Science Technology and the Environment

Objectives/Guide Questions 01
Environmental Science
Title: Science, Technology & The Environment

INSTRUCTIONS how to copy and paste questions from sciencescene.com into your Microsoft Word document are located at the end of the following questions. Study the detailed answers to these questions for the quiz.

1. What is exponential growth? p. 15 Provide a numerical example that clearly demonstrates exponential growth.   What is the connection between exponential growth and environmental problems?

2. What is environmental science and describe its limitations. What are the goals of environmental science? What disciplines are important to the study of environmental science? What is ecology? What is the difference between ecology and environmentalism? p. 6

3. What is earth's (natural) capital and provide examples?p. 7 - 8 . Describe natural resources and provide examples? p. 8 What are the earth's main type of resources and provide examples? What is sustainable yield and provide an example? p. 9

4. Describe an environmentally sustainable society. Distinguish between living on principle and living on interest, and relate this to sustainability of (a) the earth's life support system and b) your life. p. 8 - 9

5. Describe the differences between developed and and developing countries. What percentage of the global population lives in each type of country? p. 13 What proportion of projected population growth is going to occur in developing nations? 97% How many desperately poor, struggle to survive on less than $1.25 a day? p. 16 More than half of people in the world live on less than $2 a day.

6. What is the relationship between a nations' average standard of living and its ecological footprint?    What is meant by ecological footprint? p. 10 - 11

7. What is pollution? What are the effects of pollution? Why can pollution clean up efforts be ineffective? p. 14 - 15

8. What are the basic causes of today's environmental problems, and how are these causes connected? p. 15 What are some environmental benefits of affluence? p. 17 What major factors contribute to the degradation of natural capital associated with the pricing of consumable goods? Describe subsidies. p. 18

9. What is an environmental worldview? . Describe the three environmental world views. and Describe the Life Centered and Earth Centered Environmental World views.    p. 18 - 19 and p. 443- 444. How can we live more sustainably?  p. 445

10. How did Chattanooga Tennesse transform from one of the nations' most polluted cities to one of the most sustainable and livable cities in the U.S.? p. 450

11.. Describe the three scientific principles of sustainability. p. 5.

12. Define science and describe it's primary goal, p. 24. Distinguish between scientific data, scientific hypothesis, scientific model, scientific theory, scientific law, and scientific method. p. 24 - 25. Describe the four important features of the scientific process. p. 25 Why can't something be scientifically "proven?" If scientists cannot establish absolute proof, what do they establish? Does this mean that scientific theories are not valid? p. 27 -28

13. What is the scientific method (be very detailed)? p. 24 - 25

14. Describe the major distinction between frontier science and reliable/sound science.    Describe unreliable/junk science. What is tentative science? Provide examples of each.   p. 26 - 27.

15. What is a model? Describe the different types of models. How can they be used to study the environment, and how can they be tested? lecture at sciencescene.com

16. What are the 4 key goals to become environmentally literate? p. 445 - 446 What are the three important ideas to be environmentally literate, p 445. What lies at the heart of environmental literacy? What are the major components of environmental literacy? p. 446 What are the mental traps that which lead to denial, indifference, and inaction? p. 447 Explain why some people believe that it is important to learn more the earth from direct experience. p. 446 Describe voluntary simplicity. p. 446 - 447 What are the sustainability dozen, the 12 ways in which people can live more lightly on the Earth? p. 448

17. Quote directly from a dictionary the definition of a FACT. Quote directly from the dictionary the definition of an OPINION. How can a fact and opinion be confused? Provide an example of an opinion that is misrepresented as a fact. Which of the following two statements is true? 1.   All observations are facts.   2. All facts are verified observations.
Be able to distinguish between facts and opinions on the quizzes. Pick some examples out of the text for practice.

18.
In the lecture http://www.sciencescene.com/EnvironmentalScience/01ScienceTechnologyandtheEnvironment/01c-Lecture.htm the statement is made that "In science, a fact is generally a close agreement by competent observers of a series of observations of the same phenomena." Provide a brief explanation of this statement. Include a description of what a competent observer is.

Key Terms to know and understand (and be able to provide examples when relevant):
Chapter 1:    environment, environmental science, ecology, ecosystem, environmentalism, natural capital, natural resource, natural service, solar capital, sustainability, environmentally sustainable society, natural income, economic growth, economic development, GDP, developed countries, developing countries, resource, conservation, perpetual resource, renewable resource, sustainable yield, environmental degradation, nonrenewable resources, recycling, reuse, ecological foot print, per capita ecological footprint, affluence, culture, pollution, point source, nonpoint source, pollution prevention, pollution control, poverty

Chaper 2 (section 1): Easter Island, scientific data, scientific hypotheses, experiments, model, scientific theory, natural law, scientific methods, frontier science, junk science, sound science, environmental science

Chapter 17 (sections 5 & 6): Environmental worldview (also on p 18), environmental ethics (also on p 18), human centered worldviews, planetary management (also on p 18), stewardship worldview (also on p 18), life centered worldviews, environmental wisdom (also on p 18), environmental literacy, learning from the Earth, living more simply (voluntary simplicity), gloom and doom pessimism, blind technological optimism, fatalism, extrapolation to infinity, paralysis by analysis, components of sustainability revolution (biodiversity, efficiency, energy, pollution prevention, sufficiency, economic and political).



