Solid Earth. The student knows that Earth contains energy, water, mineral, and rock resources and that use of these resources impacts Earth's subsystems. The student is expected to: (a) evaluate how the use of energy, water, mineral, and rock resources affects Earth's subsystems; Students will understand how human’s carbon footprint affects global warming. (b) describe the formation of fossil fuels, including petroleum and coal; Students will be to describe various types of coal including (sedimentary) peat, lignite, bituminous, (metaphoric) anthracitic

What two states are responsible for the highest withdrawals of water per day, in the US? Which states are responsible for the lowest withdrawal of water per day? What factors would you consider when thinking about that question? Size of state Population of state Geography of state Location of state Let’s take a look, and see if you were right! Just how does Texas and California use all that water? Municipal Agricultural Industrial

Just how does all that water use affect Earth Subsystems? Lithosphere: Atmosphere: Hydrosphere: Biosphere: All living things rely upon water. If too much is consumed by any one species, it most certainly affects the rest of the ecosystem sharing that resource. The hydrosphere is the subsystem that contains water. As such, the overconsumption and waste of that resource may influence the hydrologic cycle. Depleting freshwater resources that may take a long time to “recharge” is a dangerous habit to get into. The more water we use in agricultural irrigation, the more evaporation will occur from those vast fields. The more evaporation, the more waver vapor in the atmosphere. This is a greenhouse gas…which leads to increased global warming…which leads to increased evaporation…etc. Vast withdrawal of water from underground access points, such as aquifers, means longer recharge time. Many times, in such areas where aquifers are present, sink holes may form if too much is removed at once.

1. Which two states are responsible for the most withdrawal of fresh water resources? 2. Which states are responsible for the least? 3. What factors determine water usage? 4.How is the biosphere affected by water usage in the world?

Lithosphere: Atmosphere: Hydrosphere: Biosphere: Most of our fossil fuel resources are mined from the lithosphere. Mining practices are many times not “environmentally friendly”, leaving great slag heaps and nutrient-poor soils at the surface. Perhaps the easiest place to see what overconsumption of energy can do, is the atmosphere. When we produce energy through combustion, we add CO 2 and other greenhouse gases as well as particles and pollutants to our atmosphere. This isn’t a typical fog in Beijing…it’s smog. A combination of smoke (pollutants) and fog. Use of energy also affects our hydrosphere, because most of the energy plants that rely upon fossil and non-renewable fuels are situated along and upon fresh water resources. This industry relies upon water as a coolant to the super-heated systems. Many organisms are influenced by human use of energy resources. Adding pollutants to the environment is obviously toxic and damaging to ecosystems. This would include thermal pollution from the energy industry.

When we increase our dependency on non-renewable minerals and rocks, we increase our mining operations. This means added pollution to the atmosphere from the increase in mining operations. Also, the mining process uses explosive techniques to blast the minerals and ores free. This adds particulate pollutants to the atmosphere too. As is true with any non-renewable resource, the increased incidence of mining of these minerals and rocks is not something that can be replaced within a human lifetime, or even 300 human lifetimes. It’s not a good idea to use any resource to the point of depletion. Mining is a “dirty” business, and it can leave large ugly scars at the surface. Lithosphere: Atmosphere: Hydrosphere: Biosphere: The Importance of Rocks and Minerals Name Type of RockUse Basalt Igneous Used in road building materials Calcite Mineral Used in cements and mortars and the production of lime Granite Igneous Used for buildings, monuments, and tombstones Marble Metamorphic Used in building, floors, tile in bathrooms Obsidian IgneousUsed in making arrowheads and knives Pumice Igneous Used in scouring, scrubbing, and polishing materials Quartz Mineral Used in making glass, electrical components, and optical lenses Sandstone Sedimentary Used in the building industry for houses Slate Metamorphic Used for roofs, chalkboards, and patio walks Why are rocks and minerals important to us? Iron ore mine in Africa Copper ore dust asphyxiation. This stand of trees was destroyed by this pollutant…a result of copper ore extraction As horrible as the mining process is to the atmosphere, multiply that by 1,000, and you have the affect on the hydrosphere…especially freshwater. Mining companies use freshwater resources to dump their tailings This dam discharges its water, contaminated with heavy metals from mine tailings, into the local water system. I think the impact of mining of rock and mineral resources on the biosphere has become more than apparent. All of these pollutants can certainly do no benefit to the environment…and that logically means that life will be affected in a negative way. Uranium mine in Australia

5. How are each of the following impacted by energy use? Lithosphere Atmosphere Hydrosphere Biosphere 6.What type of rock and mineral resources are important to humans? 7.What is a tailings pond? 8.What is a slag heap, and why are they so detrimental?

All of this resource use adds up to a burden on the Earth. The term “carbon footprint” refers to the amount of carbon, in the form of CO 2, we emit ourselves, or are responsible for in any one-year period. C0 2 is produced from many sources and is the primary gas responsible for global warming and the resulting alarming changes in our climate. What’s your carbon footprint? The average American footprint is 17 tons! In Europe, the average carbon footprint is only 10 tons!

9. What is a carbon footprint? 10. What is YOUR carbon footprint?

Think back to our unit on geologic time… What did the Earth look like 300 million years ago? Pangea was just forming. There were swamps and bogs everywhere. The climate was warmer, and the oxygen content in our atmosphere was much higher. Ancient trees and plants grew everywhere. Strange looking animals walked on the land, and just as weird looking fish swam in the rivers and seas. Tiny one- celled organisms called protoplankton floated in the ocean. This was the time of the formation of the fossil fuels we rely upon today.

Three of your group members will each pick a fossil fuel, and research how the fuel forms  Coal  Oil  Natural Gas Another person in your group will be responsible for finding information on how exactly your fossil fuel is used. They will include this on the poster too. Another person will show on a global map exactly where these resources may be found. You will get an anonymous grading rubric, which you will use to grade the helpfulness and cooperation of your group members. The student who is judged “least” effective will present the material to the class. Each person is responsible for putting their own information on a share-out poster. You must include diagrams, or illustrations of how it occurs.