9781422282922

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S T E M I N C U R R E N T E V E N T S

INTRODUCTION Our Challenge

H umanity today faces many envi- ronmental challenges. Climate change, pollution, the limits of fossil fuels and other natural resources, overpopulation, food shortages, ex- cessive carbon emissions…the list goes on.The threats these issues pose to our species and the world at large can be daunting to think about,much less find solutions for. Yet if we are to ensure the health of the planet for future generations, we have no other choice. Environmental scientists are on the front lines of this battle. They may study forests, mountains, ani- mals, oceans, weather patterns, or any of the whole host of things and processes that make up our natural surroundings. But no matter their focus, they all have one thing in com- mon: discovering ways to protect our environment.Through their work and research, they show us that we are not separate from nature, but rather a part of it, and that we must learn to treat it as an extension of ourselves.

Thefieldof environmental science uses all the elements of STEM: “hard sciences” such as chemistry, geology, and biology to examine the physical world andmake connections between its elements; technological advances in computer science, digital mapping, genetics,and other areas;engineering principles to build better, more effi- cient ways of generating, storing, and reusing energy;and all sorts ofmath— from advanced algebra to geometry to statistics—to tie experimental data together and quantify changes in the environment. Throughout this book, we’ll see howenvironmental scientists are em- ploying these and other principles to improve our understanding of the world. We’ll follow soil scientists as theyuse synchrotron technology—like anX-ray,but for tiny particles—to test the effects of different fertilizers, and watch other scientists use genetics to create new breeds of trees that resist disease.We’ll check out cutting-edge experiments with “clean fuels” and