Welcome!

In this first chapter we’ll look at what environmental science is, and also why and how we practice it.

The textbook as a whole will be a brief introduction to the most important aspects, concepts, processes, and relationships which are studied in environmental science.  First, about how our planet’s natural systems are supposed to work.  Then in the second half we’ll focus on humanity’s relationship with our environment and the environmental systems which sustain us.

Learning Outcomes

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

• Describe what the environment is, and some of its major components
• Explain what a system is, and why systems thinking is a powerful tool for analysis and problem solving
• Identify the shared characteristics of the natural sciences
• Understand the process of scientific inquiry, and how it might be different for controlled vs natural experiments
• Compare inductive reasoning with deductive reasoning
• Describe the goals of basic science and applied science, and give examples in environmental science
• Define environmental science
• Understand why it is important to study environmental science
• Explain the concept of sustainability and its social, political, and cultural challenges
• Evaluate the main points of environmental ethics
• Explain why environmental justice is key for the benefit of the environment and people, not only for those currently suffering under environmental inequity

Chapter Outline

• 1.1 The Earth, Humans, and the Environment
• 1.2 Science is a Process
• 1.3 The Environment is a System
• 1.4 How Western Science Views the Environment
• 1.5 Environmental Justice and Indigenous Struggles
• 1.6 What Environmental Scientists Do
• 1.7 Chapter Resources – Environmental Science