Humans and the Environment | Essentials of Environmental Science

↓ More info and sources below ↓

Welcome to our new special series about the essentials of environmental science
More info below…

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
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 YouTube Learning Playlist we're releasing to help you learn about the essentials of environmental science. Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks!

[garth]

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

[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!!

[bluejay]

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

[maryamabu-shukur]

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

[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.

[gregsimones]

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

[undecidedcauliflower]

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

[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.

[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.

[MariaTorres-pqtk]

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

[spazmaster]

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

[Ix_ev]

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

[BillyLingard]

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

[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.

[jeanfalconer]

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

[antonioporras]

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.

[akimexgreen]

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.

[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

[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