The Climate is a Changing - Handout

Transcription

1 The Climate is a Changing - Handout

2 Human Impact The most influential population on the Earth: humans Contribute to: habitat loss, climate change, ecological disruptions Climate change: increase in Earth s average temperature Caused by a buildup of greenhouse gases Many are produced by human activity Natural events: volcanic eruptions / geologic events

3 Human Impact by Global Warming Global warming: increase in average temperature of the Earth Caused from an increase in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere Greenhouse gases: CO 2, water vapor, methane CO 2 comes from fossil fuels, power plants, factories, cars Methane come from bacteria in land fills and cow farts

4 Human Impact by Global Warming Effects of global warming Small increase in temperature Changes in weather patterns Melting of ice caps and glaciers Flooding of coastal cities Contamination of freshwater by saltwater Beach Erosion in North Carolina Rising sea levels lead to increased beach erosion Severity and frequency of storms increase as temperatures increase Preventative beach erosion attempts often lead to additional environmental consequences

5 Human Impact by Acid Rain Cause: harmful emissions from factories and cars, especially NO 2 and SO 2, react with oxygen and lower the ph of precipitation Effect: a lowered ph disrupts aquatic ecosystems, makes soil less fertile, harms plant life and damages human property Acid Precipitation in NC Mountains Red spruce and Frasier fir trees in the mountains are dying as a result of acid precipitation, damaging the ecosystem Mountains are greatly impacted by acid precipitation caused largely by pollutants from Tennessee

6 Human Impact by Water Pollution Causes: most sources of water pollution begin on land Oil from cars Sediments from newly-plowed (barren) land Fertilizers from lawns and farms Illegal chemical dumping Acid rain Overheated water from power plants Raw sewage

7 Human Impact by Water Pollution Effects: unclean drinking water leads to disease destruction of ecosystems North Carolina Industrial Hog Farms Hog lagoons (waste ponds) in flood-prone coastal regions Raise thousands of animals in a small space producing tons of waste which may run-off, spill or leak into surface water with rainfall May contribute to outbreaks of Pfisteria (single-celled algae) that leads to massive fish kills and health problems in fishermen.

8 Effects of Human Population 1. Increased pollution air, water and land. ALL pollution problems relate back to overpopulation 2. Decreased natural resources, especially nonrenewable resources 3. Increased land use leads to loss of habitat Urbanization and habitat fragmentation (breaking up of habitats due to land clearing) Farming Overgrazing Mining Deforestation

9 Biosphere and Human Impact Biodiversity: the number of different species of organisms that exist within an area and the genetic diversity within each species Bioaccumulation: the build up of certain pesticides in the tissues of organisms (ex: DDT in fish) Biomagnification: the increasing concentration as pesticides move up the food chain (ex: DDT in bald eagles)

10 Written Response #10: Biomagnification Draw, label and color the diagram to the left. 1. Which organism would have the higher concentration of DDT in its body: zooplankton or small fish? 2. Think about your answer to question 1. Why is this so?

11 Nonnative (Invasive) Species Invasive species a plant or animal introduced by humans Ex: Python, Honeysuckle, Kudzu om/watch?v=ey7nuxe8 -jm

12 Skarping Asian Carp: fish that is native to Asia most notably China Brought to the United States, specifically the Great Lakes region in the 1970 s to help control phytoplankton population and increase aquatic biodiversity. Has overpopulated the Great Lakes region and taken over the rivers in the area.

13 Written Response #11: Invasive Species Fire ants are a species of ant that scientists believe came to the United States from South America. The shaded areas on the maps show were fire ant populations lived in 1953 and Describe an invasive species. 2. Explain how the location of fire ants in the United States changed between 1953 and How do invasive species often affect ecosystems?

14 Solutions to Human Impact Written Response #12: 1. Based on the environmental issues discussed in class, what are some solutions that humans can do to these problems of human impact? 2. What can you do to protect the environment?

15 Solutions to Human Impact Zero population growth: birth control, family planning education, tax incentives Conservation methods are in place to help preserve natural environments Reduce, reuse, recycle Sustainable resource: environmentally safe renewable resources Wind, solar, hydroelectric, biomass, wave, geothermal