Human interaction with the environment

Human Interaction With the
Environment
Natural Resources

Earth’s Natural Resources
Standard 3-3.7: Exemplify Earth materials that are used as fuel, as a resource for building materials, and as a medium for growing plants

The Earth is rich in natural resources that we use everyday. These
resources are any valuable material of geologic origin that can be
extracted from the earth.
 Energy resources: A major natural resource that all Americans rely
on is petroleum fuel (oil or natural gas). Petroleum is an earth
material that forms within the Earth and can be burned to produce
heat and electricity or made into gasoline. Other fuels are
coal, uranium, and alternative energy (wind, tidal, solar).
 Nonmetallic resources: Another natural resource that is very
important to us is rock. We depend on sandstone, granite and other
types of bedrock formed within and on the Earth to build our
schools, homes, and skyscrapers. We use the mineral calcite as a main
ingredient in cement and red clay to make bricks. We use sand, gravel
gypsum and sulfur in everyday items. Soil is yet another natural
resource that is necessary to support all plant life on Earth.
 Metallic
resources:
Iron, copper, aluminum, lead, zinc, gold, silver and many more are
considered valuable resources that are vital for our modern

Copper
Aluminum

Table of Contents

4

Nonrenewable vs. Renewable Resources
Standard 7-4.6: Classify resources as renewable or nonrenewable and explain the implications of their depletion and the importance of
conservation.

 Natural resources that can be replaced and reused by nature are termed renewable. Natural
resources that cannot be replaced are termed nonrenewable.
 Renewable resources are replaced through natural
processes at a rate that is equal to or greater than the rate
at which they are used, and depletion is usually not a
worry. Some common examples include:
 Air (wind)
 Fresh water
 Soil
Trees: A renewable resource
 Living organisms (trees)
 Sunlight
Nonrenewable resources are exhaustible and are
extracted faster than the rate at which they formed. Some
common examples are:
 Fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas)
 Diamonds and other precious gems and minerals
 Types of metals and ores
Important: Nonrenewable resources such as these
exist in a fixed amount and can only be replaced by
processes that take millions of years. If they are

Oil: A nonrenewable resource
Table of Contents 3

Standard 7-4.6

Nonrenewable vs. Renewable Resources
 Sometimes, however, renewable resources can be depleted if they are used too fast! Here are
a few examples of how this can happen:
 If an area undergoes severe deforestation and the soil
erodes quickly, this will deplete the land of fertile topsoil
needed to support plant growth, so trees and shrubs
cannot grow back.
 If trees and vegetation are removed without being
replanted, this can have effects on the land, air, and
water. Common effects include runoff and water quality.
 While fresh water is a renewable resource, in
some areas, overpopulation and increased demand
on the water supply, lack of water conservation
practices, and pollution of the water source can
cause water to become scarce. This is especially a
big problem in cities situated in dry areas. A
decrease in water availability can affect
agriculture, farmland, livestock, and other living
organisms (including humans) in the area.
Table of Contents

7

Humans and Conservation
Standard 5-3.6: Explain how human activity (including conservation efforts and pollution ) has affected the land and oceans of the Earth.

 Because of the severe impact that we impose on the land, air, and water, conservation has
become increasingly important.
 Conservation is using natural resources wisely and not contributing to pollution of the
land, air or water. Human activities can benefit the environment and help preserve resources.
 Conservation can include small-scale clean-up projects along roadways or building fences to
prevent dune erosion to large-scale beach renourishment. Planting trees is another way to
support conservation as trees are too often removed without being replanted.
 The phrase “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle” has been a catch phrase of the late 20th and early
21st centuries.
Reduce: Don’t use a resource if there is an alternative (walking vs. driving)

Reuse: Use a resource again without changing it or reprocessing it:

Use glassware

as

opposed to paper plates and styrofoam

Recycle:

Reprocess a resource so that the materials can be used in
another item. People can recycle just about anything from
cardboard to old shoes!
and

Protect: Prevent the loss of a resource (wildlife) by
managing its environment. Rapid deforestation can wipe
out both animals and plant life. By controlling the
environment, we can control the resources.

5
Table of Contents

Humans and Pollution

 Land: Landfills occur all over the U.S., and contaminants in the landfill
can reach into the nearby soils and groundwater, contaminating the
ground we walk on and the water we drink. They also prohibit fish
migration upstream and downstream.

Air Pollution

 Atmosphere: We pollute the atmosphere mainly by burning fossil
fuels. This produces greater than 10 times the amount of greenhouse
gases that make it to the atmosphere through natural processes. The
industrial revolution sparked the rise in man-made air pollution and as a
result, the world is now counting it’s “emission points.” Pollution also
comes from agriculture (animal waste), construction, and mining.

Land Pollution

 Water: The ocean supplies billions of living organisms and animals
with nourishment and is a sensitive ecosystem that can be polluted very
easily. Oil spills, can upset this delicate balance for decades to centuries.
It is easy to forget that all streams flow to the oceans. People dumping
trash in a mountains stream can affect plants and animals (and humans!)
at the coast hundreds of miles away.

Water Pollution

 Unfortunately, humans have done more harm than good over the past 50 years by contributing extreme
amounts of pollution into Earth’s atmosphere, land, and water ways. Pollution is anything that harms or
degrades the natural environment.

Table of Contents

9

Natural Resources
• Natural resources include the air you
breathe, the water you drink, the plants and
animals you use for food and clothing and the
energy from the sun. They also include fossil
fuels and rock and mineral resources.

