INTRODUCTION - Builds coalitions:

1. Awareness of a problem
2. Need to take responsibility
Defining Science, Technology, and 3. Draw on external expertise
Society 4. Make decisions and take
actions (demonstrate, litigate,
educate, legislate, etc.).
-STS ON PERSONAL LEVEL-
- Strengths —relevance,
empowerment, democratic.
- Interdisciplinary education for life.
- Weaknesses — ad hoc, emotional,
- Relevant to every field of study.
NIMBY.
- A great major or double major or “the
- Examples: nuclear power, toxic
minor for all majors”.
wastes, health care, climate change
- A way to improve your writing and
action
communications skills, problem-
solving abilities, and ability to adapt to
changes in science and technology.
What is SCIENCE?
- Attractive to potential employers.
- Science is an organized, hierarchical
- Needed at all levels, in education,
activity that investigates nature and
government, the private sector, and
human nature by experiment and
internationally.
observation. (Andersen,
Hepburn ,2015).
-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND - System of knowledge of the natural
SOCIETY- world gained through the scientific
method. (McNamara et.al,2018).
- Interdisciplinary study of the - Its goals are explanation,
interface of science and technology understanding, prediction, and
with society and culture. control.
- Learnings that creations and
discoveries are shaped by
chronological forces and in turn
impact ethics, beliefs, events, and
organizations, thus shaping the
course of history.
- Both academic and activist.

-ACADEMIC STS-

- Scholarly Study of Science and

Technology.
- History, Philosophy, Sociology of S
& T.
- Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary.
- Perennial and structural problems
of history, philosophy, and human IN GENERAL:
nature. - Science is an organized,
- Science dynamics hierarchical activity that
- Technological dynamics investigates nature and human
- Informs activist on STS issues nature by experiment and
observation.
-ACTIVIST STS- - Its goals are explanation,
understanding, prediction, and control.
- Gets involved in current issues. - It tests its theories by logical,
- Covers a broad social spectrum (not mathematical, and technological
just academic). means.

1
 - Science is shaped by social forces Relationship of SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY &
and historical change. SOCIETY:
- While seeking objectivity, science also
shapes culture.

What is TECHNOLOGY?
- “practical applications of what we
know about nature” using scientific
principles for the betterment of the
human situation (McNamara et.al,
2018).
- A discourse or treatise on an art or
arts.
- The scientific study of the practical
or industrial arts.
- Techne (art, craft, skill), Logos (word). What is the essence of STS?
- Cumulative sum of means used to - Prepares the learners to comprehend
satisfy human needs and desires both the technical and social
and to solve specific problems — dimensions of science and
Markert technology,
- The sum total of systems of - Helps them become more thoughtful
machines and techniques that and better-informed citizens of our
underlie a civilization —Nye high-tech society,
- Not merely a system of machines with - And develops their critical
certain functions, but an expression interdisciplinary thinking, research
of a social world — Nye and communication skills.
- The production of superfluities –
today as in the Paleolithic age —
Ortega y Gasset

A. Artifacts or Hardware. Products

fabricated by humans to meet specific
needs. Tools, machines, implements.
B. Knowledge and Methods. A system
of tacit and explicit knowledge,
techniques, and materials utilized in
using, making, or repairing a certain
kind of artifact.
C. A human cultural activity or
profession. e.g. military or civil
engineers, crafters, machinists.
D. A total societal enterprise. e.g.
“American technological know-how.”
R&D, invention, patronage, mass
production and mass consumption.

What is SOCIETY?
- A group of people with common
territory, interaction, and culture.

2
 of technology. To Heidegger, these
MODULE 1 definitions may not be false but are
misleading because they limits our
thinking.
-THE NATURE AND METHOD OF
SCIENCE-
What is TECHNOLOGY?
What is truth in science? 1. Instrumental - Means to an end?
Science is but a path in our search for 2. Human Activity - Anthropological
truth. Science and Philosophy had the same
roots, in that they were both searching for the
What is the essence of TECHNOLOGY?
truth. The divergence in the path was mainly in
- Can it be its effect?
the method – science wanted to use empirical
- Can it be its cause?
evidence in the search for truth. The basic
- Can it be its instrumentality?
premise of science is that if something is true,
- Heidegger wants us to look directly
it will never change. Hence, the mark or
indicator of truth in science is its reproducibility. at the essence of technology since
In the case of normal science, that is, the we think about how it affects us.
established truths in science, we can - To Heidegger, we as humans, are
determine the accuracy or the nearness of the actually kind of blind to technology.
empirical evidence (observations) to the true - He is trying to convey that so long as
value. In most cases, especially research, the we remain in a certain attitude towards
true value is yet to be determined, and so we technology, towards its ultimate utility,
rely on precision or the nearness of the its purpose, we will never be truly
observations (measurements) to each other. In understand technology, its essence,
other words, time and space will not alter the and even its relation to us.
truth. The scientific community, through peer - He rejects the outright and claims
review, will establish the accepted findings as that technology has all kinds of
truth, which collectively will make up the body moral baggage to it. Technology,
of knowledge that we call (normal) science. changes the entire trajectory of
society as a whole.
Sometimes, new information contradicts - He wants to understand the
the established truth. Does it mean the truth fundamental essence of technology
has changed? No, rather, our perception of the while also not rejecting the prior
truth is now being put into question. With notions of technology actually being an
continuous validation and verification, a crisis
external means and human activity.
can occur (Scientific Revolution) that will
- The metaphysical essence of
require a paradigm shift. As more information
technology does not have to contradict
comes to light, we are asked to let go of the
the truth surrounding the means of
old, perceived truth and come to accept the
technology and the human activity
new normal science.
around it.
- He is trying to convey that
technology is a means, and
-THE QUESTION CONCERNING ultimately that technology is a form
TECHNOLOGY BY HEIDEGGER- of human activity.

