Unit 4 Lesson 4 - Human Impact on the Environment

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Amount of outgoing solar radiation in Wm2

Amount staying on Earth that is not leaving the Earth System

​https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change/causes/

​This is the data that shows the changes in average global temperatures over time.

Sources of Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

• volcanic eruptions

• burning fossil fuels for power generation and transportation

• the production of plastic

• deforestation.

Sources of methane (CH₄ ):

• plant-matter breakdown in wetlands

• landfills

• rice farming

• the production of plastic

• livestock animals in their manure

• leaks from fossil fuel production

• transportation

• natural gas is 70% to 90% methane

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is released during

• fertilizer production and use

• burning fossil fuels

• burning vegetation - wildfires

Multiple Select

Earth is kept warm enough to sustain life the solar energy from the sun. The sun's energy is constantly being absorbed and radiated back out to space. This cycling of thermal energy is kept in balance by -

• just the land surfaces

• Earth's atmosphere

• only the large bodies of water

​Answer to the Bellringer

​How the things we are doing today impact the environment, both now and into the future.

LabXchange

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​https://www.labxchange.org/library/items/lb:LabXchange:85a9a8a1:video:1

​Independent Practice

​We investigated renewable and nonrenewable resources in the first 9-weeks of school. Use that information, along with the information found on slides 16 and 17 to answer the questions on page 36 and 37 of the paper copy investigation for this lesson.

Multiple Select

Which of the following natural resources are renewable?

• coal

• wind

• solar

• nuclear

Multiple Select

Which of the following natural resources are non-renewable?

• coal

• wind

• solar

• oil

Multiple Choice

How can overusing non-renewable resources impact the environment?

• We won't have enough for future generations to use

• there is no impact on the environment. Science will save us.

• We have to make more

Poll

Imagine a world 50 years from now. You will be 61-62 years old. What will the air be like?

• cleaner

• more polluted

• the same as it is now

Poll

Will having clean water to drink be an issue?

• yes

• no

Poll

When I was your age, the average electric bill in Virginia was $50 a month. Now it is $150 per month. What will you be paying for electricity 50 years from now?

• Less than $150

• $200

• $250

• $300

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​https://www.kidsfightclimatechange.org/solve/sustainability/deforestation-solutions

​What is Pollution?

Pollution is the introduction of substances or energy (such as light or heat) into the natural environment in amounts or concentrations that can be harmful for humans, animals, and plants.

​Pollutants can be especially dangerous when they accumulate, or build up, in an ecosystem and reach high, toxic concentrations.

Plants and animals can absorb or ingest toxins from pollution, which can be damaging to their own health.

As organisms eat each other, toxins from the pollution can then be passed from organism to organism up the food chain, increasing in concentration each time until they are at such high levels that they can cause death or serious health problems to the organism.

​What are the effects of pollution on the environment and living things?

Pollution harms the environment by making it less suitable for living things.

Sometimes a pollutant is toxic or dangerous and can directly cause living things to die. However, lower amounts of a pollutant or different types of pollutants may make a living thing sick, cause injury, or reduce its ability to find good habitat or food.

Air pollution is a mix of hazardous substances from both human-made and natural sources.

Sources of air pollution:

• Vehicle emissions (car exhaust)

• heating homes with a liquid gas (propane, natural gas)

• by-products of manufacturing

• power generation, particularly coal-fueled power plants

• fumes from chemical production

• smoke from wildfires

• ash and gases from volcanic eruptions

• decomposing organic matter in soil

​humans (bio), factories (geo), smog (atmo) - humans belong to the biosphere (living things), factories are part of the geosphere (human-made structures on land), and smog goes into the atmosphere (air around Earth).

​When humans run factories that produce smog, we're looking at three different Earth systems:

​To prevent air pollution, we need to reduce harmful emissions, so using renewable resources and public transportation is correct because renewable energy (like solar and wind) doesn't pollute the air like burning fossil fuels does, and public transportation means fewer cars on the road creating exhaust.

​Water pollution occurs when harmful substances—often chemicals or microorganisms—contaminate a stream, river, lake, ocean, aquifer, or other body of water, degrading water quality and rendering it toxic to humans or the environment.

​Reduce your plastic consumption and reuse or recycle plastic when you can.

Properly dispose of chemical cleaners, oils, and nonbiodegradable items to keep them from going down the drain.

Don’t flush your old medications! Dispose of them in the trash to prevent them from entering local waterways.

Be mindful of anything you pour into storm sewers, since that waste often won’t be treated before being released into local waterways.
If you notice a storm sewer blocked by litter, clean it up to keep that

Ways to reduce water pollution

​Example