ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE to study the environment and discover

solutions to environmental problems.

LESSON 1 - INTRODUCTION TO
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE IS AN
INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE
Environment - means the surrounding Environmental science and the issues that it
external conditions influencing development studies are complex and interdisciplinary.
or growth of people, animal or plants; living ❖ Includes concepts and ideas from
or working conditions, etc. (Singh, 2006) multiple fields of study.
❖ Decisions have impacts in all these fields
All things around us with which we of study.
interact:
• Living things (Animals, Plants, Fungi, etc.) DRAWING A BRIDGE OF INFORMATION
• Non- living things (Soil, Water, Rocks, etc.) • A community decides to use coal for
• Our built environment (Buildings, electricity, as it is the cheapest source
human-created available. (Economics)
living centers) • The coal must be mined from under the
• Social relationships and institutions soil. (Geology)
• The coal must be transported to the
UNDERSTANDING THE ENVIRONMENT population center by road or rail.
Lithosphere - solid earth (Engineering)
Atmosphere - gasses (the air) • When it is burned at a power plant, air
Hydrosphere - all water pollution is released. Some of that pollution
Biosphere - all life is converted to acid in the atmosphere.
(Chemistry)
ELEMENTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT • This falls as acid rain somewhere
Physical Elements downwind. (Meteorology)
Biological Elements • The acid stresses plants by affecting their
Cultural Elements nutrient absorption. (Ecology)
• Laws are passed requiring the plant to
“IN OUR EVERY DELIBERATION, WE install pollution scrubbers. (Politics)
MUST CONSIDER THE IMPACT OF OUR
DECISIONS ON THE NEXT SEVEN WHY WE STUDY ENVIRONMENTAL
GENERATIONS.” SCIENCE?
- The Great Law of the Iroquois • We depend on our environment
Confederacy • Environmental Science is our modern way
of seeking answers to the questions
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE • Our environment improves the quality of
❑ Is defined as the interdisciplinary study of our lives
humanity’s • Environmental science teaches us how to
relationship with other organisms and the protect our environment in the face of rising
nonliving physical environment. human population and anthropogenic
❑ It is the academic field that takes activities that degrade natural resources
physical, biological, and chemical sciences and ecosystems.
Environmental ethics is the discipline that wildlife. DDT is persistent, meaning it is not
studies the moral relationship of human biodegradable and will not break down
beings to the environment. naturally.
• What is the value of the environment? • This began a public awakening to threats
• What moral responsibility do we have in of pollution and toxic chemicals to humans
dealing with the major environmental as well as other specie.
problems that result from our resource • This movement is called Modern
consumption? Environmentalism.
• Which needs should be given the highest
priority in our decision making? Global environmentalism explores issues
and problems over the entire world, not just
TWO MAIN CATEGORIES OF ETHICS IN within the local community.
HUMAN CULTURE IN MODERN HISTORY Following the 1970s, environmentalism
Anthropocentrism - It is the view or belief began to consider issues that affected the
that human beings are superior to all other entire planet:
organisms • Biodiversity loss
• This set of ethics protects and promotes of • Food production
human interests or well-being at the • Climate Change
expense of all other factors. • Human population growth
• Often places an emphasis on short-term • Economic inequality between nations
benefits while disregarding long-term
consequences. Developing Countries
Economically poor
Ecocentrism - It is a perspective that Less educated
places importance on the ecosystem. Higher fertility rates
• The preservation of ecosystems or other Lower standard of living
living things takes priority over human Lower rates of consumption
needs.
Developed Countries
RESOURCES CONSERVATIONIST Economically wealthy
•The focus of the resource conservationists More educated
was to protect open land. Lower fertility rates
• The National Parks system, and the Higher standard of living
National Forest system were both created Higher rates of consumption
during this time
FOUR BASIC PRINCIPLES OF
MODERN ENVIRONMENTALISM ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
•Rachel Carson published a book in 1962 •Systematic principle of environment
entitled Silent Spring about the effects of • Principle of environmental capacity
pesticides on large predatory • Symbiosis principle between human and
birds, particularly the bald eagle. environment
• Rachel Carson documented the impacts • Entropy principle
that pesticides like DDT were having on
Systematic Principle of Environment Community - Different populations that live
It is based on the idea that the environment together in a defined area.
is a complex system composed of Ecosystem - A collection of all organisms
interrelated and interdependent that live in a particular place together with
components, including the natural, social, their nonliving environment.
and economic spheres. BIOME - A group of ecosystems that have
the same climate and similar dominant
The Principle of Environmental Capacity communities.
refers to the concept that the environment Biosphere - The portion of earth that
has a limited ability to sustain human supports life is called the biosphere. The
activities and absorb impacts without biosphere extends several km up in the
undergoing significant degradation. atmosphere to the deepest parts of the
oceans.
The Symbiosis Principle between Humans
and the Environment highlights the mutually WHAT IS ECOSYSTEM?
beneficial relationship that can and should The simplest definition of an ecosystem is
exist between humans and nature that it is a community or group of living
organisms that live in and interact with each
What is Entropy? Entropy is a measure of other in a specific environment.
disorder or randomness in a system. It
reflects the number of ways a system's TYPES OF ECOSYSTEM
energy can be distributed among its Natural Ecosystem - Totally dependent on
particles. Higher entropy means greater solar radiation e.g. forests, grasslands,
disorder oceans, lakes, rivers, and deserts. They
provide food, fuel, fodder, and medicines.
LESSON 2 - ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES Manmade Ecosystem - Dependent on
AND CONCEPTS solar energy-e.g.agricultural fields and
aquaculture ponds.
ECOLOGY - It is the scientific study of
interactions between different organisms ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
and between organisms and their ∆Ecosystem services are the multitude of
environment or surroundings. benefits that nature provides to society.
❑ Ecosystem services make human life
possible by, for example, providing
ECOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION nutritious food and clean water, regulating
Species - Group of organisms similar to disease and climate,supporting the
another that they can breed and produce pollination of crops and soil formation, and
fertile offspring providing recreational, cultural and spiritual
Population - A population is a group of benefits.
individuals of a single species living
together within a particular geographic area. TYPES OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
They interbreed and compete with each ❑ Provisioning services- goods that
other for resources. directly benefit people.
❑ Regulating services- processes that ❑ Omnivores- eat both plants and animals.
moderate natural phenomena ❑ Decomposers- breaks down dead
❑ Cultural Services- a non- material organic
benefit that contributes to people’s
intellectual, cultural and social development. FEEDING INTERACTIONS
❑ Supporting services- indirect or very Energy flows through an ecosystem in one
long-term impacts on people, but direction— from the sun or inorganic
underlie other ecosystem services, compounds to autotrophs (producers) and
particularly provisioning services. then to heterotrophs (consumers).

