Effect of human activities on the ecosystem

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Effect of human activities on the ecosystem
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What is ecology?

• . The science of the relationships between
  organisms and their environments. Also
  called bionomics.
• . The relationship between organisms and their
  environment.
• . The branch of sociology that is concerned with
  studying the relationships between human groups
  and their physical and social environments. Also
  called ecology.
• . The study of the detrimental effects of modern
  civilization on the environment, with a view
  toward prevention or reversal through
  conservation. Also called ecology.

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Deforestation

• What are the Causes of Deforestation?The
  destruction of the forests is occurring due to
  various reasons, one of the main reasons being
  the short term economic benefits. Given below are
  some more common causes of deforestationUsed
  for Urban and Construction Purposes The cutting
  down of trees for lumber that is used for
  building materials, furniture, and paper
  products. Forests are also cleared in order to
  accommodate expanding urban areas.To Grow
  Crops Forests are also cut down in order to
  clear land for growing crops.To Create Grazing
  Land Forests are cut down in order create land
  for grazing cattle.Used for Fuel Trees are cut
  down in developing countries to be used as
  firewood or turned into charcoal, which are used
  for cooking and heating purposes.Some of the
  other causes of deforestation are clearing
  forests for oil and mining exploitation to make
  highways and roads slash and burn farming
  techniques wildfires and acid rain.

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What are the Effects of Deforestation?

• There are a number of adverse effects of
  deforestation, such asErosion of Soil When
  forest areas are cleared, it results in exposing
  the soil to the sun, making it very dry and
  eventually, infertile, due to volatile nutrients
  such as nitrogen being lost. In addition, when
  there is rainfall, it washes away the rest of the
  nutrients, which flow with the rainwater into
  waterways. Because of this, merely replanting
  trees may not help in solving the problems caused
  by deforestation, for by the time the trees
  mature, the soil will be totally devoid of
  essential nutrients. Ultimately, cultivation in
  this land will also become impossible, resulting
  in the land becoming useless. Large tracts of
  land will be rendered permanently impoverished
  due to soil erosion.Disruption of the Water
  Cycle Trees contribute in a large way in
  maintaining the water cycle. They draw up water
  via their roots, which is then released into the
  atmosphere. A large part of the water that
  circulates in the ecosystem of rainforests, for
  instance, remains inside the plants. When these
  trees are cut down it results in the climate
  getting drier in that area.

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What are the Effects of Deforestation?

• Loss of Biodiversity The unique biodiversity of
  various geographical areas is being lost on a
  scale that is quite unprecedented. Even though
  tropical rainforests make up just 6 percent of
  the surface area of the Earth, about 80-90
  percent of the entire species of the world exist
  here. Due to massive deforestation, about 50 to
  100 species of animals are being lost each day.
  The outcome of which is the extinction of animals
  and plants on a massive scale. Flooding and
  Drought One of the vital functions of forests is
  to absorb and store great amounts of water
  quickly when there are heavy rains. When forests
  are cut down, this regulation of the flow of
  water is disrupted, which leads to alternating
  periods of flood and then drought in the affected
  area.Climate Change It is well known that
  global warming is being caused largely due to
  emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide
  into the atmosphere. However, what is not known
  quite as well is that deforestation has a
  direction association with carbon dioxide
  emissions into the atmosphere. Trees act as a
  major storage depot for carbon, since they absorb
  carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which is then
  used to produce carbohydrates, fats, and proteins
  that make up trees. When deforestation occurs,
  many of the trees are burnt or they are allowed
  to rot, which results in releasing the carbon
  that is stored in them as carbon dioxide. This,
  in turn, leads to greater concentrations of
  carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

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Pollution

• Air pollution
• Water pollution
• Land pollution
• Noise pollution

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Air pollutants

• Air Pollutants
• Sulfur dioxide
• Nitrogen oxides
• Ammonia
• Carbon monoxide
• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
• Ozone
• Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
• Airborne particles
• Toxic metals
• Radioactive pollutants

