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Effects of Human activity on the

environment

DONE BY: SHANNEN NARACE

FORM FIVE BIOLOGY PROJECT 0
Table of Contents:
1) Negative impacts of population growth on the
environment……………………….2
What is
pollution……………………………………………………………………………
……………….3
The three main types of pollution and their examples.
…………………………..3-4
2) What are renewable and non-renewable
resources……………………………………5
Examples of renewable and non-renewable
resources………………………………….5-7.
3) Strategies that can be used to reduce the negative impact on the
environment………………………………………………………………………
……………………………8-9
Different ways in which improper disposal of garbage can cause
pollution……………………………………………………………………………
…………………………..9
4) Examples of a wetland and a marine
ecosystem……………………………………….10
Ways in which marine and wetland ecosystems can be polluted/
damaged……………………………………………………………………………
…………………………10-11
The negative impacts of damage to marine and wetland
ecosystems…………………………………………………………………………
………………………11
5) Description of the terms, endangered, vulnerable, and extinct for
species……………………………………………………………………………
…………………………12
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Increasing extinction
rates………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………13
6) Create and fill in a table with the headings pollutants, the origin (source), the
effects and how it can be controlled for air, water, and land
pollution………….14

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1) Negative impacts of population growth on the environment.

The term overpopulation is used to describe a situation in which the world or area
has a population so large that the people there are suffering as a result. In other
words, the population exceeds the region or planet's carrying capacity, the number
of people, other living organisms, or crops that can be supported without
environmental degradation. Their suffering may include a shortage of food, limited
access to healthcare and other public services, overcrowding, and high
unemployment. Some impacts on the environment are:
Land degradation
Air pollution
Water contamination
Climate change

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What is pollution?
Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These harmful
materials are called pollutants. Pollutants can be natural, such as volcanic ash. They can also
be created by human activity, such as trash or runoff produced by factories. Pollutants
damage the quality of air, water, and land.

The three main types of pollution.

The three main types of pollution are:
Land Degradation
There are many examples of human failure to use land resources sustainably. Deforestation
occurs when humans clear forests to use the land either for agriculture or for habitation.
Consequently, forest cover dwindles significantly, leading to soil erosion and extinction of
plant species. Land animals also decline in numbers and even face extinction due to human
expansion that encroaches on their natural habitat and limits their ability to spread
geographically.

Air Pollution
One of the biggest environmental impacts of human activities is air quality. The
transportation sector contributes heavily to air pollution because most forms of
transportation, including cars, planes, and ocean vessels, use fossil fuels. When burned,
fossil fuels release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the environment. In
addition, the manufacturing industry grows exponentially with the expansion of the human
population. Manufacturing plants emit carbons and sulfurs that do not occur naturally in the

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environment, causing an imbalance in the quality and composition of air. Some air pollutants
deplete the ozone layer and expose the Earth to dangerous radiation from the sun.

Water Contamination
Human intervention in the environment also jeopardizes the supply and flow of clean
drinking water. Activities like waste disposal from residential, commercial, and industrial
areas, oil spills and runoff from agriculture all contaminate bodies of water. The direct
deposit of pollutants into lakes, rivers, seas and streams and indirect runoff of hazardous
substances during the rainy seasons both impact water sources. Another environmental issue
impacting water systems is overfishing, which causes a reduction in diversity of marine life.

5) What are renewable and non-renewable resources?

Resources are characterized as renewable or non-renewable; a renewable resource

can replenish itself at the rate it is used, while a non-renewable resource has a
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 limited supply. Renewable resources include timber, wind, and solar while non-
renewable resources include coal and natural gas.

Examples of renewable and non-renewable resources.