Biotic and Abiotic FOOD CHAIN - It is a series of steps in

Biotic and Abiotic factors determine the which organisms transfer energy by eating
survival and growth of an organism and the and being eaten
productivity of the ecosystem in which an 1. Arrows go in the direction of how energy
organism lives. is transferred
2. Start with producer and end with top
TROPHIC LEVELS consumer or carnivore
PRODUCERS Grass - Cricket - Frog - Raccoon
❑ Sunlight is the main energy source
for life on earth FOOD WEB
❑ Also called autotrophs A food web is a detailed interconnecting
❑ Use light or chemical energy to make diagram that shows the overall food
food relationships between organisms in a
1. Plants particular environment.
2. Plant-like protists (algae)
3. Bacteria ENERGY PYRAMID
❑ An energy pyramid, also known as a
PRODUCERS trophic or ecological pyramid, is a graphical
❑ Photosynthesis—use light energy to representation of the energy found within
convert carbon dioxide and water into the trophic levels of an ecosystem.
oxygen and carbohydrates Energy Pyramid shows relative amount of
(Remember: 6CO2 + 6H2O 6O2 + energy available
C6H12O6) at each trophic level.
❑ Chemosynthesis—performed by ❑ Organisms in a trophic level use the
bacteria, use chemical energy to available energy
produce carbohydrates. for life processes (such as growth,
photosynthesis,
CONSUMERS cellular respiration, metabolism, etc.) and
❑ Organisms that rely on other release some
organisms for their energy and food energy as heat.
supply. Remember: Every chemical process that
❑ Also called heterotrophs happens in your
body releases heat as a byproduct (ex:
CONSUMERS burning calories).
❑ Rule of 10—only about 10% of the atmospheric nitrogen is converted to a form
available energy which plants can incorporate into new
within a trophic level is transferred to the proteins.
next higher
trophic level. Five main process in Nitrogen Cycling:
❑ Nitrogen Fixation
BIOMASS PYRAMID ❑ Nitrification
❑ A biomass pyramid shows the flow of ❑ Assimilation
energy between various levels. Producers ❑ Ammonification
and consumers make up the biomass ❑ Denitrification
pyramid, which displays all their
comparative masses at the same time. To Water Cycle
create the biomass pyramid, the The water cycle describes how water is
approximate masses are stacked up exchanged (cycled) through Earth's land,
according to a well-established hierarchy. ocean, and atmosphere.

BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES Process in Water Cycling:

The movement of nutrient elements ❑ Evaporation
through the various components of an ❑ Condensation
ecosystem is called nutrient cycling. ❑ Precipitation
Another name of nutrient cycling is
biogeochemical cycles (bio: living Phosphorus Cycle
organism, geo: rocks, air, and water). Phosphorus cycle is the circulation of
phosphorus in various forms through nature.
Carbon Cycle Of all the elements recycled in the
The carbon cycle describes the process in biosphere, phosphorus is the scarcest and
which carbon atoms continually travel from therefore the one most limiting in any given
the atmosphere to the Earth and then back ecological system.
into the atmosphere.
ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION
The global carbon cycle consists of Ecological succession is the process by
following steps: which the mix of species and habitat in an
❑ Photosynthesis area changes over time. Gradually, these
❑ Respiration communities replace one another until a
❑ Decomposition “climax community”—like a mature
❑ Combustion forest—is reached, or until a disturbance,
like a fire, occurs.
Nitrogen Cycle
The nitrogen cycle refers to the cycle of
nitrogen atoms through the living and
non living systems of Earth. The nitrogen
cycle is vital for life on Earth. Through the
cycle,
ECOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS organism (host) and harms it.The parasite
BETWEEN ORGANISMS obtains all or part of its nutritional needs
Competition—when two organisms of the from the host. (WIN-LOSE)
same or different Example: fleas on a dog
species attempt to use an ecological
resource in the same
place at the same time. Ex: food, water,
shelter

Niche—the ecological niche involves both

the place where
an organism lives and the roles that an
organism has in its
habitat.

HABITAT
Another aspect of a species‘ niche is its
habitat. The habitat is the physical
environment in which a species lives and to
which it is adapted.

ECOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS
BETWEEN ORGANISMS
Predation—one organism captures and
feeds on another
organism
1. Predator—one that does the killing
2. Prey—one that is the food

Symbiosis—any relationship in which two

species live closely
together.
1. Mutualism—both species benefit
(WIN-WIN)
a. Ex: insects and flowers

Commensalism- one member of the

association benefits and the other is neither
helped nor harmed (WIN- 0)
Example: Barnacles on a whale

Parasitism—one organisms lives on or

inside another