Learning Outcomes

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

• Describe what the environment is and some of its major components.
• Identify the shared characteristics of the natural sciences
• Understand the process of scientific inquiry
• Compare inductive reasoning with deductive reasoning
• Describe the goals of basic science and applied science
• Define environmental science
• Understand why it is important to study environmental science
• Explain the concept of sustainability and its social, political, and cultural challenges
• Evaluate the main points of environmental ethics
• Describe the concept of environmental justice
• Differentiate between developed and developing countries

Chapter Outline

• 1.1  Earth and Environment
• 1.2 Sustainability
• 1.3 Environmental Economics and the Role of Environmental Regulation in Free Markets
• 1.4 Chapter Resources