OUR LADY OF LOURDES COLLEGE FOUNDATION

Vinzons Ave., Daet, Camrines Norte, 4600 Philippine

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE

SECOND SEMESTER
S.Y. 2021-2022

PEOPLE AND EARTH ECOSYSTEM

MODULE I

LESSON OBJECTIVES
At the end of this module, the student should be able to:
a. Identified which humans directly affect eco systems and species.
b. Defined environmental science and distinguish from related fields such
as environmental studies, ecology, and geography.
c. Explained the complexity of the universe through a hierarchical
framework that includes consideration of Earth, life, and ecosystems
at various scales.

OVERVIEW
This module is designed for students to have a comprehensive overview of
the context, nature, and interdisciplinary fields of Environmental Science.
Furthermore, the hierarchical organization of the Universe will be
discussed. Distinguishing features of Species and Ecosystems will be
further evaluated.

LEARNING CONTENT
 Environmental Science and Its Context
 Hierarchical Organization of the Universe
 Species and Ecosystems

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ITS CONTEXT

Every one of us Is sustained by various kinds of natural resources — such
as food, materials, and energy that are harvested or otherwise extracted
from the environment. Our need for those resources is absolute — we cannot
survive without them. Moreover, the same is true of all other species —
every organism is a component of an ecosystem that provides the means of
subsistence. Collectively, the needs and activities of people comprise a
human economy. That economy operates at various scales, ranging from an
individual person, to a family, to communities such as towns and cities,
nation (such as the Philippines), and ultimately the global human
enterprise. While an enormous and rapidly growing number of people are
supported by the global economy, a lot of environmental damage is also
being caused. The most important of the damages are the depletion of vital
natural resources, various lands of pollution including climate change, and
widespread destruction of natural habitats to the extent that the survival
of many of the natural ecosystems and species of Earth are at grave risk.
These issues are of vital importance to all people, and to ail life on the
planet. Their subject matter provides the context for a wide-ranging flied
of knowledge called environmental studies, an extremely broad field of
knowledge the examines the scientific, modal and cultural aspects of
environmental issues. As such, the subject matter of environmental studies
engages all forms of understanding that are relevant to identifying,
understanding, and resolving environmental problems. Within that context,
environmental science examines the science-related implications of
environmental issues.
Issues related to environmental problems are extremely diverse and they
interact in myriad ways. Despite this complexity, environmental issues can
be studied by aggregating them into three broad categories:
 The causes and consequences of the rapidly increasing human population
 The use and depletion of natural resources
 Damage caused by pollution and disturbances, including the
endangerment of biodiversity
These are extremely big issues — their sustainable resolution poses great
challenges to people and their economy at all scales. Nevertheless, it is
important to understand that the study of environmental issues should not
be regarded as being a gloomy task of understanding awful problems —
rather, the major goal is to identify problems and find practical ways to
repair them and prevent others from occurring. These are worthwhile and
necessary actions that represent real progress towards an ecologically
sustainable economy. As such, people who understand and work towards the
resolution of environmental problems can achieve high levels of
satisfaction with their contribution, which is something that helps to make
life worth living.
Specialists examining these and other questions related to environmental
issues may come from many specific areas of study, each of which is
referred to as a discipline. However, the various ways of understanding
each issue may be integrated into comprehensive studies of the subject
matter — this is why environmental studies is referred to as
interdisciplinary field. For environmental science, the most relevant of
the disciplinary subjects are atmospheric science, biology, chemistry,
computer science, ecology, geography, geology, mathematics, medical
science, oceanography, physics, and statistics.

HIERARCHICAL ORGANIZATION OF THE UNIVERSE

The universe consists of billions of billions of stars and probably an even
larger number of associated planets. Our Earth is one particular planet,
located within a seemingly ordinary solar system, which consists of the
Sun, eight planets, three “dwarf” planets, and additional orbiting bodies,
such as asteroids and comets.
Earth is the third closest planet to the sun, orbiting that medium-sized
star every 365 days at an average distance of 149 million kilometers, and
revolving on its own axis every 24 hours. Earth is a spherical body with a
diameter of 12,700 kilometers. About 70% of its surface is covered with
liquid water, and the remaining terrestrial area of exposed land and rock
is covered mostly with vegetation. With so much of its surface covered with
water, one might wonder why our planet was not named “Water” instead of
“Earth.”
The most singularly exceptional characteristic of Earth is the fact that
certain qualities of its environment have led to the genesis and subsequent
evolution of organisms and ecosystems. These favorable environmental
factors include aspects of Earth’s chemistry, surface temperature, and
strength of gravity.
The beginning of life occurred about 3.5 billion years ago, only 1 billion
years following the origin of Earth during the formation of the solar
system. It is not exactly known how life first evolved from inanimate
matter, although it is believed to have been a spontaneous event. On other
words, the genesis of life happened naturally, as a direct result of
appropriate physical and chemical conditions.
Aside from the musings of science fiction, Earth is celebrated as the only
place in the universe that is known to sustain life and its associated
ecological processes. Of course, this observation simply reflects our
present state of knowledge. We do not actually know that organisms do not
exist elsewhere — only that life or its signals have not yet been
discovered anywhere else in the universe. In fact, many scientists believe
that because of the extraordinary diversity of environments that must exist
among the innumerable planets of the multitudinous solar systems of the
universe, it is likely that life forms have developed elsewhere.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that Earth is the only planet definitely
known to support organisms and ecosystems. This makes Earth an
extraordinarily special place.

