CHAPTER 1 A Quote to think about regarding

UNDERSTANDING OUR Technology: The only two things that

ENVIRONMENT are infinite in size are the universe, and
human stupidity. And I am not
PART 1: UNDERSTANDING OUR completely sure about the universe.
ENVIRONMENT [Albert Einstein]
Earth – our frame of reference
• Unique (?) in the universe Scientific Investigation
• Mild, relatively constant temperatures Deductive vs. Inductive Reasoning
• Biogeochemical cycles • Hypothesis - a conditional explanation
• Millions of species that can be verified or falsified
• Diverse, self-sustaining communities • Scientific theory - an explanation
supported by an overwhelming body of
Environmental Science data and experience
Environment - the circumstances and • Deductive reasoning – going from a
conditions that surround an organism or general principle to a testable prediction
a group of organisms. about a specific case
Environmental science - the • Inductive reasoning – taking many
systematic study of our environment and observations to discover patterns and
our place in it. produce general explanations
Ecology - the study of an organism or
organisms, the impact of the Models and Natural Experiments
environment on them, and their impact Models
on the environment. • Simulate real environmental systems;
• Physical or mathematical;
Part 2: Science as a Way of Knowing • Provide heuristic information
• Modern science has its roots in (suggestions of how things MIGHT be);
antiquity and
• Greek philosophers • Are influenced by researchers'
• Arabic mathematicians and assumptions.
astronomers Natural Experiments
• Chinese naturalists • Gathering of historic evidence; and
• Conducted by scientists who can't test
A Quote to think about regarding their hypotheses directly.
Ecology: The reasonable man adapts
himself to the world; the unreasonable
one persists in trying to adapt the world
to himself. Therefore, all progress
depends on the unreasonable man.
[George Bernard Shaw]
Open Minds are Learning Minds • Paradigm shifts are sometimes
• In some ways, children are the contentious and political; often requires
“ultimate” practical scientists…no pre- turnover of the “old guard”.
conceived bias in their investigations.
• However, Society uses numbers,
called “statistics” to evaluate and
compare things. • Information known by
only one person isn’t useful to Society,
and communication is essential. This is
one reason why scientists are rewarded
so much for publishing in scientific
journals. “Publish or Perish” is a real
threat in academia.

Statistics and Probability

Quantitative data
• Precise and easily compared
• Good benchmarks for measuring
change.
Probability
• Measure of how likely something is
• High degree of scientific certainty: 95%
probability.
Statistics
• Important tool in both planning and
evaluating scientific studies
• Sample size, number of replications
important. Part 4. History of Conservation and
Environmentalism
Paradigms and Scientific Consensus Our Conservation and Environmentalism
Paradigms History has four Distinct Stages:
• All-encompassing models of the world – Pragmatic Resource Conservation
that guide our interpretation of events – Moral and Aesthetic Nature
• Examples: Einstein's theory of Preservation
relativity, plate tectonics – Modern Environmentalism
Paradigm shift – Global Environmental Citizenship
• When a majority of scientists accept
that the “old” explanation no longer
explains new observations very well

