Environmental Chap. 1 Sect. 1 Understanding Our Environment

1. Environmental Chap. 1 Sect. 1Understanding Our Environment • Warm-up exercises: • 1. Choose a partner • 2. Think of 2 different ecosystems and write them down • 3. Name the abiotic (non-living) and the biotic (living) parts of your ecosystems • 4. Think of 2 ways that humans might impact your ecosystems and write them down

2. Collect Assignments 1. Signed pledge forms 2. Signed lab contracts

3. DE State Standards GLE - Science Standard 1 Collect accurate and precise data through the selection and use of tools and technologies appropriate to the investigations. Display and organize data through the use of tables, diagrams, graphs, and other organizers that allow analysis and comparison with known information and allow for replication of results.

4. DE State Standards 1.1.3. Understand that: Theories in science are well-established explanations of natural phenomena that are supported by many confirmed observations and verified hypotheses. The application of theories allows people to make reasonable predictions. Theories may be amended to become more complete with the introduction of new evidence. Be able to: Collect accurate and precise data through the selection and use of tools and technologies appropriate to the investigations. Display and organize data through the use of tables, diagrams, graphs, and other organizers that allow analysis and comparison with known information and allow for replication of results

5. DE State Standards Standard 8: Ecology  Strand 3: Human Impact Enduring Understanding: Humans can alter the living and non-living factors within an ecosystem, thereby creating changes to the overall system. Essential Question: How do humans have an impact on the diversity and stability of ecosystems?

6. DE State Standards 8.3.1. Exponential growth of the global human population and the resulting increase in consumption places severe stress on finite resources.  8.3.2. Human decisions concerning the use of resources can affect the stability and biodiversity of the ecosystems and the natural recycling processes which maintain the quality of air, water, and land.  8.3.3. Human activities have a major effect on other species. For example, increased land use reduces habitat available to other species, pollution changes the chemical composition of air, soil, and water, and introduction of non-native species disrupts the ecological balance.

7. DE State Standards 8.3.5. People manage the Earth and its resources by preservation, conservation, appropriate utilization, and restoration. The complexity and interaction of these ecosystems requires individual and collaborative efforts on a local, regional, national, and international scale.

8. Section Objectives • Define environmental science and compare to ecology • List 5 major fields of study that contribute to environmental science • Describe the major environmental effects of hunter-gatherers, the agricultural revolution, and the Industrial Revolution. • Distinguish between renewable and non-renewable resources • Classify environmental problems into 3 major categories

9. Key Terms • Environmental science • Ecology • Agriculture • Natural resource • Pollution • Biodiversity

10. Definitions • Science: observing, studying and experimenting to find the nature of things. • Environment: everything around us. It includes: natural things, as well as things produced by humans. • Ex.: city of Wilmington, Ashland Nature Center, your back yard.

11. Applied – Pure Science • Pure sciences – chemistry, biology, physics • Applied sciences – examples • Environmental science –( chemistry, biology, etc.) • Engineering – (physics, chemistry, math) • Medicine – (biology, chemistry) • Can you think of any other professions?

12. 3 Main Areas of Focus in Env. Science 1. Conservation and Protection of natural resources 2. Environmental education and communication 3. Environmental research

13. Extinction of North American Megafauna • What do you think brought about the extinction of the species below over 15,000 years ago? • Mammoths • Camels • Giant ground sloths • Beavers – as large as a black bear • Saber-toothed cats • Maned lions ?

14. Extinct N. American Mammals

15. SOME THEORIES OF EXTINCTION 1. Over kill by early humans – over hunting 2. Rapid sift in climate on earth – End of the Ice Age 3. Diseases such as influenza and rabies we brought over by early humans Probably a combination of all of the above!

