GE 15 (Book)

• Environment


  A place where different things are such as a wet or hot environment
• Environment


  • Can be a living (biotic) or nonliving (abiotic) community
  • Includes three essential forces: physical, chemical, and natural
• Science


  The systematized body of knowledge that builds and organizes a lot of information in a different form of testable experiments and predictions about everything in the universe
• Environmental Science


  An interdisciplinary academic field in science that integrates all the physical, biological, and information to the study of the environment, and the solution to environmental problems
• Ecology


  A branch of biology concerning interactions among organisms, and their biophysical environment includes both biotic and abiotic components
• Chemistry


  The study of matter, its properties, how and why substances combine or separate to form other elements, and how elements interact with energy
• Biodiversity


  A group of different individual life that inhibits the planet Earth, that varies on their genetic component and adaptation to the environment
• Terrestrial biodiversity


  • Usually greater near the equator, which is an indicator of the warming of the climate
• Habitat


  An environment that naturally occurs to a specific organism to survive
• Species habitat


  • Places where the species can find food, shelter, protection, and mates for reproduction
  • Both physical and biological features characterize it
• Sustainability


  The ability of a system to exist continually at a cost, in a universe that evolves in the state of entropy toward the thermodynamic equilibrium of the planet
• Sustainability in the 21st century


  • Refers to the capacity for the biosphere and human civilization to coexist
• Ethics


  A branch of philosophy that could somehow be systematized, defend, recommend, and identify what right and wrong behavior is
• Environmental Ethics


  A discipline in philosophy that studies or focus on the moral relationship among human beings to the value and moral status of the environment, which includes plants and animals
• Ecosystem


  A community comprised of living organisms in conjunction or in relationship with the nonliving components of their specific environment that interact with each other
• Photosynthesis


  The process of all plants that transform into the release of energy ATP, where the light energy of the sun is captured, and a certain amount of oxygen needed by animals to survive is produced
• Species


  A basic unit of classifying and identifying the taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity
• Food Chain


  A linear network of links in a food web starting from producer organisms and ending at apex predator species, detritivores, or decomposer species
• Food Web


  The natural interconnection of food chains and a graphical representation of what-eats-what in an ecological community
• Another name for the food web is the consumer-resource system
• To ensure a sustainable future for ourselves and future generations, we need to understand something about how our world works, what we are doing to it, and what we can do to protect and improve it
• Environment


  The circumstances surrounding an organism or group of organisms or the complex social or cultural conditions affecting each organism in the given biotic and abiotic community. Human beings inhabit the natural world, as well as the built environment or the technological, social, and cultural world, all constitute essential parts of our environment
• Environmental Science


  The systematic study of our environment and our proper place in it. A highly interdisciplinary, integrating natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities in a broad, holistic study of the world around us. It is the foundation of ecology and is more concerned with human impact on the environment
• Kinds of knowledge that contribute to solutions in Environmental Science

  • Ecology
  • Chemistry
  • Urban Planning
  • Sociology
  • Political Science
  • Engineering
  • Economics
• Goal: Clean Energy Future
• History of Environmentalism


  • Alkali Acts 1863 (to combat air pollution)
  • Coal Smoke Abatement Society 1898 (response to coal combustion)
  • IUCN 1948 (to protect and preserve nature)
  • Clean Air Act 1956 (to limit air pollution)
  • World Wildlife Fund 1960s (to protect animals and places)
  • Green Revolution 1966 (to improve agriculture using environmental-friendly techniques)
  • NEPA 1969 (to ensure environmental health)
  • US EPA 1970 (to monitor human activities impacting the environment)
  • Greenpeace 1971 (to stop nuclear weapon tests)
  • Environmental Justice Movement 1980 (to encourage social, economic, and environmental justice)
  • Stockholm Conference 1972, Montreal Protocol 1987, Kyoto Protocol 1997 (international conferences on environmental issues)
  • Chernobyl Disaster 1986 (massive environmental issue)
  • Brundtland Report 1987 (brought more consciousness among people)
  • Earth Summit 1992 (discussed socio-economic development and environmental protection)
  • Millennium Development Goals 2000 (8 goals to be achieved before 2015)
  • Sustainable Development Goals 2015 (17 goals to be achieved before 2030)
  • World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002 (to discuss and organize sustainable development approaches)
  • Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants 2001 (to reduce or limit production, manufacturing, and utilization of persistent organic pollutants)
  • Paris Agreement 2015 (to limit global emission of greenhouse gases and mitigate climate change)
• Environmental Ethics


  Studies the ethical basis of the environment or discussion of the ethical basis of environmental protection. It also deals with the moral relationship of human beings to and the value and moral status of the environment and its nonhuman content
• Environmental Ethics Principles


  • Profound respect for nature
  • Maintain a harmonious relationship with other species
  • Take responsibility for the impact on nature
  • Local and indigenous environmental knowledge should be respected
  • Plan for the long term
• Matter


  Anything that can occupy space and has a mass. Solid, liquid, gas, plasma, and Bosh Einstein Condensate are the phases of matter that constitute the arrangement of the structures and properties of atoms. All life is made of matter. It cannot be created nor destroyed, recycled nor transformed as stated in the Law of Conservation of Matter
• Energy


  Provides the force to hold matter together, tear it apart, and move from one place to another. Kinetic Energy (energy in moving objects), Potential Energy (stored energy), and Chemical Energy (energy stored in food or carbon compounds)
• Thermodynamics


  The study of how energy is transferred in natural processes, specifically the relationships of heat, work, and energy. Ecosystem dynamics are governed by physics laws, including the law of conservation of matter and the laws of thermodynamics
• Homeostasis


  The dynamic balance in a living ecosystem, where the condition changes continuously in response to internal and external factors to maintain an optimum stage best suited for the healthy existence of the living system
• Potential Energy


  The stored energy, latent and ready to use
• Chemical Energy


  The energy stored in food or carbon compounds
• Conservation of matter


  Has a direct bearing on human relationship with the biosphere since we use natural resources to produce a tremendous amount of disposable goods such as Styrofoam cups, plastics bags and other synthetic items that aggravate the garbage problem which eventually becomes a major and permanent pollutants
• Thermodynamics


  The study of how energy is transferred in natural processes, specifically the relationships of heat, work, and energy
• Ecosystem dynamics are governed by physics laws, including the law of conservation of matter and the laws of thermodynamics
• Energy flow in ecosystems

  1. Solar energy enters the system and is converted to chemical energy through photosynthesis

  2. Chemical energy stored in food molecules is available for the metabolism of organisms
• Homeostasis


  The dynamic balance in a living ecosystem, maintained by active and opposing adjustments and compensation
• The first law of thermodynamics states that energy is conserved; it is neither created nor destroyed under normal conditions