INTRODUCTION TOENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

OBJECTIVES

¡ To gain a basic understanding of what constitutes an environment and what

environmental science is
 ¡ All the things around us with which weinteract:
¡ Living things
¡ Animals, plants, trees, fungi, bacteria, etc.

WHAT IS ¡ Non-living things

¡ Rocks, soil, clouds, water, air, etc.
ENVIRONMENT?
¡ Man-made structures
¡ Buildings, houses, parks, malls, etc.

¡ Social relationships and institutions

 ¡ It is defined as the circumstances surrounding an
organism or group of organisms or the complex
social or cultural conditions affecting each organism
WHAT IS in the given biotic and abiotic community. However,
human being inhabit the natural world, as well as
ENVIRONMENT? the, built the environment or the technological,
social, and cultural world, all constitute essential
parts of our environment.
HUMANS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Humans exist within the environment and are part ofnature

Our survival depends on a healthy, functioningplanet

The fundamental insight of environmental science isthat we are part of the natural world

Our interactions with its other parts matter a greatdeal

WHAT ARE NATURAL RESOURCES?

¡ Natural resources are substances and

energy sources needed for survival

¡ Renewable resources:
¡ Always available: sunlight, wind, geothermal,
wave energy
¡ Renews over a short period of time: wood,
water,soil, livestock
¡ Non-renewable resources: renews, but
takes hundreds/thousands/millions of
years
¡ Oils, natural gases, coal, metals
 ¡ Humans and other living beings depend completely on
the environment for survival
¡ Everything from having enriched and longer lives, increased
wealth, health, mobility, and leisure time

HUMANS AND ¡ But natural systems have been degraded

THE WORLD ¡ Due to pollution, erosion, and species extinction
¡ Environmental changes threaten long-term health and survival
AROUND US
¡ Environmental Science is the studyof:
¡ How the natural world works
¡ How the environment affects humans and vise versa
¡ With environmental problems come opportunities for
solutions
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

¡ Systematic study of our environment and our proper place in it. A highly interdisciplinary,
integrating natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities in a broad, holistic study of
the world around us.
¡ Major goal of Environmental Science (ES) is to understand and solve environmental
problems
¡ However, environmental problems are usually complex and solutionsare not simple
KINDS OF KNOWLEDGE THAT CONTRIBUTE TOSOLUTIONS IN
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Ecology Chemistry Urban Sociology Political Engineering Economics

Planning Science
¡ Deals with questions like “How
does energy production affect
populations?”
¡ Ecology is one important
foundation of ES, since Ecology
deals with studying living
things, non-living things, the
environment and their
interactions
¡ Ecology vs ES: Environmental
science is concerned withthe
Human Impact on the
environment
CHEMISTRY

¡ Deals with questions like “How

can we make better batteries?”
¡ Environmental chemistry
focuses on the presence and
impact of chemicals in soil,
surface water, and ground
water
¡ Also study the effects ofchemicals
on ecosystems, animals, and
human health
URBAN PLANNING

¡ Deals with questions like “What urban designs are more energy efficient?”
¡ Aims to analyze and minimize the environmental impacts of proposed constructionprojects
and make sure they meet environmentalregulation
¡ Help reduce impact, facilitate environmental permitting, and write environmental reports
and documents
¡ Deals with questions like “How people
adopt new ideas?”
¡ Environmental sociology studies society-
environment interactions such as
environmental movement, how people in
societies perceive environmental
problems, the relationships between
populations, health, and the environment,
globalization, and the mechanisms behind
environmental injustice
 ¡ Deals with questions like “Which policies lead to sustainable
solutions?”
¡ Environmental politics designate both the politics about the
environment and an academic field of study focused on three core
components
¡ Study of political theories and ideas related to theenvironment
¡ Examination of the environmental stances of both mainstream political
parties and environmental social movements
POLITICA ¡ Analysis of public policymaking and implementation affecting the
environment, at multiple geo-political levels
L
SCIENCE
ENGINEERING

¡ Deals with questions like “Can we design bettervehicles?”

¡ Environmental engineers use their scientific knowledge to design systems that control
pollution and protect public health
¡ Ex. They design systems, processes, and equipment to control waster and pollutions, such as
waster water management systems
¡ Fully electric cars such as Tesla
ECONOMICS

¡ Deals with questions like “What are the costs and benefits of energy sources?”
¡ Environmental economics deals with the relationship between economy and environments
¡ How economic incentives hurt or help the environment, and how they can be used to create
sustainable policies and environmentalsolutions