Humans and the Environment | Essentials of Environmental Science

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Welcome to our new special series about the essentials of environmental science
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What is “the environment”? Well, it’s everything, and it’s everywhere, including you and me. Just about every part of human civilization depends on a healthy and stable environment. Yet, human activity is causing pollution, climate change, and species loss, all of which disrupt that health and stability. So how do we study our environment in order to understand these changes and how we might fix them? That’s the purpose of environmental science.
Welcome to our new Learning series about the essentials of environmental science. We’ll have more from this series in the following videos, so stay tuned!
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Host: Joe Hanson, Ph.D.
Writer: Miriam Nielsen
Co-Writer: Scott Sowell, Ph.D. (www.sowellscience.com/)
Editor-in-chief: Joe Hanson
Creative Director: David Schulte
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Editor/Animator: Sara Roma
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Produced by PBS Digital Studios
Theme Music: Eric Friend/Optical Audio
Music: APM

[@HotMessPBS]

This is the first video of a new KZbin Learning Playlist we're releasing to help you learn about the essentials of environmental science. Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks!

[@vincelamb4063]

This video is a great way to celebrate World Environment Day. Thank you.

[@a.randomjack6661]

P.S. Closed captions would be very useful. Thanks

[@HotMessPBS]

@@a.randomjack6661 they are there now!

[@a.randomjack6661]

@@HotMessPBS Merci :)

[@gizatsby]

Are you back for good?

[@garth2356]

This the kind of thing that should be taught in schools.

[@vincelamb4063]

I agree. I have been teaching Environmental Science in community college for 25 years now, so I'm doing my part. As for K-12 education, I know that Environmental Science is an Advanced Placement course. I don't know if it's available in high schools as part of general education, although there are environmental topics in science curriculum standards for all grades where science is taught in the Next Generation Science Standards.

[@paraskevas_patsis]

It's kind of sad that it isn't in the U.S. In the E.U. it's kinda mandatory, for example, in Greece for the first four years of middle school there is this subject " Μελέτη Περιβάλλοντος" which basically translates to "Nature Studies" or "The study of nature" which is a condensation of the sciences, both physical and social, into simpler concepts before they split of into the actual subjects in grade four and later, but basically a third of it is focused on environmental science and pretty much everything on this video is covered by grade 2 or like 3 for the most complex of this stuff.

[@aulerius]

Here in EU I distinctly remember learning all of this in mid school. To be frank, the video was kind of boring because of that.

[@Dragrath1]

Yeah but since the schools are effectively owned by the politicians which are owned by the super-pacts answering to the large mega corporations and wealthy investors doing the most damage I fear their will not likely be change anytime soon unless forced science is so out of date in schools where I live. And for those looking to self educate pity that the KZbin Algorithm will try its upmost to hide anything related to climate change or environmental activism....

[@AryaPDipa]

It already is? Atleast here. We learn about ecosystem in every level, from elementary to high school for a dedicated chapter or maybe two in science class. Sometimed we got extra learning in geography class, taking deeper look at the abiotic component such as the land mass, hydrosphere, etc. But, if it's not taught there, I agree, they really should start soon.

[@lamegoldfish6736]

I am glad you are back! 😃

[@bluejay5392]

This was very well done! I look forward to the rest of the series.

[@sanyo_neezy]

Absolutely! You can totally feel the love and care that Joe put into this

[@maryamabu-shukur9798]

This new series is exactly what I have been waiting for (showing the importance of the ecosystem and reminding us that it's part of our responsibility to save it). People all around the planet need to give a lot of their attention to this topic as raising awareness everywhere is crucial. Looking forward for the rest of the videos. Thank you Dr. Joe

[@AnimilesYT]

This video is amazing and it explains everything really well. There is one small thing I'd like to note though. I am really concerned about our future because a fair amount of people don't take climate change and the loss of biodiversity seriously. I often hear people (on TV for example) asking why the loss of biodiversity is so bad. They don't really care if some kind of species they hardly ever see goes extinct. Because, well, what's in it for them? The ecosystem they see in their daily life is doing well (at least, it appears to be), so why should they have to put effort into protecting something 'useless'? I completely disagree with their opinion because it's based on ignorance. I don't think our civilization will shift to Ecocentrism unless we approach it mostly in an Antropocentric way. Humans are selfish, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. I want to combat the loss of biodiversity and climate change mostly out of selfless reasons, but in an argument I usually bring up selfish reasons. Doing the right thing for the planet makes me feel good. It makes me feel like I'm not a burden on others and it makes me happy. In the end my selflessness is pretty selfish. Therefore I think it would be good to aim these videos at both selfless people as well as selfish people. And the latter one is something I'm missing a little bit. I really want to stress again that this video has been excellent. My comment is rather long and mostly critique, but if I started to explain what I did like about this video then I'd be writing a whole novel. I'll be sure to share this video whenever the conversation arises. Thank you very much for this excellent video!!

