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Environmental 101 Notes, Lecture notes of Environmental Science

These notes are lecture notes from chapters 1-3 of envi 101

Typology: Lecture notes

2022/2023

Uploaded on 09/19/2023

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Environmental 101 Notes
โ—Study of
โ—‹The natural and โ€˜builtโ€™ world
โ—‹How humans interact with their environment
โ—Abiotic vs Biotic
โ—‹Abiotic is a nonliving factor while biotic is living factor
โ—Ecosystem Services and the Environment
โ—‹Trees (services)
โ– Oxygen
โ—‹Water
โ– Energy and power
โ– Hydration
โ– Transportation
โ—‹Land
โ– Holds nutrients
โ—Environmental Ethics
โ—‹Inherent value
โ– Has a value because it exists, intrinsic right
โ—‹Instrumental value
โ– Ties to usefulness
โ—‹Stewardship
โ—Environmental Justice
โ—‹Combining civil rights with environmental protection
โ—‹Hazardous waste landfills are predominantly located in poor communities
increasing pollution risks
โ—‹Minority communities are then more exposed to lead, fumes, landfills and other
such risks
8/25
โ—History of Environmental Conservation and Protection in the U.S.
โ—‹Preservation vs, conservation
โ—‹Preservationists : Wilderness should be left untouched and preserved indefinitely
โ– John Muir
โ—‹Conservationists : conserve areas so they are not completely destroyed but they
should be thought about with usefulness (cutting down trees etc. )
โ– Gifford Pinchot And Teddy Roosevelt
โ– Land should be used wisely and scientifically
โ—‹Algo Leopold
โ– Helped found the us wilderness society 1953
โ—Sand County Almanac
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Environmental 101 Notes โ— Study of โ—‹ The natural and โ€˜builtโ€™ world โ—‹ How humans interact with their environment โ— Abiotic vs Biotic โ—‹ Abiotic is a nonliving factor while biotic is living factor โ— Ecosystem Services and the Environment โ—‹ Trees (services) โ–  Oxygen โ—‹ Water โ–  Energy and power โ–  Hydration โ–  Transportation โ—‹ Land โ–  Holds nutrients โ— Environmental Ethics โ—‹ Inherent value โ–  Has a value because it exists, intrinsic right โ—‹ Instrumental value โ–  Ties to usefulness โ—‹ Stewardship โ— Environmental Justice โ—‹ Combining civil rights with environmental protection โ—‹ Hazardous waste landfills are predominantly located in poor communities increasing pollution risks โ—‹ Minority communities are then more exposed to lead, fumes, landfills and other such risks 8/ โ— History of Environmental Conservation and Protection in the U.S. โ—‹ Preservation vs, conservation โ—‹ Preservationists : Wilderness should be left untouched and preserved indefinitely โ–  John Muir โ—‹ Conservationists : conserve areas so they are not completely destroyed but they should be thought about with usefulness (cutting down trees etc. ) โ–  Gifford Pinchot And Teddy Roosevelt โ–  Land should be used wisely and scientifically โ—‹ Algo Leopold โ–  Helped found the us wilderness society 1953 โ— Sand County Almanac

โ—‹ Rachel Carson โ–  Silent Spring โ–  Famous biologist โ–  DBT , used to combat mosquitos but it was an extremely dangerous pesticide โ–  She used her book to highlight the issues with pollution โ–  At the end of the 60โ€™s many new policies are being passes โ—‹ Bill Mckibben โ–  Started student led organizations at Middlebury โ–  Raised public awareness about climate change โ—‹ Van Jones โ–  Was Obama's special advisor for Green Jobs โ—‹ Wangari Mathai โ–  Green belt movement โ–  Nobel peace prize โ—‹ Greta Thumberg โ–  A leader of the global environmental movement โ–  Specifically speaking on climate change in terms of global environmentalism โ–  Raising awareness that young people can be impactful when addressing climate change โ–  School climate strike โ— Sustainable Development โ—‹ Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs โ— Protection of Resources โ—‹ How do we protect resources long term? โ—‹ Garrett Hardin (1968) - all of this is due to tragedy of the commons โ–  Means that people are selfish and will use resources in a way that only benefits themselves without thinking about how others will be impacted โ—‹ Combating this โ–  Establishing property rights โ— People will want to preserve their own land so they can use it for a long period of time โ–  Regulation โ— Having the state make rules and requirements for pieces of property โ— Excluding uses and making rules to keep the land long lasting โ— Ex. National parks

Matter and Energy โ— Matter โ—‹ Anything that has mass and takes up space โ— Elements: โ—‹ Any substance that cannot be broken down into other substances by chemical reactions โ— Atoms โ—‹ Elements are made up of atoms โ—‹ What makes up an atom - protons neutrons electrons โ—‹ Atomic number โ–  Total number of protons in the atom โ— Isotopes โ—‹ Elements that exist in different forms โ—‹ Different mass โ— What are molecules โ—‹ Two or more atoms of the same or different elements joined by chemical bonds โ— Organic molecule โ—‹ Carbon-based molecule โ— Ions โ—‹ Atoms or molecules that are electrically charged as a result of gaining or losing an electron โ— Large Biological Molecules โ— Macromolecules โ— Polymers โ—‹ Carbohydrates โ–  Sugars โ–  Our primary source of dietary energy โ–  Monosaccharides โ–  Simple sugars that cannot be broken down (the monomers โ–  Disaccharides: โ–  Constructed from 2 monosaccharides โ–  Ex. lactose

โ–  Ex, sucrose โ–  Polysaccharides โ–  Ex. cellulose โ—‹ Proteins โ–  Monomer: amino acids โ—‹ Lipids โ–  Hydrophobic โ—‹ Nucleic Acids โ–  Stores information and provides instructions to build the protein โ— Energy โ—‹ Ability to do work โ—‹ Kinetic Energy โ–  Energy in motion โ—‹ Potential energy โ–  Stored energy โ—‹ First law of thermodynamics โ–  No energy is created or destroyed โ—‹ Energy Efficiency โ–  Measure of how much work results from each unit of energy put into a system 8/ โ— Trophic levels โ—‹ Showing who's eating what on each level โ—‹ Look at the base to see who provides chemical energy to the rest โ–  This is an autotroph/producer โ—‹ Next level up is our primary consumers/herbivores โ—‹ Secondary consumers/ carnivores โ–  scavengers/detritivores/decomposers โ—‹ A loss of energy occurs as it moves through trophic levels โ— Evolution โ—‹ The process through which life forms are changing genetically over time โ—‹ One major way species have evolved is through natural selection โ–  Individuals with certain genetic traits are more likely to survive and reproduce under a specific set of environmental conditions โ—‹ Individuals are not only surviving but reproducing โ–  Passing of these important genetic traits involves reproduction โ—‹ Charles Darwins โ–  Evolution occurs by the process of natural selection โ–  Studied finches and their different varieties

โ—‹ Ecological Niche โ–  How a species uses its habitat โ–  How other organisms in the habitat use that species โ–  Habitat the species occupies โ–  Generalists vs specialists โ— Specialists are more likely to go extinct โ—‹ Endemic species โ–  A species found in only one area โ—‹ Resource Partitioning โ–  Species will divide up a resource โ—‹ Tolerance limits and indicator species โ–  Ex lichen โ— Symbiotic relationship between algae and fungi โ— Get their energy from the atmosphere โ–  Indicator species survival will give you a clue as to how the environment is doing โ— Species Interactions โ—‹ Interspecific competition โ–  interspecific โ— Between species โ–  Intraspecific โ— Within the species โ—‹ Herbivory โ–  Consumption of plants by animals โ— (+ -) โ— Adaptive defenses against this โ—‹ Ex. thorns โ—‹ Predation โ–  (+ -) โ–  Adaptive response to predation โ—‹ Coevolution occurring between Predator and Prey โ–  Predator defenses โ— Chemical defenses โ— Cryptic coloration โ— Flashing coloration โ— Warning coloration โ—‹ Aposematism โ–  Used by animals that are toxic or have chemical defenses

