The most beautiful object I have ever seen in a photograph in all my life is the planet Earth seen from the distance of the moon, hanging in space, obviously alive. Although it seems at first glance to be made up of innumerable separate species of living things, working parts, including us, is interdependently connected to all the other working parts. It is, to put it one way, the only truly closed ecosystem any of us know about.
- Lewis Thomas
What is Science?
A process for thinking and learning
QuestionThe four basic sciences:
explanation (s)
hypothesisobservations – collect data, either direct from nature or through experimenation
testing of hypothesis, interpretation
publish conclusionswrite manuscript
obtain comments from colleagues
submit to reviewed journal
peer review
publication
Credit always given to sources for ideas and informationBiology – living organisms Physics – motion and moving objects Astronomy Meteorology Chemistry – interactions among substances, result of atoms and energy Geology – earth processes and materialsComposite sciencesalso, Mathematics – the numbers to quanify all interactions and relationships
OceanographyHUMANITY vs. NATUREPhysical Biological ChemicalAll resources have limitsThe roll of the ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST is to
Tragedy of the Commons
develop an understanding of human – nature relationshipsLanguages of Science
and to do so independent of political points of view.
acts as an intermediary between very disparate occupations
the farmer or agriculturalist
the civil engineer
the businessperson or landowner
the lawyer
the environmentalist
the politician
Spoken/written – English
Measurement – Metric
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