HUMAN INFLUENCES ON THE ENVIRONMENT

UNIT (3)
LESSON OBJECTIVES:
1. Define renewable and non-renewable resources

2. Understand the concept of pollution

3. Recognise the different types of pollution

4. Understand global warming and climate change

RENEWABLE AND NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES

 Resources are characterized as renewable or nonrenewable; a renewable resource can replenish/replace itself at
the rate it is used, while a nonrenewable resource has a limited supply. And cannot replenish/replace itself at the
rate it is used. Renewable resources include timber, wind, and solar while nonrenewable resources include coal
and natural gas and all fossil fuels in general.
WHAT IS POLLUTION?

 Pollution: the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance which has harmful or poisonous
effects.
 Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light.
 Pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies or naturally occurring
contaminants.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQTUWK7CM-Y

TYPES OF POLLUTION

1. Water Pollution: A major source of water pollution is runoff from agricultural fields, industrial sites, or urban
areas. For example, agricultural runoff typically includes fertilizer or toxic chemicals. Fertilizer can cause algal
blooms (an explosive growth of algae), choking out other plants and decreasing the amount of available oxygen
necessary for the survival of other species. Raw sewage is another type of water pollutant. When sewage gets into
the drinking water supply, serious stomach and digestive issues may result, including the spread of diseases.
Improperly disposed of items, such as plastic bags, fishing line, and other materials may accumulate in the water
and lead to the premature death of animals that get tangled within the garbage.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PDjVDIrFec

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6rglsLy1Ys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEbNsn91XV0
TYPES OF POLLUTION
2. Air Pollution: A common type of air pollution happens when people release particles into the air from burning
fuels. This pollution looks like soot, containing millions of tiny particles, floating in the air.
Another common type of air pollution is dangerous gases, such as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides
and chemical vapors. These can take part in further chemical reactions once they are in the atmosphere, creating acid
rain and smog. Other sources of air pollution can come from within buildings, such as secondhand smoke.
Air pollution kills more than 2 million people each year, according to a study published in the journal of
Environmental Research Letters.
Increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will cause air pollution as well.
TYPES OF POLLUTION
3. Land Pollution: land can become polluted by household garbage and by industrial waste. In 2014, Americans
produced about 258 million tons of solid waste, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A little over
half of the waste — 136 million tons— was gathered in landfills.
Plastic wastes are non-biodegradable (cannot be broken down by decomposers) so they need to be buried or burned,
burning them will release very toxic gases and burying them could allow animals to dig them out and eat them, which
would kill these animals.
Landfills are tourist unfriendly as they are not nice to look at plus, the world could run out of landfill sites.
THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT

 The greenhouse effect is a process that occurs when gases in Earth's atmosphere trap the Sun's heat. This process
makes Earth much warmer than it would be without these gases in the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is one of
the things that makes Earth a comfortable place to live.
 Gases in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, water vapour and methane, trap heat just like the glass roof of a
greenhouse. These heat-trapping gases are called greenhouse gases.
 During the day, the Sun shines through the atmosphere. Earth's surface warms up in the sunlight. At night, Earth's
surface cools, releasing heat back into the air. But some of the heat is trapped by the greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere. That's what keeps our Earth a warm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPJJM_hCFj0
HOW ARE HUMANS IMPACTING THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT?

 Human activities are changing Earth's natural greenhouse effect. Burning fossil fuels like coal and oil puts more
carbon dioxide into our atmosphere.
 NASA has observed increases in the amount of carbon dioxide and some other greenhouse gases in our
atmosphere. Too much of these greenhouse gases can cause Earth's atmosphere to trap more and more heat. This
causes Earth to warm up leading to global warming, which, in turn, leads to climate change.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJAbATJCu
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 EFFECTS GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE ON EARTH

 Global climate change has already had observable effects on the environment.
 Glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, plant and animal ranges have shifted and trees are
flowering sooner.
 Effects that scientists had predicted in the past would result from global climate change are now occurring:
 Loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and
 Longer, more intense heat waves and droughts.
 Hurricanes will become stronger and more intense
 Increased chances of natural fires https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4H1N_yXBiA
 Increased chances of floods https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifrHogDujXw
 Increased chances for earth quacks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWXvgvyvKX8
 Extinction of organisms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWzdgBNfhQU