environmental s
cience
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
is defined as a branch of biology focused on the
study of the relationships of the natural world and the relationships
between organisms and their environments. An example
of environmental science is the study of the natural world and how
it relates to recycling and mulching.
ECOLOGY
the branch of biology that deals with the relations of
organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.
the political movement that seeks to protect the environment,
especially from pollution
ECOSYSTEM
a biological community of interacting organisms and their
physical environment
BRANCHES OF ENVIRONMEN
TAL SCIENCE
1. Ecology
2. Biology
3. Physics
4. Chemistry
5. Zoology
6. Mineralogy
7. Oceanology
8. Limnology
9. Soil Science
10. Geology
11. Geography (atmospheric space)
12. Geodesy
One difference is "technologist versus advocate."
An environnemental scientist is someone trained in the technical,
scientific analysis of the environment, biodiversity, climate, natural
resources and the like. As one example, an environmental
scientist might measure changes in greenhouse gasses in the
atmosphere from an objective, lab-based perspective.
environmental s
cience
An environmentalist could be anyone with a passion for protecting
the environment -- from the advocates at groups like Greenpeace
through to ardent recyclers at home. Collectively,
environmentalists are going to be more passionate about the
trends, policies, threats and impacts related to changes in the
environmental -- probably as measured by the scientists above. As
one example, an environmentalist would work to reduce his or her
generation of greenhouse gases because of their negative effects
on climate.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTISTS
John Muir
was Scottish by birth, but his family moved to
Wisconsin when he was young. He lived from 1838 to
1914, and was passionate about preserving the land in the
western United States. Muir was instrumental in creating
Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, and often worked
alongside President Theodore Roosevelt.
Rachel Carson
who lived from 1937 to 1964, is often seen as the
founder of the modern environmental movement. A
graduate of Johns Hopkins University, she became aware
of the devastating effects of pesticides such as DDT on
plants, animals and humans, and wrote the book "Silent
Springs" to raise public awareness of the issue. She not
only inspired Americans to think about environmental
issues, but her work eventually led to changes in national
pesticide policies, including the banning of DDT.
Chico Mendes
was a Brazilian who was born in 1944 and
murdered by cattle ranchers in 1988. His family
supplemented their income by collecting rain forest
products in sustainable ways. When he became aware of
the vast destruction of the rain forests by timber
companies, he helped begin an international effort to
protect the rain forests.
environmental s
cience
Dame Jane Morris Goodall
was born to Herbert Morris-Goodall and
Margaret Myfanwe Joseph on April 3, 1934 in London. She
is a multidisciplinary environmental scientist and is better
known as a primatologist, ethologist, and anthropologist.
She is a UN Messenger of peace. She is the world number
one specialist on chimpanzees and is best known for her
forty-five years study of the wild chimpanzees in Gombe
Stream National Park of Tanzania. She is the founder of
the world famous Jane Goodall Institute. She developed
the lasting interest in chimpanzees since her early
childhood, when she was presented a stuffed toy
chimpanzee. About that toy, which she still retains with her,
she remarked, My mothers friends were horrified by this
toy, thinking it would frighten me and give me nightmares.
Goodall is the eighth exceptional person to study and
receive a Ph.D. at the Cambridge University, without first
having a bachelors degree. Based on her five years
research at the Gombe reserve, she wrote her thesis, titled
Behavior of the Free-Ranging Chimpanzee.
Dr. James Hansen
was born to James Ivan Hansen and Gladys
Ray Hansen on March 29, 1941 in Denison, Iowa, U.S. He
received his bachelors degree in Physics and
Mathematics, [Link] in Astronomy and Ph.D. in physics
from the University of Iowa. From 1962 to 1966 he
participated in a NASA graduate traineeship. He is best
known for his work in climatology and for his testimony to
Congressional Committee on climatic change in 1988. This
contributed towards enhancing awareness about global
warming. Based on the meteorological data analysis from
1880 to 1985, he established that in the past century the
mean temperature of the globe has increased by 0.5 to 0.7
C and that according to the 2006 update, the temperatures
are 0.8 C warmer than the past century. His first study of
NASA global temperature analysis was published in 1981.
environmental s
cience
In 2009 he published his book Storms of My
Grandchildren.
ENVIRONMENTALISTS
Edward Abbey
was one of America's most
dedicated and most outrageous environmentalists. Born in
Pennsylvania, he is best known for his passionate defense
of the deserts of America's Southwest. After working for
the National Park Service in what is now Arches National
Park in Utah, Abbey wrote Desert Solitaire, one of the
seminal works of the environmental movement. His later
book, The Monkey Wrench Gang, gained notoriety as an
inspiration for the radical environmental group Earth First!,
which has been accused of eco-sabotage by some,
including many mainstream environmentalists.
Theodore Roosevelt
It might surprise some that a famed big-
game hunter would make it onto a list of environmentalists,
but Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) was one of the most
active champions of wilderness preservation in history. As
governor of New York, he outlawed the use of feathers as
clothing adornment in order to prevent the slaughter of
some birds. While president of the United States (19011909), Roosevelt set aside hundreds of millions of
wilderness acres, actively pursued soil and water
conservation and created over 200 national forests,
national monuments, national parks and wildlife refuges.