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 ChangeStrong 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). Maintains

natural ecosystem stability.

Aesthetic and moral arguments.

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 Activities1) 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:economistsociologistecologist

Sustainable development:UN-WCED (1987)North perspectiveSouth perspectiveSolutions 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 CenturyJohn 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.

Control

(no inoculum)Experimental (inoculated)

Mycorrhizae (root fungus) enhances Soybean plant

growth.

• 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.