WMES-6105(3)-20th-Batch-Lec#1
Professional Skills in Environmental Sciences
Lecture #1
Friday, May 17, 2024 @8.30–9.55
Mode of Instruction : In class lecture
Instructor: Mohammad Majibur Rahman (MMR)
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The term environment in environmental sciences is derived from the science of ecology. The
term ecology or oekologie was coined by the German biologist Ernst Haeckel in 1866, when
he defined it as ‘the comprehensive science of the relationship of the organism to the
environment’.
In the environmental sciences these organisms are humans. This explains why the term
human ecology is used sometimes as a synonym for environmental sciences.
By using the latter term we want to avoid that humans are only seen as biological beings and
to emphasise that we consider them primarily as social beings and as members of a society.
A further restriction is placed on the use of environment: the social environment is excluded
as an object for study. The focus is on the physical (living and not living) environment: air,
water, land, and all the biota that grows and live therein.
Environmental scientists are not concerned with angry neighbours, although they may well
be interested in noisy traffic, the fate of the and smokestacks (at least nowadays).
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Therefore, the environment is to be defined as: the physical, non-living and living, surrounding of a
society with which it has a reciprocal relationship.
In this definition, the living world is included and the relationship with society explicitly
mentioned, contrary to the more narrow definitions of ‘environment’. An example of such a
narrow definition is, for instance, the definition of environment used in the UK Environmental
Protection Act 1990: ‘consists of all, or any, of the following media, namely, the air, water and
land’.
In the narrow sense, the term environment can also be equivalent to the term ‘nature’, which
is defined as comprising all biota.
Combinations were later made, like the natural environment, as opposed to the social
environment. Use of the term ‘environment’ in the broad sense, as is done in this textbook,
reflects the growing understanding of the interrelationship between both the non-living and
the living world.
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Environmental Science focuses on the study of natural systems and the application of
technology to protect and improve the environment, while Environmental Studies focuses on
the interaction between human and natural systems and the connection between science
and policy. The simplest way to explain the difference between the two majors is to say that
environmental studies is more interdisciplinary than environmental science.
Environmental science focuses on fundamental sciences, like math, chemistry, biology, physics,
atmospheric science, earth science and geology. As an environmental science major, you’ll
spend much of your time considering the scientific and quantitative aspects of environmental
issues.
Environmental studies takes on a broader view, looking at the natural sciences, as well as
social sciences. You’ll look at how humans relate to the environment and how environmental
challenges intersect with political and historical considerations, public policy, and the law.
Environmental engineering is another emerging major in this field. This branch of engineering
focuses on protecting human health and environmental health.
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Qualitative vs Quantitative Statements
Qualitative (less precise) statement Quantitative (more precise) statement
The day was warm. The temperature was 36.4 ºC.
We saw over 50 drilled holes from where We observed 53 drilled holes from the
we stood at one of the entrances. northeast site entrance.
Several pieces of concrete were sticking Three pieces of concrete, between 1 and 2
up from the dirt. feet in length, were embedded in the ground.
We added lots of water. We added 8.5 liters of water.
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Environment and Environmental Sciences
The environment, generally, refers to all living and non-living things that occur naturally on
Earth, i.e., the natural environment.
The environment can also refer, in a more restricted sense, to the surrounding of an object.
This is typically important in disciplines, like thermodynamics.
Environmental science is the study of the environment and environmental systems, as well as
the interactions among the physical, chemical, and biological components of the
environment.
Environmental science provides an understanding of natural resources and planetary
processes, like global climate change, as well as the environmental impact of industrial
processes and engineering systems, pollution and energy systems.
Environmental science is applied in various areas, including predicting the effects of pollution
and the efficiency of control and mitigation options, and natural resource management.
terrestrial and celestial components
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Concerns to Environmental Sciences
Environmental science is sometimes considered to ecology, and relates to environmental
engineering, which focuses on design and technology for environmental quality, as well as
environmental studies, which focuses on human relationships, perceptions and policies towards
the environment.
But ecology differs from environmental science, and ecosystem differs from the environment.
In recent years, concerns have been grown regarding:
▪ the environmental and ecological implications of energy systems,
▪ the sustainability of energy systems and the society’s they serve,
▪ the adequacy of energy supplies for a planet with an increasing population and rapidly
expanding energy use, particularly, in developing countries, and
▪ the security and affordability of energy resources.
What is energy security?
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Why is it Important to Study Environmental Science?
Welcome to environmental science, an interdisciplinary study of how the Earth works, how we interact
with the Earth, and how we can deal with the environmental problems we face.
We strongly believe that environmental science is an unique program in your academic life which helps foster
shaping your professional career and able to make a difference!
Things to do:
▪ Set up a study routine in a distraction-free environment. Develop a written daily study plan and strongly
adhere on it.
▪ Avoid procrastination–putting work off for another time. Do not fall behind on your reading and other
assignments.
▪ Do not eat dessert first. Otherwise, you may never get to the main meal (studying). When you have
accomplished your study goals, reward yourself with dessert (tour or leisure).
▪ Make hills out of mountains. Break up large tasks (mountains) down into a series of small tasks (hills).