Pragmatic Resource Conservation

President Theodore Roosevelt and his Global environmentalism is the
chief conservation advisor, Gifford recognition that we share one
Pinchot, believed in utilitarian environment that is common to all
conservation. humans.
– Forests should be saved so they can
be used to provide homes and jobs. Part 5: Current Environmental
– Should be used for “the greatest good Conditions
for the greatest number, for the longest • Half the world's wetlands were lost in
time.” the last 100 years (a big problem in
Louisiana bayou areas).
Moral and Aesthetic Nature • Land conversion and logging have
Preservation shrunk the world's forests by as much
John Muir, first president of the Sierra as 50%.
Club, opposed Pinchot’s utilitarian • Nearly three-quarters of the world's
policies. major marine fish stocks are over-fished
– Biocentric Preservation or are being harvested beyond a
– nature exists for its own sake, could sustainable rate.
care less about us • Soil degradation has affected two-
– emphasizes the fundamental right of thirds of the world's agricultural lands in
all organisms to pursue their own the last 50 years.
interests
– Creation of National Park Service Major Causes of Environmental
Degradation
Modern Environmentalism (1) Population Growth
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962) • Almost 6.5 billion people now occupy
started the modern environmental the earth, and we are adding about 85
movement. million more each year.
– awakened the public to threats of • In the next decade, most population
pollution and toxic chemicals to humans growth will be in the poorer countries -
as well as other species countries where present populations
– modern environmentalism extends already strain resources and services
concerns to include both environmental (2) Resource Extraction and Use
pollution and use/misuse of natural • burning of fossil fuels
resources. • destruction of tropical rainforests and
other biologically rich landscapes
Global Concerns • production of toxic wastes
Increased travel and communication
enable people to know about daily
events in places unknown in previous Part 6: Human Dimensions of
generations. Environmental Science
• More than 1.3 billion people live in Sustainable development: progress in
acute poverty, with an income of less human well-being that can be
than $1 (US) per day. These people extended/prolonged over many
generally lack access to an adequate generations, rather than just a few
diet, decent housing, basic sanitation, years.
clean water, education, medical care, How can the nations of the world
and other essentials. produce the goods and services needed
• Four out of five people in the world live to improve life for everyone without
in what would be considered poverty in overtaxing the environmental systems
industrialized countries. and natural resources on which we all
• The world's poorest people are often depend?
forced to meet short-term survival needs To be truly enduring, the benefits of
at the cost of long-term sustainability. sustainable development must be
available to all humans, not just to the
members of a privileged group.

Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous peoples are generally
among the least powerful, most
neglected groups.
– In many countries, traditional caste
systems, discriminatory laws,
economics, or prejudices repress
indigenous peoples
– In many places, indigenous people in
traditional homelands guard undisturbed
habitats and rare species.
The American Lifestyle – Recognizing native land rights may
To get an average American through the safeguard ecological processes.
day takes about 1,000 pounds of raw
materials, including
• 40 pounds of fossil fuels
• 22 pounds of wood and paper
• 119 gallons of water.

Sustainability
Energy and Civilization: Patterns of
Consumption
Biological Energy Sources • Countries or regions without
• Initial energy transfer occurs through large coal deposits were
photosynthesis. consequently left behind.
• Very early in history humans began to
exploit additional energy sources to • Prior to the Industrial Revolution,
make life more comfortable. goods were manufactured on a small
• Energy provided by burning wood scale in private homes.
enabled people to cook food, heat living • Expanding factories needed larger
areas, and develop primitive metallurgy. labor pools, thus people began
• Dense, rapidly growing settlements congregating around factories and cities.
quickly outstripped wood production, • Widespread use of coal in cities
and new fuel sources such as coal had resulted in increased levels of air
to be utilized. pollution.
Increased Use of Wood Within 200 years, daily per capita
• The development of complex early energy consumption of industrialized
civilizations resulted in the development nations increased eightfold.
of cities and led to an increased demand The Role of the Automobile
for energy. • The invention of the automobile
• Dense populations of humans dramatically increased the demand for
made heavy use of wood for fuel oil products.
and building materials. • The growth of the automobile industry
• They eventually used up the led to roadway construction, which
readily available sources and had required energy.
to import wood or seek alternative • Better roads permitted higher
forms of fuel. speeds.
Fossil Fuels and the Industrial • Higher speeds permitted bigger,
Revolution faster cars.
• During the Carboniferous period, (286- • Bigger, faster cars required
362 million years ago) conditions were better roads.
conducive to the formation of large • Convenience of the automobile led to
deposits of coal. two-car families.
• Oil and natural gas formed primarily • Job growth in automobile-
from one-celled marine organisms. related industries.
• During the Industrial Revolution, • Major role in development of
machines replaced human and animal industrialized nations.
labor in the manufacture and
transportation of goods.
• Steam engines converting heat Cars altered people’s lifestyles:
energy into forward motion were • Vacationers could travel greater
central to this transformation. distances.
• People could live farther from work, • Developing countries use much
leading to sprawling cities and suburbs. of their energy to develop
• In the suburbs, labor-saving, energy- industry.
consuming devices became essential in Residential and Commercial Energy
the home. Use
• We expect to see Florida oranges, • In North America, 16% of energy is
California lettuces, and Central used for residential and 12% for
American bananas in any supermarket commercial purposes.
in North America. • In Canada, about 60% of
• They must be processed, residential energy is used for
refrigerated, and transported to heating.
distant locations. • In Africa and Asia much of the
Growth in the Use of Natural Gas household energy is used for cooking,
• Initially, natural gas was burned as a and comes from wood.
waste product at oil wells. • Early estimates suggested that
• Before 1940, it accounted for Computer systems and the Internet
less than 10% of energy would consume over 10 percent of the
consumption. U.S. electrical energy supply.
• By 1970, it accounted for about • More recent estimates put the
30% of energy needs. energy consumed at about 3
• Currently, it accounts for 23% of percent of the electrical energy
U.S. consumption. supply.
• It is primarily used for home Industrial Energy Use
heating and industrial purposes. • The amount of energy countries use
How Energy Is Used for industrial processes varies
• To maintain their style of living, considerably.
individuals in the United States use • Countries that are developing new
about twice as much energy as people industries dedicate a high percentage of
in France, Germany, or Japan, about 3.5 their energy use to them.
times more energy than the people of • Brazil and China devote over 40
China, and about 16 times more energy percent of their energy use to
than the people of India. industrial purposes.
• Industrialized nations use energy • Highly industrialized countries use a
roughly equally for: significant amount of their energy in
• Residential / commercial uses industry, but their energy use is high in
• Industrial uses other sectors as well.
• Transportation • In the United States, industry
• Less-developed countries use most claims about 20 percent of the
energy for residential purposes. energy used
• Cooking and heating
 • The higher the price of energy,
the more expensive goods and
services become.
• Subsidies help keep energy
costs down.

