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Transcript of CHAPTER 1 Introduction: Toward a Sustainable Future Copyright © 2008 Pearson Prentice Hall, Inc....
CHAPTER 1Introduction:
Toward a Sustainable Future
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Prentice Hall, Inc.
EnvironmentalScienceTenth Edition
Richard T. Wright
The Chapter Introduction
• The global environmental picture
• Three strategic themes– Sustainability– Stewardship– Sound science
The Chapter Introduction
• Three integrative themes– Ecosystem capital– Policy/politics– Globalization
• The environment in the 21st century
The Lessons of Easter Island
• Society fails to care for the environment and sustain it
• Population increase beyond carrying capacity
• Disparity between rich and poor widens
How to Prevent a Global Version of the Easter Island Disaster
• Understand how the natural world works• Understand how human and natural systems
interact• Accurately assess the status and trends of
crucial natural ecosystems• Establish long-term sustainable relationships
with the natural world
The Global Environmental Picture
• Population growth and economic development
• Decline of ecosystems
• Global atmospheric changes
• Loss of biodiversity
Rapid Human Population Growth
Indicators of Decline of Vital Ecosystems
• Depleted water supplies
• Agricultural soils degraded
• Oceans over-fished
• Forests cut faster than they can grow
Conceptual Framework for Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
Global Atmospheric Changes
Contributors to Loss of Biodiversity
• Habitat alteration
• Exploitation
• Pollution
Three Strategic Themes
• Sustainability: interactions with the natural world that we should be working toward
• Stewardship: the ethical and moral framework of our actions
• Science: the basis for our understanding of how the world works
Unifying Themes
Four Dimensions to Sustainable Solutions
• Environmental
• Social
• Economic
• Political
First Quarter Project
• Ecosystem in a jar
• Example
Stewardship
• Recognition that a trust has been given
• Responsible care for something not owned
• Desire to pass something on to future generations
Environmental Justice or Racism?• Placement of waste sites and
hazardous facilities in nonwhite communities
The Nature of Science
A Historical Overview
Lamarckian Theory
• Jean Baptiste de Lamarck
• use-disuse theory• inheritance of
acquired characteristics
• environmental influences
Rotting Meat Living Organisms
Testing the Theory of Spontaneous Generation
Francesco Redi (1626-1698)
Observations
• Maggots appear on meat that is left uncovered.
• Maggots appear spontaneously on meat; life arises spontaneously in a variety of circumstances.
Hypothesis
• Life does not arise by “spontaneous generation.” Maggots on meat can be explained by some other mechanism.
Experimentation
• Controls = natural situation– Meat in open jars
• Experimental = alter one variable from the natural environment– Meat in jars covered with cork or gauze
Observation
• Maggots do not develop when jars are covered
Conclusions
• Maggots do not develop when jars are covered, therefore, spontaneous generation is not true.
• There must be another explanation.– Flies lay eggs on the meat– Eggs hatch– Maggots come from the hatching fly eggs
Introduction to Experimental Design
• Testing the Hypothesis of Spontaneous Generation
The Cell TheoryPro
Introduction to Experimental Design
Testing the Hypothesis of Spontaneous Generation
Introduction to Experimental Design
Testing the Hypothesis of Spontaneous Generation
Steps in the Scientific Method
Assumptions of the Process of Science
• We perceive reality with our five basic senses
• Objective reality functions according to certain basic principles and laws
Components to the Structure of Sound Science
• Data: measurable
• Theories: explanations
• Shaping principles: uniformity of nature, quantifiability
Assumptions of the Process of Science
• Causes and effects are explainable
• We have tools and capabilities to understand basic principles and natural laws
True or False Concerning the Process of Science
• There are no controversies or arguments among scientists.
• Progress in science can be slow.• We are continually confronted by new
observations.• Some observed phenomena may not lend
themselves to simple experiments.
True or False Concerning the Process of Science
• Science is incapable of providing absolute proof for any theory.
• The process of science can be used to test value judgments.
• The validity of science is based on the ability to do experiments.
Junk Science
• “A thorough distortion of science that is meant to confuse issues such that the public, media, or policy makers are hard pressed to know what is true.”– Presentations of selective results– Public distortions of scientific works– Publication in quasi-scientific journals
Examples of Junk Science
• science used to further a special agenda, such as personal injury lawyers extorting deep-pocket businesses;
• the “food police,” environmental Chicken Littles, and gun-control extremists advocating wacky social programs;
• overzealous regulators expanding bureaucratic power/budgets;
Examples of Junk Science
• cut-throat businesses attacking competitors;
• unethical businesses making bogus product claims;
• slick politicians; and
• wannabe scientists seeking fame and fortune.
Three Integrative Themes
• Ecosystem Capital
• Policy and Politics
• Globalization
Ecosystem Services and Human Well-being
Policy and Politics
• Human decisions that determine what happens to the natural world and the political processes that lead to those decisions.– Purpose of public policy is to promote the
common good.
Globalization
• The accelerating interconnectedness of human activities, ideas, and cultures.– Health improvements– Global markets– Improved crop yields– Dilution or destruction of cultural and religious
ideals.
Globalization
– Environmentally friendly consumer goods– Economic reorganization of the world– Worldwide spread of emerging diseases– Dispersion of exotic species– Trade in hazardous wastes– Spread of persistent organic pollutants
The Environment in the 21st Century
• The big issues– Corporate accountability– Globalization and WTO– Trade and subsidies– Climate and energy– Development priorities and aid
The Environment in the 21st Century
• If we do not change direction, we will end up where we are heading.
End of Chapter 1
PPT by Clark E. Adams