Bell Work

1. Bell Work Use the TCAP Coach book, read Lesson 21, on page 128-130. Complete the answers that follow on page 131, #1-4.

2. Answer True or False; if you answer false, explain why. • The United States produces more garbage than any other nation in the world. • Noise can be a form of pollution. • All natural resources can be reused. • The destruction of animal habitats has a negative effect on animals but does not affect humans.

3. Answers • True • True • False • False

4. Environmental Problems and Solutions You’ve probably heard it before. The air is unhealthy to breathe. The water is harmful to drink. The soil is filled with poisons. The message is…

5. Earth is SICK and in great DANGER!

6. Environmental Statistics: Water Related • 40% of the world lacks basic sanitation facilitation • 1 billion people are without safe drinking water; Americans consume 26 billion liters of BOTTLED water annually • Clean water and sanitation for all- $9 billion; Americans spend that much the day after Thanksgiving shopping for Christmas presents. • Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation. • Some 1.8 million child deaths each year as a result of diarrhea • The loss of 443 million school days each year from water-related illness. • Close to half of all people in developing countries suffering at any given time from a health problem caused by water and sanitation deficits. • 400 million children with no access to safe water (1 in 5)

7. Environmental Statistics: Other • Americans spend more annually on trash bags than nearly half the world does on ALL goods. • Wood consumption a day: world average- 4 lbs. U.S.- 14 lbs. • Leading oil consumers in millions of barrels a day: U.S.A.- 20, China- 5.6, Japan- 5.5 • U.S. accounts for 25% of the global oil consumption

8. Pollution • Pollution is the presence of harmful substances in the environment. • Pollutant is any harmful substance. • Examples: • solid materials • chemicals • noise • heat • Often, pollutants damage or kill the plants and animals living in the affected habitat. • Pollutants may also harm humans.

9. Garbage Facts: • America produces more household waste than any other nation. • If stacked up, the beverage cans Americans use in one year could reach the moon 17 times! • The average American throws away 12 kg of trash a week. • Billions of kilograms of this waste are classified as hazardous, which means it’s harmful to humans and the environment. • Examples of hazardous wastes from homes: • Old cars, paints, batteries, medical wastes, and detergents all pollute the environment.

10. Where Does Garbage All Go? • Household waste- landfills • Hazardous waste- specially designed landfills • Some are burned in incinerators. • Some are improperly disposed of by dumping them into rivers and lakes.

11. Chemicals • Chemical pesticides used to kill crop-destroying insects also pollute the soil and water. • Rachel Carson wrote about the dangers of pesticides more than three decades ago. • CFCs and DDTs have been banned because of their destruction to the ozone and can be toxic to some animal species

12. High Powered Waste • Nuclear Power Plants produce radioactive waste that can cause cancer, leukemia and birth defects.

13. Question… • Is the greenhouse effect a positive or negative element in our environment? • How will the greenhouse effect and global warming affect our future? • Discuss with your group.

14. Greenhouse Effect • Heat caused by pollutants cause the greenhouse effect. • These warmer temperatures could melt the icecaps and cause flooding.

15. Global Warming • Too much of the greenhouse effect could cause global warming, or the gradual increase in Earth’s temperature. As the temperatures rise, the polar icecaps begin to melt a little each year. This threatens the life of the polar bear.

16. It’s Way Too Noisy! • Some pollutants affect the senses. • These include bad odors and loud noise. • Example: Construction worker’s tools or Music through head phones. • If a person does not protect their ears, they can slowly lose their hearing.

17. Question… • What is the difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources? • Which is better for our environment? Why? • Discuss with group.

18. Another problem for our environment is that we are using up, or depleting, natural resources.

19. Resource Depletion • Renewable Resources can be used again and again. • Example: Fresh Water, solar energy

20. Nonrenewable Resources • Nonrenewable Resources can only be used once. • Example: fossil fuels, such as oil and coal Coal

21. Some nonrenewable resources, such as petroleum, are probably not in danger of running out in your lifetime, but they cannot last forever. • Plus, the removal of some materials from the Earth carries a high price tag in the form of oil spills and loss of habitat.

22. Alien Species • An organism that makes a home for itself in a new place is an alien. • Example: Zebra Mussel (1980’s) • One reason alien species often thrive in foreign lands is that they are free from the predators in their native land. • Alien species often become pests and drive out native species.

23. Overpopulation • Overpopulation occurs when the number of individuals becomes so large that they can’t get all the food, water and other resources they need. • 1800- 1 billion people in the world • 1990- 5.2 billion people in the world • By 2100, there may be 14 billion.

24. Population Statistics • Some people believe that the human population is already too high for the Earth to support. • Today, one out of ten people goes to bed hungry every night. • Millions of people die each year from hunger-related causes. • Every 16 seconds somewhere in the world someone dies of hunger. • Check out the graph on pg. 90.

25. Habitat Destruction • Biodiversity-variety of life; this refers to the many different species found in a particular habitat all across the planet. • Every time a bulldozer digs or a chainsaw buzzes, every time hazardous wastes are dumped, a habitat is damaged, changed, or destroyed. • When habitats are damaged biodiversity is lost.

26. Forests • Deforestation-clearing of forest lands. • Tropical forests are cut for mines, dams, and roads. They are also cleared for paper, fuel, and building materials. • After tropical rain forests are cleared, little can grow on the land.

27. Wetlands • Wetlands help control flooding by soaking up the water from overflowing rivers. • They filter pollutants from flowing water and provide breeding grounds for animals. • They help prevent soil erosion and restore underground water supplies. • Wetlands are often drained and filled to build homes and shopping malls or dredged to keep passages for ships open. • Wetlands can also be destroyed by pollution.

28. Marine Habitats • Oil spills harm the marine habitat. • Oil from cities and industries is sometimes dumped into the ocean. • All of the oceans are connected, so pollutants from one ocean can be carried around the world. • Example: Exxon Valdez dumped 2,300km of oil off the Alaskan Coast.

29. Plastics • Plastics also contribute to killing marine animals. • Plastics are not biodegradable, so they are not broken down by the environment. • Animals try to eat them and often get tangled in them and die. • Dumping plastics is against the law.

30. Effects on Humans • Polluted waters-may make you sick or you could possibly die • Some chemicals cause cancer 20 or 30 years after the person is exposed to them.

31. Bell Work: • Use your TCAP coach book and answer questions 13-20. • Make sure to have your academic vocabulary. I will come around and check it at this time.

32. Lab Table Work: • Come up with a list of challenges to the environment with your group. • From the list, choose four that your group feels to be the most important and explain why they are most important. • Share your choices with the class.