UNIT 10. Human impact in Ecosystems

VOCABULARY

• Overexplotaition• Land occupation• Flood• Draught• Raising• Trapping• Crop• Pest• Hunger• Need• Loss• Greenhouse efect• Landfill• Buried• Burnt

In nature all things are recycled

Recycling….

Water cycle

Biomass cycle

Energy cycle

Humans change everything badly

How?

What have we done?

Pollution Land occupation

Overexploitation

Human impact on the environment

Research: Human impact on the environment

Discuss you understand these terms

Climate change

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/basics/index.html

Effects of Climate Change

Effects of Climate Change

Effects of Climate Change

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/

Desertification, drought and

flood

• Desertification is a complex process involving multiple natural and human-related causes. In desertification, the productive potential of arid and semi-arid lands falls by 10% or more, and topsoil is lost or degraded.

– Desertification results mainly from a combination of natural climate changes causing prolonged drought and unsustainable human activities, including overgrazing and deforestation.

Overgrazing on marginal lands (top) can extend

desert zones (lower)

Loss of Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given species, ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate.

http://www.novamind.com/connect/nm_documents/285

http://www.novamind.com/connect/nm_documents/285

If anything in your dustbin can be reused by somebody else, recycled or repaired it should notbe there!

Waste is Costly• The earth is a closed system. Matter

amoung keeps constance. There are no losses.

• Any nutrients and resources being taken out of the system (and buried in a landfill, or burnt) are resources lost to us.

Examples….To produce one ton of paper, 100 tons of water are used.For every litre of beer, 10 litres of water have been used in the fermenting process.Producing one cellphone requires 75 kg of resources.A toothbrush requires 1,5 kg of resources – coal, oil and water – for its production

Recycling…

Benefits of recycling• reduces the amount of waste going into

landfill sites, saving airspace;• creates jobs and money for schools and

organisations• reduces pollution and litter;• saves raw materials needed to make new

products• reduces the need to import expensive

raw materials

Benefits of recycling• slows down the use of the world’s

non-renewable (oil, coal and iron) and renewable resources (trees)

• reduces energy costs in manufacturing of containers, packaging, etc.

• saves water (used in packaging and product manufacture). Recycling paper uses 50% less water than paper that is made from wood pulp.

1)Why can we say Nature is continuously recycling?

2)Which are the main points to be considered in human impact on the environment?

3)Write five actions to make a contribution to solve global warming

4)Describe in your owm words, the human contribution to the desertification

5)Give three reason to practise the recycling that you can do in your diary life