Endangered Ecosystem

9.1 Human Activities that Endangered an Ecosystem

Pollution
Pollution - Any undesirable change in the natural environment caused by pollutant. Pollutant substance that cause pollution Pollution being make dirty Types of environmental pollution: 1. Air pollution 2. Water pollution 3. Thermal pollution 4. Noise pollution

Air pollution
Air pollution is responsible for major health effects. Every year, the health of countless people is ruined or endangered by air pollution. Many different chemicals in the air affect the human body in negative ways. Just how sick people will get depends on what chemicals they are exposed to, in what concentrations, and for how long. Studies have estimated that the number of people killed annually in the US alone could be over 50,000. Older people are highly vulnerable to diseases induced by air pollution. Those with heart or lung disorders are under additional risk. Children and infants are also at serious risk. Because people are exposed to so many potentially dangerous pollutants, it is often hard to know exactly which pollutants are responsible for causing sickness. Also, because a mixture of different pollutants can intensify sickness, it is often difficult to isolate those pollutants that are at fault. Many diseases could be caused by air pollution without their becoming apparent for a long time. Diseases such as bronchitis, lung cancer, and heart disease may all eventually appear in people exposed to air pollution. Air pollutants such as ozone, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide also have harmful effects on natural ecosystems. They can kill plants and trees by destroying their leaves, and can kill animals, especially fish in highly polluted rivers.

Water pollution
Many bodies of water near urban areas are highly polluted. This is the result of both garbage dumped by individuals and dangerous chemicals legally or illegally dumped by industries. The main problem caused by water pollution is that it kills life that inhabits water-based ecosystems. Dead fish, birds, dolphins, and many other animals often wind up on beaches, killed by pollutants in their habitat. Pollution disrupts the natural food chain as well. Pollutants such as lead and cadmium are eaten by tiny animals. Later, these animals are consumed by fish and shellfish, and the food chain continues to be disrupted at all higher levels. Eventually, humans are affected by this process as well. People can get diseases such as hepatitis by eating seafood that has been poisoned. Ecosystems can be severely changed or destroyed by water pollution. Many areas are now being affected by careless human pollution, and this pollution is coming back to hurt humans.

Noise Pollution
Noise pollution disturbs our health and behavior in a number of ways including deafness causing lack of sleep, irritability, indigestion, heartburn, high blood pressure, ulcers, and heart disease. Just one noise explosion from a passing truck drastically alters our endocrinal, neurological, and cardiovascular functions in many individuals. If this is prolonged or frequent, the physiological disturbances become chronic and contribute to mental illness. Sometimes, even low levels of noise are irritating and can be frustrating, and high volumes can be annoying. Natural sounds are less irritating than those we find uncontrollable but intermittent sounds such as a tap dripping water can be more irritating than the sound of falling rain. Noise more than 50dB can be very difficult to hear and interpret and cause problems such as partial deafness. Increased noise levels gives rise to a lack of concentration and accuracy at work, and reduce ones productivity and performance. Difficult tasks can be impaired, and instructions or warnings difficult to be heard and interpreted, causing accidents.

The Greenhouse Effects and the Thinning of the Ozone Layer Greenhouse effect.
Occur when greenhouse gases accumulates in the atmosphere to form a layer of gases Greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbon, nitrogen oxides, methane and water vapour The layer of gases trap the Suns heat around the world Greenhouse effect cause the global warming

Ozone layer located in the atmosphere. consist of ozone molecules which made up of three oxygen atom (O3). act as protective shield that absorb the Suns harmful UV radiation

Thinning of ozone layer

Main cause - chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) CFC man made gases used as refrigerant (substance that make things cold or freeze) and propellants (compressed gas that forces out the content of an aerosol container) CFC when exposed to UV radiation will release chlorine atom which can break down ozone molecules in chain reaction causing the ozone layer become thinner

Greenhouse gases released when we:

a Stereo

The Importance of Proper Management of Development Activities and the Ecosystem

The need for development and the effects of an increasing population on the ecosystem
The increasing in population cause the increase in development. Development interfere the balance in nature. Unplanned and unmanaged development cause environmental problems. Proper management of development activities are important

The importance of proper management of development activities

Natural resource are non-renewable means once they have been used they cannot be replaced. They need to be manage in proper ways to maintain balance in nature. Uncontrolled use of the natural resources will cause them to be used up.

