This document provides an overview of ecology, environmental science, and their relationship to the environment and human-environment interactions. It defines key terms like ecology, environmental science, and environment. It then discusses how human ecological footprints and activities like pollution, pest control, wildlife endangerment, and resource use affect the environment. It also covers the principles of sustainability, environmental ethics, and what constitutes an environmentally sustainable society.

1. Chapter 1
Introduction
Ecology and Environmental Science
 Ecology – is the study of the relationships
between organisms and their environment and
other organisms.
 Environmental Science – is an
interdisciplinary science which integrates the
biological, physical and social sciences in
analyzing, explaining and designing solution to
environmental problems.
 Environment – all of the factors (living and non-
living) that actually affect an individual organism
or population at any point in the life cycle.

2. Human-Environmental Relationship
How are Our Ecological
Footprints Affecting the
Earth?
 As our ecological footprints
grow, we are depleting and
degrading more of the earth’s
natural capital.
ecological footprint—the
amount of biologically
productive land and water
needed to supply the people
in a particular country or area
with resources and to absorb
and recycle the wastes and
pollution produced by such
resource use.
Natural Capital = Natural
Resources + Natural
Services
Natural Resources Natural Services
Air Air purification
Climate control
UV protection (ozone
layer)
Water Water purification
Waste treatment
Soil Soil renewal
Land Food production
Nutrient Recycling
Life (Biodiversity) Population control
Pest control
Renewable Energy
(sun ,wind, water
flows)
Nonrenewable
Minerals (fossil fuels)

3. Why Do We Have Environmental
Problems?
 Causes of Environmental Problems
wasteful and unsustainable resource use
poverty
failure to include the harmful environmental insufficient knowledge on
costs of goods and services in their market price how nature works
population
growth

4. OUR EFFECTS ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
Pollution
 Pollution in any process which leads to a
harmful increase in the amount of a
chemical substance in the environment.
These harmful substances are called
pollutants. They accumulate more quickly
than they can be recycled by the process
of nature.

5. OUR EFFECTS ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
 Air Pollution
o A widespread air pollutant is smoke from
the burning of fossil fuel such as coal and
petrol. The smoke contains particles of
carbon which float through the air and
settle on the surface of buildings and
trees.

6. OUR EFFECTS ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
 Smog
o A mixture of smoke and fog, and it is
caused by a layer of warm air developing
above a region of colder air. The warm
layer prevents the colder air from
escaping. This is called temperature
inversion. Smog is not only unpleasant but
it can be dangerous.

7. OUR EFFECTS ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
 Water Pollution
o From time to time oil is spilled into the sea
from a tanker or an off-shore oil rig.
o Another water pollutant is sewage. If
untreated sewage is put into a river or lake, it
is decomposed by bacteria which quickly
multiply.
 With so much nitrate to feed on, the algae
multiply and the water turns green. This great
growth of algae is called eutrophication

8. OUR EFFECTS ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
 Land Pollution
o There are many examples of land that has
been stripped of vegetation by industrial
development and disposal of waste.
 Radiation Pollution
o Another type of pollution to which we are
all exposed is radiation from radioactive
materials.

9. OUR EFFECTS ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
 We add to this natural radiation by nuclear
power stations and nuclear explosions.
After a nuclear explosion radioactive
materials get into the atmosphere and
come down to the earth as fallout.

10. OUR EFFECTS ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
Controlling Pests
o Man gets rid of pests in two main ways:
1. By spraying the ground with a chemical
substance which kills the pest. We call
this chemical control.
o A chemical substance which kills pests is
called pesticides. Those which are used
against weeds (herbs) are called
herbicides.

11. OUR EFFECTS ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
2. By making use of another organism which
kills the pests. We call this biological
control.
o The advantage of biological control is that
it does not involve putting artificial
substances into the environment. Nature
is doing the job for us. However, not every
pest has a predator that will keep its
numbers down sufficiently, and so
chemical methods are more often used.

12. OUR EFFECTS ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
Wildlife in Danger
o Over the centuries many animals and
plant species have dwindled in
number and some have died out
completely. This has been mainly
because we have needed the land for
farming, industry, reservoirs and
houses.

13. OUR EFFECTS ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
Conservation
o To conserve something means to
protect it and keep it in a healthy
condition. Applied to our environment,
conservation means protecting the
animals and plants from being
harmed.

14. OUR EFFECTS ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
Conservation can be achieved in the
following ways:
 1. We must reduce pollution as much as
possible. Pollution can damage natural
habitats and harm the organisms that live
there.
 2. Areas which have been devastated by
mining should be restored afterwards. This
is perfectly possible, though of course it
costs money. Plants and animal will soon
move back into such areas if conditions are
made right for them.

15. OUR EFFECTS ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
 3. Animals that are killed for food, or any
other purpose, must not be used up
quickly. This particularly applies to fish
and whales.
 4. Natural forests should not be used
extensively as a source of timber. It is
better to rely on plantations in which the
felled trees are replaced by new
seedlings. Quite apart from the trees
themselves, our woods and forests are a
haven for many species of animals and

16. OUR EFFECTS ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
 5. One species of animal or plant
should not be allowed to flourish at
the expense of another. This can
upset the balance of nature.
 6. Endangered species must be
helped to survive.

17. OUR EFFECTS ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
 In many countries certain areas have
been set aside where the animals and
plants are protected. These are often
called National Parks and they contain an
abundance of wildlife and natural scenery
which everyone can enjoy. Because of
humans, most of the wild animals which
used to roam the earth have long since
died out.

