Environmental Science

Week 3-4 Introduction to Environmental

Science

At the end of this module, you are expected to:

1. Define Environmental Science
2. Discuss the planet earth and its environment
3. Discover the developments in our perception of the
earth

WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE?

Environmental science deals with the study of connections

of the physical, chemical, and biological components our
environment and the world. It covers the effects on various types
of organisms and how human beings impact the surroundings and
affect such organisms.
During the lifetime of organisms, the environment plays a
role and affects the surroundings and the surroundings affect the
environment as well. Because of this, there are environmental
issues that are brought about that are concerning the following:
 Economics
 Employment
 Science
 Health
 Nature
 Laws
 Profits
 Ethics
 Politics
 Arts
 etc
We can deduct that environmental science is a multi
disciplinary field. The term environmental is perceived to refer
to the surrounding conditions that affect species and/or
organisms.

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 A few individuals regard themselves to be
conservationists. A conservation ethic emphasizes on
sustainable use, allocation, and protection of resources. It is
important to direct attention on maintaining the health of
ecosystems and their biological diversity.
Other considers themselves as environmentalists. The
environmental ethic is a varied movement that is scientific,
social, and political. An environmentalist is a person who
works actively to preserve and protect the environment from
destruction or pollution. Compromise is usually seen in making
Environmental decisions. Such decisions may be acceptable
from a scientific or economic point of view may not be
acceptable from a political point of view or vice versa. These
two parties involved in making environmental decisions
sometimes debate and argue their respective viewpoints, when
a decision is arrived at; both parties have presented their
grounds and reach (hopefully) a healthy compromise. Example
event below:

The Federal Government of Canada announced in

1992 a suspension on the fishery for northern cod. They
instantly stopped the fishery for Atlantic cod (Gadus
morhua) in the regions known as North Atlantic Fisheries
Organization (NAFO) area 2J3KL. This suspension caused
more than 20,000 fishers in the Atlantic Provinces to be
jobless and their source of income halted. There was an
investigation to find out the cause of the moratorium on
great cod fishery. It shows the relationship of science,
politics, and economics and how these factors are at play
in environmental decision making.

THE EARTH AND ENVIRONMENT

The planet earth has about 6 billion people and we are
protected by the atmosphere. It is estimated that life on Earth
began almost four billion years ago and as we move forward in
time many organisms within our biosphere formed dynamic
relationships with each other, which made it possible for
organisms to evolve to keep pace with our changing
surroundings and eventually lead to the diversity of organisms.
Earth is similar to a spacecraft because it is confined,
self-sufficient and travels through space. It is characterized as
being a closed system because almost nothing comes in with
the exception of energy in the form of heat and light that is
coming from the sun and a small amount of dust coming from
meteorites. Nothing also leaves the earth except for heat and
reflected light. The basic needs of all organisms and species on
earth are already in it or that is it already contained in the
atmosphere. These basic elements that are needed are either
 Environmental Science
3

renewable or non-renewable. Natural Resources is renewable

granted that it is replenished in a manner that is comparable to
the rate of usage by humans or other users. However, with the
increase in human population, the resources available to
sustain life will not increase.

Developments in our perception of Earth

1. View of Earth from space
> The earth seen from space is a blue green sphere that
seems to float in blackness.
2. Global Databases
> Such information is collected and processed in a
manner characterized by consistency that enables us to
analyze and compare processes on a global scale over
long periods of time
3. Research Advances
> The advances in capturing and collecting data about
conditions of our environment from hundreds to
millions of years ago allowed us to apply contemporary
processes to be seen as continuation of past processes.
4. Enhanced Computing Power
> has allowed us to utilize data and theory together in
the study of earth and the interactions between many
different parts of the earth’s system.

References and Supplementary Materials

Online Supplementary Reading Materials
1. Science and Society, https://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/scienceandsociety_01,
Retrieved June 7, 2018

https://www.ed.gov.nl.ca/edu/k12/curriculum/documents/science/highsc
hool/ES3205_student_text_chapter_1.pdf

https://www.free-ebooks.net/ebook/Introduction-to-Environmental-
Science/pdf?dl&preview

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