How Americans Get to Work

• When we compare the kinds of

automobiles driven, we find a
direct relationship between the
cost of fuel and fuel efficiency.
• The average European car
driver pays more than twice as
much for fuel as U.S. and
Canadian drivers and uses about
30 percent less fuel to drive the
same distance as a U.S. driver.

The Economics and Politics of Energy

Use
• A direct link exists between economic
growth and the availability of
inexpensive energy.
• Most industrial societies want to
ensure a continuous supply of
affordable energy.
 appliances, and larger
cars.

Energy Consumption Trends

• In 2012, world energy
consumption was around 12,500
million metric tons of oil
equivalent, an increase of over 20
percent over 10 years. Of this
total, conventional fossil fuels—
oil, natural gas, and coal—
accounted for nearly 90 percent.
• Over half of world energy Summary
consumption is by the 25 member • A direct correlation exists between the
countries of the Organization for amount of energy used and the complexity
of civilizations.
Economic Cooperation and
• Fossil-fuel consumption in conjunction with
Development (OECD), the
the invention of labor-saving machines
developed nations of the world. resulted in the Industrial Revolution, which
• Available Energy Sources led to the development of technology-
• Oil 33% oriented societies today in the developed
• Coal 30% world.
• Natural Gas 24% • The invention of the automobile caused
• Nuclear energy major changes in the lifestyles of people
and hydropower that led to greater consumption of energy.
provide the rest. • Because of the high dependence of
modern societies on oil as a source of
energy, OPEC countries can set the price of
Political and Economic Factors
oil through collective action.
• The primary factors determining
• In general, rich countries use large
energy use: amounts of energy and poor countries use
• Political stability in oil- much less.
producing countries • Analysts expect the worldwide demand for
• Price of oil energy to increase steadily and the growth
• During the 1980s, energy costs in energy usage by those countries
in North America and Europe becoming industrialized to be greater than
declined, and people became that of already-industrialized nations.
less concerned about energy Energy
consumption. Core Case Study: Amory Lovins and
• They used more energy the Rocky Mountain Institute (1)
to heat and cool their • 1984: home and office building in
homes, bought more Snowmass, CO
• Heat
–Sun process, and get that energy to
–Heavy roof insulation consumers
–Thick stone walls • Net energy ratio
–Energy-efficient windows • Ex. Nuclear fuel cycle, how much
–Waste-heat recovery energy we get out vs how much energy
• Sun we put in
– 99% of heat and hot water 13-2 What Are the Advantages and
– 95% of daytime lighting Disadvantages of Fossil Fuels?
– 90% of household electricity • Concept 13-2 Oil, natural gas, and coal
• Energy-efficient electrical appliances are currently abundant and relatively
and computers inexpensive, but using them causes air
• Rocky Mountain Institute –Promotes and water pollution, degrades large
energy-efficient buildings and areas of land, and releases greenhouse
transportation gases to the atmosphere.
13-1 What Major Sources of Energy Dependence on Oil (1)
Do We Use? • Petroleum (crude oil)
• Concept 13-1A About three-quarters of – Also called light oil
the world’s commercial energy comes – Trapped underground or under ocean
from nonrenewable fossil fuels, and the with natural gas
rest comes from nonrenewable nuclear – Fossil fuels
fuel and renewable sources. • Extraction
• Concept 13-1B Net energy is the – U.S. peak production
amount of high-quality energy available – Global peak production: the point in
from a resource minus the amount of time when we reach the maximum
energy needed to make it available. overall rate of crude oil production for
Evaluating Energy Resources the whole world. Once we pass this
• The supply point, what will happen to global oil
• The environmental impact production?
• How much net useful energy they • Transportation
provide • Refining
Science Focus: Net Energy • Petrochemicals
• It takes energy get energy.
