Environmental Understandings

Basic Concepts

1. The basic function of any ecosystem is to capture and transfer energy.
2. The Earth's main source of energy is the sun.
3. Energy is initially supplied to an ecosystem by the activities of green plants.
4. Diversity is a key factor in the survival of an ecosystem.
5. The energy requirements of man are met primarily by "food," and men are dependent upon other organisms through food chains and food webs.
6. Living things are interdependent with one another and with their environment.
7. Any one of an environment's components, such as space, water, food, or energy, may become a limiting factor.
8. Organisms and environments are in constant change.
9. Survival of an organism depends upon its ability to adjust to its environment. Each kind of organism represents a collection of adaptations which fit it for survival under a given set of conditions.
10. Man changes the natural environment to the extent that many species find it difficult to adapt to the new conditions.
11. Land forms influence the type of community in which people live.

Natural Resources

1. The material welfare and aspirations of a culture largely determine the use and management of natural resources.
2. Natural resources are interdependent and the use or misuse of one will affect others.
3. Raw materials and energy supplies are generally obtained from those resources available at least cost, with supply and demand determining their economic value.
4. Social, economic, and technological changes affect the interrelationships of quality, availability, and the use of natural resources.
5. As natural resources become more scarce, the inexhaustible supply of human energy, resolve, determination, and ingenuity must be fully utilized.
6. Plant and animal populations are renewable resources.
7. Water is a reusable and transient resource, but the usable quantity may be reduced by impaired quality.
8. Soil, trees, and water are classified as renewable resources, but, because their renewal or revitalization requires a major investment in time and effort, they may be more realistically considered depletable resources.
9. In nature, there is a continuous recycling of many elements.
10. Man would do well to observe nature's example and recycle the results of his technology.
11. Most resources are vulnerable to depletion in quantity and quality.
12. The nonrenewable resource base of mineral elements is considered finite, and depletion can only be slowed by altered priorities, new demographic considerations, improved conservation practices, and vigorous recycling procedures.
13. The rate of resource consumption increases in direct proportion to the expansion of our wants, needs, and markets.
14. Historically, cultures with high technological development have used disproportionately more natural resources than those with lower levels of technological development

Environmental Ethic

1. Physical well being is a fundamental necessity for survival even though man often places a higher value on other things.
2. Social values and morals influence environmental attitudes. Mankind is continually developing an ethical base for making value judgments.
3. Ethically, we are stewards rather than owners of the resource base.
4. Man has exercised a presumed right to exploit the environment with little regard for his responsibility to preserve it.
5. Man currently faces the prospect of endangering his chances of a better life through the very measures he employs to achieve it.
6. The demands of population growth coupled with man's tremendous waste of energy are responsible for some of our more serious environmental problems.
7. Individuals should become well informed about the best ways to manage and conserve our energy supplies.
8. Choices between essential needs and nonessential desires are often in conflict.
9. Individuals tend to select short-term economic gains, often at the expense of greater long-term environmental benefits.
10. It is the responsibility of each individual to become aware of existing governmental regulations intended to protect the environment.
11. The arts seem to aid man in feeling a oneness with nature and with fellow men.

With permission from Designing an Environmental Curriculum . . . A Process,
New York State Education Department, Albany, NY (1975).