Environmental Issues Associated with Human Needs for Energy Aissatou Ndiaye Biology 1312 University of Houston Downtown

Brief History of Energy During prehistorical times, Man discovers fire. Around 8000 BCE, with his invention of agriculture, Man started to refine his way of doing and invents energy through several means :  Building wheels in rivers and steam to harness water as a source of energy  Building of windmills as a source of energy  Cooking coal and than transforming it

Brief History of Energy  Developing electric generator, motor and relay  Building solar energy generator As the world population grows, more and more energy is required supply the growing needs for energy. In its quest of finding and exploiting the several energy sources, he alters the ecosystem and put the planet in danger.

Human Need for Energy Energy has become part of our lives. We need it on our daily lives and It has become indispensable. We use energy for  Shelter Residential Housing ( electricity, heat, AC…) Commercial Building (in the office, at the mall…)  Food Agriculture Fertilizer, pesticides  Transportation Personal auto Public (bus, trains, boats, airplane…) Systems  Industrial Products Resource extraction Chemical processes Product manufacture

Sources of Energy There are many sources and technologies used to getenergy  Coal  Oil  Gas  Nuclear  Solar  Alternate: Biomass, wind, tidal, geothermal

Ecosystems Biotic  Aquatic species  Birds  Humans  Mammals  Vegetation Abiotic  Rocks  Minerals  Sediments  Temperature  Light  Chemicals  soil

Ecological Impacts  On the ground level  Underground Mines Easily flooded when abandoned The contaminated water runs and decrease PH in lakes, rivers  Exploitation of habitat In the ocean  In the permafrost Instability of pipelines Spils  Dams Kills plants Alter river flow Degrade downstream channels Prevent birds from migrating

Ecological Impacts  In the atmosphere  Pollute the air  More greenhouse gas  Contribute to the acid deposition  Carbon emission  Health risks  Long term effects  Climate change  Agricultural yield  Coastal flooding

Economical Impacts

 Oil spils Affect costal economy Fisheries Tourism  Expensive to exploit  Price increase  Exhaustion of resources  Inability to work properly  In agriculture decrease yielding

Alternatives  Use of ethanol and biodiesel  Biomass energy is carbon neutral don’t increase greenhouse gas In the long run  Solar energy  Hydrogen energy  Create product which consumes less energy

Work Cited Annenberg Learner. The Habitat Planet. “Unit 10:Energy Challenges”. Annenberg Foundation web June Carnegie Mellon University copyrights 2014 web June United Stated Energy Department web June