• What steps are involved in the oil
industry that require energy? How Long Will Crude Oil Supplies
• Second law of thermodynamics (what Last?
happens to the energy at each step?) • Crude oil is the single largest source of
• Net energy: The usable amount of high commercial energy in world and U.S.
quality energy available from a given • Proven oil reserves
quantity of an energy resource minus – Identified deposits that can be
the energy needed to find, extract, extracted profitably at today’s
prices with today’s technology
 – Geologists predict known and • What are the problems? Low net
projected global reserves of energy, requires huge amount of water
crude oil will be 80% depleted to produce (Colorado River System),
between 2050 and 2100 severe water pollution, air pollution, CO2
depending on consumption rates emission …
What are our options? Natural Gas Is a Useful and Clean-
• Look for more oil burning Fossil Fuel
• Use and waste less oil • Natural gas
• Use other energy options • Conventional natural gas
United States Oil Production and Use • Unconventional natural gas
• U.S. • Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
– 93% of energy from fossil fuels • Less carbon dioxide emitted per unit of
– 39% from crude oil energy than with crude oil, tar sand,
–Produces 9% of world’s crude oil shale oil
–Uses 25% of world production • Liquefied natural gas (LNG)
–Has 2% of proven crude oil reserves • World supply of conventional natural
• Domestic oil production gas
–Off-shore drilling – 62-125 years
–Alaska • Unconventional natural gas
• Future U.S. production –Coal-bed methane gas
• Consumption versus production – Methane hydrate
• Oil imports Coal Is a Plentiful But Dirty Fuel
– 2008: imported 58% of crude oil • Used in electricity production
Oil Sand • World’s most abundant fossil fuel
• Oil sand (tar sand): mixture of clay, • U.S. reserves should last about 250
water, and bitumen years
• Bitumen: thick, sticky, tar like heavy oil • Sulfur and particulate pollutants
with high sulfur content • Mercury and radioactive pollutants
• Northeastern Alberta in Canada has ¾ • Heavy carbon dioxide emissions
world’s tar sands resources • Pollution control and environmental
• Under boreal forest costs
• Huge environmental cost • China major builder of coal plants
Oil shale Case Study: The Growing Problem of
• Contain kerogen Coal Ash
• Shale Oil • Highly toxic
• About 72% of world’s estimated oil • Often stored in ponds
shale reserves buries in government –Ponds can rupture
owed land in US states of Colorado, • Groundwater contamination
Wyoming, and Utah in Green River • EPA: in 2009 called for classifying coal
formation ash as hazardous waste
–Opposed by coal companies
Clean Coal Campaign • On-site storage of radioactive wastes
• Coal industry • Safety features of nuclear power plants
–Rich and powerful • Nuclear fuel cycle
–Fought against labeling carbon dioxide • Reactor life cycle
a greenhouse gas • Large amounts of very radioactive
• “Clean coal” touted by coal industry wastes
– Mining harms the environment What Happened to Nuclear Power?
–Burning creates carbon dioxide and • Optimism of 1950s is gone
toxic chemicals • Comparatively expensive source of
• Plan to capture and store carbon power
dioxide • No new plants in U.S. since 1978
Converting Coal into Gaseous and • Disposing of nuclear waste is difficult
Liquid Fuels • Three Mile Island (1979)
• Synfuels Case Study: Chernobyl Disaster
• Coal gasification • Ukraine (1986)
–Synthetic natural gas (SNG) • Explosions and partial meltdown
• Coal liquefaction • Huge radioactive release to
– Methanol or synthetic gasoline atmosphere
• Extracting and burning coal more • Estimated death toll: 9,000–212,000
cleanly • Radioactive fallout and long-term
13-3 What Are the Advantages and health effects
Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy? • Lesson – worldwide consequences
• Concept 13-3 The nuclear power fuel
cycle has a low environmental impact
and a very low accident risk, but its use
has been limited because of high costs,
a low net energy yield, long-lived
radioactive wastes, vulnerability to
sabotage, and the potential for
spreading nuclear weapons technology.

