Introduction to Environmental Science

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Chapter 1

• Introduction to Environmental Science
• Environmental Science is an interdisciplinary
  combination of biology, chemistry, geology,
  climatology, ethics, culture, politics, history,
• Ecology is a discipline of biology that studies
  the interrelationships between organisms and
  their environment.

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• Chapter 1 opens with an introduction to the
  concept of Invasive Species (aka Exotic
• Species).
• Exotic Species that we locally know and love
  include
• Kudzu, Asian Tiger Mosquitoes, Privet, Japanese
  Honeysuckle, Killer bees,
• English Ivy, Japanese beetles, Asian rice eels,
  Tumbleweeds, Starlings, Gypsy Moths, Zebra
  Mussels, water hyacinths,...
• North American species introduced elsewhere
  include blackberries gray squirrels.

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• Some invasive species are introduced by
  accident, as stowaways in imported goods and on
  (or in) transport ships or airplanes.
• Some are introduced deliberately for commercial
  reasons to combat erosion, e.g., Kudzu as a
  food source, by individuals (various fish, Asian
  rice eels, various plants) or sometimes as
  ornamentals (plants).
• Aggressive growth, aggressive reproduction,
  Competition with native species importation of
  diseases are problems assoc. with invasive
  species.

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• National Invasive Species Act (1996), Invasive
  Species Management Plan (2001) mark efforts to
  deal with some of these problems.
• Sometimes, ecosystems learn to tolerate
  invasive species and after decades, removal may
  cause environmental disruptions.
• Example of a pest becoming a food source
  1960s/1970s invasion by Japanese beetles, local
  Blue Jays learned to eat Japanese beetles, helped
  control numbers. Invaders may bring diseases,
  but may be subject to our diseases, too.

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The almost exponential increase in world-wide
population does present challenges as much of the
growth is taking place in nations already beset
by poverty.
Major causes of poverty Political corruption
instability Excessive regulations (lack of
freedom) Tribal infighting Fear of technology
Outside interference.
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• Major causes of prosperity
• Freedom Minimum of regulations Encouragement of
  entrepreneurship Political stability
  Establishment of and adherence to the rule of
  law Freedom to take risks, Minimal taxation,
  Ownership of private property Willingness to
  engage in foreign exchange Developing products
  and services to sell at home and abroad
  Existence and protection of arable farmland.
• Some of Indias problems are past excessive
  bureaucracy, tribal infighting, brain drain.

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• IPAT Equation (pp. 8-9) is of limited use.
  Text does present some of the dilemmas of living
  in a free society, i.e., trying to balance
  freedom responsibility.
• What is the proper role of government? How do we
  address foolish wasteful fads without a loss of
  freedom?
• Which groups in society are responsible for the
  greatest environmental dis-ruption? How can the
  activities of these environmentally disruptive
  groups be altered? Who decides?
• Socialist/collectivist mindset group identity
  devalues the individual.

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Dilemma 4 x 4 mobility vs. erosion
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Sustainable Development A sensible sounding
concept, introduced by Gro Harlem Brundtland in
Our Common Future (1987)
Concerns exist over the Socialist philosophies of
those that define these terms.
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• In 1992, participants in the Rio de Janeiro
  Summit adopted a complex plan of Sus-tainable
  Development called Agenda 21. The Goals of
  Agenda 21 were re-affirmed at the 2002
  Johannesburg Summit.
• Some of the aspects of Agenda 21 include UN
  Biosphere Reserves, World Heritage Sites, the
  Kyoto Protocol, Land Use Planning, Smart Growth
  Policies, and more, administered by the United
  Nations and various NGOs (Non-governmental
  organizations.

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• As suggested, some people are concerned over
  who decides what constitutes Environmentally
  Sound Decisions, Economically Viable Decisions,
  the Socially Equitable Decisions that relate
  to Sustainable Development.
• Who has the authority to enforce policies?
• Concerns exist over the UN seeing itself as a
  World Government with self-appointed authority
  over the policies of individual nations
  (including the United States).

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• Concerns over the plans include
• Lack of accountability (the UN is un-elected).
• Loss of sovereignty for the US and other nations.
• Loss of private property rights.
• Though centralized planning sounds good, it just
  doesnt work.
• Definition of terminology and writing of
  regulations is by admitted Socialists (Dr.
  Brundtland, Maurice Strong, etc.).
• Socialism has a natural tendency to grow, at the
  expense of freedom.

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• Continued
• The worlds cultures and people are too diverse
  to be willingly governed by one entity, likely
  leading to a new chapter of tyranny.
• Excessive regulations and taxes stifle freedom
  and creativity, leads to poverty.
• Already becoming an unwieldy bureau-cracy, the UN
  as a world government would be even worse.
• Broad regulations distant micro-management do
  not address local environmental concerns well.

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• The Tragedy of the Commons concept
• Garrett Hardin used the example of a Medieval
  European village commons, where individuals could
  bring their animals to graze. The more animals
  that a herder would bring to the commons, the
  greater advantage to that particular herder (see
  pp. 10-11).
• When everyone brought as many animals as they
  could, to graze, the commons was overgrazed and
  the grasses died, thus an important resource was
  overused and lost the Tragedy of the Commons.

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• To address the issues of overuse, Garrett
  Hardin proposed a Free-Market solution and a
  Government-imposed solution.
• In the Free-Market solution, each herder would
  own a parcel of land and it was in their own best
  interest to prevent over-grazing.
• In the Government-imposed solution, the
  government would own and manage such resources
  and impose rules on resource use. Problems
  government has more land than it can manage,
  favoritism can creep into the process of
  determining who can use the resources.

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Georges Bank fishing declines due to
over-fishing (other reasons?), illustrates The
Tragedy of the Commons. When there is no
perceived owner, resources tend to be overused
abused.
In the oceans, fish move around, thus it is
difficult to assign owner-ship to fishing grounds.
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• UN or multilateral agreements may be
  necessary to police the area to prevent further
  over-fishing. Agreements with individual fishing
  nations or companies may not work, if there are
  one or more cheaters. The honest
  business-owners have to compete with the
  cheaters.
• When suitable and possible, Private owner-ship of
  a resource imparts a vested interest in
  preservation sustainability.

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• Other environmental concerns where dilemmas exist
  include
• Forest (ecosystem) fragmentation Introduces
  more sunlight into former forest interiors,
  changes plant animal communities (Edge Effect).
• Example Clearing of hardwood forest for a new
  subdivision.
• Re-introduction of Wolves into Yellowstone area
  example of complexity of some of these issues.
  Ranchers vs. Wolves.

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• When environmental policy decisions are made,
  are they being made on the basis of politics,
  jealousy, or good science?
• Are political positions being taken based on the
  information that is most favorable to the
  politics of a particular party? And will those
  positions be changed if new information discounts
  previous notions?
• Scientists understand the Never-ending learning
  curve. Some of our interpretations of today
  will be obsolete in 5 10 years. If
  interpretations were based on the best available
  information at the time, that is just part of
  the game.

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Using Science
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• Science is 1) A body of knowledge about nature
  and 2) A process for acquiring more knowledge
  about nature.
• Science seeks to explain natures complex-ities
  in general terms, so we can predict future
  events, solve problems, or provide new insights.
• Science is an ongoing endeavor, under-going
  constant re-evaluation and refine-ment. Ethics
  culture often provide guidelines for scientific
  investigations.

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What is Science?
Curiosity.
Intuition.
Imagination.
Creativity.
Look for connections.
Make mistakes.
Get messy.
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• Quotes to consider
• "Discoveries and innovations arise from the
  observation of little things."
• Alexander Graham Bell
• "Everything had a name and each name gave birth
  to a new thought.
• Helen Keller
• "The earth has music for those who listen."
• William Shakespeare

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The Scientific Method

• Identification of a problem or a point of
  scientific curiosity.
• Begin data collection/measurements to establish a
  database.
• Develop a Hypothesis or Multiple Working
  Hypotheses by brainstorming with others. This
  lessens the effects of personal bias.
• Develop a model to test hypotheses continue
  data collection/experiments.

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• The Scientific Method continued
• Begin to discard less viable hypotheses.
• Submit draft report to other scientists for
  peer-review. This also helps lessen the effects
  of personal bias.
• Hypothesis with the most supporting evidence and
  opinion is presented as a theory. Hypothesis
  evidence theory.
• A Theory represents our best current explanation
  of a scientific issue.

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• "An hypothesis is always more believable than
  the truth, for it has been tailored to resemble
  our ideas of truth, whereas the truth is just its
  clumsy old self.
• Niccolo Machiavelli The Prince 1530
• The media often confuse Hypothesis Theory.
• Because there is almost always some un-certainty,
  use Suggest or Indicate rather than Prove. Use
  Discount rather than Disprove. The word Fact
  should be used sparingly.