sswg1c-student notes.docx

What is the relationship between the physical and human characteristics of places?

SSWG1C: Analyze the interrelationship between physical and human characteristics of a place

CATEGORY INFORMATION

How do humans interact with the environment?

 Economic activities affect the environment

 Pollution is the release of unclean or impure elements into the air, water and land

What is water pollution?  Water is renewable, purifying themselves over time  Hydrologic cycle or water cycle

 Interrupted by human activity

What are examples of water pollution?

 Tankers and offshore rigs can cause oil spills

 Industries may dump chemical waste that enters and pollutes water supply  Fertilizers, pesticides, animal waste, and untreated sewage can seep into

groundwater

 Dams can trap contaminated water

 Industries cause thermal pollution by releasing heated industrial waste water into lakes and rivers

 Runoff from agricultural chemicals (fertilizers & pesticides) RUSSIA

• Moscow= cholera in water reported • Pollution threatening Caspian Sea

• Industrial waste dumped into Lake Baikal

• Nuclear waste dumped into Baltic and Bering Seas SOUTHEAST ASIA

Cambodia

• People fled homes due to mislabeled toxic materials dumped threatening water supplies

Thailand

• 80% of freshwater contaminated due to poor waste disposal Indonesia

• Gold mine dumping rock waste into river

• divert river from original course, flooding over 50 sq miles • Displacing people

• Rock waste killing vegetation in the surrounding region OCEANIA

• Coral atolls and volcanic islands have limited freshwater supplies • Agricultural runoff and inadequate sanitation cause water pollution

(rivers, seas, reef)

• Coral environment stressed by tourists, boaters, divers and oil shale mining

• Marine life affected (algae and plankton die, so do animals that rely on them for food

What is the affect of water pollution on animals?

 Eutrophication is the process by which a body of water become rich in dissolved nutrients encouraging overgrowth of algae

 Depletes oxygen, killing fish

 Algae overgrowth can turn a lake into a swamp and later to dry land  Pollution speeds up eutrophication

What is air pollution?

What are examples of air pollution?

 Burning of fossil fuels by industries and vehicles  Can cause serious health risks

 Acidic chemicals in air can form acid rain

What is acid rain?  Corrodes stones and metal buildings  Damages crops

 Pollutes the soil and water

 Plants and animals can’t survive with acidic water  Lakes become dead (unable to support organisms)  Wind carry acid rain over local and national boundaries  Source of pollution may by far from where acid rain falls  ½ acid rain in Canada from USA

 Russian forest reduced by 1.5 million acres

What is smog?  Type of air pollution

 Sun’s rays interact with automobile and industrial emissions forming a haze  Can damage or kill plants and irritates eyes, throats and lungs

 Rising levels of air pollutants contributes to general increase in earth’s temperature

 Global Warming may cause glaciers and ice caps to melt raising ocean levels which could flood coastal cities

What is land pollution?

What are examples of land pollution?

 Radioactive waste from nuclear power plants and toxic runoff from chemical processing plants can leak into the soil

 Chemical waste poisons fertile topsoil  Solid waste is dumped in landfills RUSSIA

• Toxic waste in aging storage containers seeping into soil • Petroleum pipelines break & spill

• Overuse of pesticides & fertilizers (damage farmland)

How are resources being managed?

What is clear cutting and deforestation?

 Clear cutting is taking out whole forests when harvesting timber  Destroyed old growth forests

 Endangered wildlife

 Land left to erosion and flooding BRAZIL

 Rainforest has mineral resources (petroleum, iron, copper, & tin)  Roads to open interior for settlement & development

 Indigenous people

• Homes & traditional lifestyle disappear

 Disappearance of wildlife & vegetation (medicines, more greenhouse gas (CO2)

AFRICA

• Cote D’Ivoire & Madagascar lost 90% of rainforest • ½ original rainforest around on continent

• 15,000 sq miles cleared/year

• Demand for farmland and slash and burn method of farming • Use wood for fuel

• Exportation of hardwoods and pulp SOUTH ASIA

• Growing population (human settlement) • Commercial timber industry

• Grazing animals

• Burning biomass (wood for fuel)

• Mangrove depletion (no protection from storm surge) • Soil erosion & flooding

EAST ASIA

• Produce most of its power from coal, oil or natural gas (some from hydroelectric plants)

• Import fossil fuels to produce energy SOUTHEAST ASIA

• Timber important source of income since 1960s • Rain erodes topsoil, washes it to rivers

• Topsoil clogged rivers reduces the amount of water available for irrigation

• Excessive logging causes flooding (no forests to absorb rain water) • Slash & burn and shifting cultivation contribute

OCEANIA, AUSTRALIA, & ANTARCTICA

 New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu developing plans to use forest resources without damaging the environment

 Oceania

• Lack of clean drinking water keeps the standard of living low and is a barrier to economic growth

 Australia

• Woodlands cleared for farms and grazing lands • Little protection against wind erosion

• Drought, salt, irrigation, and agricultural runoff threatens freshwater sources (reduces the flow of rivers)

How has urbanization affected the environment?