- To Aristotle and other philosophers,

technology is the organizing of
techniques in order to meet the
demand that is being posed by
humans. Technology is look at as:
Means to an End and a Human
Activity.
- Martin Heidegger (1889-1996), a
well-known German philosopher,
examined these two usual definitions
3
3 essential claims that Heidegger is - ENFRAMING is the way of revealing in
making in the Question Concerning Modern Technology. It is as if nature is
Technology: put in a box.
- Nature is viewed as an orderable and
1. Technology is a mode of calculable system of information
understanding (CALCULATIVE THINKING) in order
- Technology is not a mere to: unlock and expose nature, and
instrument or neutral tool. Yet it view it as a stock piles for future
is the ultimate way in use.
understanding the world.
2. Technology develops beyond our II. Standing Reserve
comprehension and control - Word is essentially one large resource,
- Technology is not necessarily a waiting to be used, to be processed.
human activity alone, but (Becomes an Abstraction).
ultimately technology develops - The continuous revealing takes place
beyond human control. And as we allow ourselves to be agents in
almost beyond human the setting upon of challenges to
comprehension. nature but Heidegger argues that
3. Technology is the ultimate danger this is not more human doing.
to our existence - Human is able to set upon which was
- It is something that we must use already unconcealed as he/she
extreme caution towards. Not in responds to the call of unconcealment.
a physical sense but also in a - Modern technology takes all of
metaphysical and conceptual nature to stand in reserve for its
sense. That we seeing the world exploitation.
through a technological lens. - Man is challenged to do this, and as
such becomes part of the standing
reserve.
I. Clearing - Man becomes the instrument of
- When an idea or thing shows itself technology, to be exploited in the
to us. ordering of nature.
- Technology is no mere means but a - Do you agree that “technology poses
way of revealing. the highest danger of making humans
- “Technology is a poiesis (bringing from beings into not-beings?
forth) that discloses or reveals
(aletheia) the truth.” --> Essence of III. Not-beings
technology - As people, as plants, as animals, are
- Heidegger saw technology as a way standing reserve, we lose the very
of revealing that continue to core element of what makes us
demand for something to be beings.
brought out into the open. This
bringing forth is a two-way
relationship: the concealed is calling
out for someone to set upon it and
bring it to unconcealment, and the one
who receives the call sets upon and
acts upon to unconceal the
concealed…
- Heidegger explained that revealing in
MODERN TECHNOLOGY is not a
bringing-forth, but a
CHALLENGING-FORTH. This is a
nonstop revealing.

4
 western philosophy (Messerly,
2013).

For Aristotle, morality is the study of the

good life:

IV. Poiesis
- To bring something for a purpose
(Aristotle). It also means poetry,
composition…
- Past and the present The “Good”
- It is bringing something concealed - When an object operates properly
to uncealment which then makes according to what it is intended to
TECHNOLOGY as not only means do, then that object is “good”.
to an end but also a mode of - A good computer is one that
revealing. operates as it was designed to.
It computes well.
- A good saw operates as it was
- The human condition is not of without designed to: it cuts well
hope. Heidegger argued that this can - A good plant acts according to
be prevented if we will not allow its nature (functions well).
ourselves to be overwhelmed with the Grows, reproduces, nourishes
enframing that we set upon. itself.
- Heidegger proposes ART as a way
out of enframing. A good man functions well
- Art allows us to see the poetic in 1. Man’s specific operation (function)
nature and guides us to see things 2. Will (to choose)
from calculative to meditative thinking. 3. Intellect (to think)
- Meditative thinking means we let 4. Hence, a good man reasons well and
nature reveal itself without forcing chooses well.
it.
- Pause for a while, question, and reflect Happiness
on the value of what (technology) is - Is not coming from the outside
presented before us. - Happiness is a choice
- It is an inward job.
- The only keeper of your happiness is
you.
-THE GOOD LIFE BY ARISTOTLE- - Stop giving people the power to
control your smile, your worth and
Who is Aristotle? attitude.
- was a Greek philosopher, a student - For Aristotle, Happiness results from
of Plato, and teacher of Alexander the fulfillment of one’s human nature.
the Great. - Happiness is: Activity in accordance
- His contributions on: physics, with perfect virtue.
metaphysics, poetry, theater, music,
logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics,
government, ethics, biology, and
zoology.
- His knowledge in diverse fields was
considered definitive for millennia,
and his work in ethics and politics
is still widely influential today.
- He is one of the greatest
philosophers in the history of
5
 - Moral Virtue- A habit that makes a
person morally good.
- Intellectual Virtue- A habit that
disposes the intellect to its proper
activity, which is the knowledge of
truth.
- Aristotle does not teach that
virtue is knowledge. Indeed,
there are intellectual virtues, but
the intellectual virtues do not
make us morally good. One
may have the virtues of science,
wisdom, and understanding, but
remain unjust, cowardly and
intemperate. The Concupiscible Appetite
- This is the pleasure appetite. This
appetite gives rise to the sense desire.
Animals have this desire, which is why
the hungry dog will necessarily eat the
bone.

