Understanding Our Environment

Understanding Our Environment

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  Understanding Our EnvironmentEcology I Mr. Nettles
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  Class Motto Disciplinefuels character! Character builds hope! Hope assures your future!
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  Agenda- Monday, January23, 2012 Warm Up “ Understanding Our Environment” Wrap Up (LIA) A-Plus
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  Today’s Objectives Define environmental science, ecology, agriculture, natural resource, pollution, and biodiversity Compare ecology and environmental science. List the five major fields of study that contribute to environmental science. Describe the major environmental effects of hunter-gatherers, the agricultural revolution, and the Industrial Revolution. Classify environmental problems into three major categories.
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  Warm Up (Jan.23) How do you define the term environment ? Are humans part of the environment ? How can science help us understand and solve environmental problems ?
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  What is EnvironmentalScience? Environmental Science = the study of how humans interact with the environment The environment includes the natural world, the complex web of relationships between living things, and everything produced by humans .
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  The Goals ofEnvironmental Science A major goal of environmental science is to understand and solve environmental problems. To accomplish this goal, environmental scientists study two main types of interactions between humans and their environmen t: The use of natural resources. How our actions change our environment.
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  Key Question Howdo ecology and environmental science differ? Remember that ecology is the study of the relationships that living organisms have with each other and their natural environment. Answer : Ecology involves the study of ALL living things interacting with the environment whereas Environmental Science involves ONLY humans interacting with the environment.
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  5 Major Fieldsof Study that Contribute to Environmental Science Biology - the study of living organisms Earth Science – the study of Earth’s nonliving systems and the planet as a whole Physics – the study of matter and energy
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  5 Major Fieldsof Study that Contribute to Environmental Science Chemistry – the study of chemicals and their interactions. Social Sciences – the study of human populations
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  Stages of OurEnvironment Through Time Hunter-Gatherers Hunter-Gathers are the earliest group of people who obtained food by collecting plants, hunting, and scavenging the remains of animals. They affected the environment by: overhunting large game animals, which led to the extinction of animals such as the giant bison and saber-toothed tiger spreading different plant species around the world by traveling from place to place
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  Stages of OurEnvironment Through Time The Agricultural Revolution Agriculture – the practice of growing, breeding, and caring for plants and animals that are used for food, clothing, housing, and transportation. Began in many different parts of the world 10,000 years ago Started with hunter-gatherers planting seeds from plants they gathered and breeding animals from their local environments Developing farmlands out of rainforests caused harm to the environment through soil loss, floods, and water shortage.
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  Stages of OurEnvironment Through Time The Industrial Revolution Involved a shift from energy sources such as animal muscle and running water to fossil fuels such as coal and oil Made producing food and goods much faster and less expensive Improved the quality of life for people in ways such as the invention of the light bulb and improvement of medical care Produced environmental problems such as pollution and habitat loss
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  3 Main EnvironmentalProblems Resource Depletion Natural Resource – any natural material that is used by humans Renewable Resources can be replace quickly by a natural process . Examples include water, air, soil, and trees . Nonrenewable Resources are used at a much faster rate than they are made . Examples are minerals and fossil fuels. Resources become depleted when a large amount of them become used up.
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  3 Main EnvironmentalProblems Pollution: Pollution – an undesired change in air, water, or soil that badly affects the health, survival, or activities of living things. Biodegradable Pollutants can be broken down by natural processes . An example is human sewage . Non-degradable Pollutants are not broken down easily and can build up to dangerous toxic levels in the environment . Examples are lead and mercury. Most pollution today is caused by human activity.
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  3 Main EnvironmentalProblems Loss of Biodiversity: Biodiversity – the number and variety of species that live in an area. Much of the Earth’s biodiversity has been loss due to extinction .
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  Wrap Up (Jan.23) What was one fact that you Learned today? What was the most Interesting thing about today’s class? How can you Apply or use the information that you learned today?