ENVS 1040

Human Needs and the Environment

Think about it!

• What do we use from the environment in one day?

• Why do we need to use all of these things?

Impact

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eTCZ9L834s

List 5 ways that Humans impact the environment and come up with a suggestion for improvement

Transport of Materials through Air, Soil and Water

When pollution is found far from where it was produced it brings up many questions

– 1)

– 2)

– 3)

There are 3 parts to the transport of substances in the air

1.

2.

3.

What are some factors that affect dispersion?

Think about it!

This can make it impossible to find where the pollutant came from, which makes this issue an international one. What does that mean?

Complete the On a Clear Day You Can See Forever Case Study and respond to the questions.

Transport in Groundwater

Groundwater:

Water Table:

How fast can water move through the ground?

**If the water is moving slowly then there can be a concentration of contaminants in that area**

Transport through soil/Types of Soil

Soils can be made of many different things

– Packed clay

– Sandy soil

– Soil with organic material

Pores:

Permeable Soil

Impermeable Soil

Use your notes to label the picture!

Transport in Soil

When water comes down in precipitation it can do four things

1.

2.

3.

4.

How can surface water be contaminated?

_______________________________________is water that has dissolved minerals in it and it carries the minerals with it- usually downwards

Think About It!

• Lead from a car battery has been detected in a lake far where the battery was discarded. How did the lead get there?

• Water well is located in sandy soil, and another well is in soil that is mainly clay. Which well should be monitored more often? Why is this?

There are many sites in Canada where contamination of the soil by hydrocarbons is an issue.

• Where could this be a problem?

Some contamination is difficult to clean up because it isn’t water soluble

Monitoring Water Quality

Water quality is determined by what it will be used for by provincial and federal governments into 5 categories of water use https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5jGxO28Kw8

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

What is a biological indicator? Come up with a definition with your neighbor

Microbiological Indicators (e.g. E. coli)

Invertebrate Indicator

The presence or lack of aquatic invertebrates can show how much pollution there is in areas or how healthy the water is. Example:

– The presence of leeches shows a low oxygen content (less healthy)

– The presence of mayfly lymph shows a high oxygen content in water (more water)

– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfo8skcxKVg

List types of invertebrates:

Dissolved Oxygen (ppm or mg/L) Invertebrates

8 Large numbers of diverse invertebrates

6 Mayflies, stoneflies, and beetles begin to disappear

4 Freshwater shrimp, midge larvae, and worms can survive

2 Midge larvae and some worms can survive

Chemical Factors

• Water is usually tested in these ways

– 1) For dissolved oxygen

– 2) Acidity

– 3) Heavy metals

– 4) Plant nutrients ex. Nitrogen and phosphorus

– 5) Pesticides

– 6) Salts ex. Ionic compounds like sodium chloride

The concentration of chemicals in the environment or in water is usually measured in:

• 1 ppm= 1 drop in 1000000 drops of water

• Same as 1 mg/L

• Also use parts per billion (ppb) and parts per trillion (ppt) for measuring very small amounts

Dissolved Oxygen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryIadGeJ7O8

• What are the factors that dissolved oxygen in water depend on?

• Why is dissolved oxygen in water important?

Phosphorus and Nitrogen Content

How does nitrogen and phosphorus enter our water?

What are the problems from high amounts of these substances?

Acidity and pH

pH stands for the Power of Hydrogen

The pH scale measures:

Acids are on the low end of the pH scale (0-6.9) and bases are on the high end (7.1-14) A substance with a pH of 7 is neutral

Substances at both ends of the scale are dangerous. (Strong Acids and Strong Bases)

The difference between one number and the next on the pH scale is a 10x difference

For example: a substance with a pH of 3 is 10x more acidic than a substance with a pH of 4

How much more acidic is a substance with a pH of 5 to one with a pH of 8?

