Human Effects on Soil, Water and Air
Humans and the Environment
What is the human problem right now with the environment?____________________________
SOIL
 Crops can only be grown on about ______ of the land on earth.
 The soil we have on earth cannot keep up with the demand for food as the population of
humans on earth increases.
 Just _______ of Canada is farmland.
What is soil?
Growth of cities:
 As the populations of cities ___________,
they need more and more land for houses and
other buildings.
 Cities were originally founded near the
___________________for farming.
 This means, we often build on or pave over
the best, ___________________________
 Where is one of the cities we have built over
farm land?
Farming Technology:
 Fortunately, the output from our farms continues to increase because of
_______________________________________________
 (Unfortunately, the use of chemicals causes other problems).
Erosion
What is erosion? (it is described in the video)
Soil Erosion
 Soil can be eroded by __________________________________.
 If unprotected, our planet's precious topsoil can be blown or washed away.
 Farmers have to be very careful to make sure that topsoil stays where it is
Clear Cutting:
We need many wood products in our lives, but the practice of clear cutting is still common in
many areas and severely damages the soil and ecosystems of the area.
 Trees hold the soil together, so when forests are clear cut they can have
______________________________________________________.
 Often logging, mining and manufacturing leave behind
_________________________________ that harm the environments they are in.
 These are often difficult to remove; they can affect all life that lives near them.
Brownfields:
 Large chunks of polluted land, abandoned by industries are called
____________________
 Once the industry has moved out or went out of business, cities are often left to clean up
the mess.
 Many times they are just left unused since clean up of the soil is
_______________________________
 Where is a local Brownfield?
Human Effects on Water
 Human activity causes incredible harm to our water systems.
 There are many paths for contaminants to take to get into our water. List 2 discussed as
a class
Drinking Water:
 Without proper care of our _______________, drinking water can become contaminated
and unhealthy to drink.
 This is a very serious problem in poor countries.
Garbage Island
 Since plastic will not ___________________________, it stays around for a long time.
 When a plastic bottle is dumped into a river, it eventually makes its way to the ocean.
 It will join garbage island.
 After many years of plastics making their way into our oceans, there is now a giant patch
of plastic in the Pacific Ocean bigger than Texas.
Human Effects on Air
Fossil Fuels:
 Most of the damage we do to our air comes from the use of
________________________________ that we use for driving, heating, manufacturing
and generating electricity.
 They include:
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
 When fossil fuels are burned, they release molecules into the air. Some of these are
_________________________________________________
 Some such as ______________________________ is completely normal in the
atmosphere, but too much is a problem.
Smog:
 Some of these molecules that are released in the air create smog: a haze of mostly ________________ made when ____________________________________________
combined with heat from the sun.
 Smog is the disastrous result of too much exhaust from
___________________________ being emitted close to large city centres.
 It is such a problem now, that air quality information is included in the weather report. It's
called ___________________________________________________
 Smog causes _____________________ early deaths in Canada every year.
 List 5 health effects of smog:
Acid Precipitation:
 Acid Precipitation is rain and snow that has pH values below ___________
 When ____________________________________ rise in the air they can dissolve into
the vapour in clouds creating sulphuric and nitric acids. These acids come down with the
rain.

Global Warming:
Global Warming refers to the average annual (yearly) increase in global temperatures
that has occurred since around _____________________