chapter 1 outline, due Monday, Sept. 28th

Chapter 1, section 1, outline
Assigned 9-24-08 due Monday 9-28-08
We outlined chapter 15 earlier this quarter and worked on this in class today as well.

Outlining is an important skill to develop. The goal is to pick out the information that is most important and leave behind the fluff so that your final result is a condensed version of the original. The process of outlining is an important skill and the resulting outline is a good tool and study guide. When we have quizzes, they will often be open note so if you have a good outline the quizzes should be a breeze.

Directions: Outline chapter 1 (pages 5-21). First read the objectives and key terms (page 5). At a minimum, these should be explained in your outline. The outline should be a brief summary of the chapter. Read one paragraph at a time and then sum it up it a phrase or two. It is not necessary for the outline to be in complete sentences. A finished outline will probably be 1-2 pages if hand written or less than 1 page if typed.

After you finish your outline, re-read the objectives to see if your outline meets those objectives. Then read the section review and see if you can answer those questions in your head. You do not have to answer the on paper but you should be prepared to answer them if you see them on a quiz or a test.

An example of an outline of the first paragraph might be as follows:

Environment – everything around us, natural or man made, living and non-living, more than what we can see, made of complex relationship with all around us.

The outline of the second paragraph should contain a definition of environmental science but does not have to contain the details about Keen High School’s mussel research.

Outline the entire chapter, one paragraph at a time. Remember to summarize the tables as well. After you are finished with the outline you should look at the objectives and make sure that you can answer them using your outline. Similar questions will likely be on the daily journals or on a quiz.

Below is my outline for chapter 1, section 2. You can also compare your finished outline to this outline to see if you are on the right track.

Chapter 1, section 2, outline

How human societies act play a role in how we will create/solve environmental problems.

“The Tragedy of the Commons” – essay by Garrett Hardin
Said difficult to solve environmental problems because trying to balance the short term interests of individuals with long term interests of society
Greed “If I do not use it someone else will”
Common can be any shared resource – lake, atmosphere, field, earth
with a common resource a few can spoil resource for all so everyone must respect the common.
Hardin argued that the short term interests of a few would mess up the common
If we divided it up into individual parcels so that everyone had their own supply of the resource then they could not mess up all of the resource for everyone and they would feel/see the affect of their actions.
Earths natural resources are our modern commons but it is often impossible to divide them into individual portions so we have to educate or otherwise change peoples behavior and use of resources.

Economics and the Environment
Economic forces influence how we use resources
Law of supply and Demand – the greater the demand for something of limited supply the more it is worth. (If more people want it, it will cost more)
If supply goes up without demand the cost will drop
Cost-benefit analysis – balances the cost of an action against the projected benefits
Depends on who is doing the analysis – short term monetary interests of company versus long term interests of society and the environment
Risk assessment – part of cost-benefit analysis, this tries to figure the chance that something bad will happen.

Developed and Developing countries –
Developed countries – higher incomes, slower population growth, diverse industrial economies, and stronger social support networks
US, Japan, European, Canada
Developing countries – lower incomes, simple and agricultural based economies, rapid population growth
Most African, Asian, and S. American countries

Population and Consumption
Most Environmental problems traced to two main causes
1. population rowing to fast for resources available
2. people using up, wasting , polluting resources faster than they can be renewed, replaced, or cleaned up.
Local population pressures
Consumption trends – people in developed countries (20%) use many more resources (75%)
Ecological footprint – the productive area of earth needed to support one person in a particular country
a way of measuring the amount of resources a person uses
amount of resources needed to support a person

Environmental Science in context
Solving problems are complex, involving individuals rights as well as societies
Arguments are often emotional and information can be misleading
Need to listen to many viewpoints and investigate the source of the information

Sustainability – condition in which human needs can be met in a way that the human population can survive forever
We are not currently living sustainably but it should be a goal of our societies