ECOLOGY

E N V I R O N M E N T A L P R O B L E M S , T H E I R
C A U S E S A N D S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

Core case study : It’s All About Sustainability

SUSTAINABILITY:

- Natural Science

- HumanCultural

- Economies

 The ability on the earth’s various natural system and human cultural systems and economies to survive and
adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely.

UNITED NATIONS MILLENIUM ECOSYSTEMS ASSESSMENT:

- Human actions of put long term sustainability in doubt.

LIFE ON EARTH FOR 3.5 BILLION YEARS

- Survived many catastrophes

- Human have caused major changes in the 500 years

- Humans are smart, but are they wise?

T H R E E K E Y P R I N C I P L E S
O F S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

SUSTAINABILITY- depends on three pinciples

 SOLAR ENERGY (it comes from the sun )

- provides energy for plants to make food for others organisms

- warms earth

- power winds

- power the hydrologic cycle- which includes flowing water

- provides energy: winds and moving water can be turned into electricity
 BIODIVERSITY (biological diversity )

- large variety of species

- many ecosystems

> dessert

> forest ECOSYSTEM BOINE

> oceans

> grassland

- species and systems renew soil and purity air and water.

 CHEMICAL CYCLE/NUTRIENT CYCLE

- natural process recycle NUTRIENTS

(Nutrients are consider as a chemical )

Which were found in:

> plants > animals > micro-organism

- recycling is necessary because there is a fixed supply of these nutrients on

earth

- nutrients cycle from living organisms to the nonliving environment and back.

- chemical cycles are necessary to sustain life.

- S O L U T I O N S -

 What is the specific solutions that we need to address when it comes to save
the environment?

> UNDERSTAND ENVIRONMENT

1. Environment awareness

> PRACTICE SUSTAINABILITY

 “ STUDYING CONNECTIONS IN NATURE “

 The Environment is everything around us or as the Famous Physicist Albert Einstein put in,

“ The environment is everything that is not me. It includes all the living and nonliving things which we
interact in a complex web of relationship that connects us to one another and to the world we live in. “

“ S T U D Y I N G C O N N E C T I O N S
I N
N A T U R E ”

 ENVIRONMENT

 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE - ( interdisciplinary study )

NATURAL SCIENCES HUMANITIES SOCIAL SCIENCE

- Biogeography - Philosophy - Economics

- Biology - Ethics - Geography

- Chemistry - political sciences

- Physics

- Geology

 ECOLOGY - ( organisms interact environment )

 ORGANISMS - ( it’s simply considered as living things )

- there are living things that actually interact with the

 SPECIES - ( a group of organisms , uniquetaits , fertile , mating, and it’s capable producing offspring )

 ECOSYSTEM - ( it is considered a set of organisms , non-living gentities , energy )

 ENVIRONMENTALISM - ( it is considered to be a social movement that is dedicated to protecting earth’s life

support system for all forms of life. )