Transcript Earth`s Main Environmental Concerns

What is the work of
environmental scientists,
and what are the most pressing
environmental concerns faced
by Earth today?
• Environmental scientists study
interactions between organisms and
their environments.
What would
happen in the
ecosystem if this
praying mantis
were to become
extinct?
• Environmental scientists learn
about the interdependence of all
life on Earth.
What natural
resources do
we depend
upon for
survival?
Indicator Species
Why is the birth of these
otter pups an indication of a
healthy ecosystem?
• How are we humans impacting
the Earth’s environments?
We must understand the answers to these
questions, in order to address and try to find
resolutions for each of Earth’s main concerns…
• Resource Depletion
• Pollution
• Extinction
• Poverty
• Weighted
environmental
cost
• Environmental
misunderstanding
https://youtu.be/pFVvOo1Qd_8
Phorid Fly
Describe the role of the indicator species to
the environmental scientist. Give ONE
example.
Explain how resource depletion can be one
of Earth’s main environmental concerns.
How can extinction be one of Earth’s main
environmental concerns?
Why is anthropogenic pollution one of
Earth’s main environmental concerns?
• Natural Resources
Sunlight, air, water, soil, minerals,
plants, animals, forests and fossil fuels
When a resource becomes depleted,
a large part of it has been used up.
No matter how much solar energy we use, sunlight
will continue to shine on the surface of the Earth,
and remain a source of energy until our sun dies.
Some renewable resources can become depleted!
When all the coal has been mined, that will
be it. No more silver will be formed deep
within the Earth…at least not within the
short span of human existence.
Most recently, another category of “renewable”
resources has been added. Inexhaustible
resources…Can you think of a few?
List some natural resources
upon which humans rely.
Describe how a renewable
resource may become depleted.
Why is wind and hydrogen energy
considered inexhaustible?
Some pollutants are inadvertent
• Air:
byproducts of human activity.
Pollution caused by humans, whether
inadvertent or not, is anthropogenic.
Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrous
oxides found in automobile exhaust.
Some are intentional and a direct result of
human invention. Why would humans pollute
on purpose?
Pesticides used by the agricultural industry in an
attempt to keep nature at bay
• Soil and water
Zebra Mussels
• The natural
process whereby the
Lamprey
last surviving individual of a species
dies and is gone forever.
• Nearly 2/3 of all animal species that
have existed on the Earth have
become extinct. How are humans
The present rate of
may be as high as
causing extinctions now? extinction
140,000 species per year!
• Hunting and poaching, destruction of habitat,
pollution, extermination, and through the
introduction of foreign species and diseases.
What is pollution that is caused by humans
called?
What are three types of pesticides?
Describe three ways that humans are
causing extinctions.
What types of pollution are NOT
anthropogenic?
Poverty vs. Affluence
Almost a third of the poverty-stricken live in rural areas.
They are more dependent on their surrounding natural resources for
their basic needs and wellbeing.
High concern for survival, push them to not think about their future
requirements. When it comes to your family either eating, or starving,
you are less likely to concern yourself with preserving the environment
for the future.
Thus, they usually end up living in
environmentally sensitive areas
where they exploit and
contaminate the resources and
expose themselves to number of
diseases, as a result.
Is affluence an automatic
“protector” of the environment?
NO! With affluence,
the pretentious display of wealth for the
comes waste. Conspicuous
purpose of acquiring or maintaining status or
prestige
Consumption!!!
Weighted Environmental Cost
Land development is
advertised here in North
Carolina. The land is
appealing because it is
close to the highway, and
a Walmart.
It is estimated that every ton of
CO2 emitted into the
atmosphere costs the U.S.
government $37 in diminished
agricultural productivity,
damage caused by rising sea
levels and poor human health
conditions related to climate
change.
Is its economic value
greater than the
environmental value of the
Would it be cheaper, in the long
biodiversity that will be
run, to invest money into clean
disrupted if it is
renewable technology?
developed?
NO!
In 2012, there were 9.7 billion tons of CO2 released into the planet's
atmosphere.
Environmental Misunderstanding
Since the illegal introduction of Northern Pike to South
and Central Alaskan waters, their voracious nature has
rendered many of these waterways sterile of other game
fish.
This has damaged the
salmon industry,
perhaps Alaska’s
number one fish,
economically.
What’s the answer?
AARFF'S Alaska fly in
trip for pike ?
(Alaska Arctic Awesome
Remote Fly Fishing)
• Fish toxins?
• Dewatering?
Why is poverty on of Earth’s main concerns?
Why is affluence almost as devastating on
the environment as poverty?
Describe what is meant by “weighted
environmental cost”, and why it’s a threat to
the environment.
How is environmental misunderstanding a
concern for the environment?
An easy way to remember Earth’s
biggest environmental concerns is
with the acronym “HIPPO”
Habitat destruction,
invasive species,
pollution, population
(human), and
overharvesting.