ENV100Y5 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Zebra, Year, White People
ENV100Y5
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
LECTURE NOTES
Session 1: Course Introduction
How images affect how we see the environment?
• Edward Burtynsky art; The Power of Images
o Nature transformed through industry
o Recycling yards, mine tailings, quarries
The "Environment" is multi-faceted
• Important to think about how we define the term "environment"
• Biotic; living things
• Abiotic; nonliving things
• Our built environment (roads, buildings)
• Social relationships and institutions (governments, uni)
Environmental science is not the same as environmentalism
• Environmental Science:
o Pursuit of knowledge about the natural world
o How the natural world works, how human activities effect the environment?
• Environmentalism
o A social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world
Environmental Science is Interdisciplinary
• Consist of economics, ethics, ecology, biology, chemistry, geology, history, engineering, political
science etc.
• How the forest is drowning from the reservoir? You called a geologist
Conclusion
• "environment" encompasses physical, biotic, abiotic and social/cultural environments, and the
interactions among them
• Science informs our attempts to solve and prevent environmental problems
• Environmental science helps us understand how the environment works and our relationship w/
the environment
Session 2: Reading of Chapter 1
How do we define "environment"?
• The environment is a legal entity - environmental policies and practices need to be defined by
various organizations
• In Ontario 1993, passed a law that gives citizens rights to participate in environmental decision-
making
How do we relate to the environment?
• Philosophical
• Cultural
• Religious/spiritual, aesthetic
Remember how environmental science is interdisciplinary
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• Our understanding is greater than a sum of the parts
What is science and how does it work?
• It is a systematic process for learning about the world and testing our understanding of it
• The body of knowledge that arises from this dynamic process
Scientists test ideas using critical analysis
• Scientific method: testing ideas through observation, questioning and experimentation
• Assumptions: the universe works according to natural laws
o Events arise from causes and cause other events
Scientific Method is a key method in science bc:
• Make observations and ask questions
• Formulate hypotheses - first explanations
• Use hypotheses to generate predictions - specific statements that can be tested
• Interpret test results - support or reject hypothesis
The Scientific Method is part of a larger process
• The scientific process includes peer review, publication, debate
• Uncertainty is a fundamental part of the scientific process
• A consistently supported hypothesis becomes a theory
• Some theories lead to a paradigm shift
Science
Pseudoscience
Willingness to change w/
new evidence
Fixed ideas
Ruthless peer review
No peer review
Takes account of all new
discoveries
Selects only favourable
discoveries
Invites criticism
Sees criticism as conspiracy
Veritable results
Non-repeatable results
Limits claims of usefulness
Claims of widespread
usefulness
Accurate measurement
"ball-park" measurement
Session 3: Introduction Environmental Science (2)
People differ in their perception of environmental problems
• Interdisciplinary communication is already difficult but
o Communication about environmental issues is further complicated by differences in
language and worldview
DDT
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ENV100Y5 Full Course Notes
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