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Last Updated: Sunday, 17 October 2010 23:34:18


	1.	What is exponential growth? p. 15 Provide a numerical example that clearly demonstrates exponential growth. What is the connection between exponential growth and environmental problems?
	2.	What is environmental science and describe its limitations. What are the goals of environmental science? What disciplines are important to the study of environmental science? What is ecology? What is the difference between ecology and environmentalism? p. 6
	3.	What is earth's (natural) capital and provide examples?p. 7 - 8 . Describe natural resources and provide examples? p. 8 What are the earth's main type of resources and provide examples? What is sustainable yield and provide an example? p. 9
	4.	Describe an environmentally sustainable society. Distinguish between living on principle and living on interest, and relate this to sustainability of (a) the earth's life support system and b) your life. p. 8 - 9
	5.	Describe the differences between developed and and developing countries. What percentage of the global population lives in each type of country? p. 13 What proportion of projected population growth is going to occur in developing nations? 97% How many desperately poor, struggle to survive on less than $1.25 a day? p. 16 More than half of people in the world live on less than $2 a day.
	6.	What is the relationship between a nations' average standard of living and its ecological footprint? What is meant by ecological footprint? p. 10 - 11
	7.	What is pollution? What are the effects of pollution? Why can pollution clean up efforts be ineffective? p. 14 - 15
	8.	What are the basic causes of today's environmental problems, and how are these causes connected? p. 15 What are some environmental benefits of affluence? p. 17 What major factors contribute to the degradation of natural capital associated with the pricing of consumable goods? Describe subsidies. p. 18
	9.	What is an environmental worldview? . Describe the three environmental world views. and Describe the Life Centered and Earth Centered Environmental World views. p. 18 - 19 and p. 443- 444. How can we live more sustainably? p. 445
	10.	How did Chattanooga Tennesse transform from one of the nations' most polluted cities to one of the most sustainable and livable cities in the U.S.? p. 450
	11..	Describe the three scientific principles of sustainability. p. 5.
	12.	Define science and describe it's primary goal, p. 24. Distinguish between scientific data, scientific hypothesis, scientific model, scientific theory, scientific law, and scientific method. p. 24 - 25. Describe the four important features of the scientific process. p. 25 Why can't something be scientifically "proven?" If scientists cannot establish absolute proof, what do they establish? Does this mean that scientific theories are not valid? p. 27 -28
	13.	What is the scientific method (be very detailed)? p. 24 - 25
	14.	Describe the major distinction between frontier science and reliable/sound science. Describe unreliable/junk science. What is tentative science? Provide examples of each. p. 26 - 27.
	15.	What is a model? Describe the different types of models. How can they be used to study the environment, and how can they be tested? lecture at sciencescene.com
	16.	What are the 4 key goals to become environmentally literate? p. 445 - 446 What are the three important ideas to be environmentally literate, p 445. What lies at the heart of environmental literacy? What are the major components of environmental literacy? p. 446 What are the mental traps that which lead to denial, indifference, and inaction? p. 447 Explain why some people believe that it is important to learn more the earth from direct experience. p. 446 Describe voluntary simplicity. p. 446 - 447 What are the sustainability dozen, the 12 ways in which people can live more lightly on the Earth? p. 448
	17.	Quote directly from a dictionary the definition of a FACT. Quote directly from the dictionary the definition of an OPINION. How can a fact and opinion be confused? Provide an example of an opinion that is misrepresented as a fact. Which of the following two statements is true? 1. All observations are facts. 2. All facts are verified observations. Be able to distinguish between facts and opinions on the quizzes. Pick some examples out of the text for practice.
	18.	In the lecture http://www.sciencescene.com/EnvironmentalScience/01ScienceTechnologyandtheEnvironment/01c-Lecture.htm the statement is made that "In science, a fact is generally a close agreement by competent observers of a series of observations of the same phenomena." Provide a brief explanation of this statement. Include a description of what a competent observer is.




		Key Terms to know and understand (and be able to provide examples when relevant): Chapter 1: environment, environmental science, ecology, ecosystem, environmentalism, natural capital, natural resource, natural service, solar capital, sustainability, environmentally sustainable society, natural income, economic growth, economic development, GDP, developed countries, developing countries, resource, conservation, perpetual resource, renewable resource, sustainable yield, environmental degradation, nonrenewable resources, recycling, reuse, ecological foot print, per capita ecological footprint, affluence, culture, pollution, point source, nonpoint source, pollution prevention, pollution control, poverty Chaper 2 (section 1): Easter Island, scientific data, scientific hypotheses, experiments, model, scientific theory, natural law, scientific methods, frontier science, junk science, sound science, environmental science Chapter 17 (sections 5 & 6): Environmental worldview (also on p 18), environmental ethics (also on p 18), human centered worldviews, planetary management (also on p 18), stewardship worldview (also on p 18), life centered worldviews, environmental wisdom (also on p 18), environmental literacy, learning from the Earth, living more simply (voluntary simplicity), gloom and doom pessimism, blind technological optimism, fatalism, extrapolation to infinity, paralysis by analysis, components of sustainability revolution (biodiversity, efficiency, energy, pollution prevention, sufficiency, economic and political).