[@SoullarSkye]

I agree with you 100%! Sometimes I don't understand how selfish someone can be to not appreciate the world we all live in. It is the ecosystem and the biodiversity that makes this planet beautiful and alive and the destruction of these critical ecosystems lies in a future that quiet frankly don't want to see. A question I often told my parents who didn't really care for the environment at the time was: "What is the value of keeping mosquitoes." They often said there was no value and I feel like most people would agree. However, it is important to think about how mosquitoes play into the survival of other creatures. What about all the dragonflies and frogs who eat the mosquitoes? What about all the animals that eats those? And so on and so forth. The protection of each and every creature to help preserve the biodiversity of that particular ecosystem is what keeps it alive and able to be seen and admired by all who may pass it. Yet I do understand that not everyone would want to save the annoying mosquito, what value would it really have on their life? They will still continue to live and thrive in their own world, while being at a cost of all the other creature they live or did live with. (hopefully with more implementation of environmental science course in schools, students can see the value of this planet that is most often covered up by the concrete of corporations that simply don't care whether a species lives or dies). I suppose all this was more of a vent than anything but hopefully if anyone reads this they learned(or reflected) just a little bit about themselves! Have a nice day ❤🌎

[@AnimilesYT]

@@SoullarSkye I completely agree. Though, you've posed an interesting question about the mosquitoes. I'd cheer if those annoying ****** would disappear, but I don't think I'd be quite as happy with the consequences... (btw, in the beginning you said "selfless" instead of "selfish". I was slightly confused for 2 seconds, so it's not really a problem ;) )

[@jeanfalconer6377]

Hi Hot Mess. Thank you for coming back! I can't wait to see the rest of this series.

[@TweeklyLOVER]

I think it would also be good to mention, that wealth in biodiversity brings a treasure trove of information. For example: By studying a new spiders venom we might find new medication (plants have even more potential). Biomimetics depends on Biodiversity.

[@undecidedcauliflower1719]

"You can't study in isolation," he said it, THE SEMESTER IS OVER!

[@perceivingnature]

Including the human nature to environment is a very complex thing and our interaction within human itself and to the environment. This knowledge by human for human needed the most.

[@akimexgreen5841]

This is a wonderful video, so well explained, I wish all the world was more interested in this things, the care of the environment, we all depend on it because we are part of nature. I will do what I can with in my own means, to help polluting less, and whatever is in my hands I will do it.

[@Ix_ev]

My teacher forced me to watch this, however this is so well done!

[@spazmaster1996]

This is brilliant! So much info packed into a well presented video!

[@VeganSemihCyprus33]

"In this sense, if we define intelligence as creating more intelligence sustained over a time period, we are not that intelligent because we are destroying it in the long-term. The animals who support and improve nature are much more intelligent by this definition of intelligence. Bees, trees, ants, natural forest fires… all living and non-living natural phenomena… except us. Humans have become more like the forest fires of today caused by the climate change (caused by industrial civilization, caused by the corrupt culture); harming more than healing. What the climate change is for forest fires is what the dominant culture is for humans; a push off the rails. Maybe intelligence is not just about asking questions and answering them; rather, it is about being a beneficial part of the nature." - from the book "Life is Cold: The Ultimate Connections and What to Do About Our Future"

[@Kispestilacika]

Missed this channel! Glad you're back!

[@InvokingPeace]

outstanding pictures and clips on top of a such a well done presentation, a shame that this great vid barely gets any views though

[@sanyo_neezy]

Such an interesting video. It actually really relaxes me a lot to listen to you talk about this. That mindset makes it a lot easier to comprehend all of the inputs you give me :)

[@EBJ0]

This is going to be a great series, thank you!

[@BillyLingard]

I'll be an environmental science undergrad in September and have been looking for something like this!

[@MariaTorres-pq6tk]

What a great video! I'm about to graduate with a degree in environmental science!

[@GuitarLegendvideos]

Thank you! Really helpful. Looking forward to the rest of the series. Would also appreciate any tips to helping the environment. Even if they are small things because sometimes the bigger things need to be slowly worked towards, but the small differences are often easier to change faster.. I.e. I need to drive my car to work still, but I cycle to nearby places etc.

[@CBC460]

You can buy a used electric car when you need to drive your car.

[@fuckexrxc]

@@CBC460 Hopefully in time he can do that, but not everyone can just “get another car”

[@gregsimones9295]

0:58 You guys misspelled Environmental. It is an easy one to do typing. I know because I do it all the time.

[@bosshog471]

Great video with good information that I will use in my classroom. One thing I noticed is that you talk about looking at a whitetail deer, but the video clip you used was actually a Mule Deer, just an observation that most will not realize but those who know animals will, it just questions the integrity of the message you are delivering.

