Inquiryquestions

FactualWhatistheenvironment?

Whatishappeningtotheenvironment?

Whatarethenaturalaspectsoftheenvironment?

ConceptualHowdowedestroytheenvironment?

WhyisitimportanttocareabouttheEnvironment?

DebatableIsmangreatestthreattotheEnvironment?

Whatisenvironment?
Theconditionsthatsurroundsomeoneorsomething:theconditionsand
influencesthataffectthegrowth,health,progress,etc.,ofsomeoneor
something

Whatishappeningtotheenvironment?
Ourenvironmentisinneedofalotofwork.Theozonelayerisquickly
rottingawaythewatersarepollutedandtherainforestisrapidlyshrinking
insizeduetotheignoranceoflanddevelopers.Sowhyisn'tanythingbeing
done?Everyonethinksiftheyignoretheproblem,itwillgoaway.Granted
therearemanypeoplewhodomorethantheirsharewhenitcomesto
takingcareofourplanet,butitstillisn'tenough.Weallneedtogettogether
andstartrecyclingourplasticsandpapers,sortingourtrashandreduce
cuttingdownourtrees.Afterall,weonlyhaveoneplane


Whatarethenaturalaspectsoftheenvironment?

Emissionstoair.
Releasetowater.
WasteManagement.
Contaminationofland.
Impactoncommunities.
Useofrawmaterialsandnaturalresources.
Otherlocalenvironmentalandcommunityissues.

Howdowedestroyourenvironment?

Pollutionland,air,water,andnuclearpollutionhavehadmanyadverse
influencesontheenvironment.Otherpollutantsalsohavenegativeeffects
ontheenvironment

Deforestationnaturalhabitatsofanimalsaredestroyed,theorganisms
areforcetomigrateordie,disruptingthefoodchain/webandthusthe
ecosystemandalsoresultinginnegativeeffectsontheenvironment.

Overfishingorganismsthatreliedonfishasfoodsourceareforcedto
migrateordie,changingtheoriginalecosystemresultinginnegativeeffects
ontheenvironment.

Harvestingnaturalresourcesformassmanufacturingfoodchain/webis
disrupted,organismsthatreliedonresourceforsurvivalareforcedto
migrateordie,changingtheoriginalecosystemresultinginnegativeeffects
ontheenvironment.

Clearinghabitatsforagriculturedestroysthehabitatoforganismsliving
there,theorganismsareforcetomigrateordie,disruptingthefood
chain/webandthustheecosystemresultinginnegativeeffectsonthe
environment.

OverFarmingonsameplotoflandresultsinpoorsoilfertility,makingthe
landunsuitableforgrowthofplantsresultinginnegativeeffectsonthe
environment

Introductionofexoticspeciestoanewenvironmentfoodchain/webis
disrupted,newspeciestakesoveranddominatesandthereforenative
organismsareforcedtomigrateordie,changingtheoriginalecosystem
resultinginnegativeeffectsontheenvironment.

Urbanisationnaturalhabitatisdestroyedandreplacedwithbuildings,the
organismsareforcetomigrateordie,disruptingthefoodchain/weband
thustheecosystemresultinginnegativeeffectsontheenvironment.

Mining,logging,trawlingandurbansprawldestroysthehabitatof
organismslivingthere,theorganismsareforcedtomigrateordie,
disruptingthefoodchain/webandthustheecosystemresultinginnegative
effectsontheenvironment.

WhyisitimportanttocareabouttheEnvironment?
1.CaringforAnimals
Modernhumanshavedominatedtheplanetsincewebegantoevolve
some200,000yearsago.Beingthedominantspeciesontheplanet,itis
ourjobtomakesurewetakecareoftheotheranimalsonEarth.Polar
bears,forexample,liveontheiceintheArctic.Anincreaseintemperature
intheArcticduetoclimatechangehasthreatenedtheveryexistenceof

