Introduction to Difference Between Environment
and Ecology
Environmental Science
Environment
Environment
The environment indicates the
It refers to the surroundings and
interaction between physical,
conditions in which living organisms,
chemical and biological
including humans, exist.
components.
It encompasses everything external to It includes issues like
an organism, including the physical, deforestation, pollution, global
biological, and social factors that warming, and other major issues
can influence and interact with the It is the study of internal and
organism. external factors that affect the
environment.
Environmental Science
Ecology
It focuses on the study of the
environment, including its physical, It is the study of the relations
biological, and human aspects. between living things, the
environment, and their
It encompasses a wide range of interaction.
topics and issues related to the Ecological issues include
natural world and how human population size, diversity,
activities impact it. biological distribution, and
HOWEVER, ENVIRONMENTAL competition between them.
PROBLEMS ARE USUALLY It aims to understand the
COMPLEX, AND SOLUTIONS ARE processes of life, distribution,
NOT SIMPLE. adaptation, and biodiversity.
It is an interdisciplinary science - it Our Environment Through Time
involves many other fields of study, The impact of society on the
including: environment has changed over time
history as society itself has changed.
social sciences Hunter-Gatherers
earth science
Hunter-gatherers are human societies
One important foundation of ES is that primarily rely on hunting,
Ecology- is the scientific study of the fishing, and gathering wild plants for
relationships between living their subsistence.
organisms and their interactions
with each other and their They are small groups of people that
environments. migrated from place to place.
HOW DOES ENVIRONMENTAL They burned grasslands to maintain
SCIENCE DIFFER FROM prairies for hunting.
ECOLOGY?
For the most part Hunter-gatherers
lived in Harmony with their
environment.
Agricultural Revolution Impact on the environment
Also known as the Neolithic Pollution first became a problem
Revolution, it was a profound and More waste and trash to dispose
transformative period in human of
history that marked the shift from a Disease was a problem in many
primarily hunter-gatherer lifestyle to cities
an agricultural one.
Impact on society
It occurred independently in various
populations in urban areas grew
parts of the world. Still, its effects
life improved... sanitation,
were widespread and included the
nutrition, medicine
development of settled communities,
inventions - light bulb,
the domestication of plants and
telephone, computer
animals, and significant changes in
social, economic, and cultural Much of Environmental Science is
practices. concerned with the problems
associated with the Industrial
Effects of the Agricultural
Revolution
Revolution
Spaceship Earth
Impact in Environment
Earth (is like a space ship) - it is
more pressure on local
unable to dispose of wastes or
environments
take on new supplies
habitats were destroyed for
energy from the sun enters and
farmland
heat leaves, but
changed species from their wild
In regards to matter Earth is a
ancestors - plants and animals
CLOSED SYSTEM - it does not
were domesticated
"take on" or "get rid of" matter
Impact on society
Resource Depletion Pollution Loss
populations increased of Biodiversity
people began to concentrate in
3 main categories of environmental
small areas
problems
Industrial Revolution (1760 to 1850)
Resource Depletion
It was a period of significant Pollution
economic, technological, and Loss of Biodiversity
social change that occurred from
Resource Depletion
roughly 1760 to 1850, primarily in
Britain Resources are various materials,
This revolution transitioned from assets, or elements that are valuable
agrarian and craft-based and can be used to meet human
economies to industrial and needs, achieve specific goals, or
factory-based production. support multiple activities.
It had profound and lasting
effects on society, the economy, NATURAL RESOURCE - any
and the environment. natural material humans use,
such as wood, water, soil, air, NON(BIO)DEGRADABLE –
plants, and animals. INORGANIC MATERIAL that cannot
PERPETUAL RESOURCES - be broken down by natural processes
refer to resources that can be
■Examples - mercury, lead, most
renewed or sustained indefinitely
plastics, glass, synthetic clothing
without depleting.
