Introduction to Environmental Science

2. is a broader field that
incorporates many elements of earth and life sciences,
 whereas is usually more focused on how
organisms interact with each other and their
surroundings, and often on a very specific population of
living things.
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3.  Environmental Science is the study of the interaction
of humans with the natural environment.
 The environment includes all of the living and
nonliving things that we interact with.
 Climate
 Soil and landforms
 Water sources
 Other living organisms
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4. Environmental science and
the issues that it studies are
complex and
interdisciplinary, meaning it
incorporates concepts and
ideas from multiple fields of
study.
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5.  A community decides to use coal for electricity, as it
is the cheapest source available. (Economics)
 The coal must be mined from under the soil.
(Geology)
 The coal must be transported to the population
center by road or rail. (Engineering)
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6.  When it is burned at a power plant, air pollution is
released. Some of that pollution is converted to
acid in the atmosphere. (Chemistry)
 This falls as acid rain somewhere downwind.
(Meteorology)
 The acid stresses plants by affecting their nutrient
absorption. (Ecology)
 Laws are passed requiring the plant to install
pollution scrubbers. (Politics)
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7.  Conservation of
wilderness areas
begins with the
felling of an
enormous tree,
called the “Mother
of the Forest” in
1851. The outrage
over the act leads to
calls for a national
park system.
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8.  A burning river ends the decade
as a dramatic symbol of an
environment on the brink. On
June 22, 1969, oil ad chemicals in
the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland,
Ohio catch fires. Flames top five
stories. These chemicals
contaminated the river causing
dreadful effect to living organisms
underneath.
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9.  Nuclear Power safety is
increasingly suspect after the
Three Mile Island accident in
Middletown, Pennsylvania.
 April 26, 1986. The
Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster
is considered to be the worst
accident in the history of
nuclear power.
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10.  The Law of Unintended Consequences,
which states that the actions of people
and governments always have
unexpected effects.
 Unsustainability, a condition that
cannot continue at its current rate.
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12. An ecologist named Garrett Hardin
wrote an essay called “The Tragedy
of the Commons”, describing a major
source of environmental conflict:
Commons, or areas that are shared
and not owned, are likely to be
depleted as individuals pursue their
own self-interests.
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13.  Two small villages consist
mostly of farmers that raise
and sell sheep at a nearby city.
 The first village has a
common pasture that all
villages have unrestricted
access to.
 The second village has a
pasture that has been divided
up, which each section
owned by a famer.
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village 1
village 2

14. Which village will be more likely to
experience resource depletion, where a
resource is consumed faster than it can be
replaced?
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village 1 village 2

15.  Climate change, air pollution, water pollution,
and overfishing of international waters are all
modern examples of the Tragedy of the
Commons.
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Norilsk, Russia
Source: ecojunk.wordpress.com
Zadar, Croatia
Source: Agence France-Presse

16.  In the United States, the first
environmental movement
began with a series of
conservation measures
taken by President Teddy
Roosevelt.
 The goal was to prevent
the resource depletion and
the destruction of
commons through
unsustainable logging and
hunting.
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Redwood lumberjacks, Humboldt County,
California.

17.  Years after the National Parks system was established,
the city of San Francisco experienced an earthquake,
followed by a massive fire.
 About 90% of the damage was due to the fire, which
exposed the city’s inadequate water supply.
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"San Francisco 1906 fire 02 DA-SN-03-00958" by Harry Sterling Hooper.

18.  The city applied to the federal government to construct a
reservoir in the Hetch Hetchy valley of Yosemite National
Park.
 In order for the dam to be constructed, a law would have
to be passed by Congress and signed by the US President
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19. Between 1908 and 1913, Congress debated
whether to make a water resource available or
preserve a wilderness when the growing city
of San Francisco, California proposed building
a dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley to provide a
steady water supply.
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20. The Hetch Hetchy debate led to the
emergence of three major
philosophies or environmental ethics;
the moral relationship that humans
have with the environment.
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21.  Anthropocentrism is a human-
centered philosophy that protects
and promotes of human interests or
well-being at the expense of all other
factors.
 Ecocentrism is a nature-centered
philosophy that places intrinsic value
on ecosystems regardless of their
usefulness to humans.
 Biocentrism -Focuses on the theory
that all forms of life have an inherent
right to exist.
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22.  Environment has been classified into four major components:
1. Hydrosphere,
2. Lithosphere,
3. Atmosphere,
4. Biosphere.
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Hydrosphere - includes all water
bodies such as lakes, ponds, rivers,
streams and ocean etc. Hydrosphere
functions in a cyclic nature, which is
termed as hydrological cycle or water
cycle.

24.  Lithosphere - mainly,
contains soil, earth
rocks, mountain etc.
Lithosphere is divided
into three layers-crusts,
mantle and core (outer
and inner).
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25. • Atmosphere is a thin layer which contains gases
like oxygen, carbon dioxide etc. and which
protects the solid earth and human beings from
the harmful radiations of the sun. There are five
concentric layers within the atmosphere, which
can be differentiated on the basis of temperature
and each layer has its own characteristics. These
include the troposphere, the stratosphere, the
mesosphere, the thermosphere and the exosphere.
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Biosphere it is otherwise known as the life layer, it refers to all organisms on the earth’s
surface and their interaction with water and air. It consists of plants, animals and micro-
organisms, ranging from the tiniest microscopic organism to the largest whales in the sea.

27.  It explains how to use resources sustainably
 Mass Movements
 Focus on Environmental Development
 Helps in generating Creativity skills
 It Encourages a Healthy Lifestyle
 It Empowers Teachers and Students.
 It Saves the World from Destruction
 Safeguards Future Generations
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28.  Think about why does the world keeps on worsening its condition despite
the advent of environmental science education.
 Find a pair and discussed your answer. Make a conclusion about your
answers.
 Suggest ideas on how we can solve the problem/issue.
 Share it to the class (if time runs out, submit it to google classroom).
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Think Share
Pair

29. 
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5 3 1
The learners demonstrate an
outstanding understanding of
the concept. Present his or her
idea with clarity and relevance
to the topic given.
The concept that he/she
proposed is timely and
achievable.
The learners demonstrate and
good understanding of the
concept. Present his or her idea
with clarity and relevance to
the topic given.
The concept that he/she
proposed is vague and
somewhat hard to achieved
The student need to
further study the
concept and his
output is irrelevant to
the topic.

30. Thank you
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