Humans in the biosphere 6.1 A changing landscape

How do our daily activities affect the environment? Humans affect both regional and global environments Have major impacts on the quality of Earth’s natural resources Agriculture Monoculture and fertilisers Development City waste disposal Industrial Growth Factories – emissions and waste

Sustainable development Ecosystem goods and services Many such as air and water are taken for granted Are provided free of charge…. But, when a service such as water is disrupted – fixing it can be costly Mechanical and chemical treatment of water is expensive!

Renewable vs Non Renewable resources Renewable resources: can be produced or replaced by a healthy ecosystem Non renewable: Natural processes can not replenish them in a reasonable amount of time When used up essentially gone forever

Are trees/forests a renewable or non renewable resource? It depends on whether the trees will be able to grow back in a reasonable time

Sustainable resource use Provides for human needs while preserving the ecosystem that produces the natural resource Should cause no long term harm Consume little energy and materials Survive environmental stresses Economic impacts Enable people to improve their situation