Chapter 10: Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: The Ecosystem Approach

1. Human Impacts on Terrestrial Biodiversity

1. Effects of Human Activities on Global Biodiversity
2. -We have depleted and degraded some on the earths biodiversity and these threats
are expected to increase.
3. Biodiversity should be protected from degradation by human activities because it
exists and because of its usefulness to us and other species.

This is a map of 34 hotspots that have been identified by ecologists as important and endangered
centers of biodiversity/natural capital.
1. Managing and Sustaining Forests
1. Forests provide a number of ecological and economic services and researchers
have attempted to estimate their total monetary value.
2. Some forests have not been disturbed by human activities, others have grown
back after being cut, and some consist of planted stands of a particular tree
species.
3. Human activities have reduced the earths forest cover by as much as half.

4. Almost half of the people in the developing world face a shortage of fuelwood
and charcoal and this shortage is expecting to grow.
5. Trees can be harvested individually from diverse forests, or an entire forest stand
can be cut down.
6. e can use forests more sustainably by emphasizing the economic value of thier
ecological services, harvesting trees no faster than they are replenished, and
protecting old-growth and vulnerable areas.
b. Case Study: Forest Resources and Management in the United States
1. U.S. forests cover more area than they did in 1920, and more wood is grown than
cut, and the country has set aside large areas of protected forests.
2. Depending on their intensity, fires can benefit or harm forests.
3. To reduce fire damage, we can set controlled surface fires, allow fires on the most
public lands to burn unless they threaten human structures and lives, and clear
small areas around buildings in areas subject to fire.
4. Cutting and degrading old-growth tropical forests reduces the important economic
and ecological services they provide
5. The primary causes of tropical deforestation and degradation are population
growth, poverty, environmentally harmful government subsidies, debts owed to
developed countries, and failure to value their ecological services.
6. There are a number of ways to slow and reduce the deforestation and degradation
of tropical forests.

Damage from off-road vehicles in a proposed wilderness area near Moab, Utah (USA).
Such vehicles damage soils and vegetation.
1. National Parks in the United States face many threats
1. Popularity> high tourist populations
1. Damage from the migration of or deliberate introduction of nonnative
species,
i.
Inholdings- hotels, mines, gas and oil wells deep within some parks
1. Nature Reserves
1. Ecologists call for protecting more land to help sustain biodiversity, but powerful
economic and political interests oppose doing this.
2. Large and medium-sized reserves with buffer zones help protect biodiversity and
can be connected by corridors.
3. We can establish and connect nature reserves in a large ecoregion

4. We can prevent or slow down losses of biodiversity by concentrating efforts to

protecting global hot spots where significant biodiversity is under immediate
threat.
5. Conservation biologists are helping people in communities find ways to sustain
local biodiversity while providing local economic income
6. Wilderness in land legally set aside in a large enough area to prevent or minimize
human activities.
7. Only a small percentage of the land area of the United States has been protected
as wilderness.
1. Ecological Restoration
1. Scientists have developed a number of ways to rehabilitate and restore degraded
ecosystems and create artificial ecosystems.
2. There is some concern that ecological restoration could promote future
environmental destruction and degradation.
Chapter 10 covers the importance of protecting and maintaining terrestrial biodiversity
through nature reserves, national parks, and restoration. As the population increases and our
dependency on natural resources continues to grow, terrestrial biodiversity is becoming
increasingly threatened. This chapter shows what we can learn and how we should preserve our
natural resources more, as well as the importance of biodiversity.
Chapter 12: Sustaining Aquatic Biodiversity
1. Aquatic Biodiversity
1. We know fairly little about the biodiversity of the worlds marine and freshwater
systems.
2. The worlds marine and freshwater systems provide important ecological and
economic services.
b. Human Impacts on Aquatic Biodiversity
1. Human activities have destroyed or degraded a large proportion of the worlds
coastal wetlands, coral reefs, mangroves, and ocean bottom and disrupted many of
the worlds freshwater ecosystems.
2. Harmful invasive species are an increasing threat to marine and freshwater
biodiversity.
3. Almost half of the worlds people live on or near the worlds coastal zones and
80% of oceans water pollution comes from land-based human activities.
4. About 75% of the worlds commercially valuable marine fish species are
overfished near their sustainable limits.
5. Rapidly increasing human impacts, the invisibility of problems, citizen
unawareness, and lack of legal jurisdiction hinder protection of aquatic
biodiversity.

