环境科学交叉关系学科12章重点句和关键词语.doc

chapter 1 Environmental Interrelationships环境交叉关系 Environmental science is an interdisciplinary area of study that includes both applied and theoretical aspects of human impact on the world. Environmental science is a mixture of traditional science, social values and political awareness. Environmental science as a field of study is evolving, but it is rooted in the early history of civilization. The word environmental is usually understood to mean the surrounding conditions that affect people and other organisms . In a broader definition, environment is everything that affects an organism during its lifetime. From a human perspective, environmental issues involve concerns about science, nature, employment, profits, politics, ethics and economics. Most social and political decisions are made with respect to political jurisdictions, but environmental problems do not necessarily coincide with these artificial, political boundaries. The first worldwide meeting of heads of state directed to concern for environment took place at the Earth Summit, formally known as the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992. An ecosystem is a region in which the organisms and the physical environment form an interacting unit. Weather affects plants, plants use minerals in the soil, and affect animals, animals spread plant seeds , plants secure the soil, and plants evaporate water, which affects weather. An ecosystem approach requires a look at the way natural world is organized. The task of an environmental scientist is to recognize and understand the natural interactions that take place and to integrate these with the uses humans must make of the natural world. No region is free of environmental concerns. Most regions tend to focus on specific, local environmental issues that apply directly to them. For example, protecting endangered species is a concern in many parts of the world. Much of Alaska and Northern Canada can be