โ— Batesian mimicry โ—‹ Model - inedible species โ—‹ Mimic - edible species that resembles the model โ— Mullerian mimicry โ—‹ All are toxic โ—‹ Some are just colored differently โ—‹ Parasitism โ–  (+ -) โ–  Parasite: obtains nourishment from a host โ— Ex. mites, lice, dog heartworm โ— Species Diversity โ—‹ The number and abundance of the different kinds of species living in an ecosystem โ—‹ Two measurements โ–  A โ— Energy Capture โ—‹ Primary productivity โ–  Rate of biomass production through photosynthesis โ— Species Richness - number of different species โ— Species Evenness - comparative abundance โ— 1. Grasses โ—‹ Photosynthetic tissue because little energy is required for support tissues (stems) โ— 2. Shrubs โ—‹ A plant with multiple woody, persistent stems (no central trunk) and a height under 4m โ— 3. Trees โ—‹ Will invest more resources in stems and other supporting structures โ–  Increased height and access to light โ— Biomes โ—‹ Tropical rainforest โ—‹ Tropical Seasonal Forest โ—‹ Tropical Savannas and grasslands โ–  Minimal rainfall โ–  Warm seasons โ–  Plants adapted to drought โ—‹ Deserts โ–  Cold at night and extreme heat in day

โ—‹ Reproductive patterns and survivorship โ–  R-strategists โ— Produce large numbers of offspring but provide few resources for their support โ–  K-strategists โ— Produce relatively few young but invest considerable resources into their support โ—‹ Reproductive patterns and carrying capacity โ—‹ Survivorship curves โ—‹ Genetic diversity โ–  Can help a population survive and reproduce โ—‹ Small population size - vulnerability โ–  What causes the population to become so small โ— Hunting โ— Climate change 9/ โ— External factors that cause disease including elements of the natural, social, cultural, and technological worlds in which we live โ— Disease โ—‹ Abnormal change in the bodyโ€™s condition that impairs important physical or psychological functions โ— Emergent diseases โ— Zoonotic diseases โ—‹ Diseases that jump from other types of animals to humans โ—‹ We have been coming into contact with these wild animals more โ—‹ Bats and white-nose syndrome: fungus thrived on their noses which was killing the bats โ— Antibiotic resistance โ—‹ CAFOs โ–  Concentrated animal feeding operations โ–  80% of all antibiotics used in the US are used on animals โ— Environmental toxicology โ—‹ The study of toxic substances and their effect on living organisms and how they interacted and are transformed as they move through populations and ecosystems โ—‹ Exposure โ–  Acute โ— sudden , short term โ–  Chronic โ— long term, repeated โ–  Synergistic effect

โ— an effect that arises between two or more agents, entities, factors, or substances that can produce an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects โ— Bioaccumulation and biomagnification โ—‹ In bioaccumulation โ–  Increased concentration of contaminants in the tissues of a specific animal โ—‹ In biomagnification โ–  Concentration of contaminant is increasing as you go higher up on the food chain โ— Determining toxicity โ—‹ LD โ–  The dose that is lethal for 50% of the population โ— Assessing Risks and Rationality โ—‹ Risk โ–  Possibility of suffering harm or loss โ—‹ Risk assessment โ–  Scientific process of estimating the threat that particular hazards pose to human health โ—‹ Neonicotinoids 9/ โ— Population is increasing but it is not at the speed it was at the past so the population growth rate is declining โ— I = PxAxT โ—‹ P - population โ—‹ A - affluence โ—‹ T - technology โ–  What can we conclude from this formula? โ— Total fertility rate โ—‹ The average number of children born to women of childbearing age in a population โ— Life expectancy โ—‹ The average number of years a person born in a particular year can be expected to live โ—‹ Globally โ–  72 years โ–  In the US- 77 โ— Age structure โ—‹ The number of percentages of males and females in young, middle, and older age groups in that population