Enviromental Science free essay sample

As you watch this movie, answer the following questions IN YOUR OWN WORDS. Keep answers brief and concise. (Note: You do not need to use all of the space provided for each question) 1. Questions on Earth’s History: (a) What were three characteristics of the early Earth? 1) Conserve water in perfect forms 2) Molten rocks 3) Atmosphere lacking with oxygen (b) What are cyanobacteria and why are they important to the history of life on Earth? Cyanobacteria are single celled organisms that are referred as â€Å"blue – green algae†. They can be found in colonial and filamentous forms. Cyanobacteria specialized for nitro fixation are called heterocyst, which obtain their energy through photosynthesis. Cyanobacteria increases the oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere. Cyanobacteria is important to the history of life on earth because it produced atmospheric oxygen. (c) What is meant by â€Å"the engine of life is linkage†? Why is this important? â€Å"The engine of life is linkage† means that everything is linked in one technique or another. Each method must be followed by another, nothing is self-sufficient. An example of this would be the hydrologic cycle, in order for condensation to arise; the water must complete evaporation and so on. This is important because from the presence of one being, another existence is formed. Likewise without this linkage life would not be possible. (d) What is the major source of oxygen on Earth today? The major source of oxygen on Earth comes from plants in the ecosystem. Plants take in carbon monoxide and gives off carbon dioxide. Without any plants on Earth, the oxygen would sooner or later run out. 2. Questions on Human History: (a) Where do most humans live today? On the continent coastlines or the banks of rivers _ (b) There are still subsistence cultures today that have lived in the same way for 6000 years. What is their main asset to ensure survival? Agriculture (c) What was the first major revolution in human history and why was it so important to humans? The first major revolution in human history was agriculture. Agriculture was very important to humans because it caused in the first excesses of food, as well as giving birth to society. Agriculture was essential of survival for humanity. Nevertheless agriculture leads to alter from hunter-gatherers to a more adequate agricultural way of living. (d) Why are fossil fuels (like coal, gas and oil) referred to as â€Å"pockets of sunlight†? Feeds human toil on the land. With oil, began the era of humans that break free from the chains of time. (e) What are the two main uses for the grain crops grown in the industrialized countries like the United States? 1) Biofuel 2) Transformed to livestock feed (f) How much water is currently used annually in agriculture? 70% of water is used in the world today for agriculture (g) How much water is used to produce 1 kilogram of rice? _4000 L or 1 kilogram of beef ? _13000 L_ (h) In addition to energy obtained from fossil fuels, what are two different products that are made by from the petrochemical industry? 1) Pesticides 2) Fertilizers (i) Modern agriculture has led to the loss of crop diversity. Why? Modern agriculture is the developments that increase and improve the value of production. Now a day there is little demand for animal fat. 3. Questions on Environmental Impacts: (a) What are four distinct examples of how humans have disrupted the balance of life on Earth? 1) The â€Å"concentration camp style cattle farms. † Manufacturing meat faster than the animal 2) Agriculture has become oil powered 3) Using too much energy 4) Automobile has become the symbol of comfort and progress (b) When considering the use of minerals mined from the earth, what percentage is used by the richest countries that have about 20% of the world’s population? 80% (c) What is ‘fossil water’? Fossil water is groundwater that has stayed sealed in an aquifer for a long time. Water can respite underground for millions of years. When changes are made in the nearby geology seal the aquifer off from further refilling from rain, the water becomes locked inside and is known as fossil water. Fossil water is a non –renewable resource. (d) What country is at most risk for water shortages in future and why? India is at most risk for water shortage in the future because the underground water reserves are reducing due to over population. (e) The rainforests of Borneo have been destroyed to provide land for growing palm trees which has led to loss of biodiversity. What products use the oil produce from these trees? 1) food 2) cosmetics 3) Detergent 4) Alternative fuels (f) What are two factors that have been suggested to account for the disappearance of the Rapa Nui civilization from Easter Island? 1) exploited their resources 2) garbage piles (g) What are three indications of climate change and global warming in the past 50 years? 1) Melting of the differentiated ice caps 2) Growth in the occurrences of wildfire 3) Decrease of coral reefs 4. Questions on the Future: (a) How long do we have to reverse the current trends affecting the environment? 10 years (b) What are three examples of positive change that suggest reason for hope that changes can be made? 1) Individuals are preliminary to live in environmentally maintainable houses 2) Wind farms are built in Denmark and provide 20% the country’s electricity 3) People are using solar power more than they did before 5. Questions on the Movie â€Å"Home†: (a) What do you think is the ‘main message’ of this movie? The main message of the movie â€Å"Home† is to remind humans that there is interdependence between one another. (b) What is your reaction to this movie? What did you like about it? What did you dislike about it? Would you recommend it to other students / friends / acquaintances? Why or why not? (Note: you do not need to use all the space provided – be brief and concise whenever possible) The movie â€Å"Home† was a great movie to gain knowledge on why the Earth is the way it is, how humans have affected the world and what is happening to the Earth around us. I like how the movie gave a lot of information about how the planet is being affected by our actions. I did not like how the movie was so long and it had way too many information. If the movie had more writings or diagrams here and there it would have made this movie a lot more knowledgeable. Yes, I would recommend this movie to other students to gain more knowledge about the planet. Part 2: QUESTIONS ON ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTS 6. Based on information in the textbook Withgott et al. 2013 (2nd Canadian Edition) Chapter 1 (pages 20-21) and on the websites suggested and your own research – answer the following questions. (a) What is an Ecological Footprint? Ecological footprint is the impact of a person or community on the environment. It is expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources. Ecological Footprint is used to measure how big the species of humans are compared to the biosphere. (b) Why is the Ecological Footprint useful? The ecological footprint is useful because it’s like a utensil, it tells us how several resources we have on the planet which recycle and renew themselves, and how much we have used up. The ecological footprint then lets us to see to what range we are living within the notice to what nature offers us. (c ) Who developed the model for the Ecological Footprint? William Rees from Canada and Mathis Wackernagel from Switzerland established the model for the ecological footprint. 7. In the following questions, you will have a chance to consider your ecological footprint. (a) Calculate your personal ecological footprint using 2 different Ecological Footprint Calculators provided in the suggested website links (or from websites that you have found on your own). Calculated Value (ha / person) Website Used Ecological Footprint # 1 5. 9 ha http://www. footprintnetwork. org/en/index. php/GFN/page/calculators/ Ecological Footprint # 2 6. 3 ha http://wwf. panda. org/how_you_can_help/live_green/footprint_calculator/ (b) How do your personal ecological footprints compare? Comment on the similarity or differences in the footprints you calculated using different calculators. Suggest why they are similar or different. Both the sites I used to calculate my ecological footprints gave me two different ecological footprint results. This may have been because one quiz was more detailed and the other one was more of a straight forward/ common answer. (c) Suggest 3 ways that you could reduce your Ecological Footprint over the few months (before the end of this course). These should be simple realistic changes that you can make immediately (and try out during this term): (1) Using transit, carpooling, or subway, instead of driving everyday (2) Using energy efficient light bulbs (3) Taking shorter showers NOTE: Your assignment will be spot-marked (i. e. not every question will be marked). There will be a mark assigned for completing all of the questions in the assignment. If you are unable to complete all of the questions, submit what you have completed so you will get some marks for your work although you will receive â€Å"0† for the completion mark.