Chapter 1 - Notes

Understanding Our Environment 1.1

  • Three categorgies that all environmenetal problems fall into are; Resource depletion, pollution and extinction.

 Examples -

  Resource Depletion - the rapid consumption of fossil fuels

  Pollution - contamination of wayerways by pesticides

  Extinction - The death of all passenger pigeons

  • The population crisis is the result of human opulation growing larger than the Earth can support.
  • Consumption crisis is the result of people using, wasting or polluting natural resources faster tha they can be renewed, replaced or cleaned up.
  • Developing nations are most affected byconsumption crisis
  • Developing nations are most affected by population crisis
  • Three ways to maintain a sustainable environment; preserving habitats, converting garbage into harmless substances, using nonrenewable resources no faster than they can be replaced
  • Nonrenewable resources are things like fossil fuels, iron, and precious metals
  • renewable resources are things like, wind, sun and trees

Section 1.2 - Using Science to Solve Environmental Problems

  • The difference between pure science and applied science is that pure science, such as Chemistry seeks to answer questions about the how the natural wold works, and applied science such as Environmental Science, uses pure science to slove problems.
  • Ecology is the study fo the interrelationships amoung living things. Environmental science draws healvily on the information gained by ecology, ecology differs from envionmental science in that ecology is a pure science and environmental science is an applied science.
  • Scienctists use scienctific methods to answer questions about the natural world. These methods include observing, hypothesizing and predicting, experimental, oraganizing and interpreting data, and sharing information.
  • Two essential componets of an experiement are testing a single variable and using a control.  It is important that a single variable be tested to establish a one-to-one correspondence between possible causes and observed effects. The control is important becaues it accounts for all factors expect the variable being tested.
  • Scientists often use mathematics to determine wether the results they get are meaningful or just he result of change
  • Graphs and tables are used for data
    • tables are used to organize and summerize information
    • line graphs show data ove time
    • bar graphs allow scienctis to compare infomration
    • pie charts show percentages, with the centire circle representing 100 percent