Each day, read a few pages of a book, write a few lines of a paper, and review what you have studied
and learned.
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Environmental science is an interdisciplinary field that integrates areas of life, physical and
earth science to study and address problems facing the environment and to implement
science-based solutions. Environmental science(s) can now be defined as the study of man-
made environmental problems.
In the title of this course, we have used the plural sciences to acknowledge the fact that
many sciences take part in these studies, ranging from natural sciences and the social
sciences to the humanities.
All have their distinctive language, methods and approaches. This is not to deny or
undervalue the need to employ multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to analyse
and solve the often intricate and complex environmental problems: it is to emphasise the
interdependences and complementarities of the scientific efforts in this field.
Interdisciplinary builds on disciplinary.
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• Intradisciplinary – working within a single discipline.
• Multidisciplinary – multidisciplinary activities draw upon insights from two or more
disciplines, but stays within their boundaries.
• Cross-disciplinary – is a general term used to refer to any activity that involves two
or more academic disciplines.
• Interdisciplinary – integrating knowledge and methods from different disciplines, and
work coordinated and coherent way.
• Transdisciplinary – transdisciplinary integrates the natural, social, and health sciences
in a humanities context, and transcends their traditional boundaries.
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Environmental sciences the study, answering basic questions, like:
‘what?’,
‘why?’,
‘to what end?’,
‘with or for whom?’,
‘with what intended results?’,
to ‘be used for what purpose?’
Environmental problems may relate to sources (of energy, water, raw materials), sinks (for
absorbing emissions and waste) or ecosystems (for supporting diverse forms of life).
Interaction between the human species and the natural environment is a two-way process:
- with environmental quality affecting human functioning and well-being, and
- human behavioural patterns impacting on environmental quality.
To clarify the nature of this interaction, we shall discuss various behavioural science
conceptions of environmental problems.
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Read the passage below, and then answer the questions that follow.
Think about what you did this morning. From the moment you got up, you were making
decisions and acting in ways that affect the environment. The clothes you are wearing, for
example, might be made of cotton. Several years ago the fibers of cotton in your shirt might
have sprouted as seedlings in Egypt or Arizona. The cotton seedlings were probably
irrigated with water diverted from a nearby river or lake. Chemicals such as pesticides,
herbicides, and fertilizers helped the seedlings grow into plants. Furthermore, the metal in
the machines that harvested the cotton was mined from the Earth’s crust. In addition, the
vehicles that brought the shirt to the store where you bought it were powered by fossil
fuels. Fossil fuels came from the bodies of tiny sea creatures that lived millions of years ago.
All of these connections can make environmental science a complex and interesting field.
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1. According to the passage, which of the following conclusions is true?
a. Decisions we make in everyday life do not affect our environment.
b. Cotton comes from minerals in the Earth’s crust.
c. Many different things in the environment are connected and interrelated.
d. There is no connection between the resources needed to grow a field of cotton and a
cotton shirt.
2. Which of the following statements best describes the meaning of the term irrigation?
a. Irrigation is a connection between living things in the environment.
b. Irrigation is the artificial process by which water is supplied to plants.
c. Irrigation is the process of diverting water from a stream or lake.
d. Irrigation is the process by which cotton seedlings grow into plants.
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The Fall of Troy
Environmental problems are nothing new. Nearly 3,000 years ago, the Greek poet Homer
wrote about the ancient seaport of Troy, which was located beneath a wooden hillside.
The Trojans cut down all the trees on the surrounding hills. Without trees to hold the
soil in place, rain washed the soil into the harbor. So much silt accumulated in the harbor
that large ships could not enter the Troy’s economy collapsed. Today, the ruins of Troy are
several miles from the sea.
bioaccmulation vs. biomagnification
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Three pillars of
sustainability
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Ethical Principles for Environmental Professionals
Eight ethical principles related to environmental sustainability and environmental professionalism:
1. Fiduciary: The materiality of potential climate change risks, conducting environmental audits,
conducting due diligence audits of companies to be acquired, and setting environmental
standards for operations in countries with less stringent standards in all areas to which the
fiduciary duty principle applies extensively in environmental professions (trust)!.
2. Dignity: Protecting public health and safety is one of the primary values of an environmental
professional or issue manager. Special concern for the vulnerability – setting air and water
quality standards that protect the most vulnerable section of the public, including children, sick
people, and elderly people. Dignity often goes beyond public health and welfare to include
nonhuman species as well.
3. Property: Protecting others’ property, including nature’s beauty, is inherent in all the decisions
that an environmental professional makes. Responsible use of one’s property is most evident
through minimizing the impact on the natural environment and leaving the site after use in at
least as pristine a condition as before.
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4. Transparency: Disclosure of material information is built in to every report or
document to which the environmental professional is connected. Many infractions of
regulatory requirements are managed through self-reporting by the corporation and its
environmental professionals.
5. Reliability: The society depends on the reliable performance of the environmental
professional. One must maintain skills and expertise, but also not make commitments or
provide services in areas that are beyond his or her expertise. Also, professionals should
make sure they are not overcommitting, which could result in below-par work and also
result in injury to society.