polarbearsinthewild,astheirenvironmentbecomessmallerandless
habitable.Thisishappeningtomanydifferentspeciesofanimalsallover
theworldasmanmadeclimatechangethreatensthemwithextinction.
2.FutureGenerationsDeserveaHealthyPlanet
Doyouplaysports?Rideyourbike?Gotothepark?Havepicnicswith
yourfriendsandfamily?Mostpeoplelovebeingoutside,breathingthe
freshair,andenjoyingthesunontheirskin.Nowimagineyourchildren,or
grandchildren,orevengreatgrandchildrennotbeingabletoenjoythose
verythingsbecausetheenvironmenthasbeendestroyed.Ifwedontcare
abouttheenvironmentinourlifetime,theremightbenothingleftforfuture
generationstoenjoyintheirlifetimes.
3.WeAreRunningOutOfNonRenewableResources
TheEarthhasafiniteamountofnonrenewableresourcesthismeansthat
onceweusethemup,theywillnolongerexist.Examplesof
nonrenewableresourcesareoil,naturalgas,coal,nickel,iron,andcopper.
OildrillinghasincreasedintheUnitedStatesduringthefirsthalfof2013,
ashashydraulicfracturing(usuallycalledfracking),whichbreaksopen
shaledeepinsidetheEarthinordertoextractnaturalgasandoil.Thecoal
industryhasalsobeenrevivedrecentlywiththeadventofsocalledclean
coal.Metalssuchasnickel,iron,andcopperwilllikelybeminedoutwithin
thenext100yearsifminingcontinuesatitscurrentrate.Studieshave
recentlyshownthattheworldrunoutofoilcompletelywithinthenext50

years.Itisuptousnowtofindrenewablesourcesofenergyand
innovationstosavewhatlittlenonrenewableresourceswehaveleft.
4.BiodiversityandEcosystems
Whenpeopletalkaboutbiodiversitytheyaretalkingaboutthevarietyof
plants,animals,andotherorganismsinaparticularareaormoresimply,
thenumberofspeciesontheplanet.Biodiversityhelpskeepbalancein
speciesandecosystems,whichcanbeveryfragile.Humansare
responsibleforthelargestthreatofdestructionforspeciesand
ecosystems.Whenwedestroynaturalhabitats,wedestroyspecies
biodiversity.

Habitatsarebeingdestroyedbyhumanstomakeroom

forincreasingpopulation,andbypollutionandclimatechangewhich
reducebiodiversityareasalreadystruggling.Tropicalforestscontainmore
than50%oftheentireworldsbiodiversity,andbecauseofdeforestation
theyhavebeenreducedby8090%.EachspeciesonEarthservesa
specialpurposeintheirecosystemandtheplanetasawhole.Protecting
theenvironmenthelpspreventthedestructionofhabitatsandspecies.
5.EarthIstheOnlyPlanetWeHave
Whiletherearealmost900confirmedexoplanetsintheuniverse
(exoplanetsareplanetsoutsideofoursolarsystemthatsharesimilaritiesto
Earth),scientistsbelievethenearestoneisatleast6.4lightyearsaway
fromEarth.Thats37,623,203,463,989milesaway!Itwouldtakethe
Helios2probe(whichisthefastestmanmadespacecrafttravellingat
150,000mph)250,821,356.5yearstogothatfar.Thismeansthatifwe

dontcareaboutourenvironmenthereonEarthandcontinuetodestroyit,
wehavenowhereelsetogo.
6.NaturalMedicines
Didyouknowthatmostofthemedicineswebuyatthestorearebasedon
plants?Valium,apowerfulmedicinethattreatspeoplewithpanicattacks,
isdevelopedfromvalerianroot,whichhasbeenusedforthousandsof
yearstocalmpeopledown.AccordingtoInstituteImazonsmostrecent
report,therateofdeforestationintheAmazonis103%higherin2013than
itwasin2012.In2012,deforestationdecreased27%fromtheyearbefore.
Whenitcomestodestroyingtherainforest,wehavestartedmoving
backward.Iftherainforestisdestroyed,wewouldforeverloseplant
speciesthatcouldpotentiallycurecancer,blindness,orotherdiseases.
7.ThePlanetNeedsUsNow
Accordingtorecentstudies,theEarthsclimateischanging10timesfaster
thanithasinthelast65millionyears.Scientistsspeculatethathumans
haveuntiltheyear2020(thatslessthan8years!)toreduceairpollution
beforewestartsufferingcatastrophicimpacts.ScientistsattheNational
CenterforAtmosphericResearchsaythatwehavetokeepgreenhouse
gasemissionstobelow47gigatonstopreventcatastrophe.Theproblem
isthatrightnow,weemit50gigatonsannuallyofgreenhousegasses,and
thatsexpectedtoriseto55gigatonsby2020.Howmucharewewillingto
risk?asksDavidMcCollum,ascientistwhohelpedNCARwritetheir
research.