16. Experimental Study • Keene High school – New Hampshire • Ashuelot River study of dwarf wedge mussel dwindling population. • Students took water samples and conducted population studies at different areas of the river

17. Possible Causes • Sewage discharges into river • Fertilizer runoff from golf course • Algae growth – oxygen starvation – called “artificial eutrophication” • Upstream dam disrupting reproductive cycles (more later in case study)

18. Definitions • Environmental Science: the study of how humans interact with the environment. • “MISCONCEPTION ALERT” – environmental issues usually thought to be associated with an endangered species disappearing – can also be an overabundance of a species –disruption of food chain

19. Definition • INVASIVE SPECIES – a non-native species of plant, animal or other organism introduced into an ecosystem. • Ex.: Zebra mussels in Great Lakes • Introduced in 1989 from the ballast of an ocean going ship • Has spread through 23 states and 2 Canadian provinces • Causes 50-100 million dollars in damage each year by blocking intakes and outflows of power plants and water treatment plants

20. Other Invasive Species • Snake-head fish – from Asia – MD, DE • Fire ants • Killer bees • Hydrilla & kudza vines – brought in to help prevent erosion on highways • Mitten crab – from Asia – in Chesapeake Bay • Website: www.delawareinvasives.org

21. Delaware Invasive Species of Plants Japanese honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica Oriental bittersweet, Celasrus orbiculatus Japanese stilt grass, Microstegium vimineumJapanese barberry, Berberis thunbergii Periwinkle, Vinca minor Garlic mustard, Alliaria petiolata Winged euonymus, Euonymus alata Porcelain berry, Ampelopsis brevipedunculata Bradford pear, Pyrus calleryana Marsh dewflower, Murdannia keisak Lesser celandine, Ranunculus ficaria Purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria Reed canarygrass, Phalaris arundinacea Amur honeysuckle,Lonicera maackii Tartarian honeysuckle, Lonicera tatarica Tree of heaven, Ailanthus altissima Japanese knotweed, Fallopia japonica Autumn olive, Elaeagnus umbellata Norway maple, Acer platanoides Common reed, Phragmites australis Hydrilla, Hydrilla verticillata Morrow's honeysuckle, Lonicera morrowii Mile-a-minute weed, Polygonum perfoliatum Yam-leaved clematis, Clematis terniflora Privet,several species European sweetflag, Acorus calamus Wineberry, Rubus phoenicolasius

22. Delaware Invasive Species of Insects Red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Asian long horned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis European wood wasp, Sirex noctilio Pine shoot beetle, Tomicus piniperda Gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar Sudden oak death, Phytophthora ramorum Potato cyst nematode, Globodera pallida Exotic woodborers and bark beetles

23. OTHER DELAWARE INVASIVE SPECIES FLATHEAD CATFISH ZEBRA MUSSEL MITTEN CRAB NUTRIA NORTHERN SNAKEHEAD

24. GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES • WITH A PARTNER • List some of the most significant environmental problems in the world today. – List 5 things

25. GLOBAL ENV. ISSUES • Global warming/climatic change • Ozone depletion • Habitat destruction • Over population • Destruction of rain forest • Acid rain • Ocean Acidification • Sea Level Rise

26. Local Environmental Issues • WITH A PARTNER • List some local (state or region) environmental problems.

27. Local Environmental Issues • Acid rain – SO2 emissions-Delmarva, Valero • Water pollution – industry, ships, farms, jet skis, parking lots, etc. (petroleum products, benzene, fertilizers) • Habitat loss – housing boom – Middletown, etc. • Air pollution – cars, factories, power plants, airplanes, etc. • Sea level rise – Sussex County

28. Recent Local Pollution Incidents • Sulfuric acid cloud – Glasgow – 5 yrs. ago • Nitric acid cloud Claymont – 4 years ago • Sulfuric acid spill – Motiva – Delaware City –8 yrs. ago • BTME gas additive – 70% of all gas stations leaked into ground • TiO2 factory Edgemoor –DuPont - #1 producer of dioxins in U.S. – carcinogen • SiO2 emissions – Millsboro – Delmarva power plant - #3 worst in U.S. – HAS SINCE BEEN CONVERTED TO NATURAL GAS!!!