This image is of Norwegian whalers harpooning a sperm whale, an example of aquatic natural
capital degradation.
1. Protecting and Sustaining Marine Biodiversity
1. Laws, international treaties, and education can help reduce the premature
extinction of marine species.
2. After many of the worlds whale species were overharvested, commercial whaling
was banned in 1970, but the ban may be overturned.
3. Fully protected marine reserves make up less than 0.3% of the world ocean area.
4. Some communities work together to develop integrated plans managing their
coastal areas.
5. Two recent studies have called for an overhaul of U.S. ocean policy and
management.

An example of threatened natural capital is the endangered green sea turtle.

1. Protecting, Sustaining, and Restoring Wetlands, Lakes and Rivers
1. Requiring governments permits for filling or destroying U.S wetlands has slowed
their loss, but attempts to weaken this protection continue.
2. The worlds largest ecological restoration project involves trying to undo some of
the damage inflicted on Floridas Everglades by human activities.
3. Lakes are difficult to manages and are vulnerable to planned or unplanned
introductions of nonnative species.
4. Dams can provide many human benefits but can disrupt some of the ecological
services that rivers provide
Chapter 12 covers just how necessary it is that people realize their impact theyve been
having on aquatic biodiversity, and gives solutions on how to start protecting it. It explains that
by creating more marine reserves, create more laws, and international treaties, as well as spread
awareness is a way to start reversing the problem weve created.

Chapter 13: Food, Soil, Conservation, and Pest Management

Overview Questions:
1. What is food security?
2. How serious is malnutrition?
3. How is the worlds food produced?
4. Where is the worlds produced?
5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using the Green Revolution and food?
1. Global food production and population growth
1. one of six people in developing countries go without proper nutrition
2. many places all over the globe can not get the nutrients and food they need, this is
malnutrition

This pie chart shows that over half the land can not even be used to grow food.
1. Poverty and malnutrition
c. food security- everyone in a given area has access and can get the proper food
they need to sustain themselves
1. macronutrients- protein, carbs
2. micronutrients- vitamins and minerals
3. War, and the environment
c. many places like Africa, have been in famines because of war, and because of this
children are forced to scavenge for ants and other bugs on the ground
2. Solutions
c. there are many ways to reduce food and lack of food related deaths
c. immunize at a young age, breastfeed, prevent dehydration, get lots of vitamins,
provide family planning, educate woman

b. Food Production
1. agriculture and polyculture, polyvarietal cultivation, agroforestry, polyculture

This map shows that the green areas are users of industrialized agriculture, and this makes up the
majority of the world.
5. Soil Erosion

a. soil erosion- movement of soil components especially topsoil and litter

5. Pest Management
a. pesticides and insecticides keep away bugs, but can leave harmful effects on the
food
Chapter 13 covers food, how it is grown, and how people do or do not have access to it.
Food is vital life, yet so many people in the world lack access to healthy food, and the amount of
food they need. One out of six people in developing countries face this problem, but even in
developed countries like the United States there are food deserts. Another problem that comes
with food is how it is grown. Soil erosion and deprivation is a big problem. A solution to this can
be buying your groceries locally and organically.
Chapter 14: Water
Overview Questions:
1. What causes flooding?
2. Why is water so important, how much freshwater is available to us, and how much of it
are we using?
3. What causes freshwater shortages, and what can be done about this problem?
4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of withdrawing groundwater?
5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using dams and reservoirs to supply more
water?
1. Water and its importance
1. water is vital to human existence but only 0.02% of all water is available to us in
liquid drinking form
2. groundwater- water that is stored in soil and rock
3. when surface water drains into a large area it is called a watershed or a drainage
basin
b. Freshwater
1. 41% of the worlds population lives without enough freshwater
2. people are taking drastic steps to conserve water, but there is lots more to be done,
importing grain out bidding farmers to get access to water

