Environmental Science

Introduction

Doing Science

Environmental Science

Interdisciplinary study of humanity’s relationship with other organisms and the nonliving physical environment.

Encompasses many complex and interconnected problems Human numbers Natural Resources Pollution

Environmental Sustainability

Ability of the environment to function indefinitely without going into a decline from the stresses imposed by human society on natural systems that maintain life

Non-Sustainable Human Behaviors

Using nonrenewable resources as if they were present in unlimited suppliesUsing renewable resources faster than they can be replenished naturallyPollution the environment with toxins as if the capacity to absorb them were limitlessIncreasing in numbers despite the Earth’s finite ability to support us.

Factors Contributing to Environmental Degradation

Population

Consumption

Environmental Impacts

Thomas Multhus and Population

Human Population Growth

Pollution, Population and Consumption

Endocrine Disrupters

Overfishing: Georges Bank

Subsistence Fishing

Factory Fishing Boat

Overfishing

Declining Bird Populations

Habitat fragmentation

Nest parasitism

Nest Parasitism and Habitat Fragmentation

Fragmentation of habitat for songbirds is a result of development

Increases edges

Associated with increased populations of cowbirds

Reintroduction of Wolves

Exotic Species

Stratospheric Ozone Depletion

Global Warming

Global Warming

Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

Rain Forest Destruction

Addressing Environmental Problems

Components to Addressing an Environmental Problem

Scientific Assessment

Risk Analysis

Public Education

Political Action

Follow-through

Scientific Method

Decision Making and Risk Assessment

Hazard Identification

Exposure Assessment

Toxicity Assessment

Risk Characterizatin

Perception of Risk

Dose-Response: Threshold

Dose-Response: No Threshold

Cancer Slope Factor

Mixtures of Chemicals

Additivity

Synergy

Antagonism

Risk Assessment Focus

Human Health

Ecological

Assessing and Managing an Environmental Problem: A Case Study

Lake Washington

Phosphorous and Lake Washington

Phosphorous and Algal Blooms

Transparency