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22.2 Environmental Issues. What are some environmental issues caused by pollution?. Pollution. Pollution is putting substances that cause untended harm to the environment in the air, water, or soil. Many human activities disrupt ecosystems.
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22.2Environmental Issues What are some environmental issues caused by pollution?
Pollution • Pollution is putting substances that cause untended harm to the environment in the air, water, or soil. • Many human activities disrupt ecosystems. • Smog – water vapor mixed with chemicals that result from human activities such burning fuels and using chemical in vehicles, homes, and industries. • Animals and plants are harmed by respiring the pollutants contained in smog
Ozone Thinning • Ozone is produced when nitrogen oxides react with oxygen in the air under sunlight. • Ozone in the lower atmosphere is harmful but ozone that floats above 20 km in a zone called the stratosphere shields the planet from harmful radiation from the sun. • Some manmade chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) contribute to the destruction of the ozone. Ozone Hole
Global Warming • Correlation between average levels of CO2 and average global temperatures • as CO2 levels rise so do temperatures but scientists can not conduct global experiment to test this but can do simulations and build models
Acid Precipitation • Some air pollutants combine with vapor and return to earth as acid rain. • Increase acidity can cause disease or death in trees, fish, and other organisms. Acid Rain Video
Land and Water Pollution • Human activities can pollute land and waste in several ways: • Waste in form of sewage and unused materials • Chemical waste from industries, farms, homes, and schools • Some waste not directly harmful but can cause destruction to ecosystems if improperly disposed of • Some chemicals enter ecosystems and undergo biological magnification – process in which chemicals become more concentrated in an organism the higher on the food chain that organism is.
Ecosystem Disruption • Ecosystem disruption is the destruction or substantial change in the functioning of ecosystems • Habitat destruction • Hunting or overharvesting of animals • Can cause populations to decline and become endangered or Extinct (death to every member of a species)
Ecosystem Imbalances • Keystone species are animals that affect many other species in the community • Overusing resources
Human Resource Use • Global human population uses an estimated 10 – 55 % of Earth’s primary production (total energy stored through photosynthesis by terrestrial organisms) • Ecological footprint – analysis of a humans use of food and animal resources such as land and water. • Sustainability – ability to meet human needs in such a way that that a human population can survive indefinitely. • Humans must close the gaps between Earth’s renewable resources and capacities, our own needs, and the needs of other species