Environmental Science (BISC 003)
with Dr. Matt Hoch
Global Issues of Environmental Science
Syllabus Overview
Three Unifying Themes
Flow of Subject Areas
•
•
•
•
The natural world.
Human population interactions with nature.
Important resources and their status.
Promote sustainability of resources through
stewardship and sound science.
Which disciplines are involved in
studying our environment?
Global
Issues:
Human
Population
Ecosystem
Health
Global
Climate
Change
Biodiversity
Human Population Growth
Per capita
resource demand
is increasing too!
Ecosystem Health
• Coastal/Marine
(Fisheries)
• Freshwater
(< 3% of total)
• Agricultural
Lands (soils)
• Grasslands
• Forests
Global Climate Change
Strong correlation with “Greenhouse
Gas” increases since the Industrial
Revolution of the mid-1800s.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) and
methane (CH4) are both potent
greenhouse gas.
Biodiversity:
Untapped resource
for man (agriculture
and medicine).
Aesthetic and moral arguments.
Maintains
natural
ecosystem
stability.
Read the Syllabus!
* Study Hints (vocabulary & concepts)
* Evaluation
– Participation (5%)
– 4 Exams (75%)
– Activities Journals (20 %)
* Policies
–
–
–
–
–
Make-up
Requirements
Guidelines
Academic Integrity
Disability Statement
Two Out-of-Class Activities
1) Read the news clip on the EPA change in
viewing carbon dioxide as a pollutant.
–
–
–
Was there balanced coverage of opposing views?
What is your opinion on this issue?
Are you aware of any relevant sound science?
2) Self evaluation of your essential needs:
food, clothing, and shelter.
–
–
–
List ten item of things you need; and briefly why.
List five items you could live without; and briefly why.
Which of the 15 do you see as having the greatest
impact on the environment; which has the least. Again
briefly explain.
Three Unifying Themes
Sustainability, Stewardship, and Sound Science
{practical goal; ethical framework; and accepted knowledge}
Sustainability definitions:
economist
sociologist
ecologist
Sustainable development:
UN-WCED (1987)
North perspective
South perspective
Solutions needed!
Stewardship:
[To take care of something for someone else.]
* It’s the ethical and moral basis for
our public and private actions
needed to achieve sustainability.
* Its more than taking care of the
natural world.
* Involves justice and equity
among peoples:
- environmental racism
- tyranny
- exploitation
Environmentalism
Late 19th Century
John Muir, Yosemite N.P., 1890
Modern
Movement 1960s
Rachel Carson “Silent Spring”, 1962
“Wise-Use”
critical movement
1980s
Science
• It’s the accumulation and
integration of factual knowledge
to advance or understanding of
natural phenomena.
• Assumes basic principles and
laws of the universe to be
consistent over time and space.
• It requires objective
observations (i.e. unbiased
observation grounded in reality;
facts; may require instruments).
• It follows a process called the
“Scientific Method”.
• Experiments provide more
rigorous and systematic
observations, designed to test a
hypothesis.
Mycorrhizae (root fungus)
enhances Soybean plant
growth.
Control
(no inoculum)
Experimental
(inoculated)
• Theory: unifying facts establish a big picture understanding; questions
remain and could still be disproved.
• Concept: when a theory has been validated to the extent that the
outcome of its application is predictable.
• Natural Laws: based on properties of matter and energy; there are no
remaining questions; completed tested.
• Scientific Controversy
– Not when there’s a clear cut answer!
– Yes when:
•
•
•
•
•
Data are limited
New observations occur
Interpretation of data differs
Cultures differ (Eastern vs Western Medicine)
Conflict of interests due to funding source (“Big Tobacco”)
Sound vs Junk Science
• Sound science involved peer review by the
community of experts in the discipline. Only
then may results and conclusions be published
in a scientific journal.
• Junk Science is when there’s…
– selective presentation of data
– political distortion of scientifically sound data.
– false data attributed to a reputable researcher of
research organization.
– publication in quasi-scientific journal.