1 Water

1. 1 Water • How much of Earth’s water is freshwater? • Unfortunately, most of that is locked in ice! • Since fresh water is so important, we must protect the ecosystems that collect and purify water, such as wetlands. • Is fresh water renewable? • Example: Oglala Aquifer that spans 8 states

2. 2Water Pollution • Pollutant: harmful material that can enter the biosphere. • Some enter from a single source, called a point source pollutant. • Example: oil spill, factory dumping into a stream • Some enter from a variety of sources when precipitation runs off into streams/rivers or leaches through the ground into the groundwater: nonpoint source • Example: oil residue from roads and parking lots

3. 3 Water Pollution • Primary sources: industrial chemicals agricultural chemicals residential wastes nonpoint sources

4. 4 Industrial Chemicals • Oil spills • PCB’s used in the 1970’s Entered mud and sand under lakes and are still there. • Heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and zinc (most of these enter from runoff from mines)

5. 5 Agricultural Chemicals • Herbicides - poisons • Pesticides/insecticides – poisons, toxic • Fertilizers can cause algal blooms • Enter water system one of two ways: - run-off from fields into bodies of water - seep down through soil into the water table

6. 6 DDT • Cheap and long-lasting pesticide (especially mosquitoes) used in 1950’s • Like PCBs and mercury, can be picked up by primary producers (often plankton). It accumulates in the producer because it can’t be broken down or eliminated. • Herbivores that eat the producers concentrate and store the compound. • When carnivores eat the herbivores, it becomes more concentrated. • When another carnivore eats that carnivore, it becomes even more concentrated. • In the highest tropic level, pollutant concentrations can reach 10 million times their original concentration in the environment.

7. 7 Biological Magnification • The process of increasing the pollution concentration as you move up the trophic levels. • Example: Bald Eagles, osprey, falcons

8. 8 Residential Wastes • Some sewage is dumped into rivers, where filtration happens naturally. • Large amounts of sewage can trigger algal blooms that cause fish to die (creating dead zones due to lack of O2) and/or can carry disease. Example: Waikiki had flesh-eating bacteria in the water surrounding beaches in 2004 and 2005. • Large cities have water treatment plants, but certain chemicals cannot be removed even with these plants.

9. 9 Water Sustainability • Need to protect watersheds – the entire area that would have runoff into a body of water • Must protect wetlands and forests – plants there filter out pollutants. • Use less water, especially for irrigation • Water treatment facilities • EPA regulations on removal of wastes from factories and on herbicides/pesticides

10. 10 What’s so great about our atmosphere? • Ozone layer protects us from harmful UV radiation, which can cause skin cancer. • Greenhouse gases (CO2, H2O vapor, and methane) keep the planet warm enough to sustain life. • Considered renewable, unless we degrade the quality. Industrial processes and the burning of fossil fuels can release pollutants into our air.

11. 11 Ozone Layer • Found up high in our atmosphere • The use of CFC’s in aerosol cans and different refrigerants like Freon stop the natural production of ozone in the atmosphere. • Montreal Protocol banned the use of CFC’s, but it will still take another 30 years before those in the atmosphere break down. • Hole over Antarctica is over 1.5 times larger than the US.

12. 12 Smog • A gray-brown haze formed by chemical reactions among pollutants released into the air by industrial and auto emissions. • One product is ozone, which causes respiratory issues, especially for those already suffering from asthma. • Example: Beijing Olympics in 2008

13. 13 Acid Rain • Burning fossil fuels releases nitrogen and sulfur compounds into the air, which react with water vapor to form nitric and sulfuric acids. • Can be carried for miles before precipitating. • Can eat paint off of cars and eat away at limestone (statues) • Can: 1) kill leaves on plant 2) Sterilize water 3) Sterilize soil 61 years later

14. 14 Effects of Acid Deposition Acid rain may also dissolve and release toxic elements, such as mercury, from the soil, freeing those elements to enter other portions of the biosphere. give rise to respiratory problems such as asthma, dry coughs, headaches, eye, nose and throat irritations

15. 15 Greenhouse Effect • Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, and cattle farming releases methane. • If the balance of CO2 in the atmosphere is upset, we could increase the amount of heat trapped by these gases, and thus have global warming, which will lead to climate change.

17. 17 Particulates • Particles of ash and dust released by industry and some diesel engines. • Enter respiratory system and cause problems.

18. 18 Air Sustainability • Regulations on factory and auto emissions • Technology to remove pollutants (scrubbers in air stacks of power plants; cadillac convertors in autos) before emissions are released. • Create cleaner fuels • Banning the use of chemicals that pollute air when burned (lead in gasoline banned in 1996). • Use alternative sources of energy

19. 19 Biodiversity • Total of all of the genetically based variation in all organisms in the biosphere. • 3 types: • Number of ecosystems (habitats, communities) • Number of species (more than 1.8 billion) • Number of different forms of genes (DNA)

20. 20 Benefits of Biodiversity • Medicine – wild species are the source of many medicines (compounds that living things create) • Agriculture – wild relatives that we can take genes from to help with disease and pest resistance in our domestic species • Ecosystem goods and services – number and variety of species in an ecosystem can influence its stability and ability to provide what we need. They also help maintain quality soil, water and air.

21. 20 Threats to Biodiversity • Altering and reducing the size of habitats – fewer individuals means less genetic variety Ex. Railroads caused habitat fragmentation for buffalo in the US, cut large herd into smaller ones. • Over-hunting (not all countries protect endangered species) Ex. Hunting elephants for ivory, tigers and rhinos for “remedies”, sale of endangered species as pets on the black market.

22. 21 Threats to Biodiversity (cont.) • Introducing invasive species Ex. Rabbits in Australia, squirrels in Britain, zebra mussels and hydrilla in the US • Releasing pollution (chemicals, acid rain, emissions) • Climate change Ex. Coral bleaching due to higher temps, melting ice caps

23. 23 How do we conserve biodiversity? • The difference between conservation and preservation: Conservation is protection, preservation, or careful management of the environment and natural resources such as forests, wild life, soil, and water. (we can still use it but carefully) Preservation is the act of keeping safe or free from harm or decay: protect or prevent. (we don’t use it at all) We need both!!!!

24. 24 How do we conserve biodiversity? • Protecting individual species - zoos help with captive breeding programs - creating species survival plans (ex. Pandas and Cheetahs) - laws to protect endangered species (have helped several species move to the threatened list)

25. 25 Conserving Biodiversity (cont) • Preserving habitats and ecosystems - set aside land as parks and preserves - conservation biologists focus on ecological “hot spots,” places where a large number of species and habitats are in danger of extinction

27. 27 Ecological Footprint • Measures how fast we consume resources and generate wastes in comparison to how quickly Earth can absorb those wastes and regenerate new resources. • Takes into account your use of energy, food, water and shelter and your production of wastes (trash, sewage, emissions) Goal: leave as small of a footprint as we can!