Page 38 - Environment: The Science Behind the Stories

• Fossil fuel use drives many of our impacts. Replacing • Many college students are taking action to promote sustain-
fossil fuels with clean renewable energy can reduce these able solutions on their campuses, ranging from recycling to
impacts. (pp. 33–34) energy efficiency to water conservation to transportation,
and more. (pp. 34–35)
• We are developing sustainable solutions that promote our
quality of life while protecting and restoring our environ- • Your environmental science course will help prepare you
ment. (p. 34) for the challenges and opportunities in a world striving for
a sustainable future. (pp. 35–36)
Articulate the concept of sustainability and describe
campus sustainability efforts
• Sustainability means living within our planet’s means, such
that Earth’s resources can sustain us—and all life—for the
future. (p. 32)

Testing Your Comprehension

1. What do renewable resources and nonrenewable resourc- 6. Describe the scientific method. What is its typical sequence
es have in common? How are they different? Identify two of steps?
renewable and two nonrenewable resources. 7. What is a natural experiment? Name the challenges of
2. How and why did the agricultural revolution affect performing a natural experiment as opposed to a manipu-
human population size? How and why did the indus- lative experiment?
trial revolution affect human population size? Explain 8. What needs to occur before a researcher’s results are pub-
what benefits and what environmental impacts have lished? Why is this process important?
resulted.
9. Give examples of three major environmental problems in the
3. What is an ecological footprint? Explain what is meant world today, along with their causes. How are these problems
by the term overshoot. interrelated? Can you name a potential solution for each?
4. Define environmental science and environmentalism. How 10. What qualities are present in a sustainable enterprise?
are they different? Explain the similarities between the two.
5. What are the two meanings of science? Name three
applications of science.

Seeking Solutions

1. Many resources are renewable if we use them in mod- environmental problems? Which types of problems might CHAPTER 1 • SCIENCE AND SUSTAIN ABILITY : AN INTR ODUCTI ON T O ENVIR ONMENTAL SCIENCE
eration but can become nonrenewable if we overexploit get better, and which might become worse?
them. Order the following resources on a continuum of 5. Find out what sustainability efforts are being made on
renewability (see Figure 1.1), from most renewable to your campus. What results have these efforts produced
least renewable: soils, timber, fresh water, food crops, so far? What further efforts would you like to see pursued
and biodiversity. What factors influenced your choices? on your campus? Do you foresee any obstacles to these
For each resource, what might constitute overexploita- efforts? How could these obstacles be overcome? How
tion, and what might constitute sustainable use? could you become involved?
2. What do you think is the lesson of Easter Island? What 6. THINK IT THROUGH You have become head of a
more would you like to learn or understand about this major funding agency that disburses funding to scien-
island and its people? What similarities do you perceive tists pursuing research in environmental science. You
between the history of Easter Island and the modern his- must give your staff several priorities to determine what
tory of our society? What differences do you see between types of scientific research to fund. What environmen-
their predicament and ours? tal problems would you most like to see addressed with
3. What environmental problem do you feel most acutely research? Describe the research you think would need
yourself? Do you think there are people in the world who to be completed so that workable solutions to these
do not view your issue as a problem? Who might they be, problems could be developed. What else, beyond scien-
and why might they take a different view? tific research, might be needed to develop sustainable
4. If the human population were to stabilize tomorrow solutions?
and never reach 8 billion people, would that solve our 37

M01_WITH7428_05_SE_C01.indd 37 12/12/14 9:32 AM