18. OUR EFFECTS ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
 However, in places such East and South
Africa there are large game parks with
lions, giraffes, elephants, zebras and
many other animals. Here are the animals
can roam about in safety. They are
carefully managed by game wardens so
that their numbers are kept at the right
level.

19. ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
A discipline that studies the
moral relationship of human
being to, and also the value
and moral status of, the
environment and its non
human contents.

20. ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
 It deals with issues related to the
rights of individuals that is
fundamental to life and well
being. This concerns not only the
needs of each person today but
also those will come after us. It
also deals with rights of other
living creatures that inhabit on
earth.

21. Branches of Environmental
Ethics
 Anthropocentrism
It is a viewpoint arguing that human
beings are the central or most significant
entities in the world. Anthropocentrism
regards humans as separate from and
superior to nature and holds that human
life has intrinsic value while other entities
are resources that may justifiably be
exploited for the benefit of humankind.

22. Branches of Environmental
Ethics
 Biocentrism
Ethical perspective holding that
all life deserves equal moral
consideration or has
equal moral standing.

23. Branches of Environmental
Ethics
 Ecocentrism
It comprising all Earth's
ecosystems, atmosphere, water
and land – as the matrix which
birthed all life and as life's sole
source of sustenance.

24. Importance of environmental ethics
Make us aware of indiscriminate and destructive human
activities

25. Inculcate moral values tow ards nature and learn to
respect values life forms through environmental ethics

26. Concern w ith the issues of responsible personal conduct w ith
respect to natural landscape, resources, species and non
human organisms

27. NATURAL RESOURCESARE
MATERIALSAND ENERGY SOURCES
FOUND IN NATURETHATHUMANS
NEED TO SURVIVE

28. HUMANS AND SUSTAINABILITY
 Sustainability from the latin word sustinere
(to hold).
 Sustain can mean “maintain” , “support” ,
or “endure”.
 A strategy by which communities seek
economic development approaches that
also benefit the local environment and
quality of life.

29. PRINCIPLES OF
SUSTAINABILITY
 1. CONSERVATION OF OUR
ECOSYSTEM:
Ultimate motive of sustainable
development
is to protect the ecosystem.
Preservation of earth and its resources
is essential.

30. PRINCIPLES OF
SUSTAINABILITY
 2. DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIETY:
Sustainable development focuses on
developing society by creating equal
opportunities for everyone. From
creating jobs to the reliable health
system, everything gets included
under this principle.

31. PRINCIPLES OF
SUSTAINABILITY
 3. CONVERSATION OF
BIODIVERSITY: Natural resources
are already limited. Exploiting these
further to meet our needs is not
acceptable. Protecting our
biodiversity is essential to protect our
earth from further damage.

32. PRINCIPLES OF
SUSTAINABILITY
 4. PROTECTING HUMAN
RESOURCES: People play an
important role in protecting and
conserving society. Human resources
can be used to save earth. Hence,
sustainable development considers
human resource an essential aspects
of it.

33. PRINCIPLES OF
SUSTAINABILITY
 5. CONSERVATION OF CULTURAL
HERITAGE: Sustainable development
highlights the conservation of cultural
heritage. Different cultures have an
invaluable contribution to society. By
conserving the same a sustainable society
can be promoted.

34. PRINCIPLES OF
SUSTAINABILITY
 6. CREATING A COMMUNITY WITHIN
THE CAPACITY OF EARTH:
Sustainable development is all about
development a community within the
capacity of earth. So sustainability is all
about ensuring that our meet the
producing capacity of the planet.

35. What is an Environmentally
Sustainable Society?
 Our lives and economies depend on
energy from the sun (solar capital) and on
natural resources and natural services
(natural capital) provided by the earth.
 Living sustainably means living off the
earth’s natural income without depleting or
degrading the natural capital that supplies
it.

36. What is an Environmentally
Sustainable Society?
 Environment - is everything that affects
living organisms.
 Sustainability - the ability of earth’s
natural and human cultural system to
survive and adapt to changing
environmental condition indefinitely.
 Society - the aggregate of people living
together in a more or less ordered
community.

37. What is an Environmentally
Sustainable Society?
 An Environmentally
Sustainable Society meets
current and future basic resource
needs of people in a just and
equitable way without
compromising the environment
for future generation.

38. FOUR SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES
OF SUSTAINABILITY
 How can we live more sustainably?
According to environmental scientists,
we should study how life on the earth
has survived and adapted to major
changes in environmental conditions for
billions of years. We could make the
transition to more sustainable societies
by applying these lessons from nature
to our lifestyles and economies.

39. FOUR SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES
OF SUSTAINABILITY
 Reliance on Solar Energy: the
sun (solar capital) warms the
planet and supports
photosynthesis used by plants
to provide food for themselves
and for us and most other
animals.

40. FOUR SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES
OF SUSTAINABILITY
 Biodiversity (short for biological
diversity): the astounding variety of
different organisms, the genes they
contain, the ecosystems in which
they exist, and the natural services
they provide have yielded countless
ways for life to adapt to changing
environmental conditions throughout
the earth’s history.

41. FOUR SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES
OF SUSTAINABILITY
 Population Control: competition for
limited resources among different
species places a limit on how much
their populations can grow.
 Nutrient Cycling: natural processes
recycle chemicals that plants and
animals need to stay alive and
reproduce. There is little or no waste
in natural systems.