1. How is North Carolina affected by human activity?
Human Impact
How is North Carolina affected by human activity?

2. Global Warming
Cause: excessive greenhouse gases such as CO2 and CH4 in the atmosphere trap heat, leading to an abnormal increase in earth’s surface temperature

3. Global Warming
CO2 comes from burning fossil fuels in power plants, factories, and cars.
CH4 comes from bacteria in landfills and cow farts.

4. Global Warming
Effects: with just a small increase in temperature, such as 2-4 degrees Celsius, weather patterns change worldwide.

5. Global Warming
Polar ice caps may melt and thermal expansion occurs, flooding coastal cities and contaminating drinking water with saltwater.

6. Beach erosion in North Carolina
Sea level is directly related to global climate.
In North Carolina, the sea level increase is twice the global average.

7. Beach erosion in North Carolina
Rising sea levels lead to beach erosion.
Severe storms also increase erosion.
The incidence of severe storms is increasing as a result of global climate change.

8. Beach erosion in North Carolina
Coastal residents attempts to prevent beach erosion to protect property, leading to negative environmental consequences to ocean ecosystems.

9. Fill It In …
Global Warming:
Cause -
Effect -
NC Example -

10. Acid Precipitation
Cause: harmful emissions from cars and factories, especially nitrous oxide and sulfur oxide, react with oxygen and water to make precipitation more acidic - with a pH less than 5.6

11. Acid Precipitation
Effect: a lowered pH disrupts aquatic ecosystems, makes soil less fertile, harms plant life, and damages human property.

12. Acid precipitation in North Carolina Mountains
Red spruce and Frasier fir trees in the mountains are dying as a result of acid precipitation, damaging the ecosystem

13. Acid precipitation in North Carolina Mountains
The mountains are greatly impacted by acid precipitation caused largely by pollutants from Tennessee.
The soil has a low buffering capacity and acid fog continuously surrounds the trees making the damage more profound.

14. Fill It In …
Acid Precipitation:
Cause -
Effect -
NC Example -

15. Water Quality
Cause: sources of water pollution often being on land, such as oil from cars, sediments from naked land, and fertilizers from lawns.
Other sources include illegal chemical dumping, acid rain, overheated water from power plants, and raw sewage.

16. Water Quality
Effects: a lack of clean drinking water is a leading cause of disease (such as cholera, dysentery, typhoid).
Water pollution also affects many ecosystems through habitat destruction

17. Waste lagoons on North Carolina Hog Farms
There are approximately 7 million hogs on industrial farms in NC, most in eastern NC, which is a flood-prone coastal plain.

18. Waste lagoons on North Carolina Hog Farms
Industrial farms raise thousands of animals in small space, producing TONS of waste.
The waste is stored in lagoons, but may run-off, leak, or spill into surface water with rainfall.

19. Waste lagoons on North Carolina Hog Farms
The sewage in the surface water leads to high levels of disease-causing bacteria such as E.coli, oxygen-depleting organic matter, and hormones/antibiotics used in feed.

20. Waste lagoons on North Carolina Hog Farms
Also, nitrogen run-off from the waste may contribute to outbreaks of Pfisteria, a single-celled alga that produces a deadly neurotoxin.
Massive fish kills have resulted, along with health problems in fishermen and other exposed.

21. Fill It In …
Water Quality:
Cause -
Effect -
NC Example -

22. Check Yourself! What are the two main greenhouse gases?
What two pollutants are responsible for acid precipitation?
What part of the water cycle carries land pollution to the water?

23. Check Yourself!
What are the two main greenhouse gases? CO2 AND CH4 (CARBON DIOXIDE & METHANE)
What two pollutants are responsible for acid precipitation?
What part of the water cycle carries land pollution to the water?

24. Check Yourself!
What are the two main greenhouse gases? CO2 AND CH4 (CARBON DIOXIDE & METHANE)
What two pollutants are responsible for acid precipitation? NITROUS OXIDE & SULFUR OXIDE
What part of the water cycle carries land pollution to the water?

25. Check Yourself!
What are the two main greenhouse gases? CO2 AND CH4 (CARBON DIOXIDE & METHANE)
What two pollutants are responsible for acid precipitation? NITROUS OXIDE & SULFUR OXIDE
What part of the water cycle carries land pollution to the water? RUN-OFF

26. How do humans negatively impact other species?
Biodiversity - the number of different species of organisms that exist within an area and the genetic diversity within each species.

