PEOPLE AND EARTH’S ECOSYSTEM

TOPIC 1: AN INTRODUCTION
DR. GLORINA P. OROZCO
TOPIC LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. DEFINE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE.

2. UNDERSTAND THE BASIC CONCEPTS OF

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE.

3. KNOW THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MEN AND

ENVIRONMENT.
 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
•Is The Interdisciplinary Study Of The Relationship Of Human
With Other Organisms And The Nonliving Physical
Environment.

•It Embraces The Disciplines Which Are Concerned With The

Physical, Chemical, And Biological Surroundings In Which
Organisms Live.
(Eg. Oceanography, Meteorology, Climatology, Geochemistry,
Geophysics)
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
•KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE NATURAL WORLD.
•ESPECIALLY CONCERNED WITH CHANGES
WROUGHT BY HUMAN ACTIVITIES, AND THEIR
IMMEDIATE AND LONG-TERM IMPLICATIONS
FOR THE WELFARE OF LIVING ORGANISMS,
INCLUDING HUMANS.
 Environment vs Nature
•Environment Is Everything That Is Around Us. It Can Be
Living (Biotic) Or Non-living (Abiotic) Things And Includes
Physical, Chemical And Other Natural Forces. Living Things
Live In Their Environment. They Constantly Interact With It
And Adapt Themselves To Conditions In Their Environment.

•The Words Nature And Natural Are Used For All The Things
That Are Normally Not Made By Humans. Things Like
Weather, Organisms, Landforms, Celestial Bodies And Much
More Are Part Of Nature.
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 HUMAN DIMENSIONS OF THE
ENVIRONMENT
•Deals With People’s Relationships And Interactions With
The Biophysical World.
•Incorporates Knowledge From Both The Social And
Biophysical Sciences To Examine System Interactions.
•Role Of Culture, Risk, Values, Attitudes, Knowledge,
Beliefs, Perceptions, Public Opinion, And Behaviors Related
To Natural Resources And The Environment.
 HUMAN DIMENSIONS OF THE
ENVIRONMENT
•Human Engagement With Natural Resources And The
Environment Through Monitoring, Recreation, Tourism,
Leisure, Education, Communication, And In Daily Life
•Governance And Other Institutional Factors Related To
Resource Use, Allocation, And Decision-making.
•Human-human Conflicts Over Natural Resources And
Environments, As Well As Conflicts Between Humans And
The Biophysical World (Eg. Human-wildlife Interactions)
BIOLOGICAL HIERARCHY

•BIOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION IS BASED ON A

HIERARCHY OF STRUCTURAL LEVELS.

•EACH LEVEL OF BIOLOGICAL

ORGANIZATION HAS DISTINCT PROPERTIES.
 Biological Spectrum
“Hierarchy of Organization in Nature”
 Biological Spectrum
“Hierarchy of Organization in Nature”

BIOTIC
1. Cells 1. basic unit of life
2. groups of cells performing
2. Organ
specialized functions
3. Organism 3. unit of living thing w/ organs
4. Population 4. groups of organisms belonging to
the same species (genetically
related interbreeding organisms)
5. Community 5. groups of different populations
living in a specific area
Atom
• SMALLEST COMPONENT
OF AN ELEMENT.

MOLECULE
 Chemical structure made
up of bonded atoms.
ORGANELLE
•A STRUCTURAL
COMPONENT OF A
CELL.

Cell
 Fundamental structure
and function of life.
TISSUE
•GROUP OF SIMILAR
CELLS WITH SIMILAR
FUNCTIONS.

Organ
 Specialized body parts
made up of tissues.
ORGAN
SYSTEM
• MULTIPLE ORGANS
WORKING TOGETHER TO
CARRY OUT LIFE
FUNCTIONS.

Organism
 An individual living
thing.
POPULATION
•ALL INDIVIDUALS OF THE SAME SPECIES
IN A PARTICULAR AREA.

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COMMUNITY
•ALL ORGANISMS IN AN ECOSYSTEM.
ECOSYSTEM
•ALL LIVING AND NON-LIVING THINGS IN
A PARTICULAR AREA.

