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Course Code: ENVI 201
Course Title: ENVORONMENTAL SCIENCE

Importance of environmental sciences
• It provides students with necessary knowledge, skills,
practices and right attitudes for environmental
conservation
• It explores biogeochemical cycles
• It examines ecosystems

• It explores sustainability
• It also discusses global environmental problems with
relevance to Kenyan ecosystems
...

Apply the concept and principles of
environmental science to propose solutions to
specific environmental problems particularly
those unique to developing countries like
Kenya

Course layout
1
...
Basic
ecological concepts: This will cover:
• Ecology and Ecosystems
• Biogeochemical Cycles ie the Hydrologic Cycle; The
carbon Cycle and Global Climate Change
• Population Ecology and Human Population Issues

Course layout
3
...
Managing Biological Resources
5
...
Finding food for Humanity
7
...
What is environment?
2
...
What are the connections that makes up environment?
4
...

Why?

Continuation
• Without this understanding, we will not be able
to understand what the results of our actions
will be
• Therefore this Unit will help learners acquire
basic understanding of :
• what environment is and its basic components
• What is science and finally understand
Environmental Sciences
...

1:General definition

The word environment is driven from the French word
“Environ” which means the surrounding
Generally surrounding refer to external factors and
conditions that affect an organism or a group of
organisms
2
...
Therefore the
surrounding include the biotic and the abiotic factors
...

• Abiotic factors are: light, air, water, soil etc
3
...
A common definition

Environment is the condition of the air, water, soil and
animals, natural surroundings
...

Hence environment is all factors abiotic{physical} and
biotic{biological} that affect an individual organism or
population at any point in the life cycle
The
physical
atmosphere{air}
hydrosphere{water}
lithosphere{soil}

factors

are:

the biological factors are the biosphere{plants, animals,
bacteria and fungi}
...


Types of Environments
There are two types of environments
Man made/anthropogenic environment
• Man made environment is also referred to as
anthropogenic environment
...

• Man is modifying the environment according to his
requirements without bothering about the
consequences
...
Natural environment
• Natural environment is the environment that in its
original form without interference of human beings
...
e
...


1
...

2
...
e
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• Both the physical and the biological
environments are connected to each other and
can never be separated
Types of physical Environments
• Built environment

• Rural environment
• Macro environment
• Micro environment
Built environment
This the environment constructed by humans to meet
certain desired parameters
...
In a ecosystem this is
within one meter from the ground
Science
• What is science and how does it relate to
environments?
• The word science comes from the Latin word scientia
which means knowledge
...
It is the knowledge covering general
truths concerned with the physical world
...

Scientific Methodology
• In order to understand science one must understand
a scientific method
...


• The scientific methodology helps to organize thoughts
and procedures so that scientists can be confident in
the answers they find
...
g
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• Environmental science covers the scientific world and the
humanities because in life, in a true environments the
two occur together, not separately
...
This is because
human actions are the cause of most of the ecosystem
change
...

• Moreover how these interactions affect our

environment
• Scope of Environmental Science
• Environmental science is an interdisciplinary science

which meaning:
• it involves many fields of study

Environmental science:
examines how Biology, geology, politics, policy
studies, law, religion, engineering, chemistry
and economics ;
All combine to form consideration of humanity's
effects on natural world
•

• For example:
• Chemistry helps us understand the nature of

pollutants
• Geology helps us model how pollutants travel
underground

• Botany and zoology can provide information needed

to preserve species
• Paleontology the study of fossils helps us understand
how Earths climate has changed in the past
•

Using such information about the past helps us
predict how future climate changes could
affect life on Earth

•

At any given time environmental sciences can
use information provided by other sciences

•

Social sciences can help us answer questions
such as how doe human migration from rural
to urban areas affects local environments
Importance of environmental science

• The major goals of environmental science are:
• T o learn how natural world works
• To understand how [We} humans interact with the
environment
• To determine how we affect the environment
• Hence to accomplish these two goals; Environmental
scientists study two main types of interactions between
humans and their environment
...
How we use natural resources such as water and plants
2
...


• Most environmental problems involve so any
variables and such complex interactions that we do
not have enough information or sufficiency
sophisticated models to understand them very well

Activity 1
Define the following terms
• Environment
• Science
• Environmental science
Explain different types of environments
Mention the components of environment

Explain the scope and importance of environmental
sciences
Science is considered a highly reliable source of
information

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