ENVIRONMENTAL
SCIENCE
Review Guide For Chapter 1 and 2: Introduction to ES and Topo
Maps
RENEWABLE AND NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES:
• Renewable Resources: Sunlight, Wind, Water, Trees
• Nonrenewable Resources: Coal, Oil, Natural Gas, Petroleum
WHY DO WE SAY THAT A PERSON WITH A
BIG ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IS NOT
LIVING A SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLE?
• the environmental impact of a person or
population
• amount of biologically productive land +
water needed for raw materials and to
dispose/recycle waste
10 BIGGEST ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS FACING US TODAY.
1. Destruction of natural habitat
2. Loss of biodiversity
3. Soil damage and erosion
4. Use of fossil fuels as our main energy source
5. Overuse of freshwater resources
6. Release of toxic materials
7. Introduction of “alien” species
8. Release of harmful gases into atmosphere
9. Human population growth
10. Increasing standard of living
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SAY THE EARTH IS A
CLOSED SYSTEM.
• Earth - a closed system, meaning
materials do not enter or leave, only
energy does
• Damage that occurs stays in the system
AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION AFFECTED
HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH
• Gradual move from nomadic lifestyle of
hunter-gatherers to the farming of
domesticated animals and plants
• Started about 10,000 years ago
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
WHAT EFFECTS IT HAS ON THE ENVIRONMENT?
• Development of machines to do manual/animal labor has led to big
impacts on the earth
• Late 1700s- early 1800s
• Positive:
• Get more work done, get it done faster and easier
Negative:
• Requires burning fossil fuels → air pollution
• Extracting fossil fuels from the earth is damaging
• Allows very rapid destruction of habitat by machines
• (Ex: logging)
EXPLAIN THE CONCEPT OF THE TRAGEDY OF
THE COMMONS
• Main idea: When people have free access to unregulated use
of shared resources, they tend to overuse them, even deplete
them, in order to further their own self-interest.
•
Example from Hardin: People who share a grazing field will put
more and more of their cattle on it; each additional cow
benefits the person, but the damage is shared by everyone.
•
Real-life example: open ocean fish stocks have declined
dramatically in many areas.
FOUR STEPS OF DECISION-MAKING MODEL
• 1. Gather information – what are the facts
surrounding the issue?
• 2. Consider values – what is most important to
you?
• 3. Explore consequences - long and short
term; positive and negative
• 4. Make a decision
9 VALUES THAT WOULD BE IMPORTANT IN
THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS
• Aesthetic value
• Economic value
• Environmental value
• Educational value
• Ethical/Moral value
• Health
• Recreational
• Scientific
• Social/cultural
THREE ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS
1.
Planetary Management Worldview or “Wall Street
View”
• Believe that humans are set apart from nature and can
manage nature to meet our needs and wants
• Believe that resources are not limited because we will
develop and find new ones
• Any economic growth is good and should not be
restricted by worries about the environment
2. Stewardship Worldview
or “Smokey the Bear View”
• Humans have an ethical responsibility to care for
nature.
• We will probably not run out of resources if we
manage them properly.
• Economic growth that is environmentally beneficial
should be encouraged. If it is not, it should be
discouraged.
3. Environmental Wisdom Worldview
or “The Treehuggers’ View”
• Nature exists for all species and we must consider all species
in our actions.
• All resources are limited and should not be wasted.
• Economic growth that is environmentally beneficial should
be encouraged. If it is not, it should be discouraged or
prohibited.
WHAT IS A TOPOGRAPHIC MAP?
• Definition: a graphical representation of the earth
that includes the following:
• the shape of the earth’s surface using contour lines
• Symbols that represent natural features such as
bodies of water
• Symbols that represent man-made features, such as
buildings, roads, bridges, railroads, boundaries, etc.
WHAT DO CONTOUR LINES SHOW?
•Contour lines are imaginary lines that
join points of equal elevation
WHAT ARE INDEX CONTOUR LINES?
•Index contour lines are the darker
brown lines with numbers on them
indicating elevation above sea level
HOW CAN YOU IDENTIFY STEEP TERRAIN ON
A TOPOGRAPHIC MAP?
•The closer the contour lines are to
each other, the steeper the slope.
DOES A TOPOGRAPHIC MAP SHOW ONLY
NATURAL FEATURES, MAN-MADE OR BOTH.
• Symbols that represent natural features
such as bodies of water
• Symbols that represent man-made
features, such as buildings, roads, bridges,
railroads, boundaries, etc.
TOPOGRAPHIC PROFILES
• Definition: a diagram that shows the change
in elevation of the land surface along any
given line; it represents the “skyline” as viewed
from a distance
EASTER ISLAND
• Easter Island is a relatively small, isolated Pacific island on
which there are hundreds of large stone sculptures,
indicating that a complex society once lived there
When European explorers arrived in the 1700’s they found a
mostly barren landscape, with no trees over 10 feet tall, yet
there were hundreds of toppled statues all over the island.
• The few people living on the island had no horses or oxen,
were using grass to build fires and lived a primitive lifestyle.
•
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
• Global problems, like global warming and
the hole in the ozone layer affect the
entire world population.
• Local problems, such as deforestation or
pollution, can occur on a local scale
WHAT DOES GPS STAND FOR?
• Global Positioning System
Why do you have to be outside for a GPS to
work? So it can receive satellite signal without
inference.
Name 4 Pieces of data you can get from using
GPS: Longitude, latitude, elevation, speed,
direction