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A Short Introduction to Environmental Science - The World is in Our Hands
By Scientistcindy (GEEK extrodinaire) - WWW.SCIENTISTCINDY.COM
Questions: 1) What is Environmental Science? 2) What is the big idea?
Environmental Science is a Multidisciplinary Field that includes many scientific fields as well as field in the humanities, economics and political science. Some examples of different fields of study that can be used together to analyze our impact on the environment and the repercussions of modernization as well as how to make eco-friendly choices more accessible for all individuals and all nations regardless of socio-economic status or cultural differences. As you might imagine, this is, of course, is a monumental task. Environmental Science seeks to understand the complex problems that face our fragile ecosystems, while preserving or improving the way-of-life for humans as well as all organisms that we share this great planet with. Critical thinking skills must play a critical role in Environmental Science as these scientists strive to maintain objectivity and contemplate the issues at hand with respect and reverence to each facet that is involved.
I implore you to ponder the implications of the well-known poem by John Donne, pasted below with permission from
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/no-man-is-an-island/
No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were:
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
John Donne
By Scientistcindy (GEEK extrodinaire) - WWW.SCIENTISTCINDY.COM
Questions: 1) What is Environmental Science? 2) What is the big idea?
Environmental Science is a Multidisciplinary Field that includes many scientific fields as well as field in the humanities, economics and political science. Some examples of different fields of study that can be used together to analyze our impact on the environment and the repercussions of modernization as well as how to make eco-friendly choices more accessible for all individuals and all nations regardless of socio-economic status or cultural differences. As you might imagine, this is, of course, is a monumental task. Environmental Science seeks to understand the complex problems that face our fragile ecosystems, while preserving or improving the way-of-life for humans as well as all organisms that we share this great planet with. Critical thinking skills must play a critical role in Environmental Science as these scientists strive to maintain objectivity and contemplate the issues at hand with respect and reverence to each facet that is involved.
I implore you to ponder the implications of the well-known poem by John Donne, pasted below with permission from
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/no-man-is-an-island/
No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were:
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
John Donne
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Below is only an abbreviated list of the fields of discipline which come into play when dealing with environmental issues. Environmental Science, by necessity, is multifaceted and ecological changes impact organisms and the physical environment. The impact of pollution, for example, is far-reaching and involves much more that a quick answer.
Volumes of books have been written on case studies in the environmental sciences. We will look at one example in particular and see how these different fields of study, both scientific and non-scientific disciplines, come into play in order to get a global view of the problem and propose resolutions that have taken into account multiple parties and multiple points of view. The National Science Foundation (NSF) hosts the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science website located at http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/detail.asp?case_id=712&id=712. This site contains pages and pages of case studies involving environmental issues. In this example, I am using "A Struggle for Power in China: The Three Gorges Dam". Copyright held by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, University at Buffalo, State University of New York. The case study involves one of the largest hydroelectric dams in the world, the Three Gorges Dam. As you would expect, millions of people rely on the dam to provide them with needed energy for their homes and businesses. As we have observed countless times in history, whenever man alters natural resource, unintended and detrimental consequences to the environment are often the result. Construction of the Three Gorges Dam had a negative impact on the ecosystem which included the Yangtze River as well as local residents. 1) Geology - diverting the natural flowing water will indelibly alter the landscape by decreasing local flora and redistributing the valuable resource. Also the habitat of valuable marine life will be disrupted. 2) Biology - Disruptions in the food chain can decrease the number and variety of species in the ecosystem, making the ecosystem less resilient toward climatic or other environmental changes. 3) Chemistry - Redistribution of running water and sediment will result in disruptions in natural cycles of elements required for life. 4) Ethics - relocation of residents, is this the best option even though it has problems? 5) Politics - what are the rights of the residents in the area. Should they be compensated for devaluation of property values? 