable to meet their basic needs
1. Food 2. Water 3. Shelter 4. Health 5. Education
Malnutrition
Lack of protein and other nutrients needed for good health
Limited access to adequate sanitation facilities and clean drinking water
Subsidies
A sum of moneygranted by the government or a public body to assist an industry or
business
Environmental Worldview
A set of assumptions and values reflecting how you think the world works and what you
think your rate in the world should be.
World views
Involve environmental ethics, which are beliefs about what is right and wrong with how
we treat the environment.
We can live more sustainably by
1. Using solar energy
2. Preserving biodiversity
3. Not disrupting the Earth’s natural chemical recycling processes
Relationship of human and sustainability
Weathering
Since the main source of phosphorus is found in rocks, the first step of the phosphorus cycle
involves the extraction of phosphorus from the rocks by weathering. Weather events, such as rain
and other sources of erosion, result in phosphorus being washed into the soil.
Absorption by Plants and Animals
Once in the soil, plants, fungi, and microorganisms are able to absorb phosphorus and grow. In
addition, phosphorus can also be washed into the local water systems. Plants can also directly
absorb phosphorus from the water and grow. In addition to plants, animals also obtain
phosphorus from drinking water and eating plants.
Return to the Environment via Decomposition
When plants and animals die, decomposition results in the return of phosphorus back to the
environment via the water or soil. Plants and animals in these environments can then use this
phosphorus, and step 2 of the cycle is repeated.
Human activities that affects the cycle
1. Using of detergent
2. Mining wastes
3. Sewage
4. Fertilizer
Human activities that affects the cycle
1. Smelting
2. Burning coals
3. Refining fossil fuels
4. Sulfur acid and sulfate deposited as acid rain
CARBON CYCLE
Human activities that affects the cycle
1. Forest fire
2. Deforestation
3. Transportation
4. Burning of fuels
CARBON
CARBON
CYCLE
CYCLE
Human activities that affects the cycle
1. Using of fertilizer
2. Nitrates from fertilizer
3. Burning of fuels
Human activities that affects the cycle
1. Climate Change
2. Point source pollution
3. Aquifer depletion from over pumping
4. Increased flooding from wetland destruction