How Does a Nuclear Fission Reactor

Work?
• Nuclear fission
• Light-water reactors
• Boil water to produce steam to turn
turbines to generate electricity
• Radioactive uranium as fuel
• Control rods, coolant, and containment
vessels
Safety and Radioactive Wastes
 • Decommissioning old nuclear power
plants
• Dismantle power plant and store
materials
• Install physical barriers
• Entomb entire plant
What Is the Future for Nuclear
Power?
• Reduce dependence on foreign oil
• Reduce global warming
• Advanced light-water reactors
• Nuclear fusion
• How to develop relatively safe nuclear
power with a high net energy yield?
13-4 Why Is Energy Efficiency an
Important Energy Source?
• Concept 13-4 The United States could
Nuclear Power Is Vulnerable to save as much as 43% of all the energy it
Terrorist Acts uses by improving the energy efficiency
• Insufficient security of industrial operations, motor vehicles,
• On-site storage facilities and buildings.
• U.S.: 161 million people live within 75 Improving Energy Efficiency
miles of an above-ground nuclear • Energy efficiency
storage site – How much work we get from each
Dealing with Radioactive Wastes unit of energy we use
• High-level radioactive wastes • Reducing energy waste
• Long-term storage: 10,000–240,000 – 41% of all commercial energy in U.S.
years is wasted unnecessarily
• Deep burial • Numerous economic and
• Detoxify wastes? environmental advantages
Case Study: Dealing with Radioactive
Wastes in the United States Examples of Energy-Wasting Devices
• Yucca Mountain, Nevada • Incandescent light bulb
• Concerns over groundwater • Internal combustion engine
contamination • Nuclear power plants
• Possible seismic activity • Coal-burning power plants
• Transportation accidents and terrorism
• 2009: Obama ends Yucca funding
What Do We Do with Worn-Out
Nuclear Power Plants?
 • Solar cells, fuel cells, eco-roofs,
recycled materials
• Super insulation
• Straw bale houses
Saving Energy in Existing Buildings
• Insulate and plug leaks
• Use energy-efficient windows
• Heat houses more efficiently
• Heat water more efficiently
• Use energy-efficient appliances
• Use energy-efficient lighting
Why Are We Still Wasting So Much
Energy?
Saving Energy and Money in Industry • Energy costs relatively little
• Cogeneration/Combined Heat and • Lack of government support and
Power (CHP) systems economic incentives
• Recycling • Inadequate building codes
• Energy-saving electric motors • Inadequate appliance standards
• Fluorescent lighting • Lack of information about saving
• Smart grid electricity energy
Saving Energy and Money in 13-5 What Are
Transportation Advantages/Disadvantages of
• 2/3 of U.S. oil consumption Renewable Energy Resources?
• Low fuel-efficiency standards for • Concept 13-5 Using a mix of
vehicles renewable energy sources – especially
• Hidden costs: $12/gallon of gas sunlight, wind, flowing water, sustainable
• Raise gasoline taxes/cut payroll and biomass, and geothermal energy – can
income taxes drastically reduce pollution, greenhouse
• Tax breaks for fuel-efficient vehicles gas emissions, and biodiversity losses.

