Class “help” email address:
envir110@u.washington.edu
Class web address:
http:/soilslab.cfr.washington.edu/esc110/lecturewtr04
ESC 110 Field Trips
Five Field Trips Are Offered
All are on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday
Each field trip is 4 hours long including
travel time -- meet in the C-10 Parking
Lot behind Bloedel Hall for each FT--wear
clothing that allows you to be outside-wear closed-toed shoes for all trips
CHOOSE ONE FIELD TRIP TO ATTEND
Rabanco Recycling Facility and Nucor Bar Mill
West Point Waste Treatment Plant and Groco Composting
Cedar River Watershed
Thorton Creek Restoration
Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric Plant
Snoqualjmie Falls
Hydroelectiric
Power Plant
max of 23
students per
date
Saturday January 31st (9 am to 1pm)
Saturday February 7th (9 am to 1pm)
Rabanco
Recycling Facility
and
Nucor Bar Mill
max of 14
students per
date
Tuesday February 10th (noon to 4 pm)
(Tuesday February 3rd (noon to 4 pm))
West Point Waste
Treatment Facility
max of 27
students per
date
Thursday February 12th (9am to 1pm)
Thursday February 19th (9am to 1pm)
Cedar River Watershed
--Seattle Water Supply
42 students
max per date
Thursday February 12th (1:30 to 5:30 pm)
(Thursday February 17th (1pm to 5 pm))
Thornton
Creek
Restoration
42 students
max per date
Saturday January 24th (1:30 pm to 5:30pm)
Saturday January 31st (1:30 pm to 5:30pm)
Dates in Chronological Order:
January
Saturday 24th - Thornton Creek (1:30 to 5:30 pm)
Saturday 31st - Snoqualmie Falls (9 am to 1 pm)
Saturday 31st - Thornton Creek (1:30 to 5:30 pm)
February
Saturday 7th - Snoqualmie Falls (9am to 1pm)
Tuesday 3rd - Rabanco and Nucor Mill (noon to 4pm)
February 10th - Rabanco and Nucor Mill (noon to 4pm)
Thursday 12th - West Point/GroCo (9am to 1pm)
Tuesday 12th - Cedar River Watershed (1:30 to 5:30)
Thursday 17th - Cedar River Watershed (1:30 to 5:30pm)
Thursday 19th - West Point/GroCo (9am to 1pm)
You will need to complete a one-page field trip report answering questions
related to each field trip. This needs to be turned in (hardcopy) in class
within one week of the field trip you attend.
Field trip sign-up will begin on Friday.
Group Project
• Topic and group selected by
Jan 23.
• Draft of your project due to be
posted by Feb 9.
• Final Projects due to be posted
by Feb 28.
ESC110 Chapter One
Understanding our
Environment
Principles of Environmental
Science - Inquiry and Applications,
2nd Edition
by William and Mary Ann Cunningham
Chapter One
Some Key Terms
McGraw-Hill Course Glossary
 analytical thinking
 logical thinking
 creative thinking
 critical thinking
 deductive reasoning
 environment
 environmental science
 global environmentalism
 hypothesis
 inductive reasoning
 paradigms
 positivism
 reflective thinking
 remediation
 restoration ecology
 scientific theory
 sustainability
 sustainable development
Chapter 1
•
•
•
•
Understanding Our Environment;
Science as a Way of Knowing;
Thinking About Thinking;
A Brief History of Conservation and
Environmentalism; and
• Human Dimensions of Environmental
Science.
Understanding Our Environment
The Planet Earth
• Unique in the universe (?);
• Mild, relatively constant
temperatures;
• Biogeochemical cycles;
• Millions of species; and
• Diverse, self-sustaining
communities.
What is Environmental Science??
• The Natural World – plants, animals, soils,
air, water
• Humans – social institutions and their artifacts
(eg, political orgs, science, technology, etc)
• Integrating these two can affect the environment
– Negatively?? so the more we learn about the
environment the better we can develop solutions
– Environmental Science
Environmental Science
Environment is the
circumstances and
conditions that surround
an organism or a group of
organisms as well as the
complex of social &
cultural conditions that
affect an individual or
community;
Environmental science
is the systematic study of
our environment and our
place in it.
What's Happening to the Frogs?
In some places, up to sixty-percent of frogs and salamanders
have abnormal limbs, digits, eyes, or internal organs.
Environmental science allows us to explore the
possible causes of such problems.
(observational &/or experimental)
Science as a Way of Knowing
• Modern science has its
roots in antiquity;
• Greek philosophers;
• Arabic mathematicians
and astronomers; and
• Chinese naturalists.
Scientific
Investigation
• Deductive vs.
inductive reasoning;
• Hypothesis - a
conditional
explanation that can
be verified or falsified;
and
• Scientific theory an explanation that is
supported by an
overwhelming body of
data and experience
Models and Natural Experiments
Models
• Simulate real environmental systems;
• Can be physical or mathematical;
• Provide heuristic information (suggestions of how
things MIGHT be); and
• Are influenced by researchers' assumptions.
Natural Experiments
• Gathering of historic evidence; and
• Conducted by scientists who can't test their
hypotheses directly.
Probability and Statistics
Quantitative data
• Precise and easily compared; and
• Good benchmarks for measuring change.
Probability
• Measure of how likely something is; and
• High degree of scientific certainty: 95% probability.
Statistics
• Important tool in both planning and evaluating
scientific studies; and
• Sample size, number of replications important.
Applied Science
Many environmental scientists want to use their knowledge to
repair ecological systems that have been damaged by humans.
Restoration Ecology
Restoration - the re-creation of species composition and
ecosystem functions in areas disrupted by human actions
The Kissimmee River - the focus of an ambitious $8 billion
restoration project.
Restoration Tools
• Labor-intensive
horticultural or
animal control
methods
• Removal of exotic
species
Restoration Issues
• Natural disturbance (fires, hurricanes, etc.)
• Multiple historic states
• Climate changes and evolution
• How do we distinguish between desirable and
undesirable change?
Artificial Ecosystems
• Example: human-designed wetlands can be used to
treat sewage effluent
Thinking About Thinking