The Concupiscible Appetite

- Otherwise called the aggressive
appetite. This appetite gives rise to
the emotions of anger, fear and daring.

If happiness is the fulfillment of human

nature, what are the powers in human
nature that needs to be fulfilled? Sometime the appetites rebel against
reason

Ordered Life

6
Disordered Life leads to Bestial Life

Good Attitude reflects the Moral Virtues

Justice
- Bestowing to another his/her due.
- Parts of Justice:
- Piety bestows due honor to
parents.
- Religion bestows due honor to
God.
- Observance bestows due
honor to those in public office.
- General Justice bestows due
honor to the civil community as
a whole (the state) and good
steward of the environment.

NICOMACHEAN ETHICS
- At the beginning, Aristotle aims to
identify the highest good for human
Fortitude : Courage beings.
- The virtue that moderates the - He argues that these goods are
emotions of fear and cowardice. deficient like wealth and pursuit of
honor etc.
Temperance : Moderation - He gives insights into an important
- Temperance is the virtue that component of the highest good. It
moderates our attraction of must be something that is
pleasures and provides balance in consistent with the maximization of
the use of things of this world. our faculties as human beings.
- It ensures the will’s mastery over - Satisfying bodily pleasures is one
instincts and keeps desires within the Aristotle claims is not fit for human
limits of what is virtuous. beings, but for cattle.
- The virtue that moderates the - Aristotle claims the person who lives
pleasures of touch (the pleasures of a good life also acts rightly and
eating, drinking, and sexual develops the appropriate state of
activity). character from which to person
those right actions.
- According to Aristotle, a person
achieves the highest good when he
possesses intellectual virtues and
character virtues (e.g. courage,
temperance, and generosity). Think of
other example of character virtues and

7
 relate it to vices of excess and
deficiency.
- Intellectual Virtues + Virtue of
Character = Eudaimonia (means
Happiness and the Highest Good).
- How can social justice be
instrumental in attaining the Good
Life? There are certain external
conditions that are necessary for an
individual to attain the Good Life.

8
 MODULE 2 FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
- Involves computer generate product
design and three-dimensional (3D)
TRENDS IN SCIENCE AND printing.
TECHNOLOGY
Opportunities of the Fourth Industrial
Revolution
-The Fourth Industrial Revolution- - There are similarities between the four
industrial revolutions and the five
- A world where individuals move stages of civilization.
between digital domains and offline - The productivity of the industrial
reality with the use of connected age over the agricultural age.
technology to enable and manage - Each subsequent age destroys
their lives. many of the jobs of the
preceding age (replacing the
jobs created by the industrial
age).
- Manual workers produced most
goods and services with their
body but not later than two ages
that knowledge workers produce
mostly with their mind.
- Prediction of the Opportunities
1. Low barriers between inventors
and markets
2. More active role for the artificial
intelligence
3. Integration of different technics
and domains
4. Improved quality of our lives
(robotics)
5. The connected life (internet)

Challenges of the Fourth Industrial

Revolution
FIRST INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION - “We stand on the brunk of a
- Started in 1760 technological revolution that will
- Steam Engine for farming and feudal fundamentally alter the way we live,
society to the new manufacturing work, and relate to one another.”
process. - Both exciting and scary.
- The use of coal as the main energy in THE CHALLENGES
the means of transportation. 1. It could yield greater inequality
SECOND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (potential to disrupt labor markets)
- Started in 1900 manual labor to technological (talent)
- Internal Combustion Engine. labor.
- Usage of oil and electricity to power 2. Cybersecurity, hacking, risk
mass production. assessment, and others.
THIRD INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 3. Ethical Dilemmas. The over
- Started in 1960 manipulation of genetics for desirable
- Implementation of electronics and traits (AI, automation, robots, and
information technology to automate genetic engineering). Lack of moral
production. reasoning in terms of good or ethical
decisions in complex situations.