27. Fill It In …
Word Help:
Bio -
Diversity -

28. Causes of biodiversity loss:
Habitat Destruction such as deforestation, fragmentation, and pollution of aquatic ecosystems leads to loss of biodiversity.
In NC, urban development in the Piedmont has led to biodiversity loss due to:

29. Causes of biodiversity loss:
Forests are fragmented - breaking up a large forested area into smaller zones due to construction

30. Causes of biodiversity loss:
Clearing land for development leads to soil erosion which ultimately leads to water pollution

31. Causes of biodiversity loss:
An increase in impervious surfaces such as asphalt and concrete lead to increased water run-off and pollution

32. Fill It In …
Loss of Biodiversity:
Cause -
Effect -
NC Example -

33. Causes of biodiversity loss:
Introduction of non-native species, “invasive species”
Kudzu, aka “the Vine that ate the South”

34. Causes of biodiversity loss:
Kudzu vines are native to Japan.
The vines were brought to the US during the Great Depression to plant in order to stabilize hillsides, minimizing erosion.

35. Causes of biodiversity loss:
Kudzu vines have no natural predators in the U.S.
The vines can grow up to 1 foot per day in our climate.

36. Causes of biodiversity loss:
Excessive growth has engulfed forests, outcompeting native species for sunlight and soil nutrients, leading to loss of native biodiversity.

37. Causes of biodiversity loss:
Dutch Elm Disease
Dutch Elm Disease is a fungus that spread to North America on crates made from Elm wood

38. Causes of biodiversity loss:
The disease easily spreads by insects or root to root

39. Causes of biodiversity loss:
Dutch Elm Disease leads to the death of trees, impacting the environment and economy

40. Causes of biodiversity loss:
Biomagnification of Pesticides
Bioaccumulation is the build up of certain pesticides in the tissues of organisms (ex. DDT in fish)

41. Causes of biodiversity loss:
Biomagnification is the increasing concentration as pesticides move up the food chain (ex. DDT in bald eagles)

42. Fill It In …
Accumulation
Magnification

43. Effects of biodiversity loss:
Endangerment/ Extinction of Species
Endangered species are at risk of becoming extinct.
Extinction refers to the loss of a particular species
Images show extinct Carolina Parakeet and Great Auk

44. Effects of biodiversity loss:
The Endangered Species Act provides protection for species recognized and listed by the government.
This Act does not, however, provide adequate protection of the habitat.

45. Effects of biodiversity loss:
Loss of valuable medicinal or crop plants, and other species that may be potentially useful to humanity.

46. Effects of biodiversity loss:
Lack of genetic variety makes crops more susceptible to disease, pests, and environmental changes

47. What can you do to protect the environment?
Awareness
Each human impacts the environment, and because our population is large we have an ENORMOUS impact at the global level.

48. What can you do to protect the environment?
“We cannot all do everything, but we can all do something”
Specific suggestions:
Reduce dependence on fossil fuels (Example - car pool, support “green power”)

49. What can you do to protect the environment?
Recycle whenever possible
Limit use of chemicals at home
Consumer choices - support “green” businesses/products

50. Check Yourself! What is biodiversity?
What is the difference between bioaccumulation and biomagnification?
What is a weakness of the Endangered Species Act?

51. Check Yourself!
What is biodiversity? NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SPECIES THAT EXIST WITHIN AN AREA
What is the difference between bioaccumulation and biomagnification?
What is a weakness of the Endangered Species Act?

52. Check Yourself!
What is biodiversity? NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SPECIES THAT EXIST WITHIN AN AREA
What is the difference between bioaccumulation and biomagnification? ACCUMULATION - BUILD UP IN TISSUES, MAGNIFICATION - INCREASING CONC. AS IT MOVES UP FOOD CHAIN
What is a weakness of the Endangered Species Act?

53. Check Yourself!
What is biodiversity? NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SPECIES THAT EXIST WITHIN AN AREA
What is the difference between bioaccumulation and biomagnification? ACCUMULATION - BUILD UP IN TISSUES, MAGNIFICATION - INCREASING CONC. AS IT MOVES UP FOOD CHAIN
What is a weakness of the Endangered Species Act? DOES NOT ADEQUATELY PROTECT THE HABITAT