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Causes of air pollution

• here are several main causes of air pollution,
  the vast majority of them can be attributed to
  man. This article will give you a definition of
  air pollution and list some of the top causes and
  how each one contributes to the contamination in
  the atmosphere.
• Air pollution is the introduction into the
  atmosphere of chemicals, particulates, and
  biological matter that cause harm to humans,
  other living organisms, or cause damage to the
  natural environment. Stratospheric ozone
  depletion (contributed to air pollution) has long
  been recognized as a threat to human health as
  well as to the Earths ecosystems. The Earth is
  capable of cleaning itself of a certain level of
  pollution, but man-made pollutant have become too
  numerous for the Earths natural mechanisms to
  remove. We are seeing the results of this
  overload in the form of acid rain, smog, and the
  variety of health problems that can be
  contributed to our environment.
• One of the main causes of air pollution is
  manufacturing. This source of pollution spews
  particulate matter and chemicals into the
  atmosphere. The exhaust from a factory includes,
  sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide
  and dioxide, as well as volatile organic
  compounds and particulates. There is not an area
  of the Earths atmosphere or an ecosystem that
  has not been altered by the long term effects of
  the pollution created by manufacturing. Strides
  have been made to filter the material coming from
  manufacturing plants, but it may take the Earth
  millenia to completely recover from the damage
  already done.

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Causes of air pollution

• As the list of causes of air pollution goes this
  next offender is number one. The burning of
  fossil fuels is a part of the everyday life of
  every human on the planet. We burn fossil fuels
  in our cars, fossil fuel is burned to extract
  fossil fuel from the Earth, and fossil fuel is
  used to process fossil fuel into its individual
  components. Every step of the way releases sulfur
  and nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, heavy
  metals, and particulates into the air. Each step
  in the process increases the number of asthma
  cases in the world, raises a persons chance of
  having cancer, and increases the chance that your
  child will be born with congenital defects.
• The Earth itself contributes to air pollution
  through volcanic eruptions, wildfires, and other
  natural process, but it is capable of recovering
  from those sources. As humans continue to
  industrialize with a dependence on fossil fuels,
  we continue to put our planets future in
  jeopardy and shorten the longevity of our species.

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ways of reducing air pollution

• Smog alerts are becoming a regular feature of
  life in the city. But you can be part of the
  solution even small changes in your daily
  routine can help us all breathe easier this
  summer. 1. Get a summer tune-up"The biggest
  source of polluting emissions in Canada is
  passenger road transportation. It's 49.9 per
  cent," says Chris Wolnik, Executive Director of
  Sarnia's Canadian Centre for Pollution
  Prevention. One way to cut pollutants is to keep
  your vehicle maintained year-round Ontario's
  compulsory Drive Clean program has reduced
  emissions in the Toronto area by 15.
• 2. Don't idleDo you keep the car running while
  dashing into the store for milk? "Even that 30
  seconds makes a difference," says Wolnik. "If you
  accumulate that for everyone, that's huge." For
  example, if citizens of my own community, Whitby,
  Ontario, idled our cars 5 minutes less every day,
  we could make a cumulative annual CO2 reduction
  of 4,209 tonnes -- and save 1.3 million in gas.
• 3. Review your driving habitsAggressive driving
  -- hard braking and sudden acceleration -- eats
  up fuel. Owners of manual transmission vehicles
  should also not be driving in a too-low gear.
• 4. Think aerodynamicIncreased air drag on your
  car causes the engine to burn more fuel.
  According to Environment PAKISTAN, simply keeping
  your tires properly inflated can reduce vehicle
  emissions by 5 per cent. You can also make a
  difference by emptying the trunk and removing
  roof racks when they're not being used.

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Causes of Water pollution

• There are many causes of water pollution. Water
  pollution come from two different types of
  sources.
• 1) Pollutants being emitted directly into a water
  body results in a point source, such as a pipe
  from an industrial facility leaking toxics
  directly into the water.
• 2) Pollutants being indirectly transported to the
  water such as run off from fertilizers flowing in
  to a larger body of water by rain results in a
  type of pollution called non point source.
• Pesticides are one of the most common causes of
  water pollution. Pesticides from farms and
  individual home owners run off into streams and
  rivers. Then on it gets absorbed into the ground
  water polluting the water that people drink and
  causing trouble with the fish in the rivers where
  the pesticides run off.
• One more cause of water pollution are fertilizers
  and nutrient pollution. Some of the pollutants
  that are most prevalent in the manure, sewage and
  chemical fertilizers are Nitrates and phosphates.
  These pollutants run into the streams and rivers
  causing excessive growth in aquatic plants and
  algae leading to clogged waterways and dead zones.