9
Biotechnology benefits to the world's growing
- Technology that utilizes biological population.
systems, living organisms or parts of
this to develop or create different Nanotechnology
products. ... With the development of - Nanotechnology is the design,
genetic engineering in the 1970s, characterization, production, and
research in biotechnology (and other application of structures, devices,
related areas such as medicine, biology and systems by controlled
etc.) manipulation of size and shape at the
- Provides breakthrough products and nanometer scale (atomic, molecular,
technologies to combat debilitating and macromolecular scale) that
and rare diseases, reduce our produces structures, devices, and
environmental footprint, feed the systems with at least one novel/superior
hungry, use less and cleaner energy, characteristic.
and have safer, cleaner and more - Nanotechnology is helping to
efficient industrial manufacturing considerably improve, even
processes. revolutionize, many technology and
- Biotechnology is the use of an industry sectors: information
organism, or a component of an technology, homeland security,
organism or other biological system, to medicine, transportation, energy, food
make a product or process. Many forms safety, and environmental science,
of modern biotechnology rely on DNA among many others.
technology. DNA technology is the
sequencing, analysis, and cutting- Information and Communication
and-pasting of DNA. Technology
- Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) is a broader term
for Information Technology (IT), which
refers to all communication
technologies, including the internet,
wireless networks, cell phones,
computers, software, middleware,
video-conferencing, social
networking, and other media
- Genetic Modified Organisms applications and services.
- Is an animal, plant, or microbe
whose DNA has been altered using Remote Sensing
genetic engineering techniques. For - Is the acquiring of information from a
thousands of years, humans have used distance or not in physical contact (e.g.
breeding methods to modify organisms. temperature like satelite, ultrasound,
Corn, cattle, and even dogs have been xrays, camera).
selectively bred over generations to
have certain desired traits.
- NEGATIVE SIDE:
- It affects human health. This could
result from differences in nutritional
content, allergic response, or undesired
side effects such as toxicity, organ
damage, or gene transfer.
- POSITIVE SIDE:
- Some benefits of genetic engineering
in agriculture are increased crop
yields, reduced costs for food or drug
production, reduced need for
pesticides, enhanced nutrient
composition and food quality,
resistance to pests and disease,
greater food security, and medical
10
 -On Finding Technological Solutions- - Weinberg’s formulation: National
Labs for societal problems
The technological fix as social cure-all: - Identified rational analysis and
Origins and Implications technological innovation as the key
- TECHNOLOGICAL FIX drivers of societal progress.
- Using of technology or engineering - Argued that the brilliant advances in
(innovation) to solve all our social the technology of energy, mass
problems/issue - To improve modern production, and automation, not social
life and society. systems or ideologies, created the
- Societal confidence in technological affluent (sagana o mayaman) society.
problem-solving consequently deserves - He later recalled that looking upon the
critical and balanced attention. nuclear energy as a symbol of a new
technologically oriented civilization “the
- Faith in Fixes ultimate technological fix” that would
- “Technological fix” term had limited forever eliminate quarrels over scarce
usage and is much less common that raw materials.
the generic phrase “technical - He packaged the concept of the
solution.” technological fix in a form that invited
- Hints that there are distinct cultural responses from policy-makers.
context and meanings for similar terms. - He cited examples that engineering
- “Technological fix” popularized by safer cars might provide quicker
Alvin Weinberg’s writings. reduction of traffic deaths than trying to
change driving behaviors. Also,
- The voices of technocracy cigarette filters is better than legislation
- Journalists christened modern culture or health education campaigns to
“The Machine Age” after WW1 convince smokers to give up cigarettes.
(mechanization of cities and agriculture, - He confined that social problems
industrial efficiency, “scientific could be converted into
management, and engineering solutions technological problems.
to modern problems). - He suggested that technological
- Social progress became associated analysis and problem solving could
with applied science. trump traditional social, political,
- The group “Technical Alliance, later economic, educational, and moral
Technocracy Inc.,” railed against the approaches.
problems of waste, inefficiency, and
incompetence of industrialists and - Popular Confidence in
government leaders. Technological Fixes
- Problems example: Injuries by riding - For Weinberg, he credited the H-bomb
cars. as a technological solution to the
- Social measures could be rendered problem of war that did not require
unnecessary by wise engineering. changing human nature.
(The engineers solved it easily. They - For Meier and Weinberg, postwar
built cars that didn’t have platforms). planning had provided evidence that
rationalized housing, transport and
- Postwar recovery and optimism communication networks could
- Technocrats were most prominent quickly improve the quality of life in
during the 1930s and found fresh cities under any political system.
audiences after WW2.
- Their inspiration was to apply rapid - Institutional Confidence in Fixes
innovation to recalcitrant (ayaw - Technological fixes remain popular for
sumunod) human problems that had organizations and governments as
outlasted the war. solutions to acute problems today.
- For example: (A) Fighting pollution
and industrial waste that addresses
anthropogenic climate change via
geoengineering. (B) Fighting terrorism
which solutions are acquiring
technologies monitoring internet and
11
 materials-detecting and body-scanning - The role of engineers in democratic
systems. society
- The faint voices of the beneficiaries
- Cultural losses faith in technology – and potentially victims – of
- SAYING: “If high technology can be technological fixes are of some
negated by such social and political concern.
opposition, this seemed to suggest, - For Howard Scott’s technocrats,
why should technological fixes be engineers were expected to replace
trusted as a panacea for social and inexpert policy-makers, politicians,
political problems?” and economists by a “technate”, or
- EXAMPLES: (A) Nuclear technologies technological government.
are inherently dangerous. (B) Killing of - For Weinberg, government-assigned
agricultural pests are criticized as the teams of engineers would assume
source of widespread ecological responsibility for addressing social
damage. problems for the national good.
- For Meier, the process of directing
- Ethical Implications technical solutions was envisaged as
- This confidence in positivism cooperation between engineers and
prioritizes confidence in quantitative communities, but ultimately guided by
evidence and necessarily devotes those with expert knowledge.
less consideration to aspects of - Modern problems cannot be reduced
human values that cannot be to mere engineering solutions over the
counted. long term; human goals are diverse and
- The focus on outcomes also identifies constantly changing.
the link between technological fixes
and utilitarian ethics, in which the goal
is to maximize positive consequences
(“the greatest good”).
- But can disfavor groups or
environments that are not identified
as the intended beneficiaries (“the
greatest number”).
- “How can we adequately assess
whether a solution satisfies the
unvoiced or inexpressible wishes of
all those affected?” The problem
becomes acute when we consider
communities, species and environments
without a voice.
- Sought to consider social, cultural and
technological solutions in tandem, and
identified technological fixes as
simplistic and inadequate.
- As a “band-aid” solution to problems
involving sophisticated systems,
technological fixes were argued to
both underestimate and inadequately
solve complex problems.

