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OUR PLANET
Section 1-1
What is Environmental
Science?
How Do You Affect The World?
Environmental Science – Studies the impact of human
activities on the environment; It includes…
• Biology – The study of living organisms
• Chemistry – Studies chemical interactions
• Physics – Studies matter and energy
• Earth Science – Studies our planet’s non-living systems
• Social Sciences – The study of human populations
The goal of environmental science is to improve society
by understanding how we interact with the environment.
What types of environmental problems
have you recently heard about?
Prehistoric Homo Sapiens
Our modern society had a very humble beginning…
Hunter-Gatherers – Early people collected plants and
hunted animals for almost 200,000 years, driving some
species to extinction
It was a difficult, nomadic life
since people had to follow herds
and search for crops until the
development of…
Agriculture – The ability to grow and breed plants which
allowed for the creation of settlements & domestication of
animals over 10,000 years ago; Since then we learned…
Poor farming practices will eventually ruin the land!
When Did Environmental Science Begin?
Agriculture sustained society until about 200 years ago,
when people used fossil fuel energy instead of human and
animal power. This began the…
Industrial Revolution – Using
fossil fuels and machinery to produce
goods & services that improve our
quality of life (but at a cost)
All three stages in society’s
development have created serious
environmental problems leading to
the need for environmental science.
What actions are being taken now to ensure
our planet is healthy for future generations?
Current Threats to Our World
Resource Depletion – Non-renewable natural resources
are being used up. Ex: metals, minerals, fossil fuels
Some renewable resourcess are being used up faster than
they can replaced. Ex: fresh water
Pollution – Undesirable changes
in our environment
Ex: Ozone, Sewage & Styrofoam
Loss of Biodiversity – The number
and variety of species across the
globe are decreasing
If life is so simple to maintain on Earth, then why was
the two-year experiment in Biosphere 2 such a failure!
How Long Can The Earth Last?
With over 6 billion people living on Earth…
Some people think
of our planet as a
spaceship, traveling
through space with
a limited amount
of supplies and an
increasing amount
of waste.
Others think of
our planet as a
lifeboat that can
only support a
limited number of
people before its
overburdened
and sinks.
Environmental scientists are working everyday
to discover new ways to improve society
while ensuring the environment is protected!
Close Your Notebooks… 
What have you learned in this unit?
1. Describe the five major fields
that make up environmental science.
2. What is the primary goal of
environmental scientists?
3. Describe the life of a person
living in a hunter-gatherer society.
4. What elements of society were
made possible by the development
of agriculture?
5. What are some benefits and
drawbacks to the industrial revolution.
OUR PLANET
Section 1-2
The Environment
and Society
How Do We Protect The Environment?
Because most of what is consider to be “the environment”
is not privately owned, we create…
Tragedy of the Commons – People will take advantage of
public resources for short-term gain
Ex: In a public field, farmers let
their sheep overgraze because
“If I don’t use the resources,
then someone else would”.
Once property became private,
farmers used their land better.
What would happen to a set of I-Pods if the school
provided them for classes to share during gym?
Who Owns the Environment?
In our world, the distribution of resources is not equal,
creating regions of the haves and haves-nots.
Developed Countries – Those that have resources and
industry to support social programs and personal wealth
Ex: United States, Japan, England & Australia
Developing Countries – Have less resources & low incomes
Ex: Most of South America, Africa & Eastern Asia
Countries build their wealth &
economies based upon the…
Law of Supply and Demand –
The greater the demand for
a limited supply of something, the more it is worth
At What Cost?
The problem now is developed countries are using the
world’s resources to support an extravagant quality of life!
Its evident in…
• Sweatshops
• Imported oil
• E-waste in Asia
Ecological Footprint – Shows the area of Earth needed to
support one person’s lifestyle in a particular country
The average person in the U.S. needs about twice
as much land & sea compared with a person from
Japan, Germany, France or the Netherlands.
The Answer Is…
Sustainability – The condition in which human needs are
met so that the human population can survive indefinitely
We are a long way off from sustainability so
what ideas do you have for…
• Conserving non-renewable resources,
such as metals and oil
• Reducing pollution
• Improving the environment
for all living things on Earth
Throughout this course you will
learn how you affect the world
and how your environment affects you!
Close Your Notebooks… 
What have you learned in this unit?
1. What does the “tragedy of the commons” explain?
2. List four characteristics for
a developed country.
3. Where are most developing
countries found in the world?
4. Explain why developed countries
might be unable to maintain
their current quality of life.
5. How does sustainability relate
to a hotel built upon the moon?