Human Influences

On

The Environment

Name: _______________ Teacher: __________

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You will remember the graphs of Human Population Growth we looked at recently. For
many hundreds of thousands of years the human population was so small that we made
little impact on our environment.

The earliest people lived a simple life style and often used natural materials such as
wood and animal bones. Even when they became more advanced in their usage of
materials and the discovery and utilisation of metals and the development of agriculture
and farming, they made little impact on the global environment as there were so few of
them.

With our exponential population growth this all changed – there have been more
people born in the past hundred years than there were for the entire previous
history of mankind! Up until about a thousand years ago the entire human population
of the world was less than a million people. Form the year 1500 to the year 1900 the
population increased by about 3 million per year. Since 1900 it has been increasing by
an average of about 33 million per year and this figure is increasing still!

All this increasing population places enormous demands on the Earth and its resources.
In turn the amount of environmental damage has increased dramatically.

In this sub topic we will be looking at some of the influences that we humans have on
the environment and how these affect us as well as other organisms sharing our planet.

Task: Make a list of the major needs of a population of humans (a) living in a desert
region and (b) living in a big city. Try to make your 2 lists as complete as possible, but
group similar needs under major headings (e.g. write “Mineral Resources” instead of listing
all the different minerals that may be required)

Ask your teacher how you should present your list – should it be on A4 paper as a simple
list, a web topic, or maybe you will be asked to just make a rough list for discussion in
class.

Clean Air

In Marbella we are quite lucky to have reasonably clean air. In some cities, students do
experiments where they leave a damp white tissue out overnight – next day they can see
solid particles of pollutants from smoke etc on the tissue.

Your teacher will demonstrate what happens to a clean tissue or cotton wool when it is
held near a burning fuel. This will give you an idea of the problem. Many airborne
pollutants are invisible – for example those from car exhausts – so we are not exempt from
this problem in this region!

What two courses of action have been taken in Europe and most developed countries to
help limit the problems caused by pollutants from car exhausts?

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Cars are not the only causes of air pollution – what is a possible solution for the problem of
pollution caused by burning of fossil fuels (Coal, Oil & Natural Gas)?

________________________________________________________________________

• Use your textbook to find out more about the following pollutants and the
problems they create:

Carbon dioxide (Global Warming); Oxides of Nitrogen & Sulphur (Acid Rain);
Smoke (Smog).

• Write two or three paragraphs about each and make a labelled diagram to
show how CO2 influences Global warming & The Greenhouse Effect.

A Space to Live

An increasing population requires increasing amounts of space to live, also for industry
and agriculture. As well as needing ever more natural resources. The Sahara desert was
once a source of timber for the building of ships for the armies and navies of ancient times.
Human activity has reduced the Great North African Forest into the biggest man made
desert on this planet! And the Sahara creeps further south every year as pressure
continues on its borders with humans needing wood for cooking and also by the grazing of
their livestock.

Deforestation causes numerous problems. Most of which are very obvious such as the
lack of the resources the forest formerly provided such as fuel, shelter and food as well as
a habitat for many species. There is also the problem of loss of soil – when forests are
removed the soil is no longer bound together well and can be easily washed away. This is
a problem in itself but can also lead to flooding and pollution of waterways when the soil
gets carried away by such floods.
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Look what happens when tree roots are removed from soil:

http://www.fincaleola.com/photo_gallery.htm (underscore between the words photo &

gallery).

Try to check out this website. If you visit, you will be able to tell your teacher three
problems happening in Costa Rica and what is being done to help fight against these
problems.

Clean Water
We take it for granted but for many people, clean water is a scarce resource. Even here on
the Costa del Sol, there is a problem with sewage reaching the sea - not nice in fact very
dangerous as raw sewage can contain Cholera, Typhoid and Poliomyelitis. Uncommon
diseases here in Spain but casuing huge loss of life in parts of the world where people use
the same water as a source for drinking, cleaning, washing and as a waste dump and toilet
facility!

Indicator Species

Some organisms are so fussy about the cleanliness of the air or water in their environment
that they are only found when conditions are perfect or pollution free. Some species of
Trout (fish of the Salmon family) are even kept in tanks at water treatment works to check
that the water is finally clean enough to return to rivers etc. Salmon are only found in water
that is very clean and free from pollution. They are an Indicator Species – they indicate by
their presence that the water is free of pollutants.

