Sustainability and Resources Notes #46 I can: Understand how people affect their environment

Human Impact on the Environment Human activities can affect the quality and supply of renewable resources such as land, forests, fisheries, air, and freshwater.

Sustainable Development Sustainable development is a way of using natural resources: without depleting them (using them up) to provide for human needs without causing long-term environmental harm

Challenges A major challenge of sustainable development is balancing the protection of ecosystems with the protection of human economic systems.

Sustainability Sustainable = can happen for a long time without running out and without problems

Example: Wind Energy The wind carries energy, and turbines (like windmills) can capture it, so that we can turn it into electricity and power. The wind will never run out and wind power does not pollute the environment. Wind power is expensive so it only provides 0.1% of our power.

Not Sustainable Not sustainable = will run out or cause problems to use

Example: Burning Fossil Fuels Fossil fuels = oil, coal and natural gas 85% of our energy comes from burning fossil fuels We only have a certain amount of fossil fuels so we will run out Burning fossil fuels pollutes our environment and causes global warming

Acid Rain Acid rain is caused by burning fossil fuels. air pollutants mix with rain, making it acidic acid rain can build up in lakes, streams and ponds and can kill off wildlife, like fish

Acid Rain The scale to measure acidity ranges from 1 to 14, where a lower pH is acidic, and a higher pH is alkaline; a neutral pH is 7.

Deforestation de = down, away forest = trees Deforestation = cutting down trees Deforestation can have many negative impacts

Deforestation Deforestation can exacerbate climate change. trees do photosynthesis to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere when we cut down trees, there is more carbon dioxide and climate change is worse

Deforestation  Habitat Destruction Trees give homes (habitats) to animals. When we cut them down, the animals lose their homes and die. animals can become extinct if their habitat is taken away

Impact of Deforestation If the grass was taken away, what would happen to the deer population? What would happen to the mountain lions?

Impact of Deforestation If the grass was taken away, what would happen to the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?

How do you think human actions might reduce biodiversity? bio = life diversity = different kinds Biodiversity = different kinds of life (number of different species) When human actions cause species to die we lose biodiversity. How do you think human actions might reduce biodiversity?

Invasive (Non-Native) Species Non-native = doesn’t normally live in an area non-native species have no predators, so their populations will keep increasing when we introduce non-native species, they can take over an ecosystem and kill the other species

Bioaccumulation Pesticides are substances that kill insects. pest = something annoying (like an insect) -icide = kill Example: DDT

Bioaccumulation Pesticides can be absorbed into organisms’ bodies. Pesticides are passed on when organisms eat each other. bio = life accumulate = build up bioaccumulation = pesticides build up in organisms’ bodies the most pesticide accumulates in the highest trophic levels

Human Impact Stations Each station has a brief article about human impact on the environment As a group, you will read the article and answer the corresponding questions