Unit 1: Environmental Science and Sustainability

a complex entity of all living and nonliving things, including the structures, urban centers and other living spaces created by humans in the built environment

the interdisciplinary study (including natural and social sciences) of how the natural world works, how our environment affects us, and how we affect our environment

are replenished over relatively short periods EX. sunlight, wind, wave energy

are finite in supply- once depleted, they are no longer available EX. mineral ores and crude oil

essential processes carried out by naturally functioning ecosystems, supporting living things and making human economic activity possible EX. air purification, plant pollination by animals, etc.

represents the total area of biologically productive land and water needed to produce the resources and absorb the wastes (ex. CO2 emissions) of a given person or population

Earth’s store of resources combined with the ecosystem services provided by the planet

technique for testing ideas by 1) making observations and 2) asking questions, which lead to 3) developing a hypothesis

a testable explanation

tests the validity of a prediction or hypothesis, manipulating one variable at a time

the manipulated variable

the one being measured

the unmanipulated case used for comparison

repeating an entire experiment and offering multiple replicates of the result of that experiment

information expressed by numbers

represented in a graph format EX. scatter plot, line, bar, pie chart

determines whether work merits publication

a widely accepted, well-tested explanation of one or more cause-and-effect relationships that has been extensively validated

a guiding principle of modern environmental science that requires us to live in such a way as to maintain Earth’s systems and its natural resources for the foreseeable future

satisfies our current needs without compromising the future availability of natural resources or our future quality of life

solutions that foster economic advancement while also protecting the environment and promoting social equity

produce baseline data on how much an institution consumes and pollutes

common sustainability efforts

constructed from sustainable building materials, are designed to reduce pollution, use renewable energy, and encourage efficiency in energy and water use