12
 MODULE 3 - Global average temperature has been
increasing since the start of the
Industrial Revolution (because of
When Technology and Humanity humans).
- NEW HYPOTHESIS (Paradigm Shift):
Cross
Natural Variations (e.g. solar activity,
volcanic eruptions) as well as HUMAN-
-Tragedy of the Commons- INDUCED changes (e.g. atmos CO2,
land use) are responsible for this
- What happens to the individuals all amplified global warming.
share a limited source? - Best hypothesis so far.
- The tragedy of the commons is a
problem in economics that occurs What is the Greenhouse Effect?
when individuals neglect the well- - The greenhouse effect is a natural
being of society in the pursuit of process that warms the Earth's surface.
personal gain. This leads to over- Human activities are changing the
consumption and ultimately depletion of natural greenhouse gas concentration in
the common resource, to everybody's the atmosphere and causes an
detriment. amplified global warming.
- Optimizing for the self in the short
term isn’t optimal for anyone in the What is the Climate System?
long run. - Land-atmosphere-ocean interactions.
- EXAMPLES: Deforestation, overuse of - OUR CLIMATE SYSTEM IS DRIVEN
Anti-biotics, water shortage, etc. BY TWO THINGS:
- Hardin’s solution was to cede our 1. The way energy from the sun
freedoms to the state, to be bound by moves in and out of the
“mutual coercion mutually agreed upon” atmosphere
- Solutions to the tragedy of the 2. The way heat is transported
commons include the imposition of around the atmosphere and the
private property rights, government ocean.
regulation, or the development of a
collective action arrangement.

-Basic Science of Climate Change-

Main Reasons of sea level rise

1. Melting of Glaciers and Ice Sheets
2. Warming of ocean water
3. Global Warming overall

Main Reasons of sea level rise

- OBSERVATION: Global temperature
has been increasing rapidly over the last
century. CLIMATE PROXIES: ice cores,
corals, tree rings.
- HYPOTHESIS: Natural Variations (e.g.
solar activity, volcanic eruptions) are
responsible for this amplified global
warming.
- TEST: From 1900s until 1980 or so,
there was a good correlation between
observation and climate models. But, it
found that the rise in temperature
cannot be explained by natural
resources.

13
 - Observed global temperature change
caused by both natural and human-
induced sources.

What is Global Warming?

14
-Climate Change Adaption and Disaster
Risk Management-

15
16
 MODULE 4 - ENVIRONMENTALISM as a movement.
Practiced by colleges and universities
campuses.
The Science of Sustainability
Three Scientific Principles of
Sustainability
-Environmental Problems, Their Causes,
- DEPENDENCY ON SOLAR ENERGY
and Sustainability-
- Sun as a source of energy.
- BIODIVERSITY
Sustainability
- Variation of genes, organisms,
- Is the capacity of the earth’s natural
species, and ecosystems.
systems and human cultural systems
- CHEMICAL CYCLING
to survive, flourish, and adapt to
- The circulation of chemicals
changing environmental conditions
necessary for life from the
into the very long-term future.
environment (mostly from soil
- Some colleges made it greener.
and water).
- Waste = useful resources.
Concepts of Sustainability
- Sometimes we are adding
- CONCEPT A: Life on the earth has
harmful chemicals.
been sustained for billions of years by
- Finding solutions through
solar energy, biodiversity, and chemical
economic and political solutions
cycling.
or subsidies.
- CONCEPT B: Our lives and economies
- The government often has to
depend on energy from the sun and on
enact and enforce environmental
natural resources and ecosystem
laws and regulations.
services (natural capital) provided by the
earth.
Other Principles of Sustainability Come
- CONCEPT C: We could shift toward
from the Social Sciences
living more sustainably by applying full-
1. FULL COST PRICING (from
cost pricing, searching for win-win
economics).
solutions, and committing to preserving
- This would give consumers better
the earth’s life-support system for future
information about the
generations.
environmental impacts of their
lifestyles, and it would allow them
Environmental Science Is a Study of Our
to make more informed choices
Interaction with the World
about the goods and services
- The ENVIRONMENT is everything
they use.
around us. It includes the living and the
2. WIN-WIN SOLUTIONS (from political
nonliving things (air, water, and energy)
science).
with which we interact in a complex web
- This means shifting from a win-
of relationships that connect us to one
lose approach to win-wun
another and to the world we live in.
solutions based on compromise
- Utterly dependent.
in light of our interdependence
- ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, an
and that benefit both people and
interdisciplinary study of how humans
the environment.
interact with the living and nonliving
3. A RESPONSIBILITY TO FUTURE
parts of their environment.
GENERATIONS (from ethics)
- Integrated with Geography,
- We should leave the planet’s life-
Natural Sciences, Biology,
support systems in at least as
Economics, and Political Science,
good a condition as that which
and humanities.
we now enjoy, if not better, for
- GOALS: (1) to learn how life on
future generations.
th earth has survived and thrived.
(2) to understand how we interact
with the environment. (3) to find
new ways to deal with
environmental problems and live
more sustainably.
17
Resources are Inexhaustible, Renewable,
or Nonrenewable
- RESOURCE is anything that we can
obtain from the environment to meet our
needs and wants. Some resources,
such as surface water, trees, and edible
wild plants, are directly available for use.
- INEXHAUTIBLE RESOURCE, a
continuous supply that is expected to
last for at least 6 billion years. (e.g.
Solar Energy, Wind Energy, & Pollution Comes From a Number of
Geothermal Energy) Sources
- RENEWABLE SOURCE, can be
replenished by natural processes within - One major environmental problem is
hours to centuries and faster can renew pollution, which is contamination of the
it. (e.g. Trees, Topsoil, & Freshwater). environment by any chemical or other
- SUSTAINABLE YIELD, The highest agent such as noise or heat to a level
rate at which we can use a renewable that is harmful to the health, survival, or
resource indefinitely without reducing its activities of humans or other organisms.
available supply. - Pollutants can be identified as burning
- NONRENEWABLE OR EXHAUSTIBLE coals or dumping of chemicals.
RESOURCES, Shorter human time - POINT SOURCES are single,
scale and depletion of natural identifiable sources. Examples are the
resources. (e.g. Fossil Fuels, Iron, and smokestack of a coal-burning power or
Copper). industrial plant, the drainpipe of a
factory, and the exhaust pipe of an
Countries Differ in Resource Use and automobile.
Environmental Impact - NONPOINT SOURCES are dispersed
- MORE DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, and often difficult to identify. Examples
17% of the world’s population. are pesticides and particles of topsoil
- LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, 83% blown from the land into the air and the
of the world’s population. runoff of fertilizers, pesticides, and trash
from the land into streams and lakes.
How Are Our Ecological Footprints - POLLUTION CLEANUP, which involves
Affecting The Earth? cleaning up or diluting pollutants after
- As our ecological footprints grow, we we have produced them.
are depleting and degrading more of the - POLLUTION PREVENTION, efforts
earth’s natural capital. focused on greatly reducing or
eliminating the production of pollutants.
We Are Living Unsustainably
We Are Degrading Commonly Shared
- According to a large and growing body
Renewable Resources: The Tragedy of
of scientific evidence, we are living
the Common
unsustainably by wasting, depleting, and
degrading the earth’s natural capital- - OPEN-ACCESS RENEWABLE
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION or RESOURCES, not owned by anyone
NATURAL CAPITAL DEGRADATION. and can be used by anyone. (e.g.
- According to this study, human activities Atmosphere, Oceans, Fishes, & the
have degraded or overused about 60% Earth’s life-support system.)
of the earth’s ecosystem services, - SHARED RESOURCES, less open and
mostly since 1950. have been environmentally degraded.
(e.g. Grasslands, Forests, and
Streams).
- Led to the Tragedy of the Commons.

