Conservation

Vocabulary Highlight the following terms in your outline: 1. Acid precipitation 2. Erosion 3. Fossil fuel 4. Geothermal energy 5. Greenhouse effect 6. Hazardous waste 7. Hydroelectric power 8. Natural resource 9. Nonrenewable resource 10. Nuclear energy 11. Ozone depletion 12. Petroleum 13. Pollutant 14. Recycling 15. Renewable resource

Conservation The official supervision of rivers, forests, and other natural resources in order to preserve and protect them through prudent management. The careful utilization of a natural resource in order to prevent depletion.

What If Everyone Cared?

Natural Resources parts of the environment that are useful or necessary for living organisms to survive

Renewable Resources A natural resource that is constantly recycled or replaced by nature

Non-renewable Resources Natural resources that are used up more quickly than they can be replaced

Fossil Fuels coal, oil, and natural gas are nonrenewable energy resources that form in Earth’s crust over very long periods of time.

Alternative Energy used to help conserve fossil fuels.

Hydroelectric power energy from falling water used to generate electricity

Wind wind turns the blades of a turbine, which powers an electric generator.

Nuclear power the fission of uranium atoms generates nuclear energy that is used to produce electricity.

Geothermal power uses geothermal energy from the heat in earth’s crust to generate electricity.

Solar Energy Captured in photovoltaic cells, which turn sunlight into electric current, or in materials that retain heat.

How Photovoltaic Cells Work?

What will the Earth look like in 2050?

Acid precipitation A rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides which react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids.

Erosion the process by which soil and rock are removed from the Earth's surface by natural processes such as wind or water flow, and then transported and deposited in other locations.

Greenhouse effect a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions. Since part of this re-radiation is back towards the surface and the lower atmosphere, it results in an elevation of the average surface temperature above what it would be in the absence of the gases

Hazardous waste waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment.

Ozone Depletion Describes two distinct but related phenomena observed since the late 1970s: a steady decline of about 4% per decade in the total volume of ozone in Earth's stratosphere (the ozone layer), and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone over Earth's polar regions. The latter phenomenon is referred to as the ozone hole. In addition to these well-known stratospheric phenomena, there are also springtime polar tropospheric ozone depletion events.

Pollutant a waste material that pollutes air, water or soil, and is the cause of pollution.

Recycling A rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning t processing used materials (waste) into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from landfilling) by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions hat it possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides which react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids.

Review

I. Resources A. Natural resources—parts of the environment that are useful or necessary for living organisms to survive 1. A natural resource that is constantly recycled or replaced by nature is a renewable resource. 2. Natural resources that are used up more quickly than they can be replaced are called nonrenewable resources; for example petroleum takes hundreds of millions of years to form.

B. Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas are nonrenewable energy resources that form in Earth’s crust over very long periods of time.

C. Alternative energy sources can be used to help conserve fossil fuels. 1. Hydroelectric power—energy from falling water used to generate electricity 2. Wind—wind turns the blades of a turbine, which powers an electric generator. 3. Nuclear power—the fission of uranium atoms generates nuclear energy that is used to produce electricity. 4. Geothermal power plants use geothermal energy from the heat in Earth’s crust to generate electricity. 5. Solar energy can be captured in photovoltaic cells, which turn sunlight into electric current, or in materials that retain heat. “Learning About Natural Resources”

Resource Worksheet Answers Renewable Petroleum Nuclear Hydroelectric Geothermal Fossil Fuels Photovoltaic Nonrenewable Solar Natural Resources

Really Hot Stuff Read the passages on handout and answer the questions that follow. Write a paragraph explaining the advantages and disadvantages of living in the region described in the reading.