We use 3 types of tests to check for the pH of a substance

1)

2)

3)

Acid Rain

• When pollution is put into the environment the rain water can collect those substances and become very acidic

• This occurs more in Eastern Canada than Western Canada because there is more manufacturing in Eastern Canada

https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc6j7zz1_do

• It makes our rivers and lakes very acidic which can kill organisms

• It can cause destruction of limestone buildings and structures

Liming:

Neutralization:

What is the issue with our water systems becoming more acidic?

Think about it!

• You are at a pond which is near a factory. The pond’s pH is 5.3. Due to the pH, the fish in the pond are not repopulating. How can you change the pH so that the fish can reproduce?

• Note: pH 4.1 - 9.5 = Range tolerated by trout

Spring Acid Shock:

What is the issue of this?

Pesticides

Some pesticides do not break down and they can be harmful many years after they have been applied to a crop

• A _________________________________ substance is a poisonous substance

• ___________________________ measures how poisonous a substance is

Think about it!

Which location will support the greatest diversity of organisms? Explain your answer

Characteristic Sample A Sample B

Dissolved O2 3.5 6.0

pH 5.5 6.5

phosphorus high low

Monitoring Air Quailty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjpKnoHOu8M

Why is it important to monitor air quality?

2 ways we monitor air quality

1)

2)

Which way of monitoring air quality would be more accurate?

What gases make up our atmosphere?

Gases that are a concern:

Sulfur Dioxide

What does a scrubber do?

Nitrogen Dioxides

Carbon Monoxide

How is carbon monoxide converted in vehicles?

Ozone: (one positive and one negative thing about ozone)

Think about it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tztGWe08NbA

Does the air quality in China affect us in North America? Explain how by creating a suggestion for improving air quality

Complete the How Clean is your Air Lab

Monitoring the Atmosphere

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v-w8Cyfoq8

What is the greenhouse effect?

Draw what the greenhouse effect looks like naturally and by human influence

Atmospheric gases that trap heat around the earth are called greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases include water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen oxides

Are greenhouse gases necessary?

How are we able to reduce our impact?

The Enhanced Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming

People are concerned that the enhanced greenhouse effect can cause the temperature around the globe to rise. If this happens- people worry that global warming can cause erratic weather patterns, polar ice caps melting, etc.

Some countries are reacting extremely to the concern of global warming- they are trying to cut down carbon emissions.

What have you heard about carbon footprint?

Do you think it is fair to charge a carbon tax?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU0eNa4GrgU

CFC’s (chloroflurocarbons)

Think about it!

Look at the infographic in your notes. Should we be doing more to about CO2 Levels globally? Create a list of suggestions with your neighbor in class.

Sustainable Development

• Sustainable Development

• Come up with an idea that could conserve natural resources but would be useful to people!

– Share your ideas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5NiTN0chj0

• Simply describe what sustainable development is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4qgaWMRMoU

• Describe how People can contribute to sustainable development

LEED Development

What does it mean?

5 Green Design categories include:

• https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD86Is4SAzU

Movement of Materials

Materials move in several ways, which 4 ways are most common?

Ocean Currents

• https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xtgtJTC2go

• How does the ocean move? What is it called?

• What is the dependent factor to allow for the circulation?

Plastic Island

This is a current issue in environmental studies

• https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc6LvdsyJ4U

• Where is this island located?

• How did the plastic get to the location?

• How would you try to deal with the waste?

Wind Currents

• Winds depend on convection currents as well.

• The ______________________________________________ circulate warm air and cool air to balance at an equilibrium point

• These currents create _________________________________________

• The __________________________________________________________________contribute to the jet stream effect, which carries materials above

• The ________________________________________ is the location where the system restarts

Label the Picture!

Think about it!

• Significant amounts of DDT (a pesticide to control mosquitoes) have been found in Canada’s glaciers, especially in Banff National Park in the last 10 years. There has been a North America ban for 40 years in North America due to the effects on egg shells on birds, such as the Bald Eagle, causing loss of young.

• Where is the DDT coming from?

• http:// www.nps.gov/nwresearch/air.html

• http:// www.panna.org/issues/persistent-poisons/the-ddt-story