NON- RENEWABLE
There are four major types of non-renewable resources: oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear
energy. Oil, natural gas, and coal are collectively called fossil fuels. Fossil fuels were formed
within the Earth from dead plants and animals over millions of years—hence the name
“fossil” fuels. They are found in underground layers of rock and sediment. Pressure and heat
worked together to transform the plant and animal remains into crude oil (also known as
petroleum), coal, and natural gas.  
The plants and animals that became fossil fuels lived in a time called Carboniferous Period,
around 300 to 360 million years ago. The energy in the plant and animal remains originally
came from the sun; through the process of photosynthesis, solar energy is stored in plant
tissues, which animals then consume, adding the energy to their own bodies. When fossil
fuels are burned, this trapped energy is released.  
Crude oil is a liquid fuel fossil fuel that is used mostly to produce gasoline and diesel fuel for
vehicles, and for the manufacturing of plastics. It is found in rocks below Earth’s surface and
is pumped out through wells. 
Natural gas is widely used for cooking and for heating homes. It consists mostly
of methane and is found near oil deposits below Earth’s surface. Natural gas can be pumped
out through the same wells used for extracting crude oil. 
Coal is a solid fossil fuel that is used for heating homes and generating power plants. It is
found in fossilized swamps that have been buried beneath layers of sediment. Since coal is
solid, it cannot be extracted in the same manner as crude oil or natural gas; it must be dug up
from the ground. 
Nuclear energy comes from radioactive elements, mainly uranium, which is extracted from
mined ore and then refined into fuel. 

RENEWABLE ENERGY:
Solar Energy

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Humans have been harnessing solar energy for thousands of years—to grow crops, stay
warm, and dry foods. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, “more
energy from the sun falls on the earth in one hour than is used by everyone in the world in
one year.” Today, there are many uses of the sun’s rays; to heat homes and businesses, to
warm water, or power devices.

Wind Energy
Today, turbines as tall as skyscrapers—with turbines nearly as wide in diameter—stand at
attention around the world. Wind energy turns a turbine’s blades, which feeds an electric
generator and produces electricity.
Wind, which accounts for a little more than 6 percent of U.S. generation, has become
the cheapest energy source in many parts of the country. Top wind power states include
California, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Iowa, though turbines can be placed anywhere
with high wind speeds—such as hilltops and open plains—or even offshore in open water.

Hydroelectric Power
Hydropower is the largest renewable energy source for electricity in the United States,
though wind energy is soon expected to take over the lead. Hydropower relies on water—
typically fast-moving water in a large river or rapidly descending water from a high point—
and converts the force of that water into electricity by spinning a generator’s turbine blades.

Biomass Energy 
Biomass is organic material that comes from plants and animals, and includes crops, waste
wood, and trees. When biomass is burned, the chemical energy is released as heat and can
generate electricity with a steam turbine. 

Ocean
Tidal and wave energy is still in a developmental phase, but the ocean will always be ruled
by the moon’s gravity, which makes harnessing its power an attractive option. Some tidal
energy approaches may harm wildlife, such as tidal barrages, which work much like dams
and are in an ocean bay or lagoon. Like tidal power, wave power relies on dam-like
structures or ocean floor–anchored devices on or just below the water’s surface.

OVERALL SOURCES OF ENERGY:

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6) Strategies that can be used to reduce the negative impact on the
environment.

1. Watch your water usage. You can easily get a reading from your water meter, and
ensure that when no-one is on site (e.g. over the weekend), no water is being leaked
anywhere. Using automatic taps, harvesting rain water, water-saving shower heads and
low water-usage toilets can also further reduce your water usage.
2. Go paperless (if you can!). Opting for e-invoicing, -order assembly and -delivery are
just a few of the ways you can reduce both your paper usage and paper (& printer)
expenditure.
3. Recycle if you can’t go paperless. Most workplaces still churn through paper, it’s no
secret. Churning through what was formerly an oxygen-producing entity is not great
for the forest, the continent the forest is on, or humanity. If you don’t have the
facilities to recycle efficiently yourself, why not outsource to a socially and
environmentally responsible partner, like House With No Steps?
4. Use recycled products. Using recycled paper is a good start. Depending on your
business, there are many exciting ways you can increase your use of recycled goods.
For example, insulation based on old newspaper or roads made with old printer toners.
5. Look for power-saving alternatives like LED lightbulbs, motion-sensing to control
that lighting, LED computer monitors etc. Prioritise buying or replacing equipment
and appliances with their higher Energy Rating alternatives.
6. Contact your energy provider and what they offer in the way of green energy
alternatives. You could install solar panels to reduce reliance on energy providers, if
they’re slow on the green energy uptake.
7. Carpool. Ask your workmates that live nearby if they’d be happy to share rides with
you. You might be lucky, and your workplace could offer incentives to do so!
8. Be smarter with your company vehicles. When reviewing your fleet, spend some
time researching more efficient cars. Not everybody can afford the Tesla Model S, but
not all Internal Combustion Engines are made equal.
9. Clean and maintain regularly. Stop viewing asset cleaning and maintenance as a
cost, but instead view it as an asset-preservation measurement. Just like getting your
vehicle serviced regularly, your floors, kitchens, equipment and bathrooms all need
regular attention to protect their form and function. Spending $100 every 6 months to
get your carpets cleaned over three years is $600. How much does it cost to have your
carpets replaced every three years though?
10.Don’t be an inadvertent waster. There are hundreds of ways you could be non-
consciously wasting resources at work. To illustrate this point, imagine your cleaners
filling up a mop-bucket with water and chemical. If your cleaner pours ‘three glugs’
into a mop-bucket and tops it up with water, you have little information about your
cleaning product usage (and expenditure). Castle’s chemicals are designed to be
diluted through an automatic dispenser, so you know you are getting exactly the right
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 dilution rate for that application – no product is wasted, and you know exactly how
many buckets’ worth of mopping your cleaner can do per bottle of chemical.