LATIN AMERICA

 Increased rural-urban migration causes shantytowns to develop on the edges of cities

 Built on slopes and wetland areas  Displace animals from wetland habitats  SOUTHEAST ASIA

Economic growth depleting natural resources

 Industrialization raises living standards, but creates industrial waste  Bangkok, Thailand

• Population increase and industrialization increase heat, humidity and pollution levels

How does climate affect people?

 High elevations decreases temperature

 Moist air pushed up mountains making air rise

 Air cools as it rises and condenses causing clouds and precipitation  Side of mountain facing wind (windward) get precipitation

 As air moves down other side (leeward) air warms and dries

 The leeward side get little precipitation called the rain shadow effect  Deserts often form in rain shadows

EUROPE

 Southern Europe has low rainfall  Spain

• Meseta region is arid • Streams dry up • Drought is common

• Use dry farming techniques (farming methods to conserve soil moisture)  Sahel region

• Droughts becoming more severe • 1960s, turned farmland into wasteland

• 1990s Caused widespread famine (lack of food) • Kills crops and livestock, threatens people NORTH AFRICA

• Band of semiarid land across the northern part of Africa bordering the southern area of the Sahara desert becoming a desert

• Climate becomes drier

• Desert growing into Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, and Sudan OCEANIA

 Temperature rising

• Sea level rising due to polar ice cap melting • Flooding islands in Oceania

• Overgrowth of plankton and algae choking out life forms in warm waters • Cold water plankton would die, affecting life forms that feed on them  El Nino

• Weather pattern

• Can cause droughts in Australia and storms in South Pacific • El Nino is increasing in frequency and severity

• Linked to global warming  Hole in ozone layer over Antarctica

• Protective layer preventing harmful solar rays from reaching earth • Hole is over 9 million sq miles

• Possible cause of rising skin cancer & cataracts rates • Contributes to global warming

How is water used by humans?

NETHERLANDS

• Delta Plan

 Project aimed to prevent severe flooding

 System of dams and dikes to seal off and protect the country NORTH AFRICA & SOUTHWEST ASIA

 Water comes from rivers, oases, and aquifers  High demand for water

 Few countries have enough water for irrigation  Aswan High Dam

• Controls Nile’s flooding, irrigations 3 million acres of land, 50% of Egypt’s electrical power

• Largest artificial lake (Lake Nasser) created by dam, boosts fishing industry

• Negative effects

 Traps fertile alluvial soil

 Natural Floods would wash salt away (land now retains salt)  Livestock and people affected

 Libya

• Pipelines carry water from large aquifers under Sahara to farms near Mediterranean Sea

 Israel

• System of canals to funnel freshwater from Jordan River from north to south

 Desalination

• Process of removing salt from seawater • Helps meets needs for freshwater • Can produce 2.4 billion gallons a day

• Many countries depend on desalination plants  Caspian Sea

• Pollution at southern end of sea

• Pollution and overfishing threaten fish (sturgeon) • Sturgeon fish is exported

• Dead Sea

• Water levels have dropped 262 ft. over past 40 yrs

• 90% of feeder river is diverted for irrigation and for hydroelectric plants  Aral Sea

SOUTH ASIA

 Lack of access to clean water

 80% of population of India rely on water that is polluted by human waste and chemical runoff

 Dams

• Traps silt that would enrich soil

• Reservoirs can trap bacteria (source of disease)

• Flooding surrounding areas, displacing villages and balance of wildlife and vegetation

EAST ASIA

 Oceans & seas source of food for consumption and export  Japan

• Largest consumer of whale meat

• Whaling has lead to decline in whale populations • Continue to hunt whales despite international laws  China, Japan, South Korea

• Commercial fishing

• Decreasing quantities of fish

• Fish further from shore using factory fish to process large quantities of fish

How is nuclear waste managed?

RUSSIA

 Nuclear waste remains active for thousands of yrs  Most nuclear waste placed in storage facilities  Dumped was into northern waters

 Chernobyl

• 1986 nuclear power plant meltdown • Released tons of radiation

• Radiation carried by wind and contaminated other countries (Finland, Sweden, Poland, Czech Republic & Slovakia)

• 8000 died due to radiation poisoning

• Millions suffered from cancer, stomach disease, & immune system disorders

EAST ASIA  China

• 1% of energy is from nuclear power • Plans to build 1000 nuclear power plants

 Fear earthquakes and volcanic activity could cause reactors to crack and release radiation

 Japan, South Korea, & Taiwan

• Rely on nuclear energy for 30 to 40%

• Japan 50 nuclear plants, South Korea 16, and Taiwan 8

How do human populations interact with animal

populations?

AFRICA

 Plant and animals at risk as rainforest disappear

 Population growth has made farmers move into the forested areas to find land for planting and grazing

 Land for large grazing animals are being plowed for farming decreasing animal numbers

 Hunting threatens regions wildlife  Poaching

• Illegal hunting for profit  Madagascar

• Many animal species are in danger of extinction SOUTH ASIA

 Deforestation and irrigation have reduced animals natural habitat

 Animals are being overhunted by tourists or farmers and herders seeking to protect their crops

OCEANIA  Australia

• Marsupial animals- mammals whose young must mature in a pouch after being born

• Wildlife threatened by human introduction of nonnative animals (dingoes, sheep, cattle, foxes, cats, and rabbits)

• No natural predators, animals have multiplied and taken over native species habitats

• 16 marsupials are considered endangered

What are the effects of natural disasters on humans?

