Human Impact on the

Biosphere
 Human Impacts

 Humans are using energy and altering 

the environment at astonishing rates
 We are altering natural processes before 

we even understand them
 Developing vs. Developed

 In developing countries, per capita

resource use is high but growing,
as is population size
 In developed countries, population
growth has slowed but per capita
resource use is already high
 Pollutants

 Substances with which an ecosystem 

has had no prior evolutionary experience
 No adaptive mechanisms are in place to 

deal with them
 Air Pollutants

 Carbon oxides
 Sulfur oxides
 Nitrogen oxides
 Volatile
organic
compounds
 Photochemical oxidants
 Suspended particles
 Chemistry 101
 Acid anhydrides: oxides of nonmetals
 CO , NO and SO
2 2 3

 These react with water to form

oxyacids.
 CO
2 + H2O ---> H2CO3 (carbonic acid)
 HNO and H SO are also formed in
3 2 4

the atmosphere
 Acid Rain and Architecture
 On campus we have some
architectural damage attributable to
acid rain.
 The limestone lentils and pillars on
the older building are dissolving
away!

H SO4(aq) + CaCO3(s)  H2O(l) +

2
CO2(g)
+CaSO4(aq)
 Industrial Smog
 Gray-air smog
 Forms over cities that burn large
amounts of coal and heavy fuel oils;
mainly in developing countries
 Main components are sulfur oxides
and suspended particles
 Photochemical smog
 Brown-air smog
 Forms when sunlight interacts with
components from automobile
exhaust
 Nitrogen oxides are the main culprits
 Hot days contribute to formation
 Thermal Inversion
 Weather pattern in which a layer of
cool, dense air is trapped beneath a
layer of warm air

cool air

warm inversion air

cool air
Cities Are Often Plagued with
Thermal Inversions
 Acid Deposition (Stopped)
 Caused by the
release of sulfur
and nitrogen oxides
 Coal-burning power
plants and motor
vehicles are major
sources
 Effect of Ozone Thinning

 Increased amount of UV
radiation reaches Earth’s
surface
 UVdamages DNA and
negatively affects human health
 UValso affects plants, lowers
primary productivity
 Ozone Thinning
 In early spring and 
summer ozone layer 
over Antarctica thins South
America

 Seasonal loss of 
ozone is at highest 
Antarctica
level ever recorded
Ozone in Earth’s Atmosphere
 Ozone Concentration
from 1962 to 1996

http://www.igf.edu.pl/igf/atmosphere.htm
 Recipe for Ozone Loss
 “The polar winter leads to the formation of the polar
vortex which isolates the air within it.
 Cold temperatures form inside the vortex; cold enough for
the formation of Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs).
As the vortex air is isolated, the cold temperatures and the
PSCs persist.
 Once the PSCs form, heterogeneous reactions take place
and convert the inactive chlorine and
bromine reservoirs to more active forms of
chlorine and bromine.
 No ozone loss occurs until sunlight returns to the air
inside the polar vortex and allows the production of
active chlorine and initiates the catalytic ozone
destruction cycles. Ozone loss is rapid. The ozone
hole currently covers a geographic region a little bigger
than Antarctica and extends nearly 10km in altitude in the
lower stratosphere”
http://www.atm.ch.cam.ac.uk/tour/part3.html
 Protecting the Ozone Layer
 CFC production has been halted in
developed countries, will be phased
out in developing countries
 Methyl bromide will be phased out
 Even with bans it will take more than
50 years for ozone levels to recover
 Generating Garbage
 Developed countries generate huge 

amounts of waste
 Paper products account for half the total 

volume
 Recycling can reduce pollutants, save 

energy, ease pressure on landfills
Garbage Barge Solution
Landfills
 Land Use

 Almost 21 percent of Earth’s

land is used for agriculture or
grazing
 Abouthalf the Earth’s land is
unsuitable for such uses
 Remainder could be used, but
at a high ecological cost
 Green Revolutions
 Improvements in crop production
 Introduction of mechanized
agriculture and practices requires
inputs of pesticides, fertilizer,
fossil fuel
 Improving genetic character of crop
plants can also improve yields
Data From the UN
 INDIA REACHING 1 BILLION ON AUGUST 15: NO CELEBRATION
PLANNED