Managing development activities to ensure a balance ecosystem

Carry out sustainable development to balance the demands and the needs for resources with the need to conserve the resources.

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Measures taken in the management of development activities 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Implementation of laws Use of technology Education on the management of resources Preservation and conservation activities The practice of biological control The use of renew able energy The efficient use of energy

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Thermal pollution
Thermal Pollution, harmful increase in water temperature in streams, rivers, lakes, or occasionally, coastal ocean waters. Thermal pollution is caused by either dumping hot water from factories and power plants or removing trees and vegetation that shade streams, permitting sunlight to raise the temperature of these waters. All plant and animal species that live in water are adapted to temperatures within a certain range. When water in an area warms more than they can tolerate, species that cannot move, such as rooted plants and shellfish, will die.

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Deforestation
Environment change
One major effect of deforestation is climate change. Changes to the surroundings done by deforestation work in many ways. One, there is abrupt change in temperatures in the nearby areas. Forests naturally cool down because they help retain moisture in the air. Second is the long process of global climate change. As mentioned above, deforestation has been found to contribute to global warming or that process when climates around the world become warmer as more harmful rays of the sun comes in through the atmosphere. Third is the soil erosion. The absence of the plant root system make the soil structure unstable. When it rains heavily for a long period of time, the top layer of soil disintegrates easily and this lead to landslides especially on steep hillsides.

Effect to biodiversity
Forests are natural habitats to many types of animals and organisms. That is why, when there is deforestation, many animals are left without shelters. Through the years, it is estimated that there are millions of plant and extinct animal species that have been wiped out because they have been deprived of home. Thus, biodiversity is significantly lowered because of the savage deforestation practices of some people. Wildlife advocates have been constantly reminding that several wild animals left in the world could still be saved if deforested forests would only be reforested and the practice of slash and burn of forests would be totally abandoned.

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DEFORESTATION

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AIR POLLUTION

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WATER POLLUTION

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Objective
Evaluating human activities that endanger
an ecosystem

Understanding the greenhouse effect and

the thinning of the ozone layer

Realising the importance of proper

management of development activities and the ecosystem

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Eutrophication
Eutrophication is when the environment becomes enriched with nutrients. This can be a problem in marine habitats such as lakes as it can cause algal blooms.
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Fertilisers are often used in farming, sometimes these fertilisers run-off into nearby water causing an increase in nutrient levels. This causes phytoplankton to grow and reproduce more rapidly, resulting in algal blooms. This bloom of algae disrupts normal ecosystem functioning and causes many problems. The algae may use up all the oxygen in the water, leaving none for other marine life. This results in the death of many aquatic organisms such as fish, which need the oxygen in the water to live. The bloom of algae may also block sunlight from photosynthetic marine plants under the water surface. Some algae even produce toxins that are harmful to higher forms of life. This can cause problems along the food chain and affect any animal that feeds on them.

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Causes of Acid Rain

Acid deposition can occur via natural sources like volcanoes but it is mainly caused by the release of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide during fossil fuel combustion. When these gases are discharged into the atmosphere they react with the water, oxygen, and other gases already present there to form sulfuric acid, ammonium nitrate, and nitric acid. These acids then disperse over large areas because of wind patterns and fall back to the ground as acid rain or other forms of precipitation.

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Conclusion
1. The effect of unplanned development and mismanagement of the ecosystem can lead to damaging consequences such as soil erosion, flash flood, landslides, eutrophication, pollution, global warming, ozone depletion, climatic changes and loss of biodiversity. 2. There are four types of pollution: Air pollution, water pollution, thermal pollution and noise pollution. 3. Greenhouse gases released by various human activities can trap heat in the atmosphere and raise the Earths average temperature. Such an overall rise in the Earths average temperature leads to global warming. 4. The thinning of ozone layer is mainly due to the accumulation of chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs) in the atmosphere. 5. Sustainable development must take into consideration the proper management of the ecosystem to ensure a balance of nature is maintained.

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