EVR 1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Natural Experiment, Ecological Footprint, Ecosystem Services
Document Summary
Chapter 1: studying the state of our earth. Methane issue: greenhouse gases; ends up in pipes and homes; leaks in transport. Environmental science offers important insights into our world and how we influence it. Environment: sum of all the conditions surrounding us that influence life. Environmental science: the field that looks at interactions with humans and nature. Biotic: living part of earth//abiotic: non-living parts of earth. Eco: from greek oikos- house or system. Ecosystem: living and non-living elements in a particular place. Circular fields because of center-pivot irrigation- being extracted at an unsustainable rate in kansas. Ecosystem services: benefits humans receive from nature, like water, timber, etc. Environmental indicators: factors that describe the state of the environment. Indicators include: bio diversity, food production, global temperature/co2, human population, resource depletion/pollution. Biological diversity: the variety of life forms in an environment. Genetic: genetic variation among individuals in a population: high genetic diversity populations respond better to change.
