Environmental science  Pollution

is the study of the interaction of humans with  Pollution is a degradation or an

the natural environment. undesired change in air, water, or soil
that affects the health of living things.
Environment includes all conditions that  Biodegradable pollution will break
surround living organisms: down naturally over time.
 Climate  Nondegradable pollution does not
 Air and water quality break down.
 Soil and landforms
 Presence of other living organisms  Loss of Biodiversity
 The number of species on the Earth is
A community decides to use coal for electricity, unknown, but estimated to be in the
as it is the cheapest source available. tens of millions.
(Economics)  Biodiversity is the number of different
The coal must be mined from under the soil. species present in one specific
(Geology) ecosystem.
The coal must be transported to the population  Extinction, or the complete loss of a
center by road or rail. (Engineering) species, is a natural event that can be
When it is burned at a power plant, air pollution accelerated by human actions.
is released. Some of that pollution is converted  There are five known major extinction
to acid in the atmosphere. (Chemistry) events in Earth’s history.
This falls as acid rain somewhere downwind.  The most recent major extinction,
(Meteorology) about 65 million years ago, caused 75%
The acid stresses plants by affecting their of all species to disappear from the
nutrient absorption. (Ecology) Earth.
Laws are passed requiring the plant to install  Assuming no catastrophic events occur,
pollution scrubbers. (Politics) extinctions normally occur at a pretty
slow rate, called the background rate.
Major Environmental Problems  Normal background extinction rate for
 Resource Depletion mammals is 1 every 200 years.
 A great deal of resources are needed to
support the human population (~7  Environmental Ethics
billion).  is the discipline that studies the moral
 Renewable resources can be relationship of human beings to the
replenished within a human lifetime. environment.
 Two main categories of ethics have
Timber, water. emerged in human culture in modern
 The supply of nonrenewable resources history.
is replenished extremely slowly, if at all.  Anthropocentrism literally means
These can be used up. “human-centered”.
Coal, oil, minerals.  Ecocentrists believe that nature
deserves to exist for its own sake
regardless of degree of usefulness
to humans.
 regardles  dam in
s of degree the Hetch
of Hetchy
usefulness valley was
 to one
humans.  of the
 Hetch first big
Hetchy debates
Debate between
 The these
debate  two
about philosophi
whether to es.
build a
 Resource system,
Conservati and the
onists  National
  The Forest
focus of system
the were both
resource  created
 conservat during this
ionists was time.
to protect  Global
 open Environme
land. ntalism
  The   expl
National ores issues
Parks and
 problems  the
over likeliness
 the entire of a
world, not commons
just within area being
the  exploited
 local for short-
communit term
y. economic
 The gain.
Tragedy of  Modern
the examples
Commons include the
describes
 atmosphe principles
re and of
oceans.  economic
 Economi s is supply
cs has a and
huge demand.
influence  Another
in important
 environm economic
ental idea is the
decision-  cost/
making. benefit
 One of analysis.
the most This
basic questions
 whether person’s
the benefit resource
of doing  use.
something  Sustainab
 justifies ility is
the when
economic human
cost. needs are
 An  met so
ecological that the
footprint is population
one can
 measure survive
ment of a  indefinite
ly.
 “Meeting system,
the needs meaning
of the  nothing
 present enters or
without leaves the
 comprom Earth in
ising the  large
ability of quantities
 future is heat.
generation  Environm
s to meet ental
 their own Engineerin
needs.” g
 The Earth   The
is a closed application
 of science  solve
and environme
 engineeri ntal
ng problems.
knowledge  It affects
and Everyone
 concepts &
to care for Everything
and/or !
restore   plan
 our ts
natural   inse
environme cts
nt and/or   ani
mals
  hum   wat
ans er quality
  ecos  Poor air
ystems quality can
  our lead to:
planet   smo
 environm g
ental   resp
issues? iratory &
 three other
areas: illnesses
  air   acid
quality rain
  land
quality
  glob  the
al environme
warming nt.
 Air   nitr
pollutant: ogen
A known oxides
substance (NOx)
in the   sulf
 air that ur oxides
can cause (SOx)
harm to   carb
humans on
and monoxide
(CO)
  carb
 The focus of the resource
conservationists was to protect open

land.

on dioxide
 The National Parks system, and the
National Forest system were both
created during this time.

(CO2) Global Environmentalism

 explores issues and problems over the

 Global entire world, not just within thelocal

community.

warming: The Tragedy of the Commons describes the

likeliness of a commons area being exploited for
short-term economic gain. Modern examples

An include the atmosphere and oceans.

Economics has a huge influence in

increase in environmental decision-making. One of the

most basic principles of economics is supply

the
and demand.

Another important economic idea is the

 average
cost/benefit analysis. This questions whether
the benefit of doing something justifies the
economic cost.

air An ecological footprint is one measurement of

a person’s resource use.

temperatur Sustainability is when human needs are met so

that the population can survive indefinitely.

e of the “Meeting the needs of the present without

compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs.”

Eart The Earth is a closed system, meaning nothing

Hetch Hetchy Debate
The debate about whether to build a dam in the enters or leaves the Earth in large quantities is
Hetch Hetchy valley was one of the first big heat.
debates between these two philosophies.
Environmental Engineering
Resource Conservationists  The application of science and
engineering knowledge and concepts to
 care for and/or restore our natural  carpool
environment and/or solve  hybrid cars
environmental problems.  EPA government regulation
 NEW: geologic carbon sequestration
It affects Everyone & Everything!  alternative fuels
 plants  walk, bike or use public transportation
 insects
 animals Land Quality
 humans
 ecosystems Land pollution:
 our planet Destruction of the Earth’s surface caused by
human activities and the misuse of natural
environmental issues? resources.
 three areas:
 air quality Natural resources:
 land quality Land and raw materials that exist naturally in
 water quality the environment undisturbed by humans.

Poor air quality can lead to: Renewable resource: A natural resource that
 smog can be replaced by a natural process.
 respiratory & other illnesses
 acid rain Non-renewable resource: A natural resource
 global warming that cannot be produced or re-grown or reused.

Air pollutant: A known substance in the air that What problems arise from land pollution?
can cause harm to humans and the  Acid mine drainage
environment.  Pesticides and herbicides
 nitrogen oxides (NOx)  Landfills
 sulfur oxides (SOx)
 carbon monoxide (CO)
 carbon dioxide (CO2)

Global warming: An increase in the average air

temperature of the Earth

Greenhouse effect:
Heat from the sun gets trapped inside the glass
of a greenhouse and heats up its air.

More carbon dioxide (CO2)

being released in the atmosphere traps more
heat.

How do we reduce air pollutants?