WHY ? Environmental ScienceLakenheath High SchoolMrs. Douma

What is Environmental Science Environmental science is

defined as the interaction of humans with the environment.

The environment includes all conditions that surround living organisms: Climate Air and water quality Soil and landforms Presence of other living

organisms

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What is Environmental Science

It is an applied science – incorporates all science plus society, economics and politics

It is an observational science Computer modeling Difficult to control all

the variables in nature

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Grasp the Big Picture

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Concept: The Planet is Home

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Relevance: A Healthy Planet Means A Healthy Species

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Consider:Without a healthy environment there is no economy

Historical ImpactEarth’s History in a Nutshell

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The Big Bang!

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11 Billion years ago (?) Give or Take

Earth Birth Current Theory – 4.5 BYO

The oldest rocks recorded are about 3.8 billion years old.

The oldest fossils that have been found are Stromatolites and Cyanobacteria estimated at approximately 3.5 billion years old.

Read more: http://scienceray.com/earth-sciences/formation-of-earths-history-from-the-beginning-now/#ixzz24r8Sipmm

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Hominids Appeared about 6- 8

MYO The earliest

australopithecines very likely did not evolve until 5 million years ago or shortly thereafter (during the beginning of the Pliocene Epoch) in East Africa. 

However, by about 4.2 million years ago, unquestionable australopithecines were present. 

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Australopithecus africanus

Homo Sapians

By 2.5 million years ago, there were at least

2 evolutionary lines of hominins descended from the early australopithecines.  Indonesia – Homo erectus 1891

Branched from chimpanzees and bonobos

Later findings would suggest that Homo habilis, rather than being the direct ancestor of Homo erectus, lived at the same time as the more modern hominin for part of its history.

Omnivorous diet that increasingly included meat. 

Stone tools.  Other lines seems to have lived more in

mixed grassland and woodland environments, like the earlier australopithecines, and were primarily vegetarian. 

Died out by 1 million years ago or shortly before then. 

Apparent diversity of the early Homo genus mirrors that seen in the larger animal kingdom, where multiple lineages often tend to coexist.

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Agricultural Revolution 10 TYO Transition

Hunting /gathering – agriculture and settlement

Sedentary society - villages Increased population density radically modified the natural

environment by means of specialized food-crop cultivation

Labor diversification Trading economies Luxury – art, architecture, culture,

administration and political structure Writing

Archaeological data indicates that various forms of plants and animal domestication evolved in separate locations worldwide, starting around 12,000 years ago (10,000–5,000 BC

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Industrial Revolution (fossil fuels)

275 YO mid-1700s - Great Britain-machinery

began to replace manual labor. Fossil fuels replaced wind, water and

wood - textiles and the development of iron making processes.

Full impact -100 years later - machines replace human labor - Europe and North America.

Transformation production capacity affect all basic human needs food production Medicine Housing Clothing Not only did society develop the

ability to have more things faster, it would be able to develop better things.

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Information Revolution 50 YO Easily-stored content to widely-available

distribution. Technology

Storage and access of information Improved data transmission Widespread use of PCs World Wide Web and Internet Business went from centralized to

decentralized, and most critically away from just Western centers of power.

Purchasing power - people almost anywhere in the world were able to buy things from anywhere else.

Communication Mobile phone Search engines Non-verbal communication(SMS, data,

email, etc.) Internet access via cell phones.

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YOU ARE WHERE? 7 Billion and Counting

At the end of this week, another million people will have been added to the planet

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The Next Revolution – SustainabilityCan we maintain an acceptable lifestyle without destroying ourselves in the process?

Sustainability is broadly defined as meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Sustainable programs are those that result from commitment to environmental, social and economic health, or the “triple bottom line.” Sustainability has both individual and institutional applicability, and is usually a balancing act.

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The Next Revolution – SustainabilityThe next 100 years will make or break us! It is the capacity to

endure. For humans, sustainability is

the long-term maintenance of responsibility, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of stewardship the responsible

management of resources The diversity and

productivity of biological systems – healthy, long lived ecosystems necessary precondition

for the well-being of humans and other organisms

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The Next Revolution – SustainabilityAre you up to the challenge!

Current resource depletion is almost three times the level of sustainability.

7 billion Homo sapiens, with projected 9 billion by the end of the century

Average life span of a species is 4.5 MY Extinction is a natural process,

but Current extinction rates are

exception and most are a direct cause of Homo sapiens

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This is Your ChallengeIt is the Greatest Challenge any Generation has faced

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