1. Warm Up #10
What are some ways that humans change Earth?

2. Ch. 6 Interactions Within Ecosystems
Lesson 3: Humans and Ecosystems

3. Essential Questions In what ways do humans affect ecosystems?
What can humans do to protect ecosystems and their resources?

4. How can you conserve resources by reusing items? ACTIVITY
One of the simplest actions individuals can take to protect the environment is to reuse items. Many of the items that you use today can be made into something else and used again.
What are some items the you have seen that can have more than 1 use?
What could the new use be for the item?

5. Affecting the Environment
About 3.5 billion years ago, microscopic organisms (cyanobacteria) were the only organisms around and lived by photosynthesis and changed the environment by releasing lots of oxygen into the environment
Animal 911 – Video
Lake Waste - Demo

6. Using Natural Resources
What are renewable and nonrenewable resources?

7. Using Natural Resources
Renewable resources – resources that can be replenished by natural processes at least as quickly as they are used
Food, water, oxygen
Nonrenewable resources – natural resources that are used up faster than they can be replaced by natural processes
Coal, oil, natural gas
Resource depletion – the exhaustion of one or more resources in an area

8. Understanding the Effects of Pollution
When we do things, the actions have unintended consequences
Burning fossil fuels lead to smog formation or acid rain and an increase in global warming
Using chemical fertilizers to farmland lead to harmful algal blooms in nearby lakes and streams
CFC use leads to damage in the ozone layer

9. Protecting the World
Develop renewable energy resources that can reduce pollution
Making and enforcing environmental laws
Endangered Species Act
Clean Air Act – 1970
Clean Water Act – 1972, expanded in 1977 and 1987
Making steps in each of our daily lives to reduce impact on planet

10. Making a Difference
Restore – plant tress, remove trash to clean up areas
Rethink – come up with ideas to carry out daily tasks without harming the environment
Reduce – using fewer resources
Reuse – repair broken items instead of replacing them, buy used instead of new, invent new uses
Recycle – instead of putting things in the dump