AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY CH 34 CLASS NOTES 32

AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY CH 34 CLASS NOTES 32 o Patterns and Processes of Environmental Change

THE HUMAN IMPACT • Humans have always altered the Earth… • Cultural Landscape!!! • • Recently: affected environmental change at the Global Level (HOW? ) Species hunted to extinction, resources used up, tech. advances over nature

Humans destroying Ecosystems Environmental Stress – Threat to environmental security by human action Threats? ? ? Pollution, dumping, exhaustions over-consumption, spills

• • GLOBALIZATION? ? ? Global environmental systems are interconnected!!!

Natural Resources • FRESH WATER!!! A “renewable” resource • Not evenly distributed across the globe • • Hydrologic cycle • See Chart pg. 531

Water & Politics • • • Fierce debate / battle for water rights WHY? ? ? ISSUES? ? ? Great Lakes, USA • CA, AZ, NV • Middle East, Turkey • Israel & Palestine • websites

Egypt Aswan High Dam Affects infamous Nile Floods

Get a Rain Barrell!!!!

ATMOSPHERE • • • Global Warming – Trapped greenhouse gases causes Earth to retain more heat Greenhouse Effect Trapped Solar Rays Melting of Polar Ice Caps

Greenhouse Effect

Polar Ice Caps Melting

ACID RAIN • • • Fossil fuel burning sulfur combines with water vapor Coal is dirtiest FF More acidic water, over time does damage Coal Fuel 60 Min Vid? ? ? Coal Ash 60 Min Vid? ? ?

Why Global Problem: • One country’s pollution / acid rain travels (wind, rivers) to another country

Acid Rain Damage

Desertification • Loss of arable land to desert • Overgrazing, logging, soil exhaustion (Sahara in Africa expanded 270, 000 sq/mi. in past 50 years)

Lake Chad, Africa

Deforestation • Clear cutting forests • Disrupts the Oxygen Cycle • Disrupts ecosystems, habitats

Solid Waste • • USA = garbage & debris leader • Cities, industries, mines, farms Space running out Poor countries = Open Dumps… Waste / contaminants / diseases are spread

• • • “Sanitary Landfills” ($100 Million Avg. cost) Floor materials to stop seepage • Soil to cover each load level • Protect Ground Water

• • • Frito-Lay has announced one of their snacks is becoming just a bit more sustainable. Starting in 2010, all of the Sun. Chips multigrain chips will come in fully compostable bags made out of plantbased materials. They claim the packaging will completely decompose in about 14 weeks.

Sun Chips Compostable Bag

Raw Sewage Pumped into River

Cuyahoga River Catches Fire (Feeds Lake Erie, Akron to Cleveland)

And Into Lake Michigan!!!!

2004 Milwaukee Sewage Overflow Release

Hydraulic FRACKING

THE CA DROUGHT!!!

Loss of BIODIVERSITY • Diversity of all aspects of life on Earth • Possibly 10 – 50 million species on Earth Only 2 million ID’d • Species disappearing at a rapid rate • 137 species a day (http: //www. all-creatures. org/adow/ev 20040926. html) •