Environmental Choices

Resources Renewable resources Can be replaced Unlimited amount Food, solar energy, wind, trees Nonrenewable resources Can not be replaced Limited amount Fossil fuels, minerals

Sustainability Natural resources are being renewed at least as quickly as they are being used Have a continual supply We can help sustain our supply of renewable and nonrenewable resources by Reducing Reusing Recycling

Ecological Footprint A way to measure how much of an impact you have Can be individual, national, or global Calculation of Total area of land, water and energy needed to supply all of the materials you use Total area of land, water and energy needed to absorb all of the wastes you produce

Example Car – EF = 1530m2 Bus – EF = 303m2 Bike – EF = 122m2 Another way to think about it… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjyrAHzthTo National footprints http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhwBvnQdLWI Footprint Calculator http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/ http://ecoguru.panda.org/#/calculator/help

Species in Danger

Threatened Extirpated Species whose numbers are decreasing Are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future Extirpated Extinction of a species in a specific region

Endangered Organism can still be found, but numbers are very low Extinct Organism no longer exists anywhere in the world Main reason – loss of habitat

Ecosystem Monitoring In order to know whether or not an ecosystem is healthy, scientists need to check the conditions of the ecosystem and the organisms that live in it They compare results from different areas and different time points Helps scientists understand the impacts of disturbances in order to try to reverse or reduce them

What can we monitor? Both biotic and abiotic parts of an ecosystem can be monitored 4 main types of monitoring Physical Changes in the landscape Environmental Changes in the climate and weather patterns

Chemical Changes in the air, water and soil Biological Changes in the populations of organisms

When should we monitor an ecosystem... After a disturbance has occurred Before a disturbance has occurred Most helpful because it gives us baseline data Can tell us what organisms live in an area Can help people make decisions about how to disturb an area