Madeline Saldana

October 2, 2015
Block 2 APES
Summer Assignment
Chapter 1: Key Themes in Environmental Science
1.1 Major Themes of Environmental Science
Production has declined, while demand has grown, and the population of the world has
been increasing by more than 70 million a year.
This book approaches environmental science through six different themes:
o Human Population Growth (environmental problem)
o Sustainability (goal)
o A Global Perspective (global solution)
o An Urbanizing World (many working in urban areas)
o Science and Values
1.2 Human Population Growth
Our Rapid Population Growth
o In the past fifty years, the human population of the world has more than doubled
to more than 7 billion people.
o Many current environmental issues are directly or indirectly the result of
increased human population.
Famine and Food Crisis
o Famine is one of the phenomena that occur when a population exceeds its
environmental resources.
o The emerging global food crisis is not caused by the war or drought but by rising
food prices. This has causes food riots in countries.
Human Population and the Incidence of Natural Disasters
o Growing populations have forced more people to live on marginal lands where
hazardous events are more likely to occur.
The Age of Abundance and Human Population Increase
o Two different outlooks on the growth of population:
A general consensus is that this growth is not sustainable from a resource
perspective.
Along with exponential growth, there has been growth in technology that
has resulted in a better environment for people.
1.3 Sustainability and Carrying Capacity
Sustainability
o Environmentalists agree that sustainability must be achieved, but are unsure about
how to achieve it.
o Economists have begun using Sustainable Global Economy: the careful
management and wise use of the planet and its resources.
Moving Toward Sustainability: Some Criteria
o In order to move closer to sustainability, scientists must develop a new paradigm
that can be described as:
All people must be included

We must plan for change for events such as human population issues,
resources, and natural hazards.
People must agree with new paradigm
The issue of environmental justice
The Carrying Capacity of Earth
o Carrying Capacity is a concept related to sustainability
o There are limits to Earths potential to support humans
1.4 A Global Perspective
Awareness of life and the environment has led to the development of the Gaia Hypothesis
Life has changed the global environment, which has improved the chances for
continuation of life
1.5 An Urban World
We are becoming urban species and our effects on the environment are more effects of
urban life
The number of megacities has increases from 1950 to 2005
Cities can help with some of our environmental issues.
o Urban people tread lighter on the environment
o The only uncertain idea is the trend of people moving to cities is how we are
going to provide quality urban environments
1.6 People and Nature
One path is to assume that environmental problems are the result of human actions and
the solution is to stop these actions
The second path begins with a scientific analysis of an environmental controversy
We depend on nature for many things in life
1.7 Science and Volume
We must choose what we want the environment to be like, but first you must understand
the scientific aspect of it all
o Learning and Discovery in Environmental Science
Learning
Blooms Taxonomy:
o Knowledge
o Comprehension
o Application
o Analysis
o Synthesis
o Evaluation
Discovery
o A simple way of approaching research is to consider
various levels of scientific inquiry
o Level 1: studying elements and processes of a particular
study
o Level 2: obtaining relationships between independent
variables and dependent variables

o Level 3: Evaluating relations between variables overtime

The Precautionary Principle
o The precautionary principle requires critical thinking about a variety of
environmental concerns such as the manufacture and use of chemicals
o The precautionary principle is emerging as a new tool for environmental
management and has been adopted by the city of San Francisco
Placing a Value on the Environment
o The value of the environment is based on eight justifications:
Utilitarian
Ecological
Aesthetic
Recreational
Inspirational
Creative
Moral
Cultural

Chapter 2: Science as a Way of Knowing- Critical Thinking about the Environment

2.1 Understanding What Science Is and What It Is Not
The complexity of environmental science raises two fundamental questions:
o How does science differ from other ways of knowing?
o How can we use science to answer practical questions about our effects on nature
and what actions we should take to solve environmental issues?
William Gilbert, Galileo, and William Harvey developed the scientific method.
o Science as a Way of Knowing
Modern science does not deal with things that cannot be tested by
observation, such as the ultimate purpose of life or the existence of a
supernatural being.
o Disprovability
It is generally agreed today that the essence of the scientific method is
disprovability
Science is a process of discovery a continuing process whose essence is
changing in ideas
Science makes certain assumptions about the natural world
2.2 Observations, Facts, Inferences, and Hypotheses
Observations, the basis of science, may be made through any five senses, or by
instruments that measure beyond what we can sense