Hybrid and Fuel-Cell Cars

• Super-efficient and ultralight cars Renewable Energy
• Gasoline-electric hybrid car • Sustainability mostly depends on solar
• Plug-in hybrid electric car energy
• Hydrogen fuel cells –Direct form: from the sun
• Accessible mass-transit systems as • Indirect forms
alternative –Wind
Saving Energy and Money in New – Moving water
Buildings –Biomass
• Green architecture • Geothermal
Benefits of Shifting to Renewable
Energy Resources
• More decentralized, less vulnerable
• Improve national security
• Reduce trade deficit
• Reduce air pollution
• Create jobs
• Save money
• Renewable energy handicapped by
–Unbalanced, intermittent subsidies
– Inaccurate pricing
Using Solar Energy to Heat Buildings
and Water
• Passive solar heating system
• Active solar heating system

Producing Electricity from Flowing Water

• Hydropower
– Leading renewable energy source
– Much unused capacity
• Dams and reservoirs
–Turbines generate electricity
–Eventually fill with silt
• Micro-hydro generators

Solar Energy for HighTemperature

Heat and Electricity
• Solar thermal systems
• Solar thermal plant
• Solar cookers
• Photovoltaic (solar) cells
 Converting Plant Matter to Liquid
Biofuel
• Biofuels
–Ethanol and biodiesel
Producing Electricity from Wind –Crops can be grown in most countries
• Indirect form of solar energy –No net increase in carbon dioxide
• World’s second fastest-growing source emissions
of energy –Available now
• Vast potential • Sustainability
– Land
–Offshore

Energy from Burning Biomass

• Biomass
–Wood
–Agricultural waste
–Plantations
–Charcoal
–Animal manure
• Common in developing countries
• Carbon dioxide increase in
atmosphere
Energy by Tapping the Earth’s
Internal Heat
• Geothermal energy
• Geothermal heat pumps
• Hydrothermal reservoirs
–Steam
–Hot water
• Deep geothermal energy

Science Focus: The Quest to Make

Hydrogen Workable
• Bacteria and Algae
• Electricity from solar, wind, geothermal
• Storage: liquid and solid
• Preventing explosions
13-6 How Can We Make the Transition
to a More Sustainable Energy Future?
• Concept 13-6 We can make a transition
to a more sustainable energy future by
greatly improving energy efficiency, using
a mix of renewable energy resources, and
including environmental costs of energy
resources in their market prices.