[@brendannn]

What a fantastic video!! Deserves way more views

[@Fayzer03]

I learn more from KZbin than schools! I wish Joe was my teacher! 😄

[@mynaaj5220]

thanks this video is so educational and has everything i need for my up coming test .

[@Rosse9611]

This helped me understand so much more about the environment thank you kind sir

[@Nitrality]

I didn’t know you had this channel but it’s correct! It’s ok to be smart!

[@fran6b]

Exactly the type of content I needed ! That's hot, that's hot ! Thank you very much ^^

[@AnimilesYT]

I'm just 8 minutes in the video, but I can already tell that this video (series) will be extremely well done. I have an idea though Please collaborate with people from the community to release this video in many languages. This video should be shown in schools all around the world, but many people don't understand English.

[@epif1]

at least for now, if you go to autotranslate settings you can switch the language of the captions

[@christeperalta2078]

AMAZING!! Key info made simple! Great job

[@antonioporras1606]

BRYAN ULISES PORRAS MARTINEZ. In my opinion, this is a wonderful video, so well explained, I wish everyone was more interested in these things, caring for the environment, we all depend on it because we are part of nature. Including human nature in the environment is something very complex and our interaction within the human being and the environment. This human-for-human knowledge is most needed. I will do what I can with my own means, to help pollute less, and what is in my hands I will do it.

[@stoosies]

I'm so glad you're back!!!

[@jm8837]

Thankyou, this video is exactly my assignment

[@orsettomorbido]

Amazing, absolutely amazing. Thanks for the video.

[@joshuabarboza859]

Thank you for the video. Very informative. Have a great day.

[@Pottery4Life]

8:05 "The oceans are full of fish." oh?

[@baloofilmschannel]

The average human uses around 2 and a half athletics fields to supply all their resources and services. Earth supplies only 1.7 athletics fields. The rest comes from overexploiting nature and running down non renewable resources. Three options to solve it: rich countries reduce unintended pregnancy, rich countries use less stuff, we protect nature much better. Ideally we do all three.

[@betawarier346]

Ah yes my favorite channel has returned.

[@TheDJSleek]

I'd post as many hi's in the comments to boost the algorithm need more eyeballs on this as it needs to be shown in schools too

[@yenicoronado5826]

Love this video! Thank you!

[@m.o.m.basiclifeskills2986]

As a teacher, I am hoping you don't mind that you have just become part of my classroom materials. Thank you!!

[@antzerobooks]

i really wish pbs's say it loud is still producing video now

[@gheim5693]

Great video, I learned a lot of new things! Looking forward to the next one.

[@donyellowens3523]

This awesome man I'd love to educate myself and I need to know more I environment on how do you lies my power like a solar power panels and all that and etc

[@saraimontes5338]

Thank for this! Much better than a whole book 😩😂

[@jackhamson6161]

Great video!

[@TUBE--sh4jn]

Great One 👍👍👍👍

[@marcopohl4875]

Good thing I stayed subscribed

[@beenamanzar7834]

Great knowledge sharing. I'm working in Pakistan as an influencer environmentalist.

[@undecidedcauliflower1719]

Why is it in that order? Is there some scientific reason? CHIPPO sounds like a cooler name.

[@prettysweettraveller2077]

Yes you have done your job and i listened to the video twice

[@kristinedaveagocoy4536]

Thank you! Really helpful.

[@gimanejohnson9051]

Great knowledge..

[@tisharobinson9922]

Great information.

[@benediktwalch1605]

I am looking forward to your next Videos?

[@samanthabailey02]

Thank you!!!

[@Marea_Roja]

Very interesting and informative video. I think much like ecology requires avoiding observations in isolation, we must avoid looking at society's internal relationships in isolation. The environment and ecology both have a relationship with our economic system (capitalism), a very bad inverse relationship, however, where when capital grows the worse the environment is. Capitalism is incapable of reversing climate change

[@JaySmith91]

We need to do more.

[@georginakilburn9924]

This is amazing

[@mojonewslk]

good one

[@virginiapacer5164]

Wow love it Explain clearly❤

[@RM-lu1kx]

What is the effect of chopping down forests, colour of fields? Reflection of snow, ice or water?

[@1sdani]

Question: What is the environment?Answer: The place the oil tanker what the front fell off was towed outside of.

[@maninnerby]

Have you heard of Realfiction holding and their new technology that will revolutionize the way we watch television? in addition to being able to display holographic images, a major upside is that the technology requires 80% less electricity than ordinary displays resulting in huge savings of approximately USD 7.4bN, 1.34% of the electricity production equivalent of 56 TWh of electricity and 25 million tons of CO2 only in the United States.