Lester R. Brown and Brian Halweil

 Falling water tables are now also

threatening India's food production.
 The International Water
Management Institute (IWMI)
estimates that withdrawals of
underground water are double the
rate of aquifer recharge.
 As a result, water tables are falling
almost everywhere.
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/1656
 Aquifer Depletion

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/EarthSC202Notes/Grndh2o.htm
 Deforestation
 Removal of all trees from large tracts of 

land
 38 million acres logged each year

 Wood is used for fuel, lumber

 Land is cleared for grazing or crops
Clear Cutting of Forests
 Effects of Deforestation

 Increased leaching and soil

erosion
 Increased
flooding and
sedimentation of downstream
rivers
 Regional precipitation declines
 Possible amplification of the
 Regions of Deforestation

 Rates of forest loss are greatest in

Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, and
Columbia
 Highly mechanized logging is
proceeding in temperate forests of
the United States and Canada
“A heavy duty tree chopper for cutting down
trees in a logging operation.”
Rainforests
Forests Burning
 Reversing Deforestation
 Coalition of groups dedicated to
saving Brazil’s remaining forests
 Smokeless wood stoves have saved
firewood in India
 Kenyan women have planted millions
of trees
 NAIROBI (AFP) Feb 23, 2005

NAIROBI (AFP) Feb 23, 2005

“Kenyan Nobel peace laureate Wangari Maathai on
Wednesday urged developing nations to help fight global
warming and support the Kyoto Protocol on climate change
by joining her tree-planting campaign.”
 Destroying Biodiversity
 Tropical rainforests have the greatest 

variety of insects, most bird species
 Some tropical forest species may prove 

valuable to humans
 Our primate ancestors evolved in forests 

like the ones we are destroying 
 Primates
Many primate species are threaten or
endangered.
 Desertification

 Conversion of large tracts of grassland to 

desertlike conditions 
 Conversions of cropland that result in 

more than 10 percent decline in 
productivity
Global Desertification Vulnerability
 The Dust Bowl
 Occurred in the 1930s in the Great
Plains
 Overgrazing and prolonged drought
left the ground bare
 1934 winds produced dust storms
that stripped about 9 million acres of
topsoil
Caption: "Dust Over Texas." Huge boiling masses of dust
that blocked out the sun were common sights in Texas during
the Dust Bowl years. In: "To Hold This Soil", Russell Lord, 1938.
Miscellaneous Publication No. 321, U.S. Department
of Agriculture.
Human Tragedy
 Ongoing Desertification
 Sahel region of Africa is undergoing
rapid desertification
 Causes are overgrazing,
overfarming, and prolonged drought
 One solution may be to substitute
native herbivores for imported cattle
Linear dunes of the Sahara Desert encroach on Nouakchott, the capital of
Mauritania. The dunes border a mosque at left (photograph by Georg

Gerster).
 Water Use and Scarcity
 Most of Earth’s water is too salty for 

human consumption
 Desalinization is expensive and 

requires large energy inputs
 Irrigation of crops is the main
use of freshwater
Mean Annual Precipitation
Water Distribution
Negative Effects of Irrigation

 Salinization, mineral buildup in

soil

 Elevation of the water table

and waterlogging

 Depletion of aquifers
Salinization, mineral buildup in soil

http://waterquality.montana.edu/docs/methane/irrigation_suitability.shtm
 Groundwater
 Aquifers- Porous layers of sand,
gravel, or rock lying below the water
table.
– Artesian - Pressurized aquifer intersects
the surface. (Water flows without
pumping)
 Recharge Zone - Area where water
infiltrates into an aquifer.
– Recharge rate is often very slow.
 Presently,groundwater is being removed
faster than it can be replenished in many
areas.
 Depleting Groundwater
 Groundwater is the source of nearly
40% of fresh water in the US.
– On a local level, withdrawing water
faster than it can be replenished leads
to a cone of depression in the water
table,
 Ona broader scale, heavy pumping can
deplete an aquifer.
– Ogallala Aquifer
 Mining non-renewable resource.
Depleting Groundwater
 Ogallala Aquifer
 Extends from southern South Dakota
to central Texas
 Major source of water for drinking
and irrigation
 Overdrafts have depleted half the
water from this nonrenewable source
 Ogallala Aquifer
 “The Ogallala Aquifer within the
boundaries of the North Plains
Groundwater Conservation District is
declining at an average of 1.74 feet
per year (1,082,631 