What is Environmental Science? Definition and Scope of the Field

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31 Dec 201304:06

Summary

TLDREnvironmental science is a multidisciplinary field that examines the interactions between physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment and their effects on organisms. It aims to understand the natural world, human interaction with it, and the impacts we have. As the human population surges to over 7 billion, the strain on natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable, intensifies. This field is crucial in addressing the rapid changes affecting our planet, offering insights into sustainable management and conservation.

Takeaways

🌿 Environmental science studies the interactions between physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment and their effects on organisms.
🌍 The field aims to understand the natural world, human interaction with the environment, and the impacts of human activities on the environment.
🔬 It is an interdisciplinary field, combining knowledge from natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.
🌳 The script mentions specific environmental issues like deforestation, chemical spills, and drastic changes in weather patterns.
🌱 Environmental science includes the study of both renewable and non-renewable natural resources and their management.
🚀 The world is experiencing rapid changes, some of which are damaging to the planet, and environmental science helps to understand these changes.
🌱 The increase in human population has led to increased pressure on natural resources and ecosystem services.
🌐 Renewable resources like sunlight, wind, soil, and timber can be replenished, but their rate of use may outpace their replenishment.
⛽ Non-renewable resources like minerals and crude oil are finite and are being depleted at an alarming rate due to population growth.
🌐 The script emphasizes the importance of environmental science in addressing the challenges posed by human-induced environmental changes.

Q & A

What is environmental science?
-Environmental science is the field of science that studies the interactions of the physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment, as well as the relationships and effects of these components with the organisms in the environment.
What are the three main goals of environmental science?
-The three main goals of environmental science are to learn how the natural world works, to understand how humans interact with the environment, and to determine how humans affect the environment, including finding ways to deal with these effects.
Why is environmental science considered an interdisciplinary field?
-Environmental science is considered an interdisciplinary field because it incorporates information and ideas from multiple disciplines within the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.
Which natural science fields are included in environmental science?
-Fields such as biology, chemistry, and geology are included in environmental science as part of the natural sciences.
Which social science and humanities fields are incorporated into environmental science?
-Social science fields like geography, economics, and political science, and humanities fields such as philosophy and ethics are incorporated into environmental science.
How does the rapid pace of change in the world impact environmental science?
-The rapid pace of change in the world, both beneficial and damaging, makes environmental science a valuable resource for learning more about these changes and how they affect the world we live in.
What is the relationship between the increase in human population and environmental science?
-The increase in human population leads to increased pressure on natural resources and ecosystem services, which is a significant area of study within environmental science.
What are natural resources and how are they categorized?
-Natural resources are substances and energy sources taken from the environment and used by humans. They are categorized into renewable resources, which can be replenished over time, and non-renewable resources, which are in finite supply.
Why are renewable natural resources still at risk despite being replenishable?
-Renewable natural resources are at risk because they are being used up at a more rapid rate than they can be replenished, which cannot keep up with the high human demand.
What are the consequences of using non-renewable natural resources too rapidly?
-Using non-renewable natural resources too rapidly brings them closer to running out completely and being gone forever.
How have natural resources been described in relation to the environment?
-Natural resources have been referred to as the 'merchandise produced by the environment,' highlighting their role as products of natural processes.

Outlines

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🌿 Environmental Science Overview

Environmental science is a multidisciplinary field that examines the interactions between the physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment and the organisms within it. It aims to understand the natural world, human interaction with the environment, and the impact humans have on it. This field is unique because it draws from natural sciences like biology, chemistry, and geology, as well as social sciences and humanities, including geography, economics, political science, philosophy, and ethics. The rapid changes occurring in the world, such as population growth and resource depletion, make environmental science crucial for understanding and addressing global challenges.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Environmental Science

Environmental Science is an interdisciplinary field that studies the interactions between the physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment, as well as the relationships between these components and the organisms within the environment. It is central to the video's theme as it encompasses the study of how human activities impact natural systems. The video script mentions that environmental science includes fields from natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, highlighting its broad scope and relevance to understanding and addressing environmental issues.

💡Interdisciplinary

Interdisciplinary refers to the approach of combining information and ideas from multiple disciplines to comprehensively address complex issues. In the context of the video, environmental science is described as an interdisciplinary field, incorporating knowledge from biology, chemistry, geology, geography, economics, political science, philosophy, and ethics. This approach allows for a more holistic understanding of environmental problems and potential solutions, as it draws on diverse perspectives and methodologies.