6. Fairness: This principle applies to every aspect of the work the environmental
professional performs, especially in dealing with clients, colleagues, and competitors.
Fairness becomes particularly relevant when decisions related to environmental policy
come up.
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7. Citizenship: Respect for law and regulation is pervasive in an environmental
professional’s job. Given the market externalities of environmental issues, governmental
intervention becomes mandatory. Environmental professionals, given their expertise in
an area that could provide public benefit, must participate in advocacy, especially in areas
in which they have expertise relevant to their community.
8. Responsiveness: Addressing public complaints, participating in public hearings and
responding to any environmental crisis, in which they could have an effective role, are all
relevant to this principle.
Note that each ethical principle could have implications for the moral duties of the
environmental professional. Decision-makers have to comfort with the consequences,
respect for duties and rights of others, and compliance with community norms and
company commitments.
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Communication
Why does it matter?
❖ Clean, open communications will mean success at every career level.
❖ Staffs will have a better understanding of your wants and expectations.
❖ Better preparation to defuse tensions and control behavior
❖ More productive and satisfying relations.
❖ Prevent misunderstandings that can lead to alienation or conflict.
❖ Better understanding of job requirements.
Most importantly ……………
Good Communication Skills Can Help You Stay Safe!
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Three Myths on Communication
❑ Myth one: Communication is the magical cure for all our woes – a panacea.
❑ Myth two: Communication can break down (a different opinion says that
communication can never break down, rather machines can break down).
❑ Myth three: Communication is merely a skill building process, communication is a
complex process that must be taken and understood as a whole.
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How do we communicate a message?
Only 7 percent of our message comes through the words we use,
38 percent comes through the tone of voice, and
55 percent comes through our body language.
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Types of Communication
People in managerial roles have many opportunities to communicate with others.
Communication can be classified in the following different types:
▪ Intrapersonal Communication: When people talk to themselves, communication takes
place within the brain. It embraces their thoughts, experiences, and perceptions during a
communication event. Intrapersonal communication encompasses:
- sense-making, e.g., interpreting maps, texts, signs, and symbols
- interpreting non-verbal communication, e.g., gestures, eye contact
- communication between body parts, e.g.,“My stomach is telling me it’s time for lunch.”
- day-dreaming
- nocturnal dreaming
- others ……
▪ Interpersonal Communication: It a form of dyadic communication, or communication
between two individuals. This types of communication can occur in both a one-on-one and
a group setting.
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▪ Small Group Communication: It is an interaction process that occurs among three or
more people interacting in an attempt to achieve commonly recognized goals either face-
to-face through mediated forms. This is sometimes included in the interpersonal level–the
most obvious difference is the number of persons involved in the process. The small
group may be a family of three talking at supper, or a meeting of an organization with just a
few members.
▪ Public Communication or Public Speaking: The speaker sends messages to an
audience, which is not identified as individuals. Unlike the previous levels, the speaker is
doing most, if not all, of the talking.
▪ Mass Communication: Mass communication occurs when a small number of people
send messages to a large anonymous and usually heterogeneous audience using specialized
communication media. It represents the creation and sending of a homogeneous message
to a large heterogeneous audience through the media.
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Non-verbal Communication
In non-verbal communication, people send messages to each other without talking. They
communicate through facial expressions, head positions, arm and hand movements, body
posture, and positioning of legs and feet. How people use “space” also transmits a
message. By being aware of non-verbal communication, one can interpret the signals of
others or send signals to others.Awareness of non-verbal communication helps people:
Non-verbal techniques include:
▪ project an image of confidence and knowledge
▪ demonstrate power or influence
▪ express sincerity, interest, and cooperativeness
▪ create trust
▪ recognize personal tension in self and others
▪ identify discrepancies between what people are saying and what they are actually
thinking
▪ change behavior and environment to encourage productive discussion
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Verbal Communication
Verbal techniques include:
▪ I’m “listening” cues
▪ disclosures
▪ validating statements
▪ statements of support
▪ Reflection/mirroring statements
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Two fundamental elements of communication: receiving and sending
Communication is transactional
Each person is both sending and receiving simultaneously
Communication is a Process
Changes in events and relationships are part of a continuous flow. Every
communication experience is the result of the accumulation of experiences
preceding the present one. The new experience affects the future ones.
Communication is Sharing Meaning with Others
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Preferred Method of Professional Communications
Email 65 percent
Face-to-face meeting 31 percent
Paper memo 3 percent
Voice mail 1 percent
The average speaker talks about 160 words per minute, but we can absorb
information at three times that rate.
However, according to one study, we listen with only 25 percent efficiency.
This accounts for many of the misunderstandings that occur on the professional
placement.
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❑ According to experts, people often confuse communication with persuasion. Communication is
the transmission of messages among people or groups; whereas persuasion is a person or
group’s deliberate attempt to make another person or group adopt a certain idea, belief, or
action.
❑ Expressing differences is a vital part of workplace communication, as long as you avoid an
accusatory tone when doing so.
❑ The Chicago Tribune states, “If you’re having a challenging encounter with the boss, ask
yourself, ‘What does my boss want? What might s/he be terrified about from your behavior or
action?’”
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