Transcript The Environment Around Us

The Environment Around Us
Environmental Science
Unit 1
What is Environmental
Science?
• DQ - What is Environmental Science?
• Study of the conditions around us and our
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proper place in it.
Encompasses many disciplines of science
Based on observation and models more than
anything else
DQ - Why is it important?
Helps us understand the world around us
Helps us know what effects our actions can
have on the environment.
Helps us know what we can do to help it.
Environmental Science
• DQ - Why is Environmental Science so
complicated?
• Everything is interconnected, one thing can
affect several others in different ways
 “When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he
finds it attached to the rest of the world”
 John Muir
 Can’t always predict what will happen…good
or bad.
Env. Sci. vs Environmentalism
• DQ - What is the difference?
• Environmental Science
 A way of learning about our environment
 Gathering information
• Environmentalism
 Using that information to help the environment
 Try to prevent destruction to environment
History
• DQ - How long has environmental science
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been around?
Forever
DQ - How long has environmentalism been
around?
Goes way back to ancient Greece
 Plato complained about cutting trees to make room for
houses
• Native Americans thought the earth was a living
being and thought white man was a sickness to
the earth.
 Due to the way they left the land.
Big Names in
Environmentalism
• President Teddy Roosevelt
 Credited with creating American Conservation
 Started natural preserves and national parks
• George Perkins Marsh
 Writer that published about the damage caused by
destroying forest and over grazing livestock
• Gifford Pinchot
 Thought we needed to conserve nature for future
generations to use it
• John Muir
 Thought we needed to conserve nature for its own sake
Modern Environmentalism
• Modern Environmentalism is different than in
those days.
• Then it was conservation (leave some land
untouched)
• Now we know more, and we concentrate on
fixing what we have damaged and preventing
more damage from occurring.
• DQ - What are current issues that we
face?
• Climate changes, pollution levels, how to feed a
growing population, rainforest destruction,
extreme poverty, etc.
Modern Environmentalism
• GO GREEN!
 What does that mean to you?
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DQ - Why is environmentalism so difficult?
People are selfish
Means different things to different people
So many issues to try to solve
Sometimes expensive
How does my little bit help?
Still using resources so what is the point?
Sustainable development
• It is a goal from the world summit that
humans concentrate on “sustainable
development”
• Meet the needs of the present generation
without compromising the ability of future
generations.
• DQ - Is sustainable development truly
possible?
Activity
• Mini - Debate
• Divide into 4 groups
• Your group will discuss if sustainable
development is a true possibility for us
• You will have time to discuss then you will
debate the other side.
Sustainable Development
• Focuses on three principles:
• 1. Intergenerational equity
 What is this?
• 2. Biodiversity Conservation
• 3. “The Precautionary Approach”
 Improve our lives but not at all costs
Sustainable Development
• Together, the three principles are designed
to:
• Allow for growing economy
• Improve Quality of life
 Education, recreation, justice, community, etc.
• Enhance community resources
• Protect natural resources and ecological
processes
Can it happen?
• Still up for debate. Three sides to
argument:
• Some say that it can but that it won’t
because people won’t change
• Some say that it can without any big
fundamental changes just lots of small
changes
• Some say that the concept itself is
impossible even with change
Sustainable Development
• How can it be achieved?
• Policy changes (local, national, and international levels)
 Make excessive pollution and waste so expensive that it is
more economical to be better
 Government funding for changes
 Make “greener” buildings (new and old)
• Change energy sources
 Switch to more renewable sources
• Education
 Educate individuals to make better decisions
• Commitment
 Long term thinking rather than expect short term returns
Sustainable development
• Why won’t it happen?
• People won’t change
• Businesses will not survive
 Economy will suffer from all these changes
• How do you educate everyone?
• Impoverished countries
• We simply can’t grow without using
resources right now
Sustainable Development
• The future:
• The concept doesn’t appear to be going
anywhere
• As more and more focus is placed on
saving the environment the concept will
probably gain strength.
• But until it has a majority of the population
behind it, it will probably not even come
close to happening.
Food For thought
• The U.S. claims to be an advocate for
sustainable development
 But actions speak louder than words
• With only 4.5% of the world’s population we:
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Use 26% of the oil
Produce 50% of all toxic wastes
Produce 26% of all Carbon Dioxide
Use 20 - 25% of most metals
• We produce more greenhouse gases than china
and we have 1/6 the people!
More food for thought
• Estimations by the UN Development
agency say that it would take $135 Billion
(worldwide) a year for about 20 years to
abolish extreme poverty and hunger.
 The worldwide military budget is over $1
trillion
• This would improve the natural resources
in those areas and curb the growing
population