18
Our Ecological Footprints Are Growing Affluence Has Harmful and Beneficial
Environmental Effects
- When people use renewable resources,
it can result in natural capital - The lifestyles of the world’s
degradation , pollution, and wastes. expanding population of consumers
- Has an impact to the ECOLOGICAL are built on growing affluence as
FOOTPRINT, the amount of land and more people achieve higher incomes.
water needed to supply a population or This results in higher levels of total and
an area with renewable resources and per capita resource consumption along
to absorb and recycle the wastes and with more environmental degradation,
pollution produced by such resource waste, and pollution.
use.
- Also lead to ECOLOGICAL DEFICIT. Poverty Can Have Harmful Environmental
- UPCYCLING, needed to reduce and Health Effects
ecological footprints and improve our
needs and wants. - Poverty is a condition in which people
are unable to fulfill their basic needs for
Why do we have environmental adequate food, water, shelter, health
problems? care, and education.
- Poverty can cause a number of harmful
- Major causes of environmental environmental and health effects. The
problems are population growth, daily lives of the world’s poorest people
unsustainable resource use, poverty, are focused on getting enough food,
avoidance of full-cost pricing, and water, and cooking and heating fuel to
increasing isolation from nature. survive.
- Our environmental worldviews play a
key role in determining whether we
live unsustainably or more
Prices of Goods and Services Rarely
sustainably.
Include Their Harmful Environmental and
Heath Costs

- Companies using resources to provide

goods for consumers generally are not
required to pay for most of the
harmful environmental and health
costs of supplying such goods.
- Another problem can arise when
governments (tax-payers) give
companies subsidies such as tax
breaks and payments to assist them
with using resources to run their
businesses. This helps to create jobs
and stimulate economies, but
environmentally harmful subsidies
encourage the depletion and
The Human Population Is Growing At A degradation of natural capital.
Rapid Rate

- Exponential growth occurs when a

quantity such as the human population We Are Increasingly Isolated From Nature
increases at a fixed percentage per unit
- Today, more than half of the world’s
of time, such as 0.5% or 2% per year.
people (and three out of four people in
the more developed countries) live in
urban areas, and this shift from rural
to urban living is continuing at a
rapid pace.
- The emergence of electronic devices.

19
 - NATURE DEFICIT DISORDER Isolating generations to meet their basic resource
from Natural World like children. needs.
- Living sustainaby means living on
Natural Income (Renewable
Resources).
People Have Different Views about

- People differ over the nature and

seriousness of the world’s A More Sustainable Future Is Possible
environmental problems and over what
we should do to help solve them, and - Natural recovery can take hundreds
these disagreements arise mostly to thousands of years, while harmful
because of differing environmental human impacts are expanding
worldviews. exponentially within a time period of
- ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEW is 10 to 100 years. Thus, in learning to
your set of assumptions and values live more sustainably, time is our most
reflecting how you think the world works scarce resource.
and what you think your role in the world - “Never doubt that a small group of
should be. thoughtful, committed citizens can
- HUMAN-CENTERED change the world. Indeed, it is the only
ENVIRONMENTAL thing that ever has.”
WORLDVIEW, sees the natural
world primarily as a support
system for human life.
- LIFE-CENTERED
ENVIRONMENTAL
WORLDVIEW, all species
have value as participating
members of the biosphere,
regardless of their potential or
actual use to humans. Avoiding
extinction.
- EARTH-CENTERED
ENVIRONMENTAL
WORLDVIEW, holds that we are
part of, and dependent on, nature
and that the earth’s life-support
system exists for all species, not
just for us. How life on the Earth
has sustained itself for billions of
years the way we think and act.
- ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS, the study
of varying beliefs about what is right and
wrong with how we treat the
environment, provides useful tools for
examining worldviews.

