Unit 1 – Natural and Human Systems We Live in a World of Systems

The Big Ideas

Systems The interaction of natural and human systems on the Earth shapes the environment in which you live. Natural systems include the circulation of water in the ocean, weather and climate systems, water drainage systems, and energy cycles. These are systems that occur in nature, and together, they form the ecosystems – a community of plants and animals that interact with one another and with their physical environment. The physical environment includes the land, climate, soils, water, and nutrients that support living things. Human systems include human settlements; transportation systems, such as highway, railway, and airline routes; communication systems, such as telephone networks; and information systems, such as the Internet. They are systems created by people.

Systems: Dynamic and Synergetic They are continually changing. While natural systems generally evolve very slowly over thousands or millions of years, human systems change much more quickly. It is hard to study one system without also examining others because systems and their components are dependent on one another.

Earth’s Natural Systems

The Atmosphere The atmosphere surrounds the Earth with a thin layer of mixed gases that make up the air you breathe. It consists mainly of nitrogen and oxygen but also includes small amounts of other gases, such as water vapour, carbon dioxide, and ozone. The atmosphere protects you from the sun’s intense energy and distributes heat around the planet.

The Lithosphere It includes the Earth’s crust and the uppermost part of the underlying mantle and consists of rocks, minerals, and soil. The lithosphere is broken into a number of pieces called crustal plates. These pieces move around very slowly on the underlying mantle in the process of plate tectonics. This movement can cause earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.

The Hydrosphere The hydrosphere is all the water on the Earth’s crust— salty, fresh, and frozen. It includes oceans, lakes, rivers, glaciers, swamps, and water vapour in the atmosphere. It also includes the water stored in the organs of all plants and animals. Earth is often called the blue planet. Oceans cover about 70% of the Earth’s surface.

The Biosphere The biosphere, which means “sphere of life,” is the layer of the Earth in which life evolves. The biosphere supports all living things. Since living things are found almost everywhere, the whole planet and all its spheres together are often referred to as the biosphere.

Characteristics of Natural Systems

Natural Systems Work in Cycles – a look at the Water Cycle.

Needs and Wants Use the Sheet Provided to create a list of five needs and five wants. Indicate how you meet each need and want, and which system(s) is used to satisfy each. Then, rank each list of needs and wants, from least (5) to greatest (1)

Human Systems People depend on natural systems: – We use technology to harvest natural resources and create lifestyles that are different from one place to another. – We clear forests to build farms, create chemicals to control pests, build transportation routes to make connections between places, and build dams to reduce flooding and create hydroelectric power.

Examples of Human Systems Whenever you go shopping for clothes, music, sports equipment, or other products, you are interacting with Canada’s economic system as well as the transportation system in your area. Transportation systems are the interconnecting networks of roads and the bus, train, airline, and cycling routes that link you with other people and places. Economic systems are integrated activities that produce and deliver all the goods and services that we enjoy every day. Main Human Systems: – Communication – Economics – Energy – Transportation – Infrastructure

Characteristics of Human Systems

Infrastructure Most people never think about where their water comes from or how it gets up to the top of a skyscraper. They don’t often consider how electricity makes its way into their home when they switch on the light, not to mention what happens to all that stuff that they flush down the toilet. Vital services supply us with electricity, water, telephone service, heat, roads, and waste removal, among other things. Infrastructure systems within cities include transportation networks that move people and products from one place to another.

Media Watch Activity Water Crisis - Page 62 answer the following 1. Write one sentence that summarizes the current situation with Newfoundland and Labrador’s water infrastructure. 2. Make predictions about how you think the issues highlighted in the article will be resolved. 3. What actions can you take to help ensure your local water supply is safe and secure?

Activity Create a two-column chart. In the first column, list the main economic activities that are found in the community in which you live. In the second column, describe how these activities depend on nature. Economic activitiesNatural Systems Dependence FishingAtmospheric weather conditions, Wind, Snow etc.. Lack of Biosphere – No Fish

Interaction of Systems Humans depend on nature for their needs, and they cannot help but change the natural environment as they use its resources. What are the consequences—negative and positive, intended or not—of these actions? Water pollution, smog, pesticide use, garbage dumps, and toxic chemicals are just some of the issues Human activities like burning fossil fuels to run cars, trucks, factories, and power plants, as well as to heat buildings, have started to change the makeup of gases in the atmosphere. Your town council has decided to build a new golf course in the Deadman’s Cove area of town. What are the positive, negative and unintended consequences of this decision?

Determine Significance The Government of NL has decided to make a road that goes from the high country through Pool’s Cove, then Rencontre East and finally end at the Burin Peninsula as opposed to repaving the current route 360. What are the positive, negative and unintended consequences of this decision? Use the chart (page 132 CG)provided to determine the magnitude, duration and scope of this proposed change.

Interactions Read the poem by Kevin Graal page 66. Outline the human systems that are either directly or indirectly referred to in the poem. Identify which of these systems could be considered part of the infrastructure of your community. Make a list of all the pollutants in the final verse of the poem. Research one of the pollutants to find the following information: common source(s) of the pollutant its uses in society possible harmful effects to people and wildlife an alternative to its use ways that you or others could reduce the impact of this pollutant on the water supply

Human and Natural Interactions - Systems thinking Systems thinking considers the interrelationships between people and their environment. By studying connections among the different parts of a system, we can better understand how people interact with their environment or how to manage natural resources in a more sustainable way, that is, in a way that conserves them so that they survive for future generations. How things influence one another within a whole

Case Studies A case study is an in-depth investigation into a real-life issue about which people have conflicting ideas. What can we learn: – a description of the situation and what has caused it – why it is important and of interest to Canadians – who is involved and who has the power to change things Gives you an opportunity to make a judgment about how fair the situation is and how well it is being resolved, an idea of what you can do to help resolve the issue, and the chance to apply what has been done (or not done) to resolve the issue in one place to a similar situation in another Case Study #1: The Missing Salmon (page 70)

Ecological Footprint a tool that measures the area of land and water required to produce the natural resources consumed by the human population. It helps to measure sustainability at the global, national or individual level. Currently, the world is living in an ecological deficit, which simply means that our demand for natural resources exceeds the supply or regenerative capacity of the earth. To sustain our resource consumption rate at its present-day level we would need more than one planet! Ways to reduce your ecological footprint are also available. 1. Reduce your carbon footprint. Walk, bike or take public transit Choose energy efficient appliances Purchase carbon offsets 2. Reduce your housing footprint. Use biodegradable, non-toxic cleaning products Compost 3. Reduce your goods and services footprint. Reduce, reuse, recycle