Welcome to Environmental Sciences

Barbara Pierpont, ProfessorMid-continent University

Who’s chaplain? Prayer needs? Prayer praise?

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.

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.

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.

A collection of science disciplines – Bio –

Geo –

Meteo –

Socio –

Psycho -

How is it different from other sciences?

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.

What problems do we face today?

How have scientific discovery impacted environmental concerns?

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

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.

What are some things that we need to live?

What happens when something causes stress in that environment?

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…

Ya got ‘cha one lone prairie dog…

He finds himself a mate…

They settle into a nice suburban home to raise the kids…

Pretty soon urban sprawl takes over and the neighborhood grows…

The neighborhood gets some fly-by-night characters…

And before you know it, organized crime gets a foothold…

Organized crime causes the colony to take defensive measures…

The colony is forced to gather food closer to home, depleting the available grass lands…

…increasing their exposure to the criminal elements…

Eventually talks break down and hostilities are declared…

The prairie dogs are forced to do one of two things – move or evolve….

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 comes from BIO- which is the prefix for “Life”

Abiotic, then would be ???What are some abiotic factors our prairie dogs face?

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.

What other abiotic factors can we find in an ecosystem?

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 on our planet originates from the sun.

Sun energy drives the winds, the weather, food supplies, and animal births and migrations.

Energy moving through the ecosystem can be divided into three categories:

Producers

Consumers

Decomposers

Also known as autotrophs

Can produce food directly from the sun

Are found around the planet and in the oceans

Feed on the producers and each other

Get energy from producer, but only 10%

Each step removed from the producer is minus 10%

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.

Other living organisms in the community◦Competition◦Parasitism◦Mutualism◦Predator-prey

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

But what happens when several of those limiting factors are reached at once?

Water has a cycle and recycle

Humans, however, can impact that cycle

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/week-actor-matt-damons-clean-water-mission

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.

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?

Where will water come from in the future?

How can we solve the rapidly approaching water crisis worldwide?

What happens when we pollute that ground or surface water?

Separate into groups and take a pollution type. Report on your ideas of causes and effects.

Oil trash biohazard plastic war fertilizers sewage flood soil fish algae blooms construction damming ocean salts grey waters

Waste water is never forgotten by the planet.

Treating sewage water and grey water. Storm systems in Bowling Green KY vs.

Mammoth Cave. Eutrophication, algae, and amphibians

The Colorado River

The Poland Springs issue

Who owns water?

Clean Water Act EPA, Superfund, etc.

Discuss the methods and repercussions of commercial farming on America’s infrastructure in terms of

A. the environment B. genetic plant diversity C. national security D. consumer costs

You should have 6-8 pages, typed, including title page and resource page.

You must have at least four separate works cited in proper APA format.