Environmentally Sustainable Societies

Protect Natural Capital and Live Off Its
Income

- Our ultimate goal should be to achieve

an ENVIRONMENTALLY
SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY—one that
meets the current and future basic
resource needs of its people in a just
and equitable manner without
compromising the ability of future

20
 -Sustainable Development: An Evolving - Since environmentalism arose from
Paradigm for the 21st Century- different trends, it covers a wide range
of objectives and strategies. For
example, the trend to preserve nature
for its beauty tends to put too much
emphasis on places of natural beauty
often for touristic and recreational use,
and tends to ignore the majority of
nature which may not seem as
attractive.
- On the other hand, the concern for
public health and sanitation puts the
emphasis of environmental programs on
the needs of human society other than
on the environment and biodiversity.
- It is the realization of these limits that
environmentalism matured into a
movement for sustainable
development.

The Rise of Sustainable Development

- The idea of sustainable development
emerged gradually from a series of UN
meetings and reports during the 1970s
and 1980s.
- Our Common Future concluded that
economic development cannot stop,
but it must alter its direction in
recognition of the Earth’s ecological
limits and its commons, and the social
and economic needs of all members of
Introduction human society.
- Went beyond the concerns of
- The rise of environmentalism can be environmental protection and the
traced to three historical trends: the technological needs for the
movement to preserve nature for its solution.
beauty, the establishment of public - Catalyzed a global dialogue on
health and sanitation programs, and the what the future direction of
concern against toxic chemicals and human development should be.
pollution. - SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT is
- ECOLOGY is the scientific study of multi-dimensional and seeks to involve
interactions of living organisms with all sectors of society. Sustainable
each other in the context of their development aims to balance social,
environment and development. economic, and environmental
- Throughout the history of human objectives: social objectives include the
civilization, there are numerous social infrastructure for health and
instances where poor sanitation and education; economic objectives, quality
hygiene can be linked with disease. of life, etc.
(e.g. black death and COVID-19).
- Historically the Philippines, public The Basis of Sustainable Development
health and sanitation were linked to a - ENVIRONMENT-SOCIAL: The
clean environment and clean water. environment must be able to bear the
- Established the environmental impact of society’s demands on it.
movement was the rapid growth of These include environmental protection
the chemical industry after World and sustainable use of renewable
War II, in particular, the widespread of material and energy resources.
synthetic pesticides in agriculture and - ENVIRONMENT-ECONOMIC: The
numerous industrial chemicals. demands of the economy on the
21
 environment must ensure the continued 4. International trade and finance
viability of the latter into the future. 5. Peace and justice
- SOCIO-ECONOMIC: A sustainable 6. Indigenous people and culture
society is one that must have strong
social institutions, such as education, Concept of Carrying Capacity
healthcare, political system, judiciary, - Carrying capacity can be used in an
and others. Must be equitable towards exact manner as a specification for a
all social classes. machine or engineered system.
- The term “sustainable development” - Carrying capacity can be used as an
has been criticized as being attribute of natural systems to fulfill a
confusing, contradictory and naïve specific purpose, such as the
due to the usual experience where determination of how many heads of
economic development has always cattle an area can support or how many
been dependent on depletion of tourists a site can accommodate.
resources, and therefore cannot be - Carrying capacity can be defined by
sustainable. population biologists as the intrinsic limit
of the population of organisms in an
The Physical Basis of Sustainable area such as a forest assuming
Development predator-prey characteristics.
- The Earth is a natural system where - Carrying capacity has been harnessed
the laws of physics, chemistry, and as a concept by neo-Malthusians in the
biology operate. These laws can tell us twentieth century to estimate the
what physical, chemical, or biological number of humans the Earth can
results of our actions of our actions are support.
likely to be.
- The laws of thermodynamics describe Measuring Impact: Ecological, Carbon,
the energy flows in a system such as and Water Footprints
the environment. - Conceptually, a very effective way of
- The first law of thermodynamics finds measuring the impact of human society
expression in this well-known on the environment is to calculate its
environmental rule of thumb: “There’s “footprint:” the smaller the footprint of a
no such thing as a free lunch!” country or individual, the smaller the
- As we use our many impact on the environment.
technologies, we are unaware of - Ecological Footprint (EF): A suitable
the costs that producing and total for the number of citizens cannot
running these technologies have be fixed without considering the land…
on our environment. - Carbon Footprint (CF): The basic
- The second law of thermodynamics, on notion of the carbon footprint (CF) is to
the other hand, states that all physical measure the amount of carbon dioxide
processes have a tendency to go in the (CO2) that is released by a country,
direction of increasing disorder. industry or individual, principally due to
combustion of fossil fuels for
The Human Basis of Sustainable manufacturing, agriculture, heating,
Development transportation, services, and commerce.
- Sustainable development does not deal - Water footprint (WF): the objective of
only with the environment. Sustainable focusing on the critical role that
development brings together issues freshwater resources have on human
concerning the environment with the survival and development.
social and economic challenges
facing humanity at present and into Sustainable development: an evolving
the future. paradigm for the 21st Century
- The human basis of sustainable - The principal development paradigms of
development is embedded in society the twentieth century assumed that
and the economy, as well as the growth was unlimited and that S&T
political system. would provide the solutions to
1. Education humanity’s problems.
2. Governance - ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT
3. International agencies INDICES: One of the principal economic
22
 indicators used to judge the - Our understanding
development status of countries is the of and ability to
GNP, which is defined as the value of all accurately predict
goods and services produced in a year climate are still
within a country. inadequate. Our
- SUSTAINABILITY CONSUMPTION understanding of
AND LIFESTYLE: The debate on the the Earth system is
use of happiness as a metric relates to still poor.
the important question of sustainable 5. Biodiversity
consumption and lifestyle. Does greater - Our knowledge of
consumption lead to greater happiness? biodiversity is
How do we measure what is “enough?” inadequate.
- “The use of goods and services that Although we know
respond to basic needs and bring a that species
better quality of life, while minimizing the extinction is
use of natural resources, toxic materials accelerating, we
and emissions of waste and pollutants can only estimate
over the life cycle, so as not to how much is being
jeopardize the needs of future lost.
generations.” 6. Health
- For better and for worse, S&T have also - Climate change has
enabled humans to alter nature for their brought about new
own purposes, often in ways that were concerns regarding
later found to be detrimental to mature. emerging disease
While it is clear that S&T are tools that and changes in
can have beneficial and harmful disease patterns.
consequences. The destruction of
- Consider some of the major biodiversity is
challenges of sustainable threatening to
development: destroy the
1. Poverty biological resources
- there is a tendency for from which new
S&T to widen the poverty drugs can be found.
gap because the S&T that 7. Decoupling economic
we have favors those who growth and
are richer and more environmental impact
capable. - Is it possible to
2. War Crisis have economic
- Do we have the growth without
S&T to protect our degrading the
water resources environment? Is
and remediate the “green industry”
pollution that has possible?
been produced? - Enhancing the ability of the S&T
3. Energy community to contribute directly to
- Although there is sustainable development will
considerable require significant changes to way
research being in which directions in S&T are
done on clean, currently being determined (ICSU
renewable energy 2002).
sources, we will still - S&T for sustainability should enable
be largely human society to meet its present
dependent on fossil needs without compromising future
fuels for at least needs.
another thirty years. - Governments must invest more funds
in S&T that promote sustainable
4. Climate change development.

