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Unit 1: Introduction to Environmental Science
Chapter 1 Section 1: Understanding our Environment
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Environmental Science
• Environment (def): Circumstances and conditions that
surround an organism or group of organisms.
Including social and cultural conditions that affect an individual or community.
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Environmental Science
• Environmental Science is the systematic study of our environment and our place in it. Highly Interdisciplinary Inclusive Holistic Mission-Oriented
Goals of Environmental Science
• To understand and solve environmental problems.
• Environmental scientists study two main types of interactions between humans and their environment:
1) How our actions alter our environment.
2) The use of natural resources.
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Environmental Science
Many Fields of Study
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Environmental science is an interdisciplinary science, which means that it involves many fields of study:
Ecology is the study of interactions of living organisms with one another and with their environment.
Scientists as Citizens, Citizens as Scientists
• Governments, businesses, and cities recognize that studying our environment is vital to maintaining a healthy and productive society.
• Thus, environmental scientists are often asked to share their research with the world
• Often, nonscientists’ observations are the first step toward addressing an environmental problem.
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What is Environmental Science
• “For an increasing number of environmental issues the difficulty is not to identify remedies. Remedies are well understood; the problem is to make these remedies socially, economically and politically acceptable.”
Barbara Ward Economist
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Remember
• What is our proper place in nature?
• What ought we do and what can we do to protect the irreplacable habitat that produced us and supports us?
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Criteria for Environmental Literacy
• Awareness and appreciation of natural and built environments.
• Knowledge of natural systems and ecological concepts.
• Understanding of current environmental issues.
• The ability to use analytical and problem-solving skills on environmental issues.