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Ways to reduce water pollution

• Sweep grass and dirt off your driveway and back
  onto the lawn.
• Never dump anything down the storm drains in the
  street or in roadside ditches. That includes
  fertilizer because it causes algae to grow. Algae
  can form large blooms that are unattractive and
  use oxygen that the fish need to survive.
  Anything that goes into a storm drain flows
  directly to a waterway, not a treatment plant
• Pick up your pets waste and throw it in the
  trash.
• Correctly dispose of household waste so they
  dont pollute our oceans, rivers, lakes, and
  streams. Household hazardous waste like batteries
  and nail polish should not go into the trash.
  They should go to a household hazardous waste
  facility. Also, one gallon of motor oil can
  contaminate two million gallons of water.
• Wash your familys car away from the storm drain
  to keep dirty, soapy water from getting into the
  street. If possible, wash your car on the lawn.
  Another good idea is to take your car to the car
  wash where the dirty water is sent to the
  sanitary treatment system.
• Leave grass clippings on the lawn, it actually
  helps the lawn. Also, mow on a higher setting
• Make sure that you only water your grass, not the
  street, sidewalk, or driveway.
• Recycle.
• Save water whenever you can. For example take
  short showers, and do not leave water running
  when you are brushing your teeth.
• Dont pollute. Place trash in the trash can

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Conservation

• the act of conserving  prevention of injury, deca
  y, waste, or loss preservation conservation of w
  ildlife conservation of human rights.
• 2.official supervision of rivers, forests, and oth
  er natural resources in order to preserve and prot
  ect them through prudent management.
• 3.a district, river, forest, etc., under such supe
  rvision.
• 4.the careful utilization of a natural
  resource in order to prevent depletion.

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Why do we need Conservation

• Most people are too busy with their own little
  lives to realize what is going on in the
  environment and eco system and it's important we
  look up information on the Internet to be aware
  of what we should fight for as far as clean air
  and keeping our forests and animal life safe and
  healthy. Nature is a delicate balance and
  everything has a use to keep that
  balance. Because of poor air quality in many
  cities in the world there are more cases of
  asthma, allergies and much worse diseases. If we
  don't keep enough trees our air will never be
  clean because trees filter out the pollutants in
  the air. They provide shade from the sun and food
  for animals. If we don't protect one specie of
  animals or mammals then the whole chain of events
  is unleashed. Trees help in maintaining the
  co2 level of atmosphere as they observe co2 and
  give out oxygen. Wildlife is an important thing
  in this world. It helps in maintaining the
  ecoligical balance,economical value and aesthetic
  or recreational value. Wild animals are
  dependent on forests as their home. In the 20th
  century the conservation of forest was realized
  by 2 developments. We need to conserve forest for
  protecting the animals too. We need to increase
  the area of forest, we need to stop cutting of
  trees. Establish a wide corridor in reserved
  forest and energy use. Thus by conserving
  forests we can able to protect wild animals.

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Land pollutants

• Soil Pollutants (Contaminants) (2)
• Hydrocarbons
• Solvents
• Pesticides
• Lead and other heavy metals

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recycling

• Recycling is the conversion of waste products
  into new materials, such as waste paper which
   can be converted into new paper goods.
   Recycling is a lengthy circular process which
  has to include transportation of collected
  materials to a processing facility where they are
  cleaned and sorted.  The new materials that have
  been converted must comply with the same safety
  legislation and health and hygiene regulations as
  products made from virgin materials.  We can only
  say a product has been recycled when it has been
  purchased and used again.

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Why Is Recycling Important?

• Some benefits include saving energy, saving land
  space, saving money, creating new jobs, reducing
  air and water pollution and preserving habitat
  for wildlife. Thats why recycling is important
  and you should take a closer look at your life
  and how your recycle materials used in your daily
  life. 

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Saves Energy

• It takes less energy to process recycled
  materials than it does to use virgin materials.
  For example, it takes less energy to recycle
  paper from waste material than it does to create
  paper from new woodland, because there is no
  longer a need to cut down a new tree, process the
  wood from the tree and make it into paper.

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Air Pollution and Water Pollution

• Decomposing waste often release noxious gases and
  chemicals as it decomposes at landfill sites.
  These gas and chemicals create air pollution Air
  pollution is exactly what it sounds like,
  polluted air. When the chemicals leach into the
  groundwater this creates water pollution and our
  water is contaminated.
• In 2000, recycling of solid waste prevented the
  release of 32.9 million metric tons of carbon
  equivalent (MMTCE, the unit of measure for
  greenhouse gases) into the air.