Human Impact on the Environment

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Human Impact onthe Environment
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• Term used to refer to a species that has died out

extinct
If a pesticide was passing through this food
chain, which organism would have the greatest
concentration of pesticide?
Bird at the top trophic level
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• A necessity of life (resource) which can NOT be
  replenished by natural means
• Ex fossil fuels

Non-renewable resource
Wearing away of the surface soil by water and
wind
erosion
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• Farming strategy in which large fields are
  planted with a single crop variety year after year

monoculture
a necessity of life (resource) which can
regenerate quickly and that is replaceable
Ex trees, water
Renewable resource
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• Increasing concentration a harmfulsubstance
  in organisms at higher trophic levels in a food
  chain or web
• Name the pesticide that
• concentrated in fish-eating
• birds like eagles and
• caused them to lay eggs
• with fragile shells

Biological magnification
DDT
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A mixture of chemicals (smoke fog) that
occurs as a gray-brown haze in the atmosphere
smog
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• Harmful material that can enter the biosphere
  through land, water, or air

pollutant
the sum total of the variety of organisms in the
biosphere It is a measure of the health of an
ecosystem
biodiversity
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• term used to refer to a species that is at risk
  of becoming endangered

threatened
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• a species whose population size is rapidly
  declining and will become extinct if the trend
  continues without intervention

endangered
increasing concentration a harmful substance in
organisms at higher trophic levels in a food
chain or web
Biological magnification
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• Plants or animals that have migrated or been
  introduced into places where they are not native
  and for which there are no natural predators or
  parasites to control their population

Invasive species
The wise management of natural resources,
including the preservation of habitats and
wildlife
conservation
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Atmospheric layer in which ozone (03) gas is
relatively concentrated which protects us from
the suns ultra-violet radiation
Ozone layer
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• Rain containing nitric and sulfuric acids caused
  by burning fossil fuels

Acid rain
Increase in the average temperatures of the Earth
Global warming
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• Fuels such as oil, coal, or natural gas produced
  by the decay of dead organic matter that cause
  many environmental problems such as global
  warming and acid rain

Fossil fuels
Illegal hunting of animals
poaching
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• Zebra mussels and leafy spurge in South Dakota
  and rabbits in Australia are examples of what
  environmental problem

Invasive species
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• Governmental body whose job it is to monitor and
  enforce environmental regulations, provide
  education on environmental issues, conduct
  environmental research, and provide funding for
  environmental programs

Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)
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the scientific study of interactions among
organisms and between organisms and their
environment
ecology
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• All the organisms that live in a place together
  with their nonliving or physical environment

ecosystem
an immediate increase in the amount of algae and
other producers that results from the addition
of a large amount of limiting nutrient
Algal bloom
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• Name an environmental problem caused by burning
  fossil fuels

Acid rain Global warming Air pollution/smogHabita
t destruction
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• Healthy ecosystems have a
• ________ level of biodiversity.
• low high

high
Tell something humans do that endangers species
and reduces biodiversity
Over hunting, poaching, habitat destruction,
habitat fragmentation, industrial growth, ag
runoff, burning fossil fuels (leads to global
warming acid rain) CFCs, deforestation, air
water pollution. . . .
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• During the late 1950s-early 1960s people living
• near Minamata Bay, Japan became ill with a
• crippling neurological disease, later discovered
• to be caused by mercury being dumped into the
• ecosystem there. The toxin passed along the
• food chain and people became ill from eating fish
• caught in the bay.
• This is an example of which concept you learned
• about?

Biological magnification Pollutant
s concentrate in the highest trophic levels (in
this case humans)
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• Tell something we can do to help reduce global
  warming

Reduce use of fossil fuels (anything that uses
less electricity or less water would help) Drive
less increase fuel efficiency on
cars National energy policy that emphasizes
and encourages use of alternative
energy Recycle Reduce deforestation
there are more. . .
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• How does deforestation impact global warming?

Trees remove CO2 from atmosphereduring
photosynthesis fewer trees means less CO2 is
removed more global warming
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• Name 3 goods and services provided to humans by
  the biosphere

Solar energy Oxygen productionNutrient
storage/cycling Climate regulationfood
productionHuman/industrial waste
detoxificationNatural pest/disease
control Source of new medicines Source of raw
materials for building stuffAir/water
purificationerosion/runoff management . . . .
there are more
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• What does EPA stand for?

Environmental Protection Agency
Which of the following are caused byburning
fossil fuels? acid rain global warming
ozone depletion smog
All EXCEPT ozone depletion are caused by
burning fossil fuels