3b.1 - Human Impact on the Environment Flashcards
Why has the population increased? (2)
- Medicine
- Farming
How has population growth impacted on water? (2)
- Sewage and toxic chemicals from industry pollute lakes
- Fertilisers can be washed into water
How has population growth impacted on the land? (2)
- Toxic chemicals used for farming
- Burying of nuclear and household waste underground
How has population growth impacted on the air? (2)
- Smoke and gases released into the atmosphere
What human activities limit the amount of land and resources for other animals and plants? (4)
- Building
- Farming
- Dumping waste
- Quarrying for metal ores
Where can CO2 be sequestered?
- Oceans, lakes and ponds
- Green plants
- Peat bogs
What does ‘sequestered’ mean?
Locked up
Describe what the ozone layer does (3)
- Temperature is a balance between the heat from the sun and the heat radiating into space
- Acts as an insulating layer
- Absorbs heat radiating from the earth and re-radiates it in all directions
What are greenhouse gases?
The gases in the atmosphere which help keep the heat in
What are the two main greenhouse gases?
Methane and CO2
Why is global warming happening?
Increasing levels of greenhouse gases
Why does deforestation happen? (3)
- Provide timber to use as a building materials
- Clear more land for food and bio-diesel
- Produce paper
What does deforestation lead to?
- More methane
- More CO2
- Less CO2 taken in
- Less biodiversity
What is biodiversity?
Variety of different species
What are bogs?
Areas of land that are acidic and waterlogged
What is peat?
Plants that live in bogs that don’t fully decay because there’s not enough oxygen
What is happening to peat bogs?
- Drained so that area can be used for farming or fuel
Why should peat bogs not be drained?
Then they decay and release CO2
How can people reduce the number of peat bogs destroyed?
- Buy peat-free compost
What are the consequences of global warming? (4)
- Rising sea levels
- Changes weather patterns
- Biodiversity
- Changes in migration
How does the sea level rise? (2)
- Sea warmer so expands
- Melting of ice caps
How do scientists collect evidence for global warming?
- Satellites to monitor snow and ice and measure temperature of sea surface
- Temperature and speed of ocean currents
- Atmospheric temperatures