23
Expansion of Environmentalism
- Re-think the direction of
development: Our Common Future
initiated the process of rethinking
development.
- Redesign our systems: The creation of
new development measures, such as
the HDI, and the MDG set new metrics
to measure human progress.
- Among the industry areas which need to
be expanded are those which focus on
the efficient and competitive recovery
and recycling of waste materials into
high value materials.
- One of the goals in the redesign of our
systems is to focus more S&T on the
problems of sustainability and poverty-
objectives which are not the usual goals
of S&T.
- Indeed, while sustainable development
remains the rallying point of
development in the twenty-first century,
what we have are moving, expanding
and escalating targets.
- With this paradigm of sustainable
development, we must develop new
approaches in all areas which are
consistent with its principles and
objectives. The challenges are
enormous but not insurmountable.

24
 -Ecopreneurship- 5. Lack of Equity in the World
- “The route to achieving equity will
Differentiation of Entrepreneur, not be accomplished through
Technopreneur, & Ecopreneur treating everyone equally. It will
- ENTREPRENEUR: Someone who be achieved by treating everyone
starts their own business, especially justly according to their
when this involves seeing a new circumstances” (Dressel, 2014).
opportunity. - Ecopreneurs want to make sure
- TECHNOPRENEUR: are entrepreneurs that every living being in the
who used “technology” as their driven world is treated equally so that no
factor in transforming resources into one is deprived of anything.
goods and services creating an 6. Human Right
environment conducive to industrial - Ecopreneurs will ensure that they
growth. (E.g. Bill Gates, Sergey Brin, respect people’s right to privacy
Larry Page, & John Francis Queeny). and uphold data protection laws,
- ECOPRENEUR: is derived from two and all businesses have an
terms which are 'entrepreneur’ and obligation to ensure safe working
‘ecology'. conditions for their employees
- An entrepreneur whose business and treat them with dignity and
efforts are not only driven by respect.
profit, but also by a concern for
the environment (Schuyler,
1998).

The Driving Force Behind Ecopreneurship

1. Global Population Growth
- Ecopreneurs find ways to:
conserve energy, materials, and
resources by developing new
technologies.
- To control the birth rate.
- Meet the food and shelter
demand for the growing
population in order to make
sustainability possible.
2. Increasing Life Expectancy
- Ecopreneurs value life and
develop products that will
empower everyone to live a
longer and have a healthier life.
3. Climate Change
- Ecopreneurs are involved in
finding ways to make use of
renewable source of energy such
as water, wind and solar energy
to sustain our climate.
4. Resource Scarcity
- In order to sustain our
diminishing natural resources,
ecopreneurs constantly look for
alternatives by recycling them or
using cheaper, abundantly
available resources.
- Reduce Wastes: Solid Waste,
Liquid Waste, Energy Waste.

25