Silent Spring What does a Silent Spring mean? How do humans effect the environment? What is cycling chemical elements? What is Biological Magnification?

Human Impact “The earth’s vegetation is part of a web of life in which there are intimate and essential relations between plants and animals. Sometimes we have no choice but to disturb these relationships, but we should do so thoughtfully, with full awareness that what we do may have consequences remote in time and place.” ~ Rachel Carson Silent Spring

Human Impact Humans created pesticides such as DDT. These pesticides eventually created many problems in the environment. Humans unintentionally infected bodies of water with DDT. This DDT infected the animals in the water, eventually leading to biological magnification. Humans disrupted ecosystems, causing all living things within the ecosystem to become ill, endangered or extinct.

The Cycling of Chemical Elements The transportation of minerals is done by various biochemical cycles. Such cycles are the water cycle, the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle, and phosphorus cycle. Water Cycle It influences rates of ecosystem processes, particularly primary production and decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. Because runoff and ground water, insecticides that are sprayed on land are leaked into lakes and other bodies of water. This leads to the contamination of the water and the death to many fish and anything that drinks out of the water.

Carbon Cycle Carbon is essential to all organisms.. photosynthetic organisms use CO2 during photosynthesis and convert the carbon to other forms used by consumers.