💡Natural Resources

Natural resources are substances and energy sources that are obtained from the environment and used by humans. The video script discusses the classification of natural resources into renewable and non-renewable, emphasizing the impact of the growing human population on their consumption. Renewable resources, such as sunlight, wind, soil, and timber, can be replenished over time, while non-renewable resources, like minerals and crude oil, are finite and can be depleted. The video underscores the importance of sustainable use of natural resources to prevent depletion and environmental degradation.

💡Renewable Resources

Renewable resources are those that can be replenished naturally over a certain period of time. The video script provides examples of renewable resources such as sunlight, wind, soil, and timber. These resources are crucial for sustainable development as they can be used repeatedly without depleting the environment. The video highlights the importance of managing renewable resources to ensure they are not overused, which could lead to their inability to regenerate at a rate that meets human demand.

💡Non-renewable Resources

Non-renewable resources are substances that have a finite supply and will eventually run out if not managed sustainably. The video script mentions minerals and crude oil as examples of non-renewable resources. The video emphasizes the need for careful consumption of these resources to prevent their depletion, as they cannot be replaced once they are exhausted.

💡Ecosystem Services

Ecosystem services refer to the benefits that humans obtain from ecosystems, such as clean air, water purification, and pollination. The video script implies the importance of ecosystem services by discussing the pressure on natural resources due to the increasing human population. The video suggests that environmental science helps in understanding how human activities can affect these services and how to maintain them for the well-being of both humans and the environment.

💡Human Population

The human population is a key factor discussed in the video in relation to environmental impact. The script notes the historical growth of the human population from less than a million to over 7 billion people, which has led to increased pressure on natural resources and ecosystem services. The video uses the growth of the human population to illustrate the scale of human impact on the environment and the urgency for sustainable practices.

💡Sustainability

Sustainability is the concept of meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The video script touches on sustainability in the context of managing natural resources and ecosystem services. It suggests that environmental science plays a crucial role in developing strategies for sustainable use of resources to ensure the long-term health of the environment and the well-being of human societies.

💡Climate Change

Climate change, while not explicitly mentioned in the provided script, is a significant aspect of environmental science and is relevant to the discussion of environmental impacts. The video could be alluding to climate change when discussing the effects of human activities on the environment, such as deforestation and chemical spills, which can contribute to climate change. Understanding and mitigating climate change is a critical goal of environmental science.

💡Ethics

Ethics in the context of environmental science refers to the moral principles that guide human behavior towards the environment. The video script includes ethics as one of the humanities fields incorporated into environmental science. Ethics helps in evaluating the right and wrong of human actions concerning the environment, promoting responsible practices that consider the welfare of all living beings and the preservation of natural systems.

💡Biodiversity

Biodiversity refers to the variety of life in an area, including the number of species, their genetic diversity, and the complexity of ecosystems. Although not directly mentioned in the script, biodiversity is a key concept in environmental science, especially when discussing the impacts of human activities such as deforestation. The video's discussion of the environment's physical, chemical, and biological components implicitly includes biodiversity, as it is affected by and affects these components.

Highlights

Environmental science studies interactions of physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment.

It examines relationships and effects of environmental components with organisms.

The field has three main goals: learning how the natural world works, understanding human-environment interactions, and determining human impact on the environment.

Environmental science includes finding ways to deal with human effects on the environment.

It is an interdisciplinary field, incorporating information from Natural Sciences, social sciences, and humanities.

Natural Science aspects include biology, chemistry, and geology.

Social science fields like geography, economics, and political science are part of environmental science.

Humanities fields such as philosophy and ethics are also included in the study of environmental science.

Environmental science can cover more concepts and examine problems from multiple viewpoints by combining aspects of different fields.

The world is changing rapidly, with both beneficial and damaging effects on the planet.

Environmental science is a valuable resource for understanding these changes and their impact.

The human population has increased dramatically from less than a million to over 7 billion people.

The increase in population has led to increased pressure on natural resources and ecosystem services.

Natural resources are divided into renewable, like sunlight and wind, and non-renewable, like minerals and crude oil.

The rapid use of natural resources is outpacing their ability to be replenished or replaced.

Renewable resources, when used too fast, cannot be replenished quickly enough to meet demand.

Non-renewable resources are being depleted and could run out completely.

Natural resources are essential for human survival and are being impacted by the growing human population.