29. Goals of Environmental Science • Main Goal: to understand and solve environmental problems

30. Types of Interaction Between Humans & the Environment • 2 main Types: • How we use natural resources – (water, air, trees, land, petroleum) • How human actions alter our environment

31. Interrelations of Environmental Science and other sciences • Ecology: the study of how living things interact with their non-living environment. • Ex. – Ecologist – studies how bees pollinate flowers • Environmental Scientist : studies how the behavior of bees is influenced by human activities – What caused the depletion of this species in 2008? Einstein said: “When the bees disappear so goes humans.”

32. Other Sciences Interacting with Environmental Science • Can you name some other sciences that contribute to Environmental Science?

33. Other Sciences in Env. Science • Chemistry – understand the nature of pollutants and reactants • Geology – helps us model how pollutants travel underground – permeability, porosity • Botany & Zoology – identify and preserve species • Paleontology – understand how earth’s climate has changes from the past – “the key to the future lies in the past”

35. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ANCIENT CITY OF TROY? READ ECOFACT on top of page 8 • How did the ancient city of Troy’s economy collapse over 3000 years ago? • (A case of an environmental problem becoming an economic issue) • Can you think of any modern day country that is experiencing the same fate as Troy? • Who played the part of Achilles in the movie Troy?

36. Assignment – CP ENV ONLY • Work with a partner • 1. Answer the questions on page 15, 1 – 6 • 2. Quiz each other with the questions until the answers are understood by both 10 Minutes!!! • Page 15, questions 1 - 6

37. EXIT TICKET – Chap 1, Mid-Section 1. What is the difference between Environmental Science and Ecology? 2. What is the difference between an applied science and a pure science? Give 2 examples of an applied science and 2 examples of pure science. 3. Why are invasive species bad for an ecosystem?

38. Our Environment Through Time • Wherever humans have hunted, grown food, or settled, they have changed the environment. • Ex.: New York City – used to be area where native Americans hunted game and gathered food.

39. Hunter-Gatherers • Definition: people who obtain food by collecting plants and by hunting wild animals or scavenging their remains • They traveled to where the food was at different times of the year – native Americans followed buffalo

40. THE LAST OF THE HUNTER-GATHERERS

41. How did hunter-gatherers effect their environment? • Burned prairies to prevent trees from growing to keep grazing areas open for buffalo. • Helped to spread different plants to different areas by dropping seeds

42. Hunter-gatherer Env. Effects-con’t • In early N. America, hunter-gatherers killed many large mammals, helping in the extinction of many species such as: giant sloth, mastodons, cave bears and saber-toothed tigers. • They drove large herds into pits for slaughter, the fossil record shows • Climate also changed

43. Agricultural Revolution • Definition: • Agriculture: the practice of growing, breeding, and caring for plants and animals that are used for food, clothing, housing, transportation and other purposes. • Started over 10,000 years ago • It made a dramatic impact on human societies, that’s why it is called the Agricultural Revolution • Can you name some positive effects from the Ag Revolution?

44. THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION AND CIVILIZATION

45. Ag Revolution Positive Effects • An area of land could support up to 500 times as many people by farming than hunting and gathering. • It allowed human population to grow. • Food changed from it’s wild ancestors to domesticated plants over many generations

46. Field Activity • Growing popcorn • Small, clear cups • Paper towels • Unpopped popcorn kernels • Water • Sunlight • Observe similarities of corn sprouts to blades of grass (early ancestors of corn)

47. Ag Revolution- Neg. Effects Can you name some negative effects of the Agricultural Revolution?

48. Ag Revolution Negative Effects • As populations grew, people lived in smaller areas, placing higher pressure on local environments • Many grasslands, wetlands, and forests were destroyed to make way for farmland, much like what is happening today in the South American rain forests. • Slash & burn – a “double whammy”- CO2 using trees cut down and burned, putting CO2 into air.

49. Ag Revolution Neg. Effects-con’t • Much land became infertile due to over use – planting the same crops every year took same nutrients from soil. • Salts in soil built up. • Crop rotation later solved this problem

50. Effects of Slash & Burn • Soil loss • Floods • Water shortages • Build-up of greenhouse gases • Loss of habitats