Skip to main content
Biology LibreTexts

1: Environmental Science

  • Page ID
    106500
  • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    Tree growing out of a broken glass sphere.
    Figure 1.1 “Environmental Protection” by ejaugsburg is in the Public Domain, CC0
    Learning Objectives

    After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

    • Describe what the environment is, and some of its major components.
    • Identify the shared characteristics of the natural sciences
    • Understand the process of scientific inquiry
    • Compare inductive reasoning with deductive reasoning
    • Describe the goals of basic science and applied science
    • Define environmental science
    • Understand why it is important to study environmental science
    • Explain the concept of sustainability and its social, political, and cultural challenges
    • Evaluate the main points of environmental ethics
    • Describe the concept of environmental justice
    • Differentiate between developed and developing countries

    Chapter Outline

    • 1.1 The Earth, Humans, and the Environment
    • 1.2 The Process of Science
    • 1.3 Environment and Sustainability
    • 1.4 Environmental Ethics
    • 1.5 Environmental Justice and Indigenous Struggles
    • 1.6 Chapter Resources

    Thumbnail image - “Environmental Protection” by ejaugsburg is in the Public Domain, CC0(opens in new window)


    This page titled 1: Environmental Science is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Matthew R. Fisher (OpenOregon) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.