Environmental Science

Chapter 1 Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability Living in an Exponential Age Human population growth: J-shaped curve Exponential Growth plays a key role in 5 important and interconnected environmental issues Population growth Resource use and waste Poverty Loss of biodiversity Global climate change Biodiversity includes: Genetic variation within a species Variety of species in an area Variety of habitat types within a landscape What is Environmental Science? The goals of environmental science are to learn: how nature works. how the environment effects us. how we effect the environment. how we can live more sustainably without degrading our life-support system. Sustainability: The Integrative Theme

Chapter 4 Evolution and Biodiversity Summary 1. Life emerged on the earth through two phases of development: a chemical evolution of the organic molecules, biopolymers, and systems of chemical reactions to form the first cells and the biological evolution from single-celled prokaryotic bacteria to single-celled eukaryotic creatures, and then to multicellular organisms. 2. Evolution is the change in a population?s genetic makeup over time. Evolution forces adaptations to changes in environmental conditions in a population. The diversity of life on earth reflects the wide variety of adaptations necessary and suggests that environmental conditions have varied widely over the life of the earth.

Nonrenewable Mineral Resource Extraction & Processing Chapter 15 Essential Question #1 What are nonrenewable mineral resources & how does the USGS classify them? Minerals & Mineral Resources Minerals An element or inorganic compound that occurs naturally and is solid with a regular crystalline structure Ex: Salt / Quartz / Diamond Mineral Resources A concentration of naturally occurring material in or on the earth?s crust that can be extracted & processed into useful materials at an affordable cost Ex: fossil fuels / metallic minerals / nonmetalic minerals Nonrenewable Mineral Resources Fossil Fuels Coal, Oil, Natural Gas Metallic Mineral Resources Aluminum, Steel, Iron, Copper Strategic metals: manganese, cobalt, chromium, platinum Nonmetallic Mineral Resources

Chapter 6 Aquatic Biodiversity Chapter Overview Questions What are the basic types of aquatic life zones and what factors influence the kinds of life they contain? What are the major types of saltwater life zones, and how do human activities affect them? What are the major types of freshwater life zones, and how do human activities affect them? Updates Online The latest references for topics covered in this section can be found at the book companion website. Log in to the book?s e-resources page at www.thomsonedu.com to access InfoTrac articles. InfoTrac: Down the bayou: a marine biologist, a community, and the resolve to preserve an ocean's bounty. Taylor Sisk. Earth Island Journal, Autumn 2006 v21 i3 p27(6).

Geology Chapter 15 Geology The science devoted to the study of dynamic processes occurring on the Earth?s surface and in its interior Essential Question #1 What are the characteristics of the three major concentric zones of earth? Three Concentric Zones Core ? innermost zone Extremely hot Solid inner part surrounded by liquid molten material Mantle ? middle zone Outermost part is solid rock Asthenosphere = inner part made of hot partly melted pliable rock that flows Crust ? outermost zone Continental crust Oceanic crust Earth?s Crust and Upper Mantle Lithosphere = Crust and outermost Mantle Fig. 15-3, p. 337 Spreading center Ocean trench Plate movement Subduction zone Oceanic crust Continental crust Continental crust Material cools as it reaches the outer mantle