Different ways in which improper disposal of garbage can cause

pollution.
From being an eyesore to releasing toxins, improper waste disposal on any scale can create
environmental problems, health problems and even economic concerns. This is also true for
older landfill sites, which are often unlined. The lining of landfills prevents toxic substances
from being released into the ground water.

7) Examples of a wetland and a marine ecosystem.

Coastal wetlands include sand or pebble shores, estuarine lakes and lagoons,
coastal floodplain forest, dune swamps, mudflats, coastal lakes, coastal floodplains,
mangrove and saltmarsh swamps. Marine wetlands are saltwater wetlands exposed
to waves, currents and tides in an oceanic setting.

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Ways in which marine and wetland ecosystems can be polluted/
damaged.
Marine pollution occurs when harmful effects result from the entry into the ocean of
chemicals, particles, industrial, agricultural and residential waste, noise, or the spread
of invasive organisms. Eighty percent of marine pollution comes from land. Air pollution is
also a contributing factor by carrying off iron, carbonic acid, nitrogen, silicon,
sulfur, pesticides or dust particles into the ocean. Land and air pollution have proven to be
harmful to marine life and its habitats. The pollution often comes from nonpoint
sources such as agricultural runoff, wind-blown debris, and dust. Pollution in large bodies of
water can be aggravated by physical phenomena like the biological effects of Langmuir
circulation. Nutrient pollution, a form of water pollution, refers to contamination by
excessive inputs of nutrients. It is a primary cause of eutrophication of surface waters, in
which excess nutrients, usually nitrates or phosphates, stimulate algae growth. Many
potentially toxic chemicals adhere to tiny particles which are then taken up
by plankton and benthic animals, most of which are either deposit feeders or filter feeders. In
this way, the toxins are concentrated upward within ocean food chains. Many particles

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combine chemically in a manner highly depletive of oxygen, causing estuaries to
become anoxic.

The negative impacts of damage to marine and wetland ecosystems.

This sharp increase in plastic entering our waters harms not only marine life but also
humanity. Plastic kills fish, birds, marine mammals, and sea turtles destroys habitats and
even affects animals' mating rituals, which can have devastating consequences and can wipe
out entire species.

Description of the terms, endangered, vulnerable, and extinct for

species.

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ENDANGERED- meaning there are not very many of that type of animal left in the world.
This word is used mostly to describe animal species that are not doing very well: animals
usually become endangered because of over hunting or the destruction of their habitat.

VULNERABLE- exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or

emotionally.

EXTINCT-(of a species, family, or other group of animals or plants) having no living

members; no longer in existence.

Increasing extinction rates.

Human impact can explain ninety-six percent of all mammal species extinctions of the last
hundred thousand years, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Science
Advances. According to the new study, this increase is driven almost exclusively by human
impact.

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Create and fill in a table with the headings pollutants, the origin
(source), the effects and how it can be controlled for air, water, and
land pollution.
POLLUTANTS ORIGIN EFFECTS HOW TO
CONTROLL IT
Insecticides and Agricultural Causes death of convert
herbicides runoffs fishes irrigation
systems to
higher
efficiency
equipment
Excess Carbon Deforestation Causes major Prevent the
Dioxide soil excess cutting
degradation of trees.
Excess Sulphur Emitted from Breaks down Use renewable
dioxide and Industrial the Ozone layer energy
nitrogen plants
dioxide

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