Human Impact on the Environment

Wastes produced by agriculture, households, industry, mining, and other human activities can end up in ______________.

• groundwater
• streams and rivers
• oceans
• All of these choices

When fertilizers run off farmland into streams and ponds, the nitrogen content of the water increases. This can lead to rapid growth of algae in a process called eutrophication. How can this process affect other organisms in the water?

• Oxygen is used up as algae is decomposed, reducing the amount available to other organisms.
• The water becomes better able to support aerobic organisms.
• The algae provide food for fishes and other organisms, leading to decreased algae populations.
• The extra nitrogen provides additional food for the other organisms, increasing their population.

The natural resources used by society are limited by various factors. Why is coal considered a nonrenewable resource?

• Once coal is used up, it can never be replaced.
• Coal is a nonrenewable resource, because it comes from the impact of meteors with the Earth
• Coal was a renewable resource, until it was mismanaged by humans
• Coal is considered a nonrenewable resource, because it takes millions of years to form

Wind is a __________ energy resource.

• Renewable
• Nonrenewable

What are renewable resources?

• Resources that are used faster than they form
• a.       Resources that can replenish themselves over time
• a.       Resources that exist only in urban areas
• Resources that exist only in rural areas

There are many sources of air pollution in the United States and around the world. Some are natural sources, and others come from human activities. Which example is a natural source of air pollution?

• car exhaust fumes

• dust from construction sites

• methane gas from cow manure

• smoke from the burning of fossil fuels

Any amount of CO₂ (Carbon Dioxide) in the atmosphere is bad for our planet.

• True
• False

The impact on the planet due to global warming is called...

• climate change
• the seasons
• the weather
• natural change

Which human activity contributes the MOST carbon dioxide to the atmosphere?

• Fishing
• Breathing
• Burning Fossil Fuels
• Farming

How can land pollution harm the environment?

• It can release greenhouse gases

• It can destroy the habitats of animals

• It can allow for harmful chemicals to enter the soil

• All of the above