8.DangerousNaturalDisastersAreOntheRise
Scientistshavefoundalinkbetweenclimatechangeandtheincreasein
severeweathereventsaroundtheworld.Themoreourclimatechanges
becauseofmanmadepollutionanddestructionofhabitats,themore
devastatingtornadoeshittheU.S.Midwest,thelongerandmoresevere
theheatwavesandwildfiresinAustralia,themorefrequentanddestructive
theearthquakesandtsunamisinAsia.Recordrainfallscausesevere
flooding,whichdestroyshousesandlives.Increasesinoceantemperature
leadstostrongerandmoredevastatinghurricanesandcyclones.If
humansasaspeciesdonotbegintotakecareoftheenvironment,severe
weathereventswillonlyhappenmoreoften,andcausemoredeathand
destruction.
9.AccesstoCleanWater
Everyhumanneedswatertolive.Asofrightnow,almost780million
peopledonthaveaccesstocleandrinkingwaterthatsoneoutofevery
ninepeople!ThereisafiniteamountofwateravailableonEarth,andonly
asmallamountofitisfreshwater.Manmadepollutionfromactivitiessuch
asminingandfarmingcontaminatesdrinkingwater.Naturaldisasters,like
theearthquakein2011thatdestroyedtheFukushimanuclearpowerplant
inJapanandspilledmillionsoftonsofradioactivematerialsintotheocean
andgroundwater,canalsopollutedrinkingwater.Whentheenvironment
becomespolluted,sodoestheworldslimitedsupplyofcleanwater.
10.BuildingCharacter

Caringforthingsotherthanyourselfisagreatwaytobuildpersonal
character.Stewardshipisthecarefulandresponsiblemanagementof
somethingentrustedtoonescare,liketheenvironment.Whenyouarea
stewardoftheenvironment,youareprotectingthispreciousresourcethat
supportsalllife,andshowinggreatstrengthofcharacter.

IsmangreatestthreattotheEnvironment?

Researcherswhoanalysed30,000academicstudiesdatingbackto1970
saidmanwasresponsibleforchangesthatrangedfromthelossofice
sheetstothecollapseinnumbersofmanyspeciesofwildlife.
"Humansareinfluencingclimatethroughincreasinggreenhousegas
emissions,andthewarmingworldiscausingimpactsonphysicaland
biologicalsystems,"saidCynthiaRosenzweig,attheNasaGoddard
InstituteforSpaceStudies.
Theeffectsonlivingthingsincludetheearlierappearanceofleaveson
treesandplantsthemovementofanimalsandbirdstomorenortherly
latitudesandtohigheraltitudesinthenorthernhemisphererapidadvances
infloweringtimeandearlieregglayinginBritainandchangesinbird
migrationsinEurope,NorthAmericaandAustralia.
Onaplanetaryscalethechangesincludethemeltingofglaciersonall
continentsearlierspringriverrunoffandthewarmingofoceans,lakes
andrivers.

Thestudy'sconclusionsgofurtherthanthemostrecentreportbythe
IntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange,whichconcludedlastyear
thatmanmadeclimatechangewas"likely"tohavehadadiscernibleeffect
ontheplanet.

Resources
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1955916/Mankindisthe
Earthsbiggestthreat.html
http://freemanwong.com/2013/10/08/10reasonstocareabouttheen
vironment/
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120221221327AA
AGMpC
http://www.teenink.com/hot_topics/environment/article/4647/WhatIs
HappeningToOurEnvironment/
www.merriamwebster.com
https://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/20320000/EMS/Enviro
nmentalAspectsTheBasics.pdf