Chapter 1: Studying the State of Our Earth
This chapter is about how we as humans have a major affect on the Earth we live on. Although we may not know every way we negatively or positively affect the Earth, this chapter shows how you as an individual should live in way that is not only courteous to future generations, but the best way to live on the Earth in the present because of the affects of day to day activity
Section 1- Environmental Science
1.1.1 Differentiate between environmentalism, environmental studies and environmental science: Environmental studies are the field of study that includes environmental science and additional subjects such as environmental policy, economics, literature, and ethics, while environmental science looks at interactions among human systems and those found in nature. Environmentalism is a social movement that seeks to protect the environment through lobbying, activism, and education. (Textbook)
1.1.2 Differentiate between environmentalist and environmental scientist
An environmentalist is a person who participates in a social movement that seeks to protect the environment through lobbying, activism, and education, while an environmental scientist is someone who studies and reports on the way things are reacting in an environment. (Textbook)
vs.
1.1.3 Define biotic and abiotic and give examples of each
Biotic is any living thing in an ecosystem, for example a plant or animal. An abiotic factor is something that is not living in an ecosystem like the wind, or a rock. (Textbook)
Section 2- Environmental Indicators and Sustainability
1.2.1 Identify examples of how humans have altered the environment
Humans have altered the environment in many ways, including not limiting carbon emissions which causes the ozone layer to break down, and eventually cause a slow increase in temperature in the climate. Also humans have implemented deforestation which has caused species to have to change their way of living and ultimately die off causing extinction or have abnormal adaptations. (Textbook)
1.2.2 Describe factors that have played a role in how humans have altered the environment
Factors that have played a role in how humans have altered the environment is the advances in technology and the population growth as a species. With technology we have caused severe pollution to the air, ground, and water around us with emissions, waste and, air pollution. Our growth as a population has altered the environment because we have had to develop more and more, leading to less forests and the loss and harm to certain species. (Textbook)
1.3.1 Define ecosystem services and list examples
Ecosystem services are the processes by which life supporting resources are produced, such as clean water, timber, fisheries, and agricultural crops. (Textbook)
1.3.2 Identify the role of environmental indicators and why they are useful
The role of an environmental indicator is to describe the current state of an environmental system. This is useful because it helps scientist have an idea on whether or not they need to look more deeply into an issue within an environment. (Textbook)
1.3.3 Explain how biodiversity can be used as an environmental indicator
Biodiversity can be used as an environmental indicator because it can help scientists predict extinction rates which can help scientists try to slow the extinction rate (Textbook)
1.3.4 Define biodiversity and compare and contrast the three types of biodiversity
Biodiversity is the diversity of life forms in an environment. The three types of biodiversity are genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecosystem diversity. These are different. Genetic diversity is the measure of genetic variation among individuals in a population, while species diversity measures the number of species in a region, while ecosystem diversity measures the diversity of ecosystems or habitats in a given region. (Textbook)
1.3.5 Explain how food production can be used as an environmental indicator
Food production can be used as an environmental indicator because it can help scientists determine if humans as a species will be able to sustain enough food for future generations. (Textbook)
1.3.6 What are the current trends in total and per capita grain consumption
The trends in grain consumption are slowly decreasing because of the increase in human population, adding about 78 million people per year causing a huge increase in the demand for food (Textbook and http://www.agprofessional.com/news/A-perspective-on-world-grain-demand-175154721.html)
1.3.7 Explain how temp and CO2 can be used as an environmental indicator
Temperature and CO2 can be used as an environmental indicator because temperatures can determine a stable or an unstable climate which if unstable could change the availability of vital resources including water. CO2 levels can be used because a change in CO2 levels could affect the greenhouse effect causing massive climate change, causing mass extinctions. (Textbook)
1.3.8 Describe the role of greenhouse gases and what it means to be anthropogenic
Green house gasses's role are to trap heat near the surface of the earth. Being derived from human activity is what is means to be anthropogenic (Textbook)
1.3.9 Explain how the human population can be used as an environmental indicator
Because the human population continues to grow immensely, it can indicate whether or not a region or the earth as a whole can sustain humans as a species
1.3.10 Describe the current trend in human population size & identify the size of the human population
The current trend in human population size, although slowing since the 60's, continues to grow to the current population size of 7.2 billion
1.3.11 Explain how resource depletion can be used as an environmental indicator
Resource depletion can be used as a environmental indicator because it indicates how readily available natural resources like natural gas, coal, and oil are, potentially limiting the amount of development possible, limiting the human population because of space.
