An Introduction to Environmental Science

An Introduction to Environmental Science

1. What is the difference between 'environmental science' and 'environmentalism'?

   • Environmental Science: a branch of biology focused on the study of the relationships of the natural world and the relationships between organisms and their environments
   • Environmentalism: social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world.

2. What is the difference between 'renewable resources' and 'nonrenewable resources'?

   • Renewable Resources: naturally replenished over short periods of time.
     • Some renewable resources can become nonrenewable if we start using them faster than nature creates them.
   • Nonrenewable Resources: naturally formed more slowly than we use them. Examples are oil and coal.

3. What is 'The Tragedy of the Commons'?

   • A bunch of farmers shared a parish with one another. This parish had no rules so eventually the parish was depleted of grass since all the cows kept eating all the grass before the grass could grow again.
     • This is a great example of why fishermen have to put certain fish they catch back into the water!

4. Population

   • When certain things happened (certain revolutions or advances in the human technology) it tends to affect humans lives greatly. In the past advances like these allowed for more human children to survive and allowed humans to live longer, growing the population.

5. What is Science?

   • Science is an organized way of studying the natural world, and the knowledge gained from such studies.
   • Science assumes that the natural world functions in accordance with rules that do not change.
   • Science relies on evidence from measurements and observations.

6. What are the parts of the scientific method?

   • hypothesis (testable ideas)
   • Data comes from an experiments
   • theory is a broader explanation for a wider range of observations.

7. What are the different types of environmental ethics?

   • Anthropocentrism: Humans and human welfare most important
   • Biocentrism: All living things have value; some may be more important than others
   • Ecocentrism: Well-being of a species or community more important than that of an individual; preservation of a larger system generally protects its components

8. Environmental Justice Movement

   • Recognizes that quality of life is connected to environmental quality
   • Promotes fair and equitable treatment of all people regarding environmental policy and practice

9. What is the difference between 'supply' and 'demand'?

   • Demand: amount of product people will buy at a given price if free to do so
   • Supply: amount of product offered for sale at a given price.

10. What is cost-and-benefit analysis?

    • a decision-making tool that compares an activity’s gains and costs.

11. What is the difference between 'ecological economics' and 'environmental economics'?

    • Environmental economics: argues that economies cannot be sustainable unless environmental issues are addressed
    • Ecological economics: Applies the principles of Earth’s systems to economics

12. What is 'ecolabelling'?

    • tells consumers which brands are made with processes that do not harm the environment
    • Ecolabeling is an example of a corporate response to the call for sustainable goods and services.

13. How does the environmental policy involve and affect the government?

    • Legislative: policy starts here, a proposed law either by house or senate. Both houses pass then moves to execute
    • Executive: legislation is enacted or vetoed by president. If enacted then put into law and an executive agency enforces (EPA, US Forest Service, Natural Resource Conservation service for example)
    • Judicial: interpret law, necessary because society changes and congress writes broad laws so they apply across nation.

14. Environmental Policy

    • The History
      • Land ordinance of 1785 and Northwest ordinance(1787)
        • gave federal government the right to mange unsettled lands
      • Homestead Act of 1862
        • citizens could claim 160 acres of public land. After living on it for 5 years, they could own it for a fee of $16.
          • West became more populated thanks to policies of first period but at the expense of many natural recourses that were overused to exploited.
      • Emergency Conservation Work Act
        • President FDR signed this during the Great Depression. Gave unemployed men jobs planting trees, fighting soil erosion and improving wildlife habitats throughout the country.
      • National Park Service
        • congress created the national Park service to manage the growing number of national parks and monuments
      • Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
        • writer and scientist
        • Awakened the public to the negative ecological and health effects of industrial chemicals and pesticides such as DDT.
      • National Environmental Policy Act
        • declared that the federal government, in cooperation with the state and local governments and the public, would act “to create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony”
      • Earth Day
        • founded by Senator Nelson of Wisconsin
        • 20 million Americans demonstrating their desires for a healthier environment in the 70s
    • The Steps
      • Identify the problem
      • Identify specific causes of the problem
      • Envision a solution and set goals
      • Get organized
      • Gain access to influential people
      • Manage drafting of bill and development of policy
    • The Approaches
      • The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
        • established in 1972 with the mission of helping countries achieve sustainability.
      • National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
        • Requires government agencies and contractors to evaluate the environmental impact of a project
          • led to the formation of the EPA
      • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
        • Responsible for monitoring, enforcing, and researching environmental quality
      • Transboundary problems are an example an issues that affects more than one country. United Nations and international organizations take care of issues like these.