Increase student understanding and appreciation of the environment

Processes/Interactions

Human impact Solutions

Course Objective

Structure/Components

World Views

Structure/Components

BIOTIC

-hydrosphere

-atmosphere

-lithosphere

-biosphere

-individual

-population

-community

-ecosystem

-ecosphere

ABIOTIC

Processes and interactions

Photosynthesis

Symbiosis Trophic levels

Respiration

Thermodynamics

Succession Evolution

Biogeochemical cycles

nitrogen

phosphorus water

carbon

Overpopulation

Water Pollution

Depletion of Biodiversity Air Pollution

Human Impact

Land Degradation

Food Shortage Water Scarcity

Land degradation

mechanisation

deforestation mining

irrigation

waste disposal

Water pollution

fertilizers

deforestation

mining

pesticides

waste disposal

Agriculture

eutrophication

Biodiversity

fertilizers

deforestation overhunting

pesticides

waste disposal

Air pollution

ozone depletion acid deposition

sick building syndrome

smog\thermal inversion

global warming

Sustainable Development

Conservation

Environmental Legislation

(NEPA)Renewable Energy

Solutions

Population Control

Waste Management

recycling

efficiency

Key Points

1. Differentiate between cornucopianism and environmentalism

2. Be able to apply the concept of sustainability

3. Describe conservation strategies for endangered species

4. Differentiate between the types of symbiosis

5. Describe the role of energy in ecosystems

6. Discuss factors affecting fertility rate

7. Describe key points of population growth curve

8. Discuss the environmental effects of agriculture.

Key Points

9. Describe processes in the water, nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon cycles.

10. Discuss activities, such as deforestation and agriculture, that are impacting on the water and carbon cycles.

11. Define eutrophication

12. Link pollutants to their effects especially global warming and ozone depletion.

Sample case with questions and sample answers.

• .

• Iraq is a desert country in the Middle East with 10% of the world’s oil reserves. The United States and Great Britain have invaded Iraq. One strategy used by Saddam Hussein was to set oil wells and pits filled with oil on fire. Since the war there has been increases in oil prices and global instability. Jamaica’s oil bill was US$700 million in 2002 and is expected to rise significantly this year.

Sample case with questions and sample answers

• Mesopotamia the cradle of civilization lies within Iraq on the flood plains of the Tigris and the Euphrates. Both of these rivers originate in Turkey and international agreements govern their use. The history of irrigation started here 7500 years ago when flood irrigation was used to grow wheat and barley. Today, greater than 70% of irrigated lands cannot be used due to problems caused by irrigation.

Discuss two reasons why flood irrigation has

proven to be unsustainable. [4 marks] Flood irrigation has proven to be unsustainable because:• It results in salinisation which is the buildup of salts in

the soil due to evaporation of irrigation water. The high level of salt makes the soil infertile and incapable of supporting agriculture. This is unsustainable because future generations are being deprived of this resource. (2 marks)

• Iraq is a desert country and water is very scarce. Flood irrigation wastes water that could be used for some other purpose such as drinking. It depletes water supplies reducing future availability. (2 marks)

Discuss two possible long-term environmental effects of the burning of fossil fuels on the Caribbean. [4 marks]

• Burning of fossil fuels produce carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming. Global warming causes glaciers to melt. This is resulting in rising sea levels which may submerge coastal towns of Caribbean Islands in the future. (2 marks)

• Global warming may also disrupt weather patterns resulting

in more severe hurricanes, floods and droughts. (2 marks)

Discuss two effects of the war on the sustainability of Iraq’s water resources. [4 marks]

• Bombs dropped by the United States have destroyed the sewage infrastructure resulting in contamination of scarce water resources. This has reduced the future availability of water. (2 marks)

• The presence of American and British troops has placed additional pressure on Iraq’s scarce water supplies reducing future availability. (2 marks)

Differentiate between conservation and efficiency and discuss how each can be used by Jamaica to reduce the impact of the high oil bill. [4 marks]

• Conservation is any activity that reduces use of a resource (such as turning off lights not being used) while efficiency, a form of conservation, is the use of technology to accomplish the same task using less of a resource (eg. using energy efficient bulbs to produce the same illumination using less power). (2 marks)

• Since conservation and efficiency both result in reduced use of electricity then they will result in less oil being used and a lower oil bill. (2 marks)

Discuss two possible ways that recycling waste oil in Jamaica

would be a sustainable activity. [4 marks]

Recycling waste oil would:• reduce the amount available to pollute the

environment thus preserving resources for future use. (2 marks)

• reduce the amount of raw oil that needs to be drilled thus extending the future availability of this resource. (2 marks)