1.3.12 Identify natural resources and their effects on the environment
Three natural resources are natural gas, oil, and coal. All three of these are non-renewable resources which means they are limited, but are vital to the current way of life. The way they are obtained can hurt the environment
1.4.1 Summarize what occurred on Easter Island and its connection to sustainability
on Easter Island, humans moved there and quickly learned of its lush resources that could be used for a variety of things from development to the advancements of technology of that time period. They quickly drained all of its resources leaving nothing behind. This connects to sustainability because we need to learn to conserve our resources while we still have them, because if we do use them all up, there wont be anywhere else we can get those resources from.
1.4.2 List the requirements to living sustainably
"Living sustainably means acting in a way such that activities that are crucial to human society can continue. It includes practices such as conserving and finding alternative to nonrenewable resources as well as protecting the capacity of the environment to continue to supply renewable resources." (Textbook)
1.4.3 Define sustainable development and how it differs from sustainability
Sustainable development balances current human well being and economic advancement with resource management for the benefit of future generations. This differs from sustainability because it takes into account economic advancement as a must. (Textbook)
1.4.4 Define biophilia
Biophilia is the love of life (Textbook)
Section 3- Ecological Footprints and the Scientific Method
1.4.5 Define ecological footprint & list the factors that go into calculating an individual’s ecological footprint
Ecological Footprint is a measure of how much an individual consumes, expresses in area of land. It factors in energy consumption, carbon footprint, food intake, land area needed to sustain your way of life. (Textbook)
1.5.1 Define null hypothesis and explain why it can be necessary
Null Hypothesis is a prediction that there is no difference between groups or conditions, or a statement or an idea that can be falsified, or proved wrong. This is necessary because it can determine what makes a hypothesis testable, and why is it worth the time to test. (Textbook)
1.5.2 Describe the importance of replication and sample size in data collection
The importance of replication is so that all measurements taken in an experiment are as accurate as possible in case of a mistake. The sample size is important also to be more accurate but for a different reason. When a larger sample size is used, it is more accurate because it may represent the population as a whole instead of a small fragment of the population (Textbook)
1.5.3 Differentiate between accuracy and precision
Accuracy is how close a value is to the actual or true value while precision is more how close repeated measurements are to one another (Textbook)
1.5.4 Describe the importance of a control group
The control group provides data from a group that no changes are being made to, to insure that the affect of the experiment is actually causing a change in behavior. (Textbook)
1.5.5 Explain why natural experiments might be needed and what their limitations are
Because it allows scientists to see how nature can naturally "fix" itself. For example, when a volcano erupts and kills a forest, scientist can look at that to see how a forest rebuilds itself naturally. Its limitations are timing and content, because scientists cannot always predict natural events perfectly. (Textbook)
1.6.1 Define baseline data and what its role is in scientific experiments
Baseline Data is data that is used for a "baseline" to compare data found in an experiment to. Its role in an experiment is to use as a tool to establish an "original" to base new data findings off of. (Textbook)
1.6.2 Explain the role subjectivity plays in environmental science
Subjectivity's role in environmental science is that it is used to establish baselines that are not clear or can not be measured. (Textbook)
1.6.3 Explain the role Interactions play in natural and human systems
Interactions can change the course of natural and human system by completely changing the make up of a system, the species that live there, the resources it holds, the land its on, the earth it sits on, the temperatures around it, and everything that identifies it as a unique system. (Textbook)
1.6.4 Define environmental equity
"Development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental policies and laws to ensure that no group or community is made to bear a disproportionate share of the harmful effects of pollution or environmental hazards because it lacks economic or political clout." (https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=Define+environmental+equity)
1.6.5 Define environmental justice and its connection to wealth and other socioeconomic factors
Environment Justice is a social movement and field of study that works toward equal enforcement of environmental laws and the elimination of disparities, whether intended or unintended, in how pollutants and other environmental harms are distributed among the various ethnic and socioeconomic groups within a society. This promotes a share the wealth share the responsibility mentality which makes individuals responsible for the world they live in. (Textbook)
Citations: Textbook- Friedland, Andrew, and Rick Relyea. "Chapter 1." Environmental Science for AP. 2nd ed. W.H. Freeman, 2015. 1-26. Print.
Websites- 1. http://www.agprofessional.com/news/A-perspective-on-world-grain-demand-175154721.html)
2.https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=Define+environmental+equity
Credits:
Created with images by Catkin - "woman girl landscape" • fill - "larch branch nature" • Nika - "Hippie in Austin" • SoilScience.info - "Soil Scientist at Work (10)" • Steppinstars - "windmill wind wind turbine" • SD-Pictures - "industry sunrise sky" • stevepb - "burger bacon snack" • manoftaste.de - "Barley / Gerste III" • Unsplash - "city urban landscape" • Alexas_Fotos - "happy laugh funny" • frolicsomepl - "laboratory sample tube research" • skeeze - "volcano lava flowing" • justinbaeder - "Justice for ..."