6) Economics - the dam will generate clean energy that is more helpful to the environment, but at the same time, hurt the local agriculture. The desirability of homes in the area will decrease due to the change in aesthetics and changes in the landscape, resulting in a decreased rate of return for property owners. Let's look at an another example of how all these fields of study can play a role in Environmental Science. Let's look at a hypothetical factory. 1) Employees make money - economic concern 2) The factory creates jobs - economic concern 3) Economy Improves - economic concern 4) Employment and Wealth Increase - economic concern 5) The wealthy fund and support political leaders that will protect their interests - political concern - economic concern social (humanitarian) concern - ethical concern 6) The factory pollutes the air - chemical concern 7) Employees have money so they move further away from the factory to breathe cleaner air - economic concern- chemical concern - 8) Property Values Surrounding the Factory Decrease - economic concern - chemical concern 9) Households without the means to move get stuck with the pollution - economic concern - chemical concern 10)Air Pollution Negatively Effects the Poorer Population of Residents in the Surrounding Area - economic concern 11)Pollution decreases health of residents - chemical concern - biological concern 12) Pollutants are toxic to local plants and animals, thereby decreasing health and fitness- chemical concern - biological concern 13) The fact that the pollution will effect mostly the low income households that surround the area - chemical concern - biological concern - social (humanitarian) concern - ethical concern 14) Air pollution causes toxic rain - chemical concern - biological concern 15) Toxic rain pollutes the water and decreases the health and wellness of marine life, decreases offspring and shortens life- span. - chemical concern - biological concern 16) Some Fish Will Die, Fish population is reduced - chemical concern - biological concern 17) Animals that directly depend upon fish for food are effected - chemical concern - biological concern 18) Anything that eats fish, eats the toxins - chemical concern - biological concern 19) Soil becomes toxic - geological concern - chemical concern - biological concern 20) Vegetation dies due to toxic soil- geological concern - chemical concern - biological concern 21) Composition of soil changes due to lack of foliage and desertification occurs. - geological concern - chemical concern - biological concern Questions to pose. 1. What about the people who are harmed? 2. What about stock holders? 3. What Obligation do we Have to Future Generations? 4. What About Political Concerns? 5. Do Countries Have a Right and an Obligation to Provide Jobs and Income for their People? 6. Who should control global resources? 7. How to you feel about the "No War For Oil" slogan? Where Does Chemistry Come Into the Picture? A. We Breathe Air B. 21% Oxygen C. Our Air's Chemical Composition is Vital for Survival of All Living Things! D. Animals Need Oxygen E. Ozone is the most abundant pollutant in our air. F. Ozone is a lung irritant and a danger to human health. G. We use Chemistry to test the air, water and soil for pollutants consequences of this pollution. H. Knowing biology helps us predict the biological effects of the chemical changes caused by pollution. Where Did the Ozone Come From? Ozone is created from a chemical reaction between smog and sunlight. 1. It starts with a bunch of cars 2. Vehicles burn fossil fuels 3. This releases hydrocarbons into the air 4. The hydrocarbons react with sunlight 5. Ozone (O3) is one of several reactions, but is well-known for its detrimental effects on the environment and organisms Where Does Geography Come Into the Picture? A. Knowledge of Geography Predicts How... 1. People can be poisoned by contaminated Earth 2. Soil will be effected 3. Plants won't grow or will become toxic How does pollution affect the soil? Once in the atmosphere, these oxides can mix with other chemicals to form more harmful pollutants that either settle as ‘dry deposition’ or are washed out by rain and fall as ‘wet deposition’. 1. Pollutants from air enter the soil 2. Contaminated leaves fall on ground and decompose 3. Rainwater transfers pollutants from air to soil 4. Decomposing contaminated animals can transfer pollutants to soil 5. This leads to Acidification of the soil and plant don't grow 6. Acidification leads to desertification. 7. Herbivores experience lack of food and population dwindle 8. Consumers now have limited food source as a result The Problems Are Not Simple - The Solutions Won't Be Simple I know what you’re thinking... "So... What Do We Do?" The difference between where we are and where we want to be, is what WE ALL do NOW... Healing Has Already Begun. Environmental Science is Changing Our Planet Geology preservation Raising Awareness through Education New eco-freindly legislation - The U.S. Congress has enacted federal statutes intended to address pollution control and remediation. For example, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or Superfund) New chemical testing Biofilters Desalination techniques are providing more clean water Clean, Renewable Energy Resources Recycling Can one person really make a difference? Yes YOU can! You DO have choices! Reduce Reuse Recycle See More at www.scientistcindy.com |