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BIOSPHERE

•ALL THE ECOSYSTEMS

OF THE EARTH.
PREPARED BY: DAISY R.
20 4/10/2021
SUCALDITO
WHAT IS SCIENCE?
❖SCIENCE = IS A
SYSTEMATIZED BODY
OF KNOWLEDGE;
BASED ON FACTS
❖SYSTEM = CONSISTS
OF INTERACTING
INTERDEPENDENT
❖ Aim of Science:
COMPONENTS FORMING
to provide the “best
A UNIFIED WHOLE description” of the
❖TECHNOLOGY = natural world
APPLIED SCIENCE
 SCIENCE AS A WAY OF KNOWING
1. OBSERVING = DISCOVERING THINGS
AROUND US
2. COMPARING= CONTRASTING
PROPERTIES OF SUBJECTS
3. Classifying =involves skill of arranging
4. Measuring = translates qualitative to quantitative
info
5. Inferring = skill that relies heavily on the quality of
observations made
6. Predicting = making assumptions, hypothesis
7. Experimentation = testing the hypothesis
HOW DO SCIENTISTS ANSWER
QUESTIONS ABOUT NATURE?
SCIENTIFIC METHOD
•A STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS OF SOLVING A PROBLEM AND
ARRIVING ON A VALID CONCLUSION
•INVOLVES FORMULATION OF HYPOTHESIS
( A SCIENTIFIC GUESS)
•TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS BY EXPERIMENTATION
•THEORY = UNPROVEN HYPOTHESIS
•LAW/ GENERALIZATION = PROVEN HYPOTHESIS
STEPS IN SCIENTIFIC METHOD

1. STATE THE PROBLEM

2. GATHERING DATA
3. FORMULATE THE HYPOTHESIS
4. TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS BY
EXPERIMENTATION
5. MAKE A GENERALIZATION OR
CONCLUSION
6. REPORTING
Scientific Method
 ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL CRISES

1. POPULATION EXPLOSION
2. DEPLETION OF NATURAL RESOURCES
3. POLLUTION → CONTAMINATION OF THE
ENVIRONMENT ( AIR, WATER & LAND)
CONSERVATION EFFORTS IN
ENVIRONMENT

• CONSERVATION OF
ENVIRONMENT INDICATES THE
SUSTAINABLE USE AS WELL AS MANAGEMENT
OF NATURAL RESOURCES WHICH INCLUDE
WILDLIFE, WATER, AIR, AND EARTH DEPOSITS.
•EARTH PROTECTION.
 BASIC & COMMON EFFORTS IN THE
CONSERVATION OF ENVIRONMENT

THREE (3) RS:

1. REDUCE
2. REUSE
3. RECYCLE
Use Less Energy
And Embrace
Alternative
Energy Sources.

E.g. Solar Power,

Wind Energy

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HELP TO PROTECT
THE QUALITY
OF SOIL THROUGH
COMPOSTING.

4/10/
2021
STOP
SMOKING
AND SMOKE
BELCHING

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•CONSERVE
WATER.

•AVOID
POLLUTING
OUR WATERS

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ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS

•THE DISCIPLINE IN PHILOSOPHY THAT

STUDIES THE MORAL RELATIONSHIP OF
HUMAN BEINGS TO, AND ALSO THE
VALUE AND MORAL STATUS OF,
THE ENVIRONMENT AND ITS NON-HUMAN
CONTENTS.
 Environmental Integrity
& Stewardship

Core Environmental Principles:

1. Interdependence & Interconnectedness –
Everything on earth is connected; a
disruption of one will disrupt the whole
2. Balance of Nature – Nature has its own
laws & processes to maintain itself
3. Diversity & Stability – All life forms are
important in the ecosystem; the more
diverse the ecosystem, the stable it is.
 Environmental Integrity
& Stewardship

4. Change – Everything changes on earth

human may accelerate change in nature.
2nd Law of Thermodynamics (Law of Entropy)
= “energy always proceeds to a state of disorder”
5. Materials Cycle – Materials in the environment
are not lost, but just transformed
1st law of Thermodynamics / Law of Conservation
of Matter = “ Matter/Energy can neither be
created nor destroyed, they can only be
transformed from one type to another”
 Environmental Integrity
& Stewardship
5. Finiteness of Resources – Most resources
are non-renewable, thus must be
conserved
7. Stewardship & Cooperation – Humans are
part of nature; they are not masters but
stewards of mother earth.
➢
8. Sustainable Development
As defined by United Nations:
“ Meeting the needs of the present generation
w/o sacrificing the needs of the future
generation”
 Thank You!
Be ready for a quiz next
meeting