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Welcome to Environmental Sciences. Barbara Pierpont, Professor Mid-continent University. Let’s take moment for prayer. Who’s chaplain? Prayer needs? Prayer praise?. Getting to know you. About your Professor. Married with six children and seven grandchildren
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Welcome to Environmental Sciences Barbara Pierpont, Professor Mid-continent University
Let’s take moment for prayer • Who’s chaplain? • Prayer needs? • Prayer praise?
About your Professor • Married with six children and seven grandchildren • Teach high school physical science and forensic science • Hold BA in Education from LWC • Hold a MS in Education, Science Instruction from Walden. • Hold a MASE in Physics from WGU • Currently a Doctoral Candidate at Walden U.
Basics • Rules • Please be on time • Finish eating before class • Turn your homework in before class starts • Pick up the agenda • Tell me of upcoming absences (know that you will have 20 pts off if your work is late) • Writing assignment will be discussed later tonight.
How to contact me • Go to • http://pierpont.webs.com/ • for our class webpage • Email me at barbara.pierpont2@christian.kyschools.us • Call me at 270-404-0637 after 3pm.
Environmental Science • A collection of science disciplines – • Bio – • Geo – • Meteo – • Socio – • Psycho -
Environmental Science • How is it different from other sciences?
Environmental Science • In this class we will discuss the environment in terms of its cycles and man’s impact on those cycles throughout history and into the future.
Overall… • What problems do we face today? • How have scientific discovery impacted environmental concerns?
Genesis 9:1-4 and Psalm 8: 6-8 • What did God set up for this planet? • What was our original role? • What does God intend? sustainability • What have we done so far? Man’s impact • Where are we going? Global eco disasters
Things to Keep in Mind • The world is a closed system – nothing on and nothing off. • So, all we have is all we’ll ever have. Everything must balance. The Earth doesn’t need us.
Living Things Need… • What are some things that we need to live? • What happens when something causes stress in that environment?
Hierarchy • The environment is set up in a rather rigid hierarchy going from the individual to the world as a whole. • We start with individual, to population, then communities, to ecosystems. • Let’s take prairie dogs – just ‘cause they’re cute…
Living Things • Ya got ‘cha one lone prairie dog…
Living Things • He finds himself a mate…
Living Things • They settle into a nice suburban home to raise the kids…
Living Things • Pretty soon urban sprawl takes over and the neighborhood grows…
Living Things • The neighborhood gets some fly-by-night characters…
Living Things • And before you know it, organized crime gets a foothold…
Living Things • Organized crime causes the colony to take defensive measures…
Living Things • The colony is forced to gather food closer to home, depleting the available grass lands…
Living Things • …increasing their exposure to the criminal elements…
Living Things • Eventually talks break down and hostilities are declared…
Living Things • The prairie dogs are forced to do one of two things – move or evolve….
FYI… • We will discuss evolution in this class. • In my opinion, evolution is part of God’s plan for us and our environment. • Don’t let the term scare you – evolution just means change or adaptation over time. • Some examples…
Biotic and Abiotic • Biotic comes from BIO- which is the prefix for “Life” • Abiotic, then would be ??? • What are some abiotic factors our prairie dogs face?
Biotic and Abiotic • We can collect our major abiotic factors by areas sharing the same climate. • We call these areas biomes. • Here are some types of biomes. Work with a partner to identify the features of this type of biome. Make a list to share.
Abiotic • What other abiotic factors can we find in an ecosystem?
The BIG Question • Energy is being passed along throughout this ecosystem. Energy as food, as chemical kinesthesia or sentience, etc. • So where does this energy come from?
Energy • Energy on our planet originates from the sun. • Sun energy drives the winds, the weather, food supplies, and animal births and migrations.
How the energy moves • Energy moving through the ecosystem can be divided into three categories: • Producers • Consumers • Decomposers
Producers • Also known as autotrophs • Can produce food directly from the sun • Are found around the planet and in the oceans
Consumers • Feed on the producers and each other • Get energy from producer, but only 10% • Each step removed from the producer is minus 10%
Decomposers • Feed on the leftovers of the consumers or producers. • Gives forensic scientists something to look at to determine TOD or COD. • Are essential to nature’s recycling plan.
Back to the prairie dogs… • Other living organisms in the community • Competition • Parasitism • Mutualism • Predator-prey
Back to the prairie dogs… • Limiting factors -
Limiting factors • If a species faces a limiting factor long enough, it will adapt, evolve, to meet the challenges of the new environment. • Pepper moths in England
Back to the prairie dogs… • But what happens when several of those limiting factors are reached at once?
Water • Water has a cycle and recycle
Water • Humans, however, can impact that cycle
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/week-actor-matt-damons-clean-water-missionhttp://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/week-actor-matt-damons-clean-water-mission
Where’s the water? • Most water is ocean water. It’s expensive to desalinate the water to make it drinkable. • Of the remaining 3%, 2% is locked in ice. • Of the remaining 1%, most is locked underground. • 0.1% of Earth’s water supply is available for us to drink.
Water • What happens when we run short of water? • Or when global climates change the patterns of rain-bringing weather? • Who is responsible for those people dying of thirst? • Who should care for those people dying of starvation because there is no water to grow crops?
