Log inSign up for FREE
Library

Homework - Cause and Effects of Human Activities

Last updated 11 months ago
5 questions
5

1. For this assignment you must acquire the following materials:

  • paper towels
  • scissors
  • masking tape
  • few pieces of trash
  • water

2. Below in the show your answer, plan and diagram your landfill, which should be designed to trap everything inside and prevent leaking.

3. Use the materials you gathered to build your landfill.

4. Add waste materials

5. Add a cup or half a cup of water to your landfill.

6. Collect the leachate from your landfill.

7. How can you redesign your landfill to collect more leachate? (Answer this question below)
  • Add a material to your landfill to make it more leachate proof

Impacts on Urbanization

Impact of Urbanization There are multiple environmental impacts related to urban development. As you just explored, paving land prevents water from soaking into the soil.

Instead, it runs off into sewers or streams. A stream's discharge increases when more water enters its channel. Stream discharge is the volume of water flowing past a point per unit of time. During heavy rainstorms in paved areas, rainwater flows directly into streams, increasing stream discharge and the risk of flooding.
Urbanization can also cause habitat destruction, the loss of farmland, and negatively impact groundwater supplies. Many communities use underground water supplies for drinking.Covering land with roads, sidewalks, and parking lots reduces the amount of rainwater that soaks into the ground to refill underground water supplies.

Finally, many wetlands throughout the world have been drained and filled with soil for roads, buildings, airports, and housing developments. The disappearance of wetlands has also been associated with rising sea level, coastal erosion, and the introduction of species that are not naturally found in wetlands.

Impacts of Deforestation

Humans sometimes cut forests to clear land for grazing, farming, or building houses or highways.

Deforestation is the cutting of large areas of forests for human activities. What's the impact of deforestation?

Impact of Deforestation A significant amount of forests have been reduced globally. An increased need for resources produced by trees, or the land on which the trees grow, has led to a decrease in the amount of forests.

What's the impact? Deforestation leads to loss of animal habitats, which can lead to the endangerment or extinction of a species.

In tropical rain forests-complex ecosystems that can take hundreds of years to replace-deforestation is a serious problem. Tropical rain forests are home to an estimated 50 percent of all species on Earth.

In addition, deforestation affects the atmosphere. Trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during photosynthesis. Rates of photosynthesis decrease when large of trees are cut down, and more carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere.

People also clear land for development and agriculture. Let's investigate the impact of agriculture on land resources.

Impacts on Agriculture


Pesticide Usage
To feed the growing world population, some farmers use higher-yielding seeds and chemical fertilizers. These methods help increase the amount of food grown on each km? of land. Herbicides and pesticides also are used to reduce weeds, insects, and other pests that can damage crops. However, runoff containing these fertilizers can seep into groundwater supplies, polluting drinking water. They can also run off into streams and rivers, affecting aquatic organisms.

Soil Quality
Whenever vegetation is removed from an area, such as tilled farming, soil is exposed. Without plant roots to hold soil in place, nothing prevents the soil from being carried away by running water and wind. High rates of soil erosion can lead to desertification.
Desertification is the development of desert-like conditions due to human activities and/or climate change. A region of land that undergoes desertification is no longer useful for food production.

Sрасе
Today, about one-fifth of U.S land is used for growing crops and about one fourth is used for grazing livestock. Animals such as cattle eat vegetation and then are used as food for humans. About sixty-five percent of land in Texas is used for grazing cattle. Other regions of me United States such as the west and Midwest also set aside land as pasture. Other land is used in grow crops to be fed to cattle. Many farmers raise corn to be fed to cattle. Many famers raise corn and hay for this purpose.

Impacts on Waste management

Landfills and Hazardous Waste Land is also used when consumed products are thrown away. About 60 percent of our garbage goes into landfills. Some of these wastes are dangerous. Examine the table below to learn more about the impacts of landfills and hazardous waste.

Landfills

About 34 percent of our trash is recycled and composted. About 11 percent is burned, and the remaining 55 percent is placed in landfills. Landfills are areas where trash is buried. Since many materials do not decompose in landfills, or they decompose slowly, landfills fill with garbage. and new ones must be built. Locating an acceptable area to build a landfill can be difficult. Type of soil, the depth to groundwater, and neighborhood concerns must be considered.

Hazardous Waste

Some trash cannot be placed in landfills because it contains harmful substances that can affect soil, air, and water quality. This trash is called hazardous waste.
The substances in hazardous waste also can affect the health of humans and other living things.
Both industries and households generate hazardous waste. For example, hazardous waste from the medical industry includes used needles and bandages.
Household hazardous waste includes used motor oil and batteries.
Pollution Runoff that contains chemicals from landfills, mineral mines, and agricultural fields can pollute and affect the quality of soil and water. Pollution is the contamination of the environment with substances that are harmful to life. Pollution can be devastating to many plant and animal species.
8

Summarize the cause and effect relationships between human activities and the environmental impacts on the land.

Managing Land Resources

One way governments can manage forests and other unique ecosystems is by preserving them. On preserved land, logging and development is either banned or strictly controlled. Large areas of forests cannot be cut. Instead, loggers cut selected trees and then plant new trees to replace ones they cut. Reforestation involves planting trees to replace ones that have been removed. Trees are renewable-they can be replanted and grown in a relatively short amount of time.

Land mined for mineral resources also must be preserved. On both public and private lands, mined land must be restored according to government regulations. Reclamation is the process of restoring land disturbed by mining. Mined areas can be reshaped, covered with soil, and then replanted with trees and other vegetation.

Land used for farming and grazing can be managed to conserve soil and improve crop yield. Farmers can leave crop stalks after harvesting to protect soil from erosion. They also can use organic farming techniques that do not use synthetic fertilizers.

Positive Actions Governments, societies, and individuals can work together to reduce the impact of human activities on land resources. For example, many cities use green spaces to create natural environments in urban settings. Green spaces are areas that are left undeveloped or lightly developed. They include parks within cities and forests around suburbs. Protected forests and parks, such as Yellowstone National Park, shown below, are important habitats for wildlife.
Managing Land Resources

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Developed countries such as the United States use more natural resources than other regions. Ways to conserve resources include reducing the use of materials, and reusing and recycling materials.

Reusing an item means finding another use for it instead of throwing it away. Using material again is called recycling. When you recycle wastes such as glass, paper, plastic, steel, or tires, you help conserve Earth's land resources.
You can use yard waste and vegetable scraps to make rich compost for gardening, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers. Compost is a mix of decayed organic material, bacteria, other organisms, and small amounts of water.
Reducing means limiting the amount used initially.

The human population explosion already has had an effect on the environment and the organisms that inhabit Earth. It's unlikely that the population will begin to decline in the near future. To make up for this, resources must be used wisely. Conserving resources by reducing, reusing, and recycling is an important way that you can make a difference.

Plastic refuse usually does not make an attractive seat. However, with a little effort, it can be reused in a variety of very useful ways.

Managing Land Resources

Because some land uses involve renewable resources while others do not, managing land resources is complex. In addition, the amount of land is limited, so there is competition for space. Landfills for example, take up variable space and often risk polluting the area. Those who manage land resources must balance all of these issues.
1

What kinds of items might be reusable?

1

Describe how you reuse or recycle materials at home.

1

How might reusing a material help preserve the environment?