Can Hydrogen Replace Oil? Transition to a More Sustainable

• Hydrogen is environmentally friendly Energy Future
• Problems • For each energy alternative:
– Most hydrogen is in water –How much available next 25-50 years?
–Net energy yield is negative –Estimated net energy yield
–Fuel is expensive –Total costs
–Air pollution depends on production –Necessary subsidies and tax breaks
method –How affect economic and military
–Storage security
–Vulnerability to terrorism
–Environmental effects
• Gradual shift from centralized
macropower to decentralized
micropower
• Greatly improved energy efficiency
• Temporary use of natural gas
• Decrease environmental impact of
fossil fuels
Economic, Political, and Educational
Strategies to Sustainable Energy
• Requires government strategies
• Keep prices low in selected resource
to encourage use
–Same strategy for fossil fuels and
nuclear power
• Keep prices high in selected resource
to discourage use
• Emphasize consumer education
Three Big Ideas from This Chapter
1. Energy resources should be
evaluated on the basis of their
potential supplies, how much net
useful energy they provide, and
the environmental impact of using
them.
2. Using a mix of renewable energy
– especially sunlight, wind,
flowing water, sustainable
biofuels, and geothermal energy
– can drastically reduce pollution,
greenhouse gas emissions, and Biomes
biodiversity losses. These are the different types of earth’s
3. Making the transition to a more environment.
sustainable energy future Two General Classification
requires sharply reducing energy 1.Terrestrial / Land Biomes
waste, using a mix of 2.Aquatic Biomes
environmentally friendly • Terrestrial / Land Biomes
renewable energy resources, and –Desert
including the harmful –Grasslands
environmental costs of energy –Forest
resources in their market prices. –Tundra
–Chaparral
• Desert - In North America temperate
it covers about a fifth of the Earth's grasslands are called prairies.
surface • Forest
The 4 types of deserts Represent the largest and most
• Subtropical desert ecologically complex systems
- Subtropical deserts the hottest Types of Forest biomes
deserts. They are found in Asia, • Rainforest
Australia, Africa and North and  Temperate Rain Forests
South America.  found near coastlines
• Coastal desert  Tropical Rain Forest
- Coastal deserts occur in cool to  found near the equator,
warm areas along the coast. About half of the world's
- The Namib Desert in Africa and tropical rainforests are in
the Atacama Desert in Chile are Latin America, It rains
coastal deserts. every day
• Cold winter desert • Temperate Deciduous Forest
- Cold winter deserts are also - a biome that is always changing.
known as semi-arid deserts It has four distinct seasons:
- the Great Basin, the Colorado winter, spring, summer, and fall.
Plateau and the Red Desert, Gobi Winters are cold and summers
desert of China and Mongolia are warm.
• Polar desert • Coniferous Forest (Taiga , Boreal)
- found in the Arctic and Antarctic - the largest terrestrial biome on
region earth
• Grasslands - Found between the tundra and
Grasslands cover one fourth of the deciduous forest
Earth's land and can be found on every
continent, except for Antarctica.
Two types: • Tundra
• Tropical Grassland One of the harshest biomes and it is
- Are close to the equator and are definitely the coldest at minus 25
hot all year long. The African degrees Fahrenheit!
grasslands are called savannas Permafrost - is a permanently frozen
or veldts sub layer of soil
• Temperate Grasslands comes from the Finnish word tunturia
- Are hot in the summer and cold in and means barren or treeless land.
the winter. Two types of Tundra:
- In Europe and Asia, temperate • Arctic
grasslands are called steppes. - The arctic tundra is the land
- In South America grasslands are around the North Pole.
called pampas. • Alpine
 - The alpine tundra can be found – Plants in wetland act as a buffer by
above the tree line of tall, cold dissipating the water's energy and
mountains. providing stability to the soils with
• Chaparral their extensive root systems.
A Spanish word for shrubs • Rivers
• Streams
Aquatic Biomes - Surface waters, an important
Water covers about 75% of our planet. resources for water impounding.
From oceans to rivulets, aquatic biomes
are host to a wide variety of life-forms, Reservoirs - Man-made standing fresh
and minerals, from the most common water built behind dams for water
algae to the most mysterious deep-sea storage.
creature. Ponds
Fresh Water Regions - Small, shallow, and usually man-
• Lake made
- Basin like depression in form - Used for watering livestock,
Two types of lake raising freshwater fishes.
• Oligotrophic Lake • Estuary
- low supply of plant nutrients, - Place where freshwater stream or
usually deep and has crystal river merges with the ocean.
clear waters. Highly productive biome;
• Euthropic Lake important for fisheries and
- nutrient rich, lots of algal feeding places for water fowl.
productivity so it’s oxygen poor at
times, water is murkier , often a
result of input of agricultural
fertilizers Marine Regions
• Ponds • Coral Reefs
• Wet lands - These are the barriers in the
– includes marshes, bogs, swamps, warm shallow waters which line
seasonal ponds. Among richest the continents and surrounding
biomes with respect to biodiversity islands
and productivity. Very few now exist • Oceans
as they are thought of often as - Oceans represent the largest and
wastelands. most diverse of the ecosystems;
– Wetlands that occur along the - Divisions of the ocean
shoreline of lakes or banks of rivers • The Intertidal Zone
and streams help protect shoreline  The ocean connected to
soils from erosion caused by the the land
forces of waves and currents.
  Alternately submerged and
exposed by daily cycle of
tides.
• The Pelagic Zone
 the open ocean
• The Benthic Zone
 the area underneath the
pelagic zone or deep-sea
• The Abyssal Zone
 The deepest part of the
ocean
• Intertidal zone
•Pelagic zone
•Benthic zone
•Abyssal zone

