ENVS 1080 1st Edition Lecture 1What is the Environment?I. The environment is the sum of our surroundings, including living and non-living compounds.a. Commonly defined to include the “natural world”b. In E.S we also include humans and society as an integral part of the environment.c. Environmental Science is the study of i. How earth’s natural systems work and interact.ii. How these Systems affect people.iii. How natural systems respond to human activity.1. Environmental Science has the applied goal of solving environmental problemsa. Solutions are applications of scienceb. An interdisciplinary fieldi. Natural Sciences: examine the natural world (ex: Environmental Science)ii. Social Sciences: examine values and human behavior (ex: Environmental Studies)d. Problems in the Environmenti. Example Lead in Gasoline1. Benefits: Lead is a lubricant for internal combustion engines.2. Costs: Lead poisoning can cause a variety of negative impacts on environmental and human health.e. Natural Resourcesi. Natural resources are the substances and energy that a society needs to survive.1. Renewable natural resourcesa. Sunlightb. Wind energyc. Wave energyd. Geothermal energyf. Humans have changed Earth’s landscapei. An ecological footprint: the area of earth required to support a person or population.1. It includes: The area of biologically productive land and water needed to supply resources and to dispose/recycle waste.2. People in rich nations have large ecological footprints->Affluence increases consumption.These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.a. How many acres of land is the average ecological footprint in the U.S?i. About 23 ac1. Human population growth amplifies our impact on the environment.a. Overshoot is the exceedance of Earth’s capacity to support our society.i. Ecosystem services-the benefits people obtain from the ecosystem.b. Challenges We Facei. Agriculture- Technology expanded food production-> leading to increased population and consumption.ii. Waste Products and artificial chemicals- contaminate land, water, and air.iii. Biodiversity- the cumulative number and diversity of living things. Human activity has driven many species