ACTIVITY 1
ORGANIZING THE HIERARCHICAL ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE
We can consider the universe at various hierarchical levels. The scale
ranges from the extremely small, such as subatomic particles and photons,
to the fantastically large, such as galaxies and, ultimately, the universe.
Direction: Watch the following videos to explore the biological level of
organization, ecological organization, and the hierarchal level of the
universe. YouTube links are also available in the virtual classroom sent by
your instructor. Complete the concept map by placing the correct level of
organization as you start from the smallest particles and progress up to
the largest level. Use the template in answering this activity.
Life on Earth occupies intermediate levels of this hierarchy.
The realm of ecology encompasses the following levels:
1. individual organisms, which are living entities that are genetically and
physically discrete
2. populations, or individuals of the same species that occur together in
time and space
3. communities, or populations of various species, also co-occurring at the
same time and place
4. landscapes and seascapes (collectively, these are echoscopes), which are
spatial integrations of various communities over large areas
5. And the biosphere in its entirety, which is composed of all life and
ecosystems on Earth.

SPECIES AND ECOSYSTEMS

A species is defined as individuals and populations that can potentially
interbreed and produce fertile offspring. The word ecosystem is a generic
term that is used to describe one or more communities of organisms that are
interacting with their environment as a defined unit. As such, ecosystems
can be organized in a hierarchy - they may range from small units occurring
in discrete microhabitats (such as an aquatic ecosystem contained within a
pitcher plant or in a garden surrounded by pavement) to much larger scales
(such as a landscape or seascape). Even the biosphere can be viewed as
being a single ecosystem. Ecological interpretations of the natural world
consider the web-like connections among the many components of ecosystems
in a holistic manner. This ecosystem approach does not view the system as a
random grouping of individuals, populations, species, communities, and
environments. Rather, it confirms all of these as being intrinsically
connected and mutually dependent, although in varying degrees, and also as
having emergent properties. An important ecological principle is that all
species are sustained by environmental resources: the "goods and services"
that are provided by their ecosystem. All organisms require specific
necessities of life, such as inorganic nutrients, food, and habitat with
particular biological and physical qualities. Green plants, for example,
need access to an adequate supply of moisture, Inorganic nutrients (such as
nitrate and phosphate), sunlight, and space. Animals require suitable foods
of plant or animal biomass (organic matter), along with habitat
requirements that differ for each species. It is important to understand
that humans are no different in this respect from other species. Although
this dependence may not always seem to be immediately apparent as we live
our daily lives, we nevertheless depend on environmental resources such as
food, energy, shelter, and water to sustain ourselves and our larger
economies. It follows that the development and growth of individual people,
their populations, and their societies and cultures are limited to some
degree by environmental factors. Examples of such constraints include
excessively cold dry climatic conditions, mountainous or otherwise
inhospitable terrain, and other factors that influence food production by
agriculture or hunting.
However, humans are often able to favorably manipulate their environmental
circumstances. For example, crop productivity may be increased by
irrigating agricultural land, by applying fertilizer, or by managing pests.
In fact, humans are enormously more capable of overcoming their
environmental constraints than any other species. This ability is a
distinguishing characteristic of our species. The human species is labelled
by the scientific term Homo sapiens, a two-word name (or binomial) that is
Latin for "wise man." Indeed, humans are the most intelligent of all the
species, with an enormous cognitive ability (that is, an aptitude for
solving problems). When humans and their societies perceive an
environmental constraint, such as a scarcity of resources, they often have
been able to understand the limiting factors and to then use insight and
tools to manipulate the environment accordingly. The clever solutions have
generally involved management of the environment or other species to the
benefit of humans, or the development of social systems and technologies
that allow a more efficient exploitation of natural resources.
ACTIVITY 2
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ITS INTERDISCIPLINARITY FIELDS
Direction: Refer to the template provided. Complete the Venn diagram by
providing definition for each of the following given terms. You may use a
science dictionary or an online platform for this activity.
Answer the guide questions that follow. Refer to the grading rubric for
scoring the activity.

SHORT ESSAY RUBRIC

Score Content Grammar, Development Use of Language

Punctuation &
Spelling
Answer is Rules of Develops each Uses technical or
10 appropriate grammar, usage, point with may scientific
to the and punctuation specific terminology
question. are followed; details. appropriately.
 Content is spelling is Answers
factually correct question
correct. completely.
Answer is Rules of Each point Accurate word
8 appropriate grammar, usage, supported with choice no more
to the and punctuation some details than 2 major
question. are followed and evidence. error and a few
Content is with minor All important minor errors.
may have one errors. Spelling points
or two is correct. included.
factual
errors.

6 Content Paper contains Question only Ordinary word

relates numerous
Peripherally Grammatical, Choice; use of
to the punctuational, Partially scientific
question; and spelling. answered. terminology
contains avoided.
significant
factual

ACTIVITY 3
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ITS INTERDISCIPLINARITY FIELDS
a. Define the following terms: (10pts.each)

Environmental Science

Geology
Ecology

II. Guide Question (10pts.each)

1. The Venn diagram suggests that fields of scientific knowledge

(Environmental Science, Ecology, and Geology) are relevant and
interdisciplinary. In what sense?
2. Why do think it is important to study these scientific fields?
REFERENCES

Bill Freedman (2018), Environmental Science. Pressbooks by Dalhousie

University Libraries Digital Editions. Retrieved from:
https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/environmentalscience/
Sciencing: The Effects of Human Intervention on the Environment. Retrieved
from:https://sciencing.com/effects-human-intervention-environment-
23067.html Union of Concerned Scientists. Retrieved from:
https://www.ucsusa.org/climate/science
https://www.researchitaly.it/en/news/unibo-researchers-in-search-of-the
uniqueness-of-homo-sapiens/
https://www.scribd.com/document/498825353/Module-1-people-and-the-Earth-s-
Ecosystem