CHAPTER 2
PRINCIPLES OF ECOLOGY

PRINCIPLES OF MATTER AND

ENERGY
• Matter - Has mass and takes up
space.
Three Phases:
- Solid
- Liquid
- Gas
• Law of Conservation of Matter -
Under normal conditions, matter cannot
be created or destroyed.
- There is no away.
Energy  Neutrons
• Energy - The capacity to do work.  Alpha, Beta,
 Kinetic Energy - Energy Gamma particles
contained in moving objects.  Positrons
 Potential Energy - Stored, latent • Molecule - Group of atoms that can
energy available for use. exist as an individual unit and that has
• Heat - Energy that can be transferred unique properties.
between objects of different • Compound - A molecule containing
temperature. different kinds of atoms.
 Specific Heat - Amount of heat Chemical Bonding
required to warm one gram one • Ionic Bond - Formed when an atom
degree C. loses or gains one or more electrons.
Thermodynamics • Covalent Bond - Formed when two or
• First Law - Energy is conserved. more atoms share electrons.
 Under normal conditions, it is  Energy is needed to break
neither created nor destroyed, but chemical bonds.
can be transferred or  Energy is released when bonds
transformed. are formed.
• Second Law - With each successive Chemical Reactions
energy transfer or transformation, less • Reactions start with reactants and
energy is available to do work. produce products.
 Entropy (disorder) increases.  Oxidation - A molecule or atom
loses an electron.
 Reduction - A molecule or atom
gains an electron.
BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE Acids and Bases
• Atom - Smallest particle that exhibits • Acids - are compounds that readily
the characteristics of an element. release hydrogen ions (H+ ) in water.
Protons - Positively charged. • Bases - are substances that readily
Electrons - Negatively charged. take up hydrogen ions (H+ ) and release
Neutrons - Neutral. hydroxide ions (OH- ) in solution.
• Ions - Charged atoms.  Strength measured by
Cations - Positive charge. concentration of H+.
Anion - Negative charge.  pH scale (0-14)
• Isotope - Atoms of a single element
that differ in atomic mass.
 Radioactive isotopes
spontaneously decay or shed
subatomic particles.
- Half Life
  Lower energy - has longer
wavelengths.
• Solar energy that reaches the earth’s
surface is in, or near, the visible light
wavelengths.
 Drive photosynthesis.
• More than half of the incoming sunlight
may be reflected or absorbed by
atmospheric clouds, dust, or gases.
 Short wavelengths are filtered out
by gases in the upper
atmosphere.
Organic Compounds and Cells Photosynthesis and Respiration
• Organic compounds are molecules,
often large and complex, built of carbon
atoms.
• Enzymes facilitate chemical reactions
in cells.
 Metabolism refers to the
multitude of enzymatic reactions
performed by an organism.
Qualities of Water
• Weight of living organisms 60-70%
water.
• Universal solvent Energy and Matter in the
 Dissolved salt solutions conduct Environment
electricity. • Species - All organisms genetically
• Cohesive, producing capillary action. similar enough to breed and produce
• Exist as liquid over a wide temperature live, fertile offspring in nature.
range. • Population - All members of a species
• Expands when crystallizes. that live in the same area at the same
• High heat of vaporization. time.
• High specific heat. • Biological Community - All
SUNLIGHT populations living and interacting in an
• Sun is a fiery ball of exploding area.
hydrogen gas. • Ecosystem - A biological community
• Radiant energy classified by and its physical environment.  Open
wavelengths. vs. Closed
 Intense energy - has short Food Webs and Trophic Levels
wavelengths.
• Productivity refers to the amount of number of herbivores, supporting a
biomass produced in a given are during smaller number of secondary
a given time. consumers.
 Primary Producers -  Second law of thermodynamics. -
Photosynthesize. Ecosystems not 100% efficient.
 Consumers - Eat other  10% Rule
organisms.
• Food Webs are series of
interconnected food chains in an
ecosystem.
 Trophic Level refers to an
individual’s feeding position in an
ecosystem.
Trophic Levels
• Organisms can also be identified by
the kinds of food they consume:
 Herbivores - Eat plants.
 Carnivores - Eat animals.
 Omnivores - Eat plants and
animals.
 Detritivores - Eat detritus.
 Decomposers - Breakdown
complex organic matter into
simpler compounds.

BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES
• Hydrological Cycle
 Most of earth’s water is stored in
the oceans, but solar energy
continually evaporates this water,
and winds distribute water vapor
around the globe.
• Carbon Cycle
 Structural component of organic
molecules.
 Chemical bonds provide
metabolic energy.
Ecological Pyramids • Nitrogen Cycle
Most ecosystems have huge number of  Nitrogen makes up about 78% of
primary producers supporting a smaller the air, but plants cannot use N2 ,
 the stable diatomic molecule in
air.
 Plants acquire nitrogen
through nitrogen cycle.
 Nitrogen-fixing
bacteria.
• Phosporus Cycle
 Abundant phosphorus stimulates
plant and algal productivity.
 Major component of water
pollution.
 Reduced levels of
dissolved oxygen.
• Sulfur Cycle
 Sulfur compounds are important
determinants of the acidity of
water.
 Particulates may also act
as critical regulators of
global climate.
 Sulfur cycle is complicated by a
large number of possible
oxidation states.