Lesson Overview 6.1 A Changing Landscape

The Effect of Human Activity How do our daily activities affect the environment? Our daily activities impact the quality of Earth’s natural resources: soil, water, Atmosphere These activities are: Agriculture Development Industry

The Effect of Human Activity :Agriculture impacts natural resources (fresh water and fertile soil) Fertilizer production and farm machinery also consume large amounts of fossil fuels.

The Effect of Human Activity :Agriculture Farmers have double world food production over the last 50 years. Monoculture the practice of clearing large areas of land to plant a single highly productive crop year after year. It enables efficient sowing, tending, and harvesting of crops using machines.

The Effect of Human Activity :Development Caused overcrowding in urban centers Lots of waste production as a result of the overcrowding. Consumes farmland Divides natural habitats into fragments Ex. fragmentation of the forests in Florida Fragmented habitat

The Effect of Human Activity :Industrial Growth Pollution by burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas, due to power and energy requirements. Industrials wastes from manufacturing and energy production discarded into the air, water, and soil. Ex. Smog formed by chemical reactions among pollutants released into the air by industrial processes and automobile exhaust.

Sustainable Development What is the relationship between resource use and sustainable development? Sustainable development provides for human needs while preserving the ecosystems that produce natural resources. Goods are things that can be bought and sold, that have value in terms of dollars and cents. Services are processes or actions that produce goods. Ecosystem goods and services are the goods and services produced by ecosystems that benefit the human economy.

Ecosystem Goods and Services Healthy ecosystems provide goods & services naturally & largely free of charge Ex. breathable air & drinkable water. If the environment is polluted, society must spend money to produce these goods & services. Ex. Many places have drinkable water provided naturally by streams, rivers, and lakes, and filtered by wetlands Pollution leads to poor water quality. Cities and towns must then pay for mechanical or chemical treatment to provide safe drinking water.

Classification of ecosystem goods and services: Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources Renewable resource produced or replaced by a healthy ecosystem. Ex. Wind Nonrenewable resources  cannot be replenish by natural processes within a reasonable amount of time. Ex. Fossil fuels  coal, oil, and natural gas formed from buried organic materials over millions of years.

Sustainable Resource Use Sustainable development  Using natural resources in a way that: does not cause long-term environmental harm to the soil, water, and climate on which it depends. consumes as little energy and material as possible. Is flexible enough to survive environmental stresses like droughts, floods, and heat waves or cold snaps. takes into account human economic systems as well as ecosystem goods and services.