9781422273111

THE WORLD OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Have you ever looked at nature and wondered why things are the way they are? Why does it rain more near a lake than on dry land? What does the ozone layer have to do with the temperature of Earth? How does a new housing development affect the animals and plants that lived on that land? Environmental scientists observe nature (plants, animals, weather, the atmosphere , soil, water, etc.) and investigate relationships between different elements of the environment. They find answers to questions like these. The environment is very complex (intricate and complicated). Water, mountains, rivers, lakes, sunlight, and soil all interact with one another, creating a place where living things can grow. The climate is influenced by the intensity (strength)

and angle of the sun as it strikes Earth. Weather patterns are shaped by the way air rises and moves in the atmosphere. Climate and weather create unique patterns of heat and moisture, which in turn create the conditions where certain life forms can thrive (do well). Nutrients in the soil allow plants to grow. When animals eat those plants and eventually die, decomposers, such as mushrooms, worms, and bacteria, break down dead organisms (living things) so that they return to the soil, adding to the nutrients. Everything in nature is connected within the cycle of life. Because of this, a problem in a particular ecosystem can have any number of different explanations. An environmental scientist has to carefully sort through the various factors, determining how they

DID YOU KNOW?

Fifty-nine percent of teens surveyed by the National Environmental Education Foundation feel that the environment is in bad shape, but that it can be saved. Forty-five percent believe that the health of the environment will get worse in the future. Fifty- nine percent of teens worry about the state of the environment.

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WOMEN IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES