Chapter Outline

Personal and Social Perspectives

Science influences the way we live, both personally and socially:

• Our personal lives are affected by advances in medical knowledge and by advances in consumer products.
• Our social lives are affected by the impact that science and technology have on our communities.

Personal and Community Health

Diseases are conditions that adversely affect living organisms:

• Infectious diseases—diseases that can spread from one organism to another
• Noninfectious diseases—diseases that cannot be spread from one organism to another
• Age-related diseases—noninfectious diseases that are more likely to appear as organisms age
• Hereditary diseases—diseases in humans that are caused by inherited genetic disorders
• Environmental diseases—diseases caused by adverse environmental conditions

There are three main ways in which the human body fights disease:

• Immune system—a body system composed of molecules, cells, and organs working together to defend the body against bacteria, viruses, and harmful fungi
• Medical defenses—a vast array of protective measures involving the use of prescribed medicines and medical procedures
• Public health—the prevention of the occurrence and spread of disease through public health education

Natural Resources

Natural resources are used in support of human life, either directly or in the production of consumer products.

• Renewable resources—resources that can be used and then replaced over a relatively short period of time.
• Nonrenewable resources—resources that are in limited supply.

The following methods are being used to ensure that resources are used wisely and are not needlessly wasted:

• Conservation—the controlled use and preservation of natural resources, often resulting in the use of fewer resources and in the creation of less waste and fewer pollutants
• Recycling—the reusing of the materials that make up consumer products
• Protecting biodiversity—protecting the health of an environment by protecting the growth of a wide variety of species of plants and animals
• Preventing extinction—regulating, or preventing, the hunting of animals that are in danger of becoming extinct

Population Growth

Consequences of a large population:

• Unchecked population growth in underdeveloped countries can lead to food shortage, hunger, epidemic disease, overcrowding, and increased crime.
• In developed countries, large populations often result in high levels of air and water pollution, large amounts of trash, and dangerous levels of traffic, noise pollution, and crowding.

Controlling population growth:

• Science and technology have already done their part, providing many types of safe, reliable family planning measures. These include methods of pregnancy prevention and pregnancy termination.
• In underdeveloped countries, population control must first start with education and social policy.
• In developed countries, population control often depends on the interrelationship of social policy, religious beliefs, and politics.

Environmental Quality

Several environmental concerns are listed below:

• Air pollution—the presence of contaminants in the air
• Water pollution—the presence of contaminants in drinking water and in lakes, rivers, and oceans
• Soil pollution—the presence of contaminants in soil
• Solid waste disposal—the ways in which solid waste products are disposed
• Hazardous waste disposal—the disposal of industrial chemical wastes and the safe storage of radioactive waste

The Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming

• The greenhouse effect is the name given to the insulating and warming effect of Earth's atmosphere.
• Global warming—the overheating of Earth’s surface—is a possible consequence of air pollution.
• There are many negative consequences of global warming including the possible melting of the polar ice caps and the alteration of rainfall patterns.