This map shows areas that are quickly depleting their groundwater use, places like the midwest,
and parts of California.
3. Dams, and Reservoirs
a. these can produce cheap electricity by reusing and using water
b. they also help farmers
c. and can prevent flooding and the damage that occurs with flooding
3. Transferring and Transporting Water

a. transferring water creates jobs and helps the economy

b. however it also promotes some unsustainable uses for the water
3. Solutions
a. we waste 66% of water but we can make it to 15%
b. much of this water loss is through leakage, which in some situations can be an
easy fix
c. we use our water very inefficiently and government subsidies could help us use it
more wisely
3. Too much water
a. in some cases too much water can be a bad thing, in cases of flooding which can
cause severe damage
b. flooding can also erode the soil

This is a diagram of a more efficient way to use water called drip irrigation.
Chapter 14 covers how water is necessary for the existence of all living things: humans,
plants, animals, and pretty much all life on Earth. To take action against this problem one should
fix leaks, and take shorter showers. In many places people dont have access to clean drinking
water, and pretty soon even the United States wont too. Though in some cases too much water
can be a bad thing because of flooding, this can also part of the issue the earth is facing about
water.
Chapter 15: Geology and Nonrenewable Resources
Overview Questions:
1. What geologic processes happen in the earth and on its surface?
2. What mineral resources are nonrenewable and where can they be found?
3. How does one extract the minerals and resources from the earths crust?
4. Are their substitutes for the the nonrenewable minerals?
5. How long will these nonrenewable resources last?
1. Geologic Processes
1. The earth constantly changes because the processes that are above and below the
surface
2. The core of the earth is the innermost zone and has a solid inner core as well as an
extremely hot molten core
3. The mantle is made up of solid rock and covered by the asthenosphere which is a
melted and more pliable rock
4. The crust is the outermost zone and it is the layer in which we live on
5. When there are large volumes of heated and molten rack that moves around inside
the earths interior it creates plates
1. These plates are Tectonic plates

This shows the major features that are on the earths crust as well as the upper mantle.
1. Tectonic Plates
1. The slow movements of the plates make them grind against one another and the
plate boundaries
1. when the plates grind into one another they are convergent plate
boundaries
2. when they move apart it will at a divergent plate boundary
3. when they slide past each other they are transform plate boundaries
b. Minerals, Rocks, and the Rock Cycle
i.
The earths crust is made up of solid inorganic elements and elements that are
called minerals
ii.
these minerals are often times used as resources
iii.
A mineral resource is a concentration of naturally occurring material in or on the
earths crust which may be extracted and processed into materials that we can
later use
iv. mineral resources are classified into four groups
1. these groups are: identified, undiscovered, reserves, and other.
b. Environmental Effects of using Mineral Resources
i.
Minerals can be removed through many different methods

ii.
iii.

these different methods can be more harmful towards the environment than the
others
these methods are:
1. surface mining: in which shallow deposits are removed
2. subsurface mining: in which deep deposits are removed
3. open-pit mining: machines dig, removing sand, gravel, and stone, this can
lead to toxic groundwater accumulating at the bottom
4. area strip mining: earth is stripped away with giant shovels, removing
mineral deposits, it can often leave spoil banks

This image shows contour strip mining: used on mountainous terrain, it often leaves an erodible
bank called a highwall.
1. Mining Impacts
1. Metal ores are smelted (melted to extract the minerals) and this releases lots of
chemicals (that are potentially toxic) into the air
2. Most of these resources are nonrenewable and we are going to eventually run out
3. Humans have too much of a dependency on these minerals that we may all have

