The AP Environmental Science course is designed to be the equivalent of a one semester introductory college course in environmental science.  The course focuses on providing students with the scientific theories, models, and techniques that will allow them to analyze local, regional and global environmental issues. A strong emphasis is placed on science, stewardship and sustainability. Students will utilize critical, creative, logical and reflective thinking to study and evaluate natural and human induced environmental problems. The course requires an interdisciplinary view that ranges across the social sciences, ethics, politics and many scientific fields. The main goal of the course is to provide students with a solid scientific foundation that will allow them to make informed environmental decisions.  There are several major unifying themes across the content of AP environmental science that provide a framework for the course.  

• Science is a process

  • Science is a method of learning more about the world

  • Science constantly changes the way we understand the world

• Energy conversions underlie all ecological processes

  • Energy cannot be created; it must come from somewhere

  • As energy flows through systems, at each step it becomes more unusable.

• The Earth itself is one interconnected system

  • Natural systems change over time and space

  • Biogeochemical systems vary in ability to recover from disturbances

• Humans alter natural systems

  • Humans have had an impact on the environment for millions of years

  • Technology and population growth have enabled humans to increase both the rate and scale of their impact on the environment

• Environmental problems have both a cultural and social context

  • Understanding the role of cultural, social, and economic factors is vital to the development of solutions

• Human survival depends on developing practices that will achieve sustainable systems

  • A suitable combination of conservation and development is required

  • Management of common resources is essential

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