ENVIRONMENT MODULE
Topics:
1.
What do we mean by ‘environment’?2.The natural environment
3.
Why is it important to care about the natural environment?
4.
Ecosystems5.Food chains and food webs6.Biodiversity7.The three levels of biodiversity8.Why is biodiversity important?9.Problems for biodiversity10.Extinction
11.
Case study: Extinction of the Dodo bird12.Water13.Water crisis14.Oceans
15.
Case study: The largest poisoning in history16.Dams
17.
Case study: The Tasang Dam, Burma
18.
Rainforests and deforestation19.Threat to Burma’s forests
20.
Pollution21.Case study: Gold mining in Burma
22.
Case study: Bhopal disaster23.Global warming24.Energy use
25.
Case study: Gas pipelines in Burma26.Population27.Sustainable development28.Environmental agreements
Acknowledgements:
Some extracts from
Curriculum Project’s Environment Issues module, EarthRights’ materials,
and
the
PDP – Environment unit
have been used or adapted in compiling thismodule.
1.What do we mean by ‘environment’?
Three types of environment:
Natural Environment
The natural environment is the land, air, water and all the living things.
Built Environment
The built environment is anything that is made by people.
Social and cultural environment
The social and cultural environment includes beliefs, ideas, religion, knowledge andlanguages.
Decide which type of environment the words below belong to. Write them in thecorrect column in the table:
A tiger, bamboo, a bamboo house, education, Chin language, Delhi, theplanet earth, a flower, Kachin State, the Irrawaddy river, a pencil, anelephant, electricity, Christianity, politics, Shwedagon Pagoda, rain, avillage headman, gold, a radio
Natural EnvironmentBuilt EnvironmentSocial and culturalenvironment
Which of the above environments do you think is most important? Why? __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________
2.The natural environment
The natural environment is everything that is found naturally on the earth, such as the air,water, the land and the plants and trees. The natural environment is very important for our survival.
Water
All plants and animals are dependent on water for their survival.Water covers three-quarters (75%) of the surface of the earth. So it seems that we have plentyof water for all the people, plants and animals, and that we will never run out of this resource.But, in reality, we do not have plenty of water. 97% of all the earth’s water is found in theoceans, as salt water. Humans and animals cannot drink salt water, and most plants cannotgrow in salt water. Another 2% of the world’s water is frozen – it makes up the ice of glaciersand ice-caps. That leaves 1% of the earth’s water which we can use.The water that we use is found in lakes and rivers (
surface water
) or stored beneath theground (
ground water
).
Air
The atmosphere is the layer that surrounds the surface of the earth. It is about two miles thick.The atmosphere is important for our survival. It provides us with the air that all plants andanimals need. We need the oxygen in the air for respiration; plants need the carbon dioxide inthe air for photosynthesis. The air contains hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide, plus smallamounts of other gases.The atmosphere also includes the ozone layer, which protects us from the harmful ultra-violetrays that come from the sun.
Trees and Plants
The trees and plants are very important to the natural environment of the earth. One of thethings they do is change carbon dioxide to oxygen (
photosynthesis
). If they did not do this,we would not have the oxygen we need to survive. If too many of the trees in the world weredestroyed, there wouldn’t be enough oxygen for us to breathe, and we would die.Trees are also important for holding down soil, stopping it from being washed or blown away by the rain or wind. In this way, trees prevent
erosion
.
Land
The land is very important for our survival. We need the land to grow crops for food. Also the plants that grow on the land provide food for many of the animals that live on the earth. If thesoil on the land is
fertile
it can grow many plants and crops.Unfortunately, if the land is not used carefully, or if it is over used, it is no longer able togrow crops (it becomes
infertile
).The soil in rainforests is very fertile. This is because all the trees and plants in the rainforest provide nutrients to the soil. But if the rainforest is cut down, the soil quickly becomesinfertile.
Search History:
Result 00 of 00
00 results for result for
p.
Recommended
More From This User
Notes
Load more
