Chapter 5
Studying the Environment and Your Place in It
IN THIS CHAPTER
Reaching across disciplines to solve environmental problems
Quantifying human impacts with environmental indicators and eco-footprints
Recognizing the four stages in the development of U.S. environmental ideas
Defining environmental sustainability
Moving beyond politics to study the environment
When studying the environment, scientists often narrow down the concept; they define it around a specific living thing or group of organisms, (usually people). For example, consider a fishbowl on your kitchen counter. The environment of the fish includes the obvious features — the water, rocks, plants, and any microscopic organisms that live in the fishbowl — but it also includes conditions, such as temperature and light, that come from beyond the enclosed bowl. In other words, the tiny fishbowl environment includes the larger environment of your home. This makes any study of any environment complex!
The complexity of ...
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