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8/30/13
ON THE ROAD TO COLLAPSE
What lessons can we learn from a vanished Viking society?
Case
Study – Viking Se�lers in Greenland
History – Viking se�lers from Norway established camps and eventually villages in Greenland.
They relocated their old way of life to a new land that could not support their agricultural methods.
Over a rela�vely short period of �me, the Vikings died out, leaving their story for archeologists only in trash heaps.
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TERMS
TO KNOW: Environment Environmental science
Environmental science is all encompassing
Environmental
Science is all encompassing
We are more likely to see conflict in societal or poli�cal terms rather than with the natural environment.
The interdisciplinary play between natural and applied sciences allows us to have a be�er understanding of our rela�onship with and ul�mate dependence on the resources of the planet.
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Lecture_04 -‐ Environmental Literacy (09-‐02)
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8/30/13
Environmental science is all encompassing
Scien�fic
inves�ga�on uses a systema�c approach that begins with observa�ons and the ques�ons those observa�ons generate.
We can use what we learn about one series of observa�ons and experiments to inform our ac�ons and generate change in many other situa�ons.
Because environmental problems are o�en far more complicated than they appear, our ability to understand the natural world and accept the trade-‐offs that come with our decisions is needed to ensure our own survival.
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The Greenland Vikings’ demise was caused by natural events and human choices
Evidence
of the Vikings’ rela�onship with the land comes from the trash they le� behind and also from atmospheric par�cles trapped by the ice sheets.
Falling snow absorbs par�cles from the atmosphere. When it compacts and freezes into ice, those par�cles are preserved, stra�fied, and leave a perfect sample of the atmosphere over �me.
TERMS TO KNOW: Empirical science Applied science Environmental literacy Trade-‐offs Triple bo�om line
Analysis of the layers over �me showed changes in the atmosphere over the �me Vikings were se�ling Greenland.
This period of a mini ice age coupled with self-‐inflicted environmental damage was inconsistent with survival.
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Lecture_04 -‐ Environmental Literacy (09-‐02)
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8/30/13
The Greenland Vikings’ demise was caused by natural events and human choices
In
addi�on to the ice cores, scien�sts