Pollution Acid Rain, Global Warming, Toxic Waste Dumps, Landfills, Air/Pollution, Eutrophication, Habitat/Biodiversity redution, Biological Magnification, Radiation poisoning

What is pollution? Pollution is the unwanted alteration of natural chemical processes in an ecosystem as a direct or indirect result of human activity.

Pollutants Pollutants can be divided in two categories: Biodegradable- chemicals that break down by biological activity Non-biodegradable- chemicals that cannot break down into harmless forms Both types of pollutants can inflict serious damage on an ecosystem, but does not necessarily result in the death of a system.

Pollution and fertilizers Fertilizers are rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium- chemicals that will increase the growth of most plants. There is always a portion of the fertilizer that washes off the land and makes its way into local watercourses- at this point the fertilizer becomes a pollutant. The effect of fertilizing a body of water on growth rates and chemical cycles is called eutrophication, and is generally the result of increasing the availability of nitrogen and phosphorus in the system. The pollution can result when water carries dissolved fertilizer running off the land, or it can be caused by soil erosion, human sewage or industrial activities.

Soil Erosion Wearing away of soil by water, wind, and human activities. Plant roots hold soil in place- they protect the soil from the degradation caused by runoff water and winds. Cutting trees near lakes should be avoided because they retain water.

Habitat reduction When we use land for our uses then other plants and animals can’t use this space to make their home. We reduce both the number of different species (biodiversity) And the actual number of each species (biomass). This disrupts the food chain and important scientific discoveries.

Our energy can cause pollution Type of energy How does this effect habitats? Hydro Fossil Fuels Wind Solar Nuclear Flooding land reduces habitats . Cause erosion. Air pollution from burning reduce habitats. Mining dirty and reduces habitats Wind farms take up a lot of space and reduce habitats. No effect (small scale) Radioactive waste can affect biodiversity. Heats lakes.

Carbon Cycle Photosynthesis- plants use solar energy to capture carbon dioxide suspended in the atmosphere or dissolved in water. Carbon dioxide is then transformed into glucose. Glucose is a complex molecule used as an energy source. Respiration- as all living organisms under go respiration, part of the carbon taken in returns back in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. In a eutrophic lake, the dissolved oxygen concentration falls to zero As oxygen depletion becomes increasingly severe, fish species die out.

Our Energy can cause Pollution Type of energy How does it unbalance the Carbon cycle? Hydro Fossil fuel Wind Solar Nuclear Flooding land causes plants to rot and produce extra CO2. burning coal and oil adds CO2. to the air causing Global warming No effect on carbon cycle No effect

Phosphorus Cycle Erosion- in nature phosphorus is mainly found in rocks. As the se rocks under go erosion due to the action of wind and rain, a small quantity of phosphorus is released in the form of phosphates. Plants rapidly absorb phosphates which is necessary for their growth. Herbivores take in phosphates by eating plants, and carnivores take in phosphates by eating herbivores or other animals. Phosphates taken in by living things return to the soil. All animals excrete phosphates in their feces and urine. The decomposition of dead plant and animal matter also release phosphates. The natural cycle of phosphorus is destabilized by human activities. The use of fertilizers in agriculture, soaps containing phosphates contribute to the excess of phosphorus in rivers and lakes which accelerates the growth of algae which leads to the process of eutrophocation.

Our energy can cause pollution Type of energy How does it unbalance the Phosphorus cycle? Hydro Fossil Fuel Wind Solar Nuclear Flooding land causes more phosphorus to return to the water causing Eutrophication No effect

Nitrogen Cycle Bacteria from the soil or water capture nitrogen in the atmosphere and convert in into ammonia. Other bacteria convert ammonia into nitrites and then nitrates. Plants absorb nitrogen from the soil. Animals absorb nitrogen by eating plants and herbivores. Decomposers break down organic matter which contain nitrogen into ammonia. Certain bacteria convert nitrates into free nitrogen which is returned in the atmosphere.

Our energy can cause pollution Type of energy How does it unbalance the Nitrogen cycle? Hydro Fossil fuel Wind Solar Nuclear Flooded land rots plants increases Nitrogen in water causing eutrophication. Burning coal and oil add NOx to the air making acid rain. Returns N to the soil. Eutrophication No effect

Water Cycle

Our energy can cause pollution Type of energy How does it unbalance the water cycle? Hydro Fossil fuel Wind Solar Nuclear No effect Emissions of CO2 cause Acid rain Heats up the water in rivers and lakes by cooling fuel rods

Biological magnification Non-biodegradable pollutants are stored in the bodies of an organism and passed on up the food chain in a process called biological magnification. A predator absorbs all the stored pollutants in the prey that it eats and each meal provides a dose of toxin. If the predator falls prey to a larger carnivore, the entire dose of toxicity is taken to the next level of the food chain. The concentration of toxin is amplified at each link in the food chain.

Our energy can cause Pollution Type of energy How does it unbalance the food chain? Hydro Fossil fuel Wind Solar Nuclear Flooding causes minerals(Pb, Hg) to leach out of the soil and poison the food chain. No effect Radioactive waste can cause mutations in living things.

Make a big table Put a tick in the box if the form of energy disrupts a cycle Energy type Re-newable $ Cost Prox-imity Habi-tat Reduction C cycle P N Water Biological Magnification Hydro Yes Low Fossil Fuel No High Near City Wind Windy Solar Sunny Nuclear