Loss of Biodiversity
• sun, wind,
often referred to as biodiversity loss
RENEWABLE RESOURCES -
or species extinction, is a critical
can be replaced relatively quickly
environmental issue that occurs when
by natural processes.
the variety and abundance of
NON-RENEWABLE
species in an ecosystem or on a
RESOURCES – form at a slower
global scale decrease over time.
rate than the rate it is consumed
fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) Threatened and Endangered
Species
Endangered species: It is a
classification used for species whose
populations have declined to a critical
level, and they face a high risk of
disappearing from the wild.
Threatened species: It generally
refers to species that are at risk of
becoming endangered if they
continue to face the same threats.
Pollution
Environmental pollution refers to
the introduction of harmful
substances into the environment,
leading to negative impacts on living
organisms.
It is an any undesired change in the
air, water, soil that adversely affects
the health and survival of humans "The Tragedy of the Commons" -
and other organisms. an essay by Garrett Hardin
2 main types of pollutants "The Tragedy of the Commons" is a
BIODEGRADABLE – ORGANIC famous essay written by Garrett
MATERIAL that natural processes Hardin, first published in the journal
can break down "Science" in 1968.
■ Examples - food waste, sewage, This essay explores the concept of
leaves, newspaper, cotton clothing overpopulation and resource
exploitation in the context of shared or ■ The desire to keep up with
common resources, and it has had a the latest trends and possess
significant impact on discussions material goods can drive
about environmental and resource resource consumption.
management.
SO DO economic pressures Law of
Hardin - argued that the main difficulty Supply and Demand
in solving environmental problems is
Cost-benefit Analysis
the conflict between the short-term
interests of individuals and the long- It is a systematic approach used in
term welfare of society. THE POINT economics and public policy to
OF THE ESSAY evaluate the pros and cons of a
decision, project, or procedure by
someone or some group has
comparing its costs to its benefits.
to take responsibility for
maintaining a resource, or the POLLUTION CONTROL
resource will be depleted or
destroy How much will it cost to clean it
up?
If no one takes responsibility for Is it worth it?
cleaning up a beach, how will it look?
Risk Assessment
Economics and the Environment
refers to the process of evaluating
Social pressures play a significant and analyzing the potential risks and
role in influencing how individuals and hazards associated with various
societies use and manage natural activities, projects, policies, or events
resources. that could impact the environment.
Conformity to Norms and DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
Expectations:
■ If a community or society also known as industrialized
values conservation and countries or advanced economies,
sustainable resource are nations that have reached a high
management, individuals are level of economic development,
more likely to conform to these industrialization, and technological
values. advancement.
Peer Influence: highly industrialized
■People often align their high incomes high standards of
consumption and resource-use living
habits with those of their social Slower population growth
groups to fit in and gain social good medical care
approval.
Also known as a less developed or
Social pressures play a significant low-income country, is a nation
role in influencing how individuals and characterized by a lower level of
societies use and manage natural economic development,
resources. industrialization, and human
Consumerism: development compared to developed
or industrialized countries.
Less industrialized
average income is low
standard of living is low
agriculture-based economies
faster population growth.
poorer medical care
Population and Consumption
Most environmental problems can be
traced back to 2 root causes......
POPULATION PRESSURES and the productive area of the Earth
needed to support one person in
CONSUMPTION TRENDS
a particular country
Population consumption
ECO. FTPRNT......US it is about 30
It quantifies the total amount of goods acres (each individual requires about
and services consumed by the people 30 acres to meet his/her needs for
living within a defined geographic food, goods and services)
area.
ECO. FTPRT...... India it is about 2.5
Consumption trends acres
refer to the patterns and changes in - so, what does this mean?
how individuals or societies consume
Why are these ecological footprints so
goods and services over time.
different?
DEVELOPED NATIONS
The ecological footprint of different
(like the UNITED STATES) countries varies significantly due
to a combination of factors,
use about.... 75% of the earth's including economic development,
resources population size, consumption
but make up only about.... 25% of the patterns, resource availability, and
earth's population environmental policies.
Ecological footprint
It is a measure of the environmental
impact of an individual, community,
organization, or society in terms of the
natural resources and ecosystem
services required to support their
current consumption and waste
generation.