DID YOU KNOW? If you had fallen into the River Thames in London 50 years ago you
would be more likely to be poisoned than to drown! It was one of the most polluted rivers in
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the world. Yet now after a successful Clean-Up Campaign and serious action being taken
against pollution, Salmon can be seen travelling through London on their way to the upper
Thames valley where they are breeding successfully for the first time in centuries! The
salmon really are an indicator that this river is recovering!

Read more about Indicator Species on page 212 in your Biology textbook and
answer questions 1 & 2.

Water Treatment

Take a look at the diagram above; one of the most important stages in water treatment is
during the sedimentation process where bacteria digest the sewage sludge or any waste
materials and render them harmless. This is what happens in nature – but here on a
smaller scale and under our control. It is a similar idea to when people keep tropical fish in
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tanks – if you have a small number of fish in a large well planted tank – you can manage
without any kind of filtration. However, with large numbers of fish and / or limited space
you will need to have a powerful mechanical and biological filter to keep the water clean.

Q. What would be an important “ingredient” in the “biological” filter?

________________________________________________________________________

Intensive Farming

Fertilisers are necessary if we are to feed the world and its ever expanding population.
Plants grow much better and faster when given Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium
(NPK) based fertilisers. However, there are many drawbacks of using these artificial
fertilisers.

For example when they are overused they can run off or leach through the soil to pollute
waterways. The main problem here is that they act as food for bacteria and other micro
organisms – these undergo population explosions and then use up all the oxygen in the
water. The name given to this process where water bodies (lakes & rivers) get too many
nutrients is Eutrophication.

Eutrophication usually leads to the water becoming anoxic – or lacking oxygen. This leads
to the death of fish and other organisms. It can also lead to waterways becoming clogged
with blanket weed – a kind of algae – and other pest plant species which grow out of
control due to all the extra nutrients around. These can block the light from other water
plants which are more beneficial.

Fertilisers can also damage soil structure. Read more in the textbook on pages 213 & 214.

Pesticides are poisonous and if they get into waterways can cause serious problems for
wildlife and possibly even to ourselves.
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One answer to many of these problems is to use so called organic methods of farming –
relying on natural animal waste fertilisers and avoiding using chemical based fertilisers.
Also, remember your previous topics, we could encourage people to eat less meat. Can
you think how that would help?

Limited Resources

Carry out research on the mining of a named mineral or fossil fuel. Then write a report
(minimum of one page of A4 including diagrams) on your findings. You should include how
the mineral / fuel is mined; what its main uses are; the environmental problems associated
with its extraction and whether there are alternatives available.

Plastics have been one of the most useful developments in recent history – you can try to
make a list of some of the items in your home and here in school which are made from or
based on plastics (even CD and DVD discs!). However, they also cause may problems.
Many are not biodegradable and / or not recyclable. This means they can cause problems
with our limited raw materials as well as being another cause of pollution.

Oil Rig

Examining rock strata for minerals

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Selective Breeding

Previously we looked at Adaptation & Selection. When Nature results in some organisms
surviving in their environment better than others we call it Natural Selection. When
humans choose which animals or plants to breed from to give the best desired
characteristics in the next generation we call it Artificial Selection.

Selective Breeding is the basis of Artificial Selection. Human beings have been carrying
out selective breeding for maybe thousands of years without understanding exactly how it
works. Everyone knows that if we want to breed big fierce dogs we choose the biggest and
most fierce male and female available and mate them together – hoping their
characteristics will be enhanced in the puppies they produce.

DID YOU KNOW?

All varieties of domestic dogs are descendants of the wolf – Canis lupus. We have
produced everything from Chihuahuas to German Shepherd Dogs, Poodles and Irish
Wolfhounds by selectively breeding from parents that have the required characteristics.

Read about Selective Breeding in your textbook (pages 219 to 223) then write an account
of a flower grower trying to achieve a flower of a new colour variety – or if you prefer, a
vegetable grower trying to improve a particular character in his or her plants. Use the
knowledge you have gained from here and the textbook along with your imagination to
make your account both realistic and interesting. You may be asked to read it out to the
rest of the class!

Check the Summary for this section on page 223

Extension Work:

Read page 224 and answer the questions posed and consider the discussion points with
your neighbour or in a small group.