This image shows depletion curves of renewable resources using certain assumptions.
Chapter 15 covers what the earth is made up of and what resources in it that people want
to use, as well as how we extract them from the earth. There are different ways to get these
minerals extracted from the earth but some of these ways are a lot more harmful to the
environment. This shows which ways we should use more because some of them can be quite
harmful. It also covers how humans use these minerals, how dependent we have become on
them.
Chapter 16: Nonrenewable Energy
Overview Questions:
1. What are some advantages and disadvantages of using conventional and unconventional
oils?
2. What are some advantages and disadvantages of natural gases?
3. What are some advantages and disadvantages of coal and making coal into different
forms?
4. What are some advantages and disadvantages of the different types of nuclear fission?
1. Types of Energy Resources

1. About 99% of energy used for heat is solar and the other 1% comes from burning
fossil fuels
1. this said that solar energy supports wind energy, hydropower, and biomass
ii.
About 76% of the commercial energy used comes from nonrenewable fossil fuels
1. the rest comes from renewable sources
ii.
there are many types of energy resources that are nonrenewable, which means that
they are limited resources

This image shows different sources of nonrenewable resources as well as geothermal energy
sources that come from the earths crust.
1. Net energy is the amount of high-quality useable energy available from a resource after
subtracting the energy needed to make it
2. High temperature industrial heat uses more net energy ratio than space heating, and
transportation
3. Oil
1. crude oil or petroleum is a thick liquid that contains hydrocarbons that we extract
from underground deposits and separates into different products
2. these products are gasoline, heating oil, and asphalt
3. only about 35-50% can be economically recovered from a deposit

4. there are many different ways that are used to extract oil, they can be really
harmful to the environment
5. oil can be refined by distillation
6. oil shales contain a solid combustible hydrocarbons called kerogen
b. CO2 emissions are extremely harmful to the environment
1. CO2 is not regulated as an air pollutant

This image shows the CO2 emissions per unit of energy produced with various energy resources.
5. Natural Gas
a. natural gas consists mostly of methane gas and is often found about crude oils
b. fields are natural gases are found and become liquefied and made into petroleum
gas
c. coal beds and bubbles of methane are can be trapped in ice crystals underneath the
arctic permafrost and underneath deep ocean sediments
d. some people believe that natural gas may be the best fuel to help us transition to
improved energy efficiency and to start using renewable energy
5. Nuclear Energy
a. when isotopes of uranium and plutonium undergo controlled nuclear fission, the
resulting heat produces steam that spins turbines to generate electricity
b. nuclear energy is kept in reactors for a couple of years and then removed and
stored in water that is steel lines concrete
c. some disadvantages to nuclear energy is how to treat the waste

d. it can be very harmful so people have to be careful with it

This image shows how one can compare coal and nuclear and what their disadvantages and
advantages are.
Chapter 16 covers the different sources of energy and how they are used. It also spoke
about their advantages and disadvantages and how bad they can be for the environment. It goes
in depth on oil nuclear energy and natural gases and their effects of the environment. It also asks
us to question which sources are better and how we should proceed in getting our energy.
Chapter 17: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
1. Reducing Energy Waste and Improving Energy Efficiency
1. 84% of the energy in the U.S. is used by commercial infrastructure

2. There are four widely used devices that waste a lot of energy: Incandescent Light
Bulb, Internal Combustion Engine, Nuclear Power Plant, Coal-Burning Power
Plant
3. 41% of energy is wasted because of the 2nd law of thermodynamics
b. Ways To Improve Energy Efficiency
1. Industry
1. Producing heat and electricity from one energy is source is one way
Industry can save both money and energy.
2. Aswell as using more efficient electric motors and lights
ii.
Transportation
1. Making vehicles lighter and more fuel efficient can save energy in
transportation
2. The average fuel economy of new vehicles in the use is about 19 in 2000
3. 40% of the worlds gasoline is used by motor vehicles in the U.S.
4. Hybrid cars account for less than 1% of all new car sales in the U.S.
ii.
Hybrid Vehicles, Sustainable Wind power, and oil Imports
1. All the electricity needs of the U.S. can be met by just a network of wind
farms in just four states.

