Environmental Science

 

1. Make a timeline of the history of environmental science in America. Identify the contribution made by the Boy Scouts of America to environmental science. Include dates, names of people or organizations, and important events.

 

Date:	Event:
1836	Ralph Waldo Emerson publishes Nature which criticized early economic development
1840	Emerson publishes his Journals in which he examines the dangers of commerce
1847	George Perkins Marsh gave a speech to the Agricultural Society of Rutland County, Vermont. He called attention to the destructive impact of human activity on the land, especially through deforestation. He advocated a conservationist approach to the management of forested lands
1861	Henry David Thoreau publishes his classic, Walden
1864	Posthumous publication of Henry David Thoreau's The Maine Woods, in which Thoreau called for the establishment of "national preserves" of virgin forest.
1864	Marsh first publishes his book Man and Nature or The Earth as Modified by Human Action
1872	America’s first National Park- Yellowstone, was established by Congress
1876	The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC)- a conservation group in the East, was founded
1892	John Muir organized the Sierra Club to help save the California Redwoods
1898	The U.S. Forest service is established with Pennsylvania’s Gifford Pinchot as its first Chief
1901	Teddy Roosevelt becomes president; widely accepted as the first conservationist president
1903	Roosevelt establishes a wildlife sanctuary on Pelican Island; starting the US Fish & Wildlife Service
1907	M.C. Marsh publishes a study on how fish were hurt by industrial wastes released into water sources
1910	The Boy Scouts of America were founded
1916	National Park Service founded with Stephen Mather as President
1949	Aldo Leopold publishes (posthumously) his A Sand County Almanac which outlined how conservation efforts can help the land and the economy
1962	Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring which dramatized the dangers of pesticides- most notably DDT
1967	The Boy Scouts make Natural Resource Conservation merit badge- a precursor to Environmental Science, an Eagle Required merit badge
1969	The Environmental Protection Agency was established
1970	The Clean Air Act was passed
1970	The first “Earth Day” was celebrated in the United States
1972	Environmental Science merit badge becomes an Eagle Required badge
1972	Water Pollution Control Act was passed over President Nixon’s veto
1973	The Endangered Species Act was passed
1990	Over 150 countries signed on to ban CFC production to save earth’s ozone layer
2000	The BSA establish the Leave No Trace Award

 

2. Define the following terms and describe the relationships among them: population, community, ecosystem, biosphere, symbiosis, niche, habitat, conservation, threatened species, endangered species, and extinction.

 

Population: A group of individuals of the same species living in a given area at a given time

 

Community: The assemblage of organisms that occupy a particular region of habitat

 

Ecosystem: All of the biotic and abiotic elements that occur in a particular geographic area

 

Biosphere: All living organisms on earth

 

Symbiosis: A situation in which two dissimilar organisms live together in close association

 

Niche: The function of an organism in its community

 

Habitat: Environment in which an organism can meet its needs for survival, growth, and reproduction

 

Conservation: To use in the best possible way so that the greatest long-term benefit is realized by society

 

Threatened Species: Those species that could become extinct if a critical factor in their environment were changed

 

Endangered Species: Those species that are present in such small numbers that they are in immediate jeopardy of becoming extinct

 

Extinction: The elimination of all the individuals of a particular species

 

All of these terms are a part of science known as Ecology, which is the study of the relationships among organisms and their environments. Ecology is a major scientific field in Environmental Science but it is not the only field. Environmental Science also draws upon Geology, Chemistry, Social Sciences, Ethics, and Philosophy- making it one of the most complicated fields to study. All of these terms describe how living things interact with everything in their surroundings. The terms also seek to describe how man has affected the natural world.

 

8. Discuss three possible careers in the field of environmental science. Identify the education that you would need to pursue ONE of these careers.

 

There are numerous careers in the field of environmental science. This is a generalized list in three major categories. There are many jobs in each category that could qualify as a career.

 

Civil Service: In the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Park Service, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and other state and local agencies.

 

Education: There are many national and local non-profit environmental centers looking for people to teach or develop curriculums for use in schools or use in the community at large.

 

Private Firms: These for-profit companies hire scientists to make sure other companies are in compliance with government regulations. They could be field or laboratory technicians trained to make decisions about certain regulations or data.

 

Almost all positions in these categories require some type of training beyond High School. Many high schools are now offering Environmental Science elective courses through the Biology Department. The more specialized the career becomes, the more training and education is needed for the position. A Bachelors or Masters degree might be required for employment in some firms or government agencies.

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