Mrs.

Page
ESS 2015

1.5 Humans &

Pollution
Significant Ideas
• Pollution is a highly diverse phenomenon of human
disturbances in ecosystems.
• Management strategies can be applied at different
levels.
Application & Skills
• Construct systems diagrams to show the impact of
pollutants.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of each of the three
different levels of intervention, with reference to
figure 1.5.6
• Evaluate the use of DDT.
Knowledge & Understandings
• Pollution is the addition of a substance or an agent to
an environment by human activity, at a rate greater
than that at which it can be rendered harmless by the
environment, and which has an appreciable effect on
the organisms in the environment.
Major Sources of Pollutants
• See figure 1.5.3 p 49
• Combustion of Fossil Fuels
• Domestic Waste
• Industrial Waste
• Agricultural Waste
Knowledge & Understandings
• Pollutants may be in the form of organic/inorganic
substances, light, sound or heat energy, or biological
agents/invasive species, and derived from a wide
range of human activities including the combustion
of fossil fuels.
Classifications of Pollutants
• Matter (solids, liquids, or gases)
• Organic (containing carbon) – ex; sewage, soil
erosion in rivers
• Non-organic – ex; plastics, heavy metals
Classifications of
Pollutants
• Energy
Light Pollution

Sound/Noise Pollution Heat Pollution

Classification of Pollutants
• Living Organisms
• Invasive Species: an organisms that is not native to a
specific habitat that is brought in and takes over the
ecological role of other organisms, damaging the
environment.
CASE STUDY:
Kudzu; native to Japan,
brought in to US for
decorative plant. Takes
over everything with no
natural consumers to
control it.
Invasive Species
• Case Studies
Burmese Python: imported into the
US as pets, once they outgrew their
tanks got released into the wild,
taking over in Everglades. Disrupting
the balance of the ecosystem
Cane Toad: native to central America,
brought in to Australia to kill the cane
beetle population on sugar plantations.
Eat everything. Poisonous so no
predators in Australia.
Knowledge & Understandings
• Pollution may be non-point or point source,
persistent or biodegradable, acute or chronic.
Point Source or Non-Point Source
• Point Source (PS) Pollution
• Released from single, identifiable source
• Easy to determine where pollution is coming from
• Easier to manage since you know what is causing
the pollution
Point Source or Non-Point Source
• Non-Point Source (NPS) Pollution
• Pollutants are coming from multiple sources
• Pollutants may be transported over distances
(runoff from fields, blown by wind)
• Difficult to determine where pollutants are coming
from making management challenging
Persistent or Biodegradable
• Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
• Toxic chemicals that affect human health and the
environment
• Transported by wind and water and do not break
down easily
• Bioaccumulate (build up) as passed through a
food chain
• Many POPs were made as pesticides
Examples of POPs
• PCBs used in electrical transformers and
capacitors as well as in paints and lubricants
• DDT used as a pesticide to kill mosquitos (more to
come on DDT)
• Dioxins are a biproduct of herbicide production
and bleaching of paper
• All of these have high molecular weights, are not
soluble in water and are soluble in fats (stored in
animals)
Persistent or Biodegradable
• Biodegradable Pollutants
• Break down quickly in the environment by
decomposers, light and heat
• Examples: sewage, compost, starches, soap
Acute or Chronic Pollution
• Acute
• Large amounts of pollutant released at one time
• Results in a lot of harm to humans & environment
• Ex: Bhopal Disaster 1984
• Chronic
• Long-term release of small amounts of pollutant
• Often goes undetected
• Difficult to clean up
• Spreads widely
• Ex: Air pollution
Knowledge & Understandings
• Pollutants may be primary (active on emission) or
secondary (arising from primary pollutants
undergoing physical or chemical change.)
Primary Pollutants
• Released directly into the environment
• Examples include:
• Carbon monoxide (CO): released from the
incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, poisonous
gas
• Nitrogen oxides (NOx): released by industry and
automobiles
• Sulfur oxides (SOx): emitted from burning coal
• Particulate matter: dust, ash
Secondary Pollutants
• Occurs when an original pollutant undergoes a
physical or chemical change
• Examples include:
• Formation of acid rain; sulfur or nitric oxides
dissolve in water
• Formation of smog; Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
• Formation of Ozone (O3) with UV light
Knowledge & Understandings
• Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) exemplifies
a conflict between the utility of a “pollutant” and its
effect on the environment.
DDT Debate
• Pre 1970’s DDT was used widely as an insecticide (very
effective against mosquitos carrying malaria)
• Rachel Carson – Silent Spring outlines environmental
effects of DDT on birds
• Human health effects include: cancers, infertility, & low
birth weights
• 1970 banned by the World Health Organization (WHO)
• Malaria kills 2.7 million people a year, infects 300-500
million
• Recently DDT was exempted from ban
• In LEDC DDT is being used to spray walls and furniture
Significant Ideas
• Management strategies can be applied at different
levels.
Detecting & Monitoring Pollution
• Direct Measurements of Pollution can be made using
different tools.
• Acidity of rainwater (pH probe)
• Amount of gases in atmosphere (CO2 probe)
• Particulates emitted by engines (light or turbidity
sensor)
• Soil nitrate and phosphate levels
Detecting & Monitoring Pollution
• Indirect Measurements of Pollution involve measuring
changes in the abiotic or biotic factors as a result of
exposure to a pollutant
• Examples include:
• Measuring the amount of dissolved oxygen in a water
source (abiotic)
• Measuring population of indicator species (organisms
that are only found if conditions are polluted
(sludgeworm) or unpolluted (lichens)
Managing Pollution
• Level 1 – Preventing Pollution before it happens
• Change human activity that creates pollution
• Give alternatives (electric cars, solar power, mass
transit)
• Educate
• Legislation (charge more for more electricity/gas)
• Economic Incentives ($ off electric bill if storm
windows)
Managing Pollution
• Level 2 – Control Release of Pollutant
• Legislation and regulation (emissions standards
for cars)
• Develop technology for extracting pollutants
(filters)
Managing Pollution
• Level 3 – Clean up and Restoration
• Last resort, there is already an impact
• Removing pollutant from ecosystem (think trash
in Gulshan)
• Replanting/restocking lost or depleted populations
(pump oxygen into Gulshan lake to restore oxygen
levels, then restock fish after eutrophication)
 Homework
• Read pp 48-54
• Answer 4 Big Questions p. 54 and be
ready to discuss next class