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What is going on in the cartoon?

What is going on in the cartoon?. Human Population Growth & Environmental Issues. This is an example of Deforestation. As the human population grows , so does the demand for Earth’s resources. Earth’s Human P opulation C ontinues to Grow. Earth’s human carrying capacity is unknown.

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What is going on in the cartoon?

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  1. What is going on in the cartoon? Human Population Growth & Environmental Issues This is an example of Deforestation. As the human population grows, so does the demand for Earth’s resources

  2. Earth’s Human Population Continues to Grow Earth’s human carrying capacity is unknown Technology has helped to increase Earth’s carrying capacity. gas-powered farm equipment medical advancements clean water public assistance

  3. The Big Problem: Overpopulation • Over 6.6 billion people • Many natural resources are nonrenewable • Fossil fuels take millions of years to form • More people means: • 1) More forests removed • 2) More resources consumed • 3) More CO2 released

  4. The growing human population = pressure on Earth’s natural resources • Nonrenewable resources are used faster than they can form or be replenished: • Coal • Oil • Natural Gas MUST BE MANAGED EFFECTIVELY!!! • Renewable resources cannot be used up or can replenish themselves over time : • Wind • Solar • Water

  5. What happened here?

  6. The land must produce and maintain enough • food and water • shelter • energy • waste • Several factors effect size: • Amount/efficiency of resource used • Amount/toxicity of waste produced • An ecological footprint is the amount of land needed to support a person.

  7. What are some Environmental issues Caused by human activity?

  8. Ozone Layer Depletion Ozone Function: Block UV radiation from sun Problems: CFCs thinning the ozone layer More UV radiation reaches the surface Effects: Crop damage, skin cancers, Eye damage Solution: Reduce CFCs, regrow trees UV UV Ozone layer Ozone layer CFCs

  9. The Smog and Ground-Level Ozone Reason: Burning of fossil fuels & industry Problems: Respiratory illness Ozone gas is poisonous Causes: Particulates rise into air and react with sunlight to make air pollution Solutions: Reduce use of fossil fuels alternative energy sources Plant trees

  10. The Greenhouse Effect G.H.E. is naturally good (it warms Earth) Problem: Excess heat trapped near the earth’s surface Fear: Climate patterns change, ice caps melt Main Cause: CO2 from burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) Solutions: Reduce use of fossil fuels, regrow trees, alternative energy sources

  11. What’s in a name? The purpose of a greenhouse is to trap heat year round

  12. Some heat escapes into space heat Some heat naturally trapped by Earth’s atmosphere heat heat Earth

  13. Earth

  14. Less heat escapes into space More heat trapped near Earth’s surface Excess CO2 in atmosphere Earth

  15. The Greenhouse Effect is naturally GOOD! Mars: No Greenhouse Effect Earth: Balanced Greenhouse Effect Venus: The Extreme Greenhouse Effect Little heat is trapped by the thin CO2 atmosphere. High temperatures can be around 20⁰F. Heat is trapped by the thick CO2 atmosphere. Temperatures reach 750⁰F. Average global temperature is 57⁰F.

  16. Defined: Precipitation with a below normal pH Cause: Fossil fuel pollution rises into the air & then falls as rain Effect: Waterways more acidic Kills plant and animal life Solutions: Reduce fossil fuel usage Add buffer (base) to waterways Acid Rain

  17. Water pollution • Defined: pollution in water supplies • Reasons: • Waste • Medicines • Agricultural Runoff • fertilizers • pesticides • Problems: • Species lost • Ecosystems harmed • Indicator species • give sign of ecosystems health • ex: amphibians • Solutions: • Manage waste

  18. Biomagnification = accumulation of toxins in the food chain. • Pollutants that are fat soluble can move up the food chain. • These pollutants stay in the body fat of an organism • predators eat contaminated prey • Top consumers, including humans, are most affected.

  19. Deforestation Defined: Clearing of forested areas Reasons: High demand for wood products Create farmland Problems: Species lost Excess CO2 released Solutions: Recycle Improved farming techniques

  20. Introduced (& Invasive) Species Zebra mussels Mice Kudzu vines • Defined: Foreign organisms are introduced to a new habitat • Invasive- harms native species • Reason: • Pet industry, “free ride” organisms, pest control • Effects: • Foreign species outcompete native species • Food webs unbalanced • Economic damage • Solutions: • Laws preventing foreign goods into new countries • Introduce predators

  21. What is being done? • The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) • created in 1970 • Works to protect species • Clean Water Act • Clean Air Act • Endangered Species Act (this recovered the bald eagle) • Those listed are called “Umbrella Species” • Entire habitats protected

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