Environmental Science Rapa Nui Pollen studies indicate that this was a highly pollinated island when first discovered but today there are no trees o In 1877 there was a population of 111 and at one point there was over 8 000 o After trees were gone the soil started to erode and the sediments killed the shellfish changing the surrounding ecosystems Agriculture soon became impossible to produce o Population and sustainability obvious human effect on the environment Population and sustainability o Sustainability living on earth in a way that allows humans to sue its resources without depriving future generations of those resources o Sustainability in present or future and sustain locally or globally o Human population growth mortality birth rate and immigration Ecology From the Greek iokos meaning house or place to live Ecology is a dynamic complex of biota in a abiotic environment that functions as a unit o Biota autotrophs heterotrophs and saprotrophs All parts of Earth are parts of an ecosystem o Ecosystem a particular location on earth distinguished by its mix of interacting biotic and abiotic components o All components of an ecosystem are not necessarily native to an area o Ecosystems generally do not have true geographic boundaries Creating these boundaries are difficult o Photosynthesis is the process by which producers use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose o Gaia Hypothesis proposes that organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings on earth to form a self regulating complex system that contributes to maintaining the surrounding conditions of life o Uniformitarianism is the assumption that the same natural laws and processes that operate in the universe now have always operated the past and apply everywhere in the universe Placing a value on the environment o The cause of the environment based on 8 justifications Utilitarian the environment has value because it benefits individuals economically or is necessary for human survival Ecological ecosystems is necessary for survival of some species of interest or the system itself provides benefits Aesthetic justification based on our appreciation of the beauty of nature Recreational justification viewing organisms in a natural setting Creative justification aid to human creativity Moral justifications belief that carious aspects of the environment have the Inspirational justification benefit to the inner self right to exist and it is our obligation to allow them to come Cultural justification different cultures have different values when it comes to The Precautionary Principle the environment o Basically if a threat is perceived its okay to eliminate it Is this okay and who do you trust to make these decisions 1992 Rio earth summit on sustainable development When there is a great threat of serious environmental damage we should not wait for scientific proof before taking precautionary steps to prevent potential harm 1998 Wingspread statement on the precautionary principle When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment precautionary measures should be taken even of some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically Heisenberg s Uncertainty Principle The more percicly the position is determined the less percicly the momentum is known in this instant and vise versa Is we know the present exactly we can calculate the future Basically stating that you cannot observe something without disturbing it Science o Means knowledge o How it works o Terms to know Empirical theory to testing to law Empirical Modeling hypotheses testing to inconsistent to consistent Premise to prediction to null hypotheses Evidence anecdotal consensus statistical models empirical Principle of positive evidence you need evidence to prove the principle that are being tested Precautionary Principle is a principle based on the philosophy that action should be taken against a plausible environmental hazard Scientific method an objective method to explore the natural world draw inferences from it and predict the outcome of certain events processes or changes Hypotheses a testable theory or supposition about how something works Null Hypothesis H0 the statement being tested in a test if statistical significance Multiple lines of evidence no model is accepted until it is tested in the real world so you should test this model should be thoroughly tested and supported by many different investigations Independent variable the controlled variable able to be manipulated Dependent variable the response variable the responding variable Theory a hypothesis that has been tested multiple times and confirmed by many groups of researchers and has a wide acceptance Syllogism a kind of logical argument that applied deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two or more propositions that are assumed to be true Pseudoscience a claim belief or practice which is presented as science but doesn t adhere to valid scientific methods lacking supporting evidence and lacks a scientific status o Qualitative Data deals with descriptions and can be observed but not measured Colors textures tastes o Quantitative Data deals with numbers and can be measured Length hight area volume ages etc o Types of Scientific Evidence Anecdotal One piece of evidence result in assumptions made as a whole you need multiple Example Polar bear stranded on ice Ice is melting Example Armadillo heading north North is warming Consensus Based on an ask and tell situation Example Asking a group of people a question group raises hand and majority is the consensus of that particular group Continental Drift continents are moving around originally no one believed him the consensus wasn t there so the idea died out till today when the consensus was there and the idea was then proven to be true Statistical Null result occurs when the proposed result is absent Its an experimental outcome which does not show an otherwise expected effect result doesn t support the hypothesis Null result occurs when an experiment result is not significantly different from what s to be expected under the null hypotheses You re able to manipulate quantitative data o Numbers 82 93 82 90 Mean 87 Median 86 Mode 82 All are averages but are significantly different from another Models Intentionally simplified theory s displayed visually Critical thinking elements of thought purpose questions information assumptions data conclusions point of view Gives you