LATIN AMERICA

 Shantytowns built on slopes and wetlands

 Communities at risk of destruction due to mudslides, floods, and other natural disasters

EAST ASIA  Volcanoes

• Japan has 80 active volcanoes • Can trigger tsunamis

 Earthquakes

• Many countries located along Ring of Fire • Cause widespread damage

• Can trigger tsunamis  China

• Yangtze and Yellow Rivers can produce floods SOUTHEAST ASIA

 Philippines

• Volcanic eruptions spew ash and lava on landscape • Evacuation of cities

• Ash can affect weather patterns worldwide  Indonesia

• Volcanic eruptions created respiratory problems for people as far away as Malaysia

• Disruption of traffic (air and shipping) across region  Floods are magnified by human activity

 Forest cleared, typhoons can cause widespread runoff and mudslides  Rivers undergo seasonal flooding

 Typhoons can affect Japan, Philippines , China and Vietnam

What is being done to help our environment?

 Clean air practices have reduced air pollution  Production of electric or hybrid vehicles  Air quality is measured

 Issue alerts due to health concerns  Industrial activities may be restricted  Emissions testing for automobiles

 Special gas nozzles that reduce leakage of petroleum vapors  People aware of environmental damage

 Management resources  Improve water treatment  Preserve wilderness areas

 Developing alternatives to fossil fuels  Global cooperation

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

resources of a given area LATIN AMERICA

 Development of new methods of farming, mining, and logging

 Combine conservation with ecotourism to protect forests and help local economies

 Laws requiring reforestation • Helpful if enforced  Brazil

• 10% of Amazon Rain forest is designated as a national forest or park where logging is banned

 Costa Rica

• Citizens buying abandoned, burned over tropical forests RUSSIA

 Timber industry

 World Bank’s Sustainable Forestry Pilot Project • Protect forest & manage effectively • Planting new trees

• Increase private forestry investment • Higher taxes to help conservation • Employment opportunities AFRICA

 Logging companies are using tree farming & replanting projects to protect & renew forests

 Laws against poaching

 Allowed crocodile farming (brought species back from extinction)  Game reserves

• Protect animals, allow repopulation • ecotourism

• Rural people employed by preserves SOUTH ASIA

 Study monsoon patterns to accurately predict storms to reduce damage  Satellite images to study coastal erosion in Ganges Delta

• reduce population displacement during rains

 Maldives, experimental station study effects of global warming on ocean levels  Dams being built to balance drought and floods

• Able to change course of rivers • Reroute water for irrigation

• Control flooding by holding water in reserve for times of drought

 Governments and international conservation organizations are working to reverse wildlife losses

 Creation of wildlife reserves

 Passing of laws controlling hunting and logging have begun to make a difference  Provide economic incentives to cooperate in conservation efforts

EAST ASIA

 Three Gorges Dam

• on Yangtze River to provide clean energy in China • Alternative energy source

SOUTHEAST ASIA  Singapore

• Strict law enforcement

• Littering the sidewalk $250 fine  Bangkok, Thailand

• Urban warming caused by industrialization, crowded living and working areas, increased use of automobile and other vehicles

• Banning construction of tall buildings near the sea (ventilation)  Laos

• Planned migration and resettlement programs

• Limit shifting cultivation by resettling people on fertile and arable land • Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia

• Limit timber exports

• Introduce reforestation programs • Difficult to enforce or carry out • Illegal logging still taking place • EUROPEAN UNION

EU countries face legal action against environment • France

 cited for violating EU nitrate pollution guidelines • Greece

 in court due to failure to protect Mediterranean sea turtle • Protecting buildings and statues with acid resistant coating • Scandinavian countries

 add lime to lakes to reduce acid levels • Guidelines to

 protect endangered species,

 increase protection from industrial waste,

 prevent dumping of pollutants by ships and aircrafts in to the Mediterranean

• Require companies to recycle packaging waste EUROPE

 Spain, Romania and Italy • Reintroduced animals  Belarus and Poland

• Preservation of wilderness areas • Reintroduce animal species EAST ASIA

 China

• Build networks of drainage channels, dams, dikes, and levees and irrigation canals to control flooding

• Dredging rivers to control floods  Japan

• Searching for alternative to both nuclear power and hydroelectric power • Several wind and solar power plants

 Aquaculture

• The cultivation of fish and other seafood • Solution to over fishing

• Raise seafood in ponds RUSSIA

 Improving nuclear safety standards  Shutdown dangerous nuclear plants

 28 operational reactors providing much of Russia’s electricity OCEANIA

 Australia

• To restore ecological balance

 Use of electrical fences to keep out nonnative  Hunting and trapping programs