Fossil Fuels
1. What is a Fossil Fuel?
Because coal, oil, and natural gas form from ancient organic matter, they are called fossil fuels.
Coal is actually a sedimentary rock that was originally formed from ancient plant matter
through decomposition and millions of years of compaction. Coal, made of carbon, is by far
the most abundant fossil fuel in the world.
Petroleum: A broad term that includes both crude oil and natural gas. Crude oil is a
thick, black liquid mixture of naturally occurring hydrocarbons (compounds containing
hydrogen and carbon) that forms from the buried remains of marine organisms. Natural gas
forms under similar conditions but is in a gaseous state. These two products form the bulk of
the U.S.’s energy consumptions:
Oil

Natural Gas

Coal

Nuclear

Hydroelectric

Biomass

Geothermal, wind,
solar and other

39.4%

23.6%

22.7%

8.3%

2.7%

2.8%

0.5%

The United States’ energy consumption resources as of 2007
Table of Contents

17

2. How do fossil fuels form?
 Although we know that fossil fuels form from the decomposed remains of past life over
millions of years, large amounts of pressure and high temperatures are also necessary. As
marine organisms, called plankton, die and fall to the seafloor, they are covered by sediment.
After they are buried deeply enough, pressure and heat cause the dead plankton to change to
oil and gas.

3. How can we find fossil fuel?
 There are specific but known conditions that must be met in order to find the oil and gas. Oil
and gas are usually found within a permeable rock such as sandstone. Permeable simply means
that the rock is porous, and liquids or gases can easily flow through it.
 A finer grained sedimentary rock, like shale, is relatively impermeable. Fluids cannot easily
flow, but they form good boundaries for trapping gas or oil. These rock boundaries are
sometimes called a roof or trap rock. If a layer of sedimentary rocks is tilted upwards with a
shale on top of a sandstone, the natural gas will rise upward since it is less dense than water, the
gas is trapped by the layer of shale.
Well
Gas

Shale
boundary (roof
rock)

Oil
Reservoir
Rock

9
Table of Contents

Environmental Pollution
Definition Of Environmental Pollution:
Environmental pollution is the contamination of the physical and
biological components of the earth/atmosphere system to such an extent
that normal environmental processes are adversely
affected.

Types Of Environmental Pollution
There are three major types of environmental pollution:

•Air pollution
•Water pollution
•Soil pollution (contamination)
AIR
POLLUTION

POLLUTION

WATER
POLLUTION

SOIL
POLLUTION

Some of the most important air pollutants are sulfur
dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon
monoxide, ozone, volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
and airborne particles, with radioactive pollutants
probably among the most destructive ones (specifically
when produced by nuclear explosions).
Due to increase in the volume of these gases in
atmosphere the ozone layer is depleting because of
which the ultraviolet rays of sun are reaching us and
causing damage to our skin, eyes and other organs.

WATER POLLUTION
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies
(e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater). Water
pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or
indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to
remove harmful compounds.

The main sources of water pollution are1. Effluent outfalls from factories, refineries, waste
treatment plants etc.. that emit fluids of varying
quality directly into urban water supplies.
2. Oil spills.
3. In villages people have baths in the river, they wash
their clothes and utensils there because of which
the river water gets polluted.
4. In holy rivers like Ganga people have baths. They
also immerse the dead bodies in the river because
of which the water gets severely polluted.
5. In cities the people throw food wrappers and other
wastes in the water bodies which pollutes the
water. This is the reason why Mumbai’s Mithi river is
very polluted.

SOIL POLLUTION
Soil contamination or soil pollution is caused by the presence
of xenobiotic (human-made) chemicals or other alteration in
the natural soil environment. It is typically caused by industrial
activity, agricultural chemicals, or improper disposal of waste.
The most common chemicals involved are
petroleum hydrocarbons,solvents, pesticides, lead, and
other heavy metals. Contamination is correlated with the
degree of industrialization and intensity of chemical usage.

Soil contamination can be caused by:
Corrosion of underground storage
tanks (including piping used to transmit the
contents)
Application of pesticides and fertilizers
Mining
Oil and fuel dumping
Disposal of coal ash
Leaching from landfills
Direct discharge of industrial wastes to the soil
Drainage of contaminated surface water into the
soil

1.
i.

ii.
iii.

iv.

v.
vi.

EFFECTS OF POLLUTION

Air Pollution- Air pollution has serious effects on environment as well as human
health. They are:
Acid rain is precipitation containing harmful amounts of nitric and sulfuric
acids. These acids are formed primarily by nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides
released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned.
Haze is caused when sunlight encounters tiny pollution particles in the air. Haze
obscures the clarity, color, texture, and form of what we see.
Effects on wildlife. Toxic pollutants in the air, or deposited on soils or surface
waters, can impact wildlife in a number of ways. Like humans, animals can
experience health problems if they are exposed to sufficient concentrations of
air toxics over time. Respiratory problems, reduced lung functioning are
certain problems which can occur in the people.
Ozone depletion- This is a layer present in the atmosphere which protects us
from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun which can cause skin cancer. But
due to the air pollutants this layer is getting depleted.
These gases also cause the Green house effect and Global warming.
The air pollutants also cause diseases in humans like lung
cancer, asthma, Irritation of eyes, nose, mouth and throat, Disruption of
endocrine, reproductive and immune systems and other respiratory

Human interaction with the environment

More Related Content

What's hot (20)

Similar to Human interaction with the environment (20)

Recently uploaded (20)

Human interaction with the environment