PROMOTING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH MODULE 7

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES After reading this module, you will be able to Explain how ecosystems are interrelated, and inter-dependents. Explain the global impact of population growth on the planet. Explain why biodiversity is necessary for a healthy planet. Analyze how your behaviors impact the environment, and develop three lifestyle strategies to decrease your ecological footprint.

INTRODUCTION How does our health depend on the health of planet?

INTRODUCTION Our health depends on many environmental factors: The quality of and access to the water we drink, The quality of the air we breathe, of the crops we harvest, and the diversity of the many ecosystems. Our lifestyles and behaviors affect our planet, our communities, and the lives of other humans and species around the world.

ECOSYSTEMS Definition: all the living organisms and nonliving elements and their environment within a specific space. Examples of ecosystems: Animals Organisms Plants air, water, soil, sunlight, and climate

ECOSYSTEMS cont. The interaction between all the elements of all the ecosystems on earth determines the health of the planet. Can you think of an example of an ecosystem within your own body?

CARBON CYCLE

CARBON CYCLE Carbon is the most abundant element on the planet. Everything is made of carbon, air, plants, humans, animals, water, rocks. It is essential to life. The carbon cycle is a process involving the continuous movement of carbon dioxide from non living things such as the atmosphere, the oceans, into living things, including plants, animals and humans.

CARBON CYCLE cont. The carbon cycle: Uses CO2 to balance the temperature of the planet by trapping heat in the atmosphere. Plants take in CO2 during photosynthesis, and sunlight to grow and to make their own food, and then release oxygen. Next, animals consume the plants with the CO2. Animals get eaten by other animals or humans and eventually die, releasing CO2 in the air through decomposition and the cycle starts again: as a result the amount of CO2 remains the same in the atmosphere. When this happens, it is a perfect ecosystem.

THE CARBON CYCLE cont. How can the carbon cycle be disrupted? Heat gets trapped in the atmosphere and builds green house gasses (Co2 and methane gas). Several human activities contribute to the rise in green house gasses

POPULATION GROWTH Let’s look at the World Population Clock: write down the world population as of right now. Check again at the end of class. What contributes to the U. S. Population trend?

POPULATION GROWTH The majority of the environmental issues we are facing today come from human activity, and affect water, land, air, species, global warming, and climate in general. Let’s look at how one human activity can snowball the effects of pollution.

FARMING Millions of acres of forests are lost each year to grow crops and ranch cattle, which contributes to habitats loss and green gas houses.

FARMING More crops are grown to feed animals than to feed humans 70 % of the crops is used to feed lives tocks in the U. S.

FARMING cont. Most of the soy beans grown worldwide is used to feed farm animals Farming produces most of the methane gas: animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse emissions than the entire transportation system that includes cars, trucks, planes, boats, motorcycles, and buses, and is the cause of many environmental issues.

MASS EXTINCTION Extinctions take place when a specie either can’t reproduce, can’t adapt to environmental changes or are pray to predators. Extinctions occur very rarely; so far the first five occurred over a period of 4 billion years. They were primarily due primarily to drastic climate changes. We are currently going through the sixth mass species extinction, and for the first time it is due to human activity. Once one specie becomes extinct, it threatens the extinctions of all the species depending on each other for survival.  

MASS EXTINCTION cont. Give an example of how the extinction of one specie can threaten the extinction of another.

WHY DOES IT MATTER? What If All the Bees Went Extinct? | Four Years Left To Live for Humans | How The Universe Works

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT What is an ecological foot print ?

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT cont. “A child born in the United States will create thirteen times as much ecological damage over the course of his or her lifetime than a child born in Brazil,” reports the Sierra Club’s Dave Tilford, adding that the average American will drain as many resources as 35 natives of India and consume 53 times more goods and services than someone from China.” Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss Use It and Lose It: The Outsize Effect of U.S. Consumption on the Environment, Scientific American Journal

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT cont. “With less than 5 percent of world population, the U.S. uses one- third of the world’s paper, a quarter of the world’s oil, 23 percent of the coal, 27 percent of the aluminum, and 19 percent of the copper,” he reports.” [ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH: EXERCISE 7 page 3]

WHAT IS YOUR ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT? Make a list of what personal behaviors contribute to your ecological footprint TEST YOUR ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT [EXERCISE 8 page 3]

WHAT IS YOUR ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT? Work in groups and write a list of 10 strategies you can implement to reduce your footprint.

TIPS TO REDUCING OUR FOOTPRINT 6 Tips to avoid using plastic bags (5’) How to make food wraps quickly and easily (1’) How to zero waste grocery shop (5’) [EXERCISE 9: Reduce and Reuse (page4)]

LABS Create home made eco friendly cleaning products for the kitchen and bath. List of food containers that can be used instead of plastic. Research 3 eco-friendly practices in your community. Research and write the story of the life of a plastic bag.

SETTING GOALS Work with a partner and write examples of Long-term and short- term environmental wellness goals.

S. M. A. R. T. GOALS Work as a group and write S.M.A.R.T. GOALS

REVIEW What is your take on this lecture, what did you learn? _________________________________