Environmental Change
Land Changes
Atmospheric Changes
Cities, towns, farms have all caused changes to natural landscapes
Deforestation for agriculture
one quarter of natural forests remaining
Land degradation - loss of productivity and decline in fertility
Cleared land stores less carbon
Soil Degradation
compacted due to poor farming practices/animals
salinity a major problem in Australia
Soil Erosion
Soil gradually worn away by wind and water
Clearing/farming accelerates erosion
Ecosystem Decline
Degraded forests, rivers, streams through loss of vegetation or alien invasion
can lead to desertification
Wind storms
Atmosphere - Combination of gases that surround the earth
Protects the earth from UV and freezing
Dumping ground for gases and chemicals leads to climate change, ozone layer
Air pollution has significant health impacts
Air pollution
World's worst environmental health risk - asthma, lung disease. 3.5 million deaths per year
Traffic, industry, indoor heating and cooking
Tougher restrictions are helping in the developed world except Asia and Africa where it is getting worse
Expansion of cities is the major cause due to an increase in burning fossil fuels
Half of the worlds 40 most polluted cities are in India
70% of India's electricity comes from coal
Water Changes
Ozone Layer
3 atoms of oxygen - protects from UV radiation - skin cancer
Hole over Antarctica thanks to CFC's
Ban on CFC's since 1987
Fresh water vital to life on earth and human survival. Mostly for the food we eat through irrigation
Damming of rivers and water diversion has serious consequences
Pollution of waterways also has series consequences for animal and plant life
Aquifer - store of underground water
Leads to shrinking lakes and lower river flows
Damming Rivers
2/3 of the largest 232 rivers have been dammed or diverted
Damming disrupts and alters natural ecosystems through flooding/drying areas
Changes the flow of the river at the mouth
Pollution
contamination of lakes, rivers, estuaries, oceans
Caused by human activity like oil refining, shipping, fishing, farming, fertilisers, landfill and clearing
Consequences - limited drinking water, fish kills, food chain alteration
Coral bleaching, destruction of natural habitats
Eutrophiction
Algal blooms caused by excess nutrients in river systems
Ecosystem Services
Benefits humans receive from natures ecosystems
Sources - provisioning services . Products that can be converted for human use
Sinks - regulating services - absorb waste
Services - supporting - natural services that don't produce anything eg: forests absorb carbon
Spirituality - cultural services - the deep connection with the land
Sustainability - Economic, Social, Environmental
Environmental World views
Egocentric - I am the most important creature on earth. Human centred
Anthropocentric - Humans are the most important species. We use nature to support our lifestyle
Ecocentril - We should do whatever we can to minimise our impact and preserve the earth's biodiversity
Biocentric - We have a responsibility to use the earth's resources in a sustainable way
Rivers Keywords
Meander - A bend in the river
tributary - a smaller stream that joins a river
oxbow lake - lake that forms in a u shape when a meader is cut off
ephemeral - a river that sometimes flows
perennial - a continuously flowing river
delta - large area at the mouth of major river systems