[@sheliaaustin2800]

Business idea or government forced solution: people bring their own plates and utensils and get a discount on food. The idea is to encourage and perfect the craft of eliminating the production of trash. Government might force the concept providing utensils and renewable plates for customers getting food to go and fast food. Cloth napkins, glass containers provided and brought to a place that masters cleaning the utensils. Expanding... question: what type of material could be specially engineered to ship food to grocery stores with the purpose of eliminating plastic and throw away material such as boxes. Possible problem: companies want to advertise products: possible sollution: product illustration and nutrition facts avaliable on phone. Purpose is to make a system that produces no throw away trash. -Casey Casper I'm interested in communicating with people in office to try out different ideas for a new consumer system.

[@OneHappyBadger]

I've only just started looking into environmental science and I'm not much a of a science person myself so can I ask, where it says ecocentrism ascribes vaule to human life does that mean, ecocentrism is the question of how human life affecting the environment negatively and positively? I find it a little confusing

[@aashishbk887]

Wow amazing

[@MasterCorneilous]

I would say I'm watching this for school but I just decided just to watch it for fun

[@lormingobris169]

Thanks to this video.

[@katerogers8260]

Hi Hank!!

[@ashleyterrell7132]

Easy Lea Rning Irst de

[@k1dicarus]

Hi Joe

[@masterdemon21]

bleaching corals is such a problem, it has it's own pokemon

[@minecraftingelliot]

Did this series ever get published?

[@phucaonguyenhong6275]

So what does the P for Population Growth means?

[@u.j4515]

We depend on the the Creator of us and this amazing universe, thanks to the Creator,

[@uzmaali6345]

I peed my pants a little out of excitement for the series.

[@jazergarcia5926]

thank you

[@yashdrall6717]

I want to be an environmental scientist . How can I become one?

[@user-vu7mh2uz8s]

اللهم صلي وسلم على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين وسلم تسليما كثيرا إلى بالتوفيق والنجاح الدائم يارب

[@qui-gonjinn471]

Cool

[@LateNightHacks]

This should be basic common knowledge

[@mohammedsaquibkhan2592]

Ecology in a nutshell

[@Jarif_Official_Times]

Essentials of Environmental Science

[@shambosaha9727]

hi You asked us to say hi.

[@lewys9204]

Recently qualified with a degree in enviromental science and been offered some jobs in tbe u.k. which is where I'm living. The wage is £25.000-£35.000. Minimum wage is £18.000 in u.k. per year.. it's okay but ove got some friends whom went I to nursing and there on £29.500 starting and £45.000 management.. meh

[@MJ-mg6jy]

Contrast observation, invasion, and QuickTake…

[@whatabouttheearth]

I hate how this feels like Scishow (Crash Course) and many others

[@ntshedisengtshidi3319]

🙏

[@ethanroberson3141]

Hi

[@kushagraparolia1083]

Because it's good for the algorithm...Hi!

[@virginia1852]

When will humans reach a carrying capacity?

[@virginia1852]

Carrying capacity was briefly mentioned in the video. I've looked into this and apparently in ecology it means "the number of people, animals, or crops which a region can support without environmental degradation". That answers my question - we humans have reached it.

[@waynebollman]

My understanding is that we reached carrying capacity several decades ago and now we need 2.5 planet Earths in order to sustain us in our current form. This is why some scientist are predicting that we are not far from systemic, exponential, cascading eco-collapse that will result in a 6th mass extinction..... caused by humans.

[@gianc.2559]

Our lil baby's steps in saving the health ok ? We just figured out that smoking is damaging our health , after years of battles in courts in some nations now we get on every packet pictures and written warnings on what it does to our human body we all agree that information is and can be helpful but I still haven't seen in every car , lorry , airplane , ship the same warning signs that says yest I will take you anywhere and by doing so I make you a partner in crime , are we going to have other court cases one day where perhaps one only human still around and has survived it ? who will be the judge and jury ? We really need to work on & on & on to better our lil understanding ?

[@IJSena]

Siapa yg disuruh merangkum video ini angkat tangan

[@user-nf3oq3nk9s]

I found Waldo!

[@kayakMike1000]

What if your models make predictions that aren't observed in reality. Where is the model in the scientific process? Is it hypothesis or experiment?

[@katreenathompson9590]

um yeah

[@urmom5851]

I'm here because of moral class

[@AlejandroFredes]

You're wrong. The two most intelligent species on the planet are lab rats and dolphins, humans came third

[@a.randomjack6661]

42 :-)

[@MortyMortyMorty]

ok boomer

[@AlejandroFredes]

@@a.randomjack6661 you know THE answer!

[@Tropicalhousevibes]

Lol

[@cjay5877]

If we depend on our environment why are we distroying it

[@kellkenyon406]

Humans are not tree hugging elves and dryads.