Introduction to Environmental Science

ZGE 4301 – Environmental Science

Department of Biological Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences, University of the East - Manila
Learning Outcomes:
• develop a functional definition of environmental
science, sustainability and ecological footprint
• discuss the role of environmental science with
other fields
• construct a concept map on the multidisciplinary
nature of environmental science
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Environment
• French environner
• conditions that surround an organism

Environmental science
• systematic study of environment and our
proper place in it
• how human activities affect the natural
ecosystems
• studies how the earth works, our interaction
with the earth, and ways to deal with
environment problems
https://www.elsevier.com/connect/coronav
irus-information-center

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/01/mining-coronavirus-genomes-clues-outbreak-s-origins
https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-pandemic-linked-to-destruction-of-wildlife-and-worlds-ecosystems/a-53078480
Environmental Science is
Interdisciplinary
ECOLOGICAL LEVELS OF
ORGANIZATION

organism

system

organ

tissue
cell
ECOLOGICAL LEVELS OF
ORGANIZATION

biosphere

landscape

ecosystem

community

populations
 Organism
Brown pelican

Spinal cord
Organ system
Nervous system

Brain Organ
Nerve
Brain
Tissue
Nervous tissue

Atom

Cell Nucleus
Nerve cell

Organelle
Nucleus Molecule
DNA
 Biosphere

Ecosystem
Florida coast

Community
All organisms on
the Florida coast

Population
Group of brown
pelicans

Organism
Brown pelican
Individual / Organismal Ecology
Population Ecology
Community Ecology
Ecosystem Ecology
Landscape Ecology
Biomes
Biomes
Biosphere
Environmental Science is an
applied science
Environmental Science is an
applied science

Hydrangeas different colors

Environmental Science is an
applied science

Productivity and N
availability in a grassland
Environmental
Science is related
to Information
Technology
Project Noah
Project Noah
Project Noah
Current Global
Conditions
 According to environmental
scientists…
Causes of Environmental Problems

Population Unsustainable Poverty Excluding

growth resource use environmental costs
from market prices
The human population is growing
exponentially at a rapid rate
• Human population is increasing at a fixed
percentage so that we are experiencing doubling
of larger populations
• Human population in 2009 was about 6.8 billion.
• Based on the current increase rate there will be 9.6
billion people by 2050
 13
12
11
10
9
?

Billions of people
8
7
6
5
4
3
Industrial revolution
2
Black Death—the Plague
1
0
2–5 million 8000 6000 4000 2000 2000 2100
years Time B. C. A. D.
Hunting and Agricultural revolution Industrial
gathering revolution
Fig. 1-11, p. 16
Unsustainable Use of Resources
Poverty has harmful environmental
and health effects
• Poverty occurs when the basic needs for adequate
food, water, shelter, health, and education are not
met
• One in every five people live in extreme poverty
(<$1.25/day), and more are susceptible
Harmful effects of poverty
 Per capita threshold (PhP) Poverty Incidence among families (%)
2006 Poverty
2009 Incidence
2012 in2006
RP 2009 2012
RP 6,703 8,448 9,385 23.4 22.9 22.3
NCR 7,718 9,456 10,084 2.8 3.7 3.8
CAR 7,031 8,492 9,734 25.6 22.7 22.6
Region 1 7,086 8,729 9,224 23.3 18.5 16.7
Region II 6,984 8,566 9,224 22.0 22.3 19.8
Region III 7,344 9,251 10,121 13.0 12.5 12.2
Region IV-A 6,611 8,481 9,601 10.1 10.8 11.2
Region IV-B 6,238 7,751 8,525 34.1 30.6 28.4
Region V 6,618 8,420 9,022 36.2 36.5 34.1
Region VI 6,421 8,153 8,957 27.5 26.7 24.7
Region VII 7,269 8,648 9,296 35.0 31.6 28.8
Region VIII 6,266 8,107 8,989 33.3 36.2 37.2
Region IX 6,159 8,053 8,881 41.0 41.5 36.9
Region X 6,450 8,456 9,604 35.1 35.4 35.6
Region XI 6,721 8,547 9,927 26.9 27.3 28.6
Region XII 6,619 8,126 9,243 34.7 31.1 37.5
CARAGA 6,996 8,905 9,779 43.3 43.3 34.1
ARMM 6,319 8,257 10,027 43.0 42.0 46.9
 Prices of goods and services not include
harmful environmental and health costs

• company’s goal is often to maximize the

profit
• often consumers do not know the damage
caused by their consumption.
• develop ways to include harmful costs of
goods and services
2016 World Environmental
Performance (Yale 2016 report)

• More deaths globally occur due to poor air

quality than water
• More than 3.5 billion people –half of the
world’s population – live in nations with
unsafe air quality
• Number of people lacking access to clean
water has been nearly cut in half from 960
million in 2000 to 500 million today, around
8% of the world’s population
• 2.4 billion people lack access to sanitation
• 34% of the global fish stocks are over-
exploited or collapsed
2016 World Environmental
Performance (Yale 2016 report)
• 15.4% of the terrestrial habitats and 8.4% of
marine habitats in 2014 were protected
• 2.52 million km2 for tree cover was lost in 2014- an
area roughly twice the size of Peru
• 23% of the countries have no wastewater
treatment
• around 1/3 of countries scored on climate and
energy are reducing their carbon intensity
Current Global Conditions
• Climate Change - over the past 200 years,
atmospheric CO 2 concentrations have increased
about 35%.
• By 2100, mean global temperatures will probably
increase 2° to 6°C compared to 1900 temperatures
• Soils - about two-thirds of all agricultural lands
show signs of degradation
• Water and Sanitation - at least 1.1 billion people
lack an adequate supply of safe drinking water,
and more than twice of that don’t have modern
sanitation
Current Global Conditions
• Energy - fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas)
presently provide around 80 percent of the energy
used in industrialized countries
• Biodiversity Loss - over the past century, more
than 800 species have disappeared and at least
10,000 species are now considered threatened
(UNEP)