This image shows a hybrid car which is known to be much more fuel efficient than a typical
gasoline car. It uses an electric motor as well as a gasoline engine.
d. Fuel-Cell Vehicles

1. Hydrogen gas powered vehicles are being developed

2. No Co2 or air pollution is produced from renewable-energy sources
4. Ways to Improve Energy Efficiency
1.
Heating from the sun, superinsulation, and using plant covered green roofs
is a way to save energy in new building.
2.
Insulation, plugging leaks and using energy-efficient heating and cooling
systems, appliances, and lighting can help save energy in existing
buildings.

This image shows the energy inputs and outputs of the economy and lifestyle of the US.
b. Living Roofs
1. In Europe and Iceland roofs covered with plants have been used for a long
time
2. Built with a combination of light-weight compost, mulch and sponge like
materials.
ii.
Saving Energy in Existing Buildings
1. One-third of warm air on U.S. homes and building escapes through
windows, holes, and cracks.
Chapter 17 covers the different ways in which people waste energy and how we can use
our energy much more efficiently. There are many ways we waste energy in the U.S but the main
way is through industry, as well as residential and government. There are more efficient ways to

use the energy, people can use energy efficient cars, LED lightbulbs are other, better energy
sources.
Chapter 18: Environmental Hazards and Human Health
Chapter Overview Questions:
1. What types of hazards do people face?
2. What types of biological hazards threaten people in developing countries and developed
countries?
3. What chemical hazards do people face?
4. How can risks be estimated and recognized?
5. Risks and Hazards
1. The likelihood that you will suffer from a hazard is known as a risk
2. Risks we suffer from
Biological hazard: More than 1,400 pathogens
Chemical hazards: Which is in air, soil, food.
Physical hazards: Which is fire, earthquake, and volcanic eruption
Cultural hazards: Are smoking, poor diet, unsafe sex, unsafe working conditions,
and poverty.
6. Transmissible Disease
a. The WHO estimates that the worlds seven deadliest infections kill 13.6 million
people a year.
b. Most deaths are in poor or developing countries
c. 7 deadliest infections
Pneumonia and Flu (bacteria and viruses) - 3.2 million
HIV/AIDS (virus) - 3.0 million
Malaria (protozoa) - 2.0 million
Diarrheal diseases (bacteria and viruses) - 1.9 million
Tuberculosis (bacteria) - 1.7 million
hepatitis B (virus) - 1 million
measles (virus) - 800 thousand

This image shows the seven deadliest diseases and their yearly deaths.
7. Viral Diseases
a. The biggest killer virus worldwide is the influenza virus
b. Pigs, chickens, ducks, and geese are the major reservoirs of the flu virus
c. The second biggest killer worldwide is the HIV virus
d. Major ways to slow the spread of the diseases are
i. Free HIV testing
ii. Focus on groups that are most likely
iii.
Educational programs
iv. Free or low-cost drugs

This image shows the pathways in which infectious diseases infect humans.
8. Chemical Hazards are a toxic chemical can cause injury or death
a. Chemicals and forms of radiation cause or increase the rate of mutations in DNA
are known as Mutagens
b. Chemicals that cause harm or birth defects to a fetus or embryo are known as
Teratogens
c. Chemicals or types of radiation that cause cancer are known as Carcinogens
d. Hazardous chemicals that harm humans or animals, flammable, explosive, an
irritant, stops oxygen uptake, and allergic reactions
Chapter 18 covers the health of the environment and of people. It shows the risks of
living in this environment and how it affects people, as well as the seven most deadliest diseases
worldwide which are pneumonia and the flu, HIV/AIDS, malaria, diseases with diarrhea,
tuberculosis, hepatitis B, and measles. These add up to 13.6 million deaths a year, mostly in poor
or developing countries. It also talks about how chemicals affect biotic things.
Chapter 19: Air Pollution
Overview Questions:
1. What are the layers of the atmosphere?
2. What are the types of smog?
3. What is acid deposition?

4. How can acid deposition be reduced?

5. How can we prevent and control air pollution?
1. Structure and Science of the Atmosphere
1. The atmosphere consists of several layers with different temperatures, pressures,
and compositions

This image shows the layers and different characteristics of the layers in the atmospheres.
1. the atmospheres innermost layer is the troposphere
1. the troposphere is made up of mostly nitrogen and oxygen
2. it has small amounts of water vapor and CO2
b. the ozone is the atmospheres second layer, it is called the stratosphere
1. the stratosphere filters out most of the suns UV radiation that is harmful to living
beings
b. Air Pollution
1. Carbon Oxides are highly pollutant
2. they are very common pollutants and are really bad for the environment
3. 93% of carbon dioxide in the troposphere occurs as a result of human activities
4. these activities include burning fossil fuels

1.
b.

b.
b.

b.

b.

This image shows some primary air pollutants that can react with one another and with
other chemicals in the air to form secondary air pollutants.
Nitrogen Oxides
1. they form when nitrogen and oxygen gas in air react at the high combustion
temperatures in automobile engines and with coal burning plants
Suspended Particulate Matter
1. consists of a variety of solid particulates and liquid droplets small and light
enough to remain suspended in the air
2. according to the EPA, SPM is responsible for about 60,000 premature deaths a
year in the U.S.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
1. most are hydrocarbons emitted by the leaves of many plants and methane
2. about 2/3s of global methane emissions comes from human sources
Smog
1. photochemical smog is a mixture of air pollutants formed by the reaction of
nitrogen oxides and volatile organic hydrocarbons under the influence of sunlight
2. mexico city suffers from extreme cases of photochemical smog
Acid deposition
1. sulfur dioxides, nitrogen oxides, and particultes can react in the atmosphere to
produce acidic chemicals
2. acid deposition consists of rain, snow, dust, or gas with a pH lower than 5.6
Harmful effects of air pollution

1. air pollution can hurt ones health

2. studies show that each year air pollution kills about 3 million people
3. many poorer countries live in terrible air conditions, leading to many lung
diseases or problems within the respiratory system
b. Preventing air pollution
1. Clean Air act
2. because of it the U.S. emits 75% less pollution than it did in 1970, regarding car
emissions
3. we can pass more laws to have even better changes
Chapter 19 cover air, how it is polluted, what the main pollutants are, and what we can do
to prevent further pollution. Pollution can be really bad and has many negative effects on health
and other aspects. Many common pollutants come from household supplies and what people do,
everyday tasks. But if we become more aware of what we are doing and what we use we can cut
back on the air pollution.

Chapter 21
1. Using nature to purify sewage
a. Some communities and individuals are seeking better ways to purify
sewage by working with nature
b. These treatment methods are called sewage machines
c. The process has many steps in the process ending with clean purified water
2. Water Pollution Sources, types and effects
.
Water pollution degrades water quality and can come from single sources and
larger dispersed sources
a.
water is polluted by disease-causing agents, oxygen-demanding wastes, plant
nutrients, organic and inorganic chemicals, sediment and excess heat.
b.
There are many types of organisms that can spread diseases through drinking
water
i.
Bacteria
1. typhoid fever
2. Cholera
3. Bacterial dysentery
4. Enteritis
ii.
Viruses
1. Infectious hepatitis (type B)
iii.
Parasitic protozoa
1. amoebic dysentery
2. giardiasis
3. cryptosporidium
iv.
Parasitic worms
1. schistosomiasis

3.

Pollution of freshwater streams

.
Flowing streams can recover from a moderate level of degradable water
pollutants if they are not overloaded and their flows are not reduced.
a.
Most developed countries have sharply reduced point-source pollution
but toxic chemicals and pollution from nonpoint sources are still a problem
b.
Stream pollution is most developing countries is a major problem
c.
Religious beliefs, cultural traditional, poverty, and a large population
interact to cause severe pollution of the Ganges River in India.
4. Pollution of freshwater lakes
.
Dilution of pollutants in lakes is less effective than in most streams
because most lake water is not mixed well and has little flow
a.
Various human activities can overload lakes with plant nutrients, which
decreased dissolved oxygen and kill some aquatic species.
Water pollution affects people from all walks of life. It is a major issue in both the developing
world and the developed world. Water pollution comes from point and nonpoint sources. Both
can be prevented, but it is much more difficult to prevent water pollution from nonpoint sources.
Streams and lakes in developing nations are polluted by far the most which is problematic
because they are almost always used for drinking and bathing.

Water pollution is caused many different sources, in different areas and stages.
Chapter 22
1. Hazardous waste
a.
Developing countries produce about 80-90% of the worlds solid and
liquid waste.
b.
Two major federal laws regulate the management and disposal of
hazardous waste in the US
c.
We can produce less hazardous wastes and recycle, reuse, and detoxify,
burn, and bury what we continue to produce.

d.
Physical, chemical, and biological methods and incineration and the
plasma torch can be used to remove hazardous wastes or the reduce their
toxicity.
e.
Hazardous waste can be disposed of on or underneath the earths surface,
but without proper design and care this can pollute the air and water.
2.
Toxic lead and mercury
a.
lead is especially harmful to children and is still used in leaded gasoline and
household paints in about 100 countries
b.
Mercury is released into the environment mostly by burning coal and
incinerating wastes and can build to high levels in some types of fish consumed by humans
3.
Achieving a low waste society.
a.
In the United States, citizens have kept large numbers of incinerators, landfills,
and hazardous waste treatment plants from being build in their local their local areas
b.
Environmental justice means that everyone is entitled to protection from
environmental hazards without discrimination
c.
An international treated calls for phasing out the use of harmful persistent
organic pollutants (POPs)
d.
A number of principles and programs can be used to make the transition to a
low waste society during this century.
Much of the worlds waste is managed incorrectly. This can cause severe damage to the health of
ecosystems. Reducing, reusing, and recycling waste are effective methods of dealing with waste.
Solid waste can be incinerated to reduce its size and produce energy. Hazardous waste is often
disposed of incorrectly. Like the incorrect disposal of solid waste, the incorrect disposal of
hazardous waste can be quite harmful.

Incinerators produce energy and reduce the size of solid wastes.

Chapter 23

1.

Core Case: Ecocity concept

a.
Environmental and urban designers envision the development of more
environmentally sustainable cities called ecocities.
b.
An Ecocity of Curitiba, Brazil decided to focus on mass transportation rather
than cars.
i.
It transports 70% of its residents of over 2 million people in the city
c.
The city has found a way of reusing old busses as classrooms for job training
2. Urbanization and urban growth
.
People move to cities because push factors force them out of rural areas and
pull factors give them the hope of finding jobs and a better life in the city.
a.
Urban population are growing rapidly and many cities in developing countries
have become centers of poverty.
b.
Eight of every ten Americans live in urban areas, about half of them in
sprawling suburbs
c.
When land is available and affordable, urban areas tend to sprawl outward and
swallow up the surrounding countryside.
3. Urban Resource and Environmental Problems
.
Urban areas can offer more job opportunities and better education and health,
and can protect biodiversity by concentrating people.
a.
Cities are rarely self-sustaining, and they threaten biodiversity, lack trees, grow
little of their food, concentrate pollutants and noise, spread infectious diseases, and are centers of
poverty, crime and terrorism.
b.
Most of the urban poor in developing countries live in crowded, unhealthy, and
dangerous conditions, but many are better off than the rural poor.
c.
Mexico City suffers from severe poverty, overcrowding, and air pollution.
Urbanization is the growth of urban areas. Along with urbanization comes many environmental
issues. Urban areas consume a majority of the worlds resources and emit a majority of the
worlds waste. Transportation in cities is convenient but harmful. Riding a bicycle or using mass
transportation are much more sustainable transportation methods than driving a car.

Buildings use green roofs to lower urban air temperatures and diminish the heat island effect.