Click here to get this document in Word 97 format...
| Human Impact on the Environment I |
Deforestation and Loss of Biodiversity
Forest Types and Importance
Old-Growth Forest:
Second-Growth:
Commercial Importance of Forests
Lumber:
Biomass fuel (fuelwood):
Pulp for paper:
Ecological Importance
Tropical Forests
Tropical Rain Forests:
Tropical Deciduous Forests:
Estimate: almost 2 football fields per second is being destroyed
Why Should We Care (about tropical deforestation)?
Causes of Tropical Deforestation and the LDC fuelwood crisis
Main sources:
Agriculture
Commercial logging
Ranching
Fuelwood gathering
Why Deforestation?
Population growth + poverty
Another Quandary
Solutions ?
"Extractive reserves":
"Chemical prospecting"
"Debt-for-Nature swaps":
Fuelwood Crisis
"Poor person's energy crisis"
"Bad Old MDCs"
Sample questions:
What is a "debt-for-nature swap"?
Why is an extractive reserve?
What is the "poor person's energy crisis"?
What role do MDCs play in tropical deforestation?
What role do LDCs play in tropical deforestation?
What is the commercial (not environmental) importance of forests?
What's another name for "old-growth" forest?
What kind of climate produces a tropical deciduous forest?
Land-Use Planning & Urban Issues
Urban Area= City or town with population of more than 2,500
World's Largest Cities:
Trends in population distribution
Proportion of world urban population:
Number of large cities (>1 million) is growing:
Environmental Effects - are cities "good" or "bad" ?
"BAD" aspects:
"GOOD" aspects:
Transportation
Individual:
Mass:
Cars =>
Alternatives
"National City Lines" Conspiracy:
Land-Use Planning
Conventional:
Ecological:
Sample questions:
What was the National City Lines conspiracy?
List some environmentally bad and good aspects of cities.
What does it mean that poverty is becoming urbanized?
What are the trends in urbanization for both MDCs and LDCs?
How does ecological land-use planning differ from the conventional kind?
Name five of the ten largest cities in the world.
Hazards, Risk & Toxicology: Chapter 3, some Chapter 19
"As soon as there is life, there is danger." R.W. Emerson
Hazard vs. Risk
Hazard: =
Four types of hazards:
Cultural Hazards:
Chemical Hazards:
Physical Hazards:
Biological Hazards:
Risk (from a hazard)
Risk Assessment
Chemophobia
Complications...
Acute vs. Chronic Toxicity
Acute:
Chronic:
Risk Management:
Perception of Risks
Most people do poor job of assessing relative risks from hazards that surround them
Risks of death:
Perceived health problems worldwide
Causes of Death (MDCs):
Causes of Death (Global):
Sample questions:
What is LD50?
How does the perception of risk from hazards differ between scientists and "normal" people?
Explain the difference between chronic and acute toxicity.
What does it mean for a toxic substance to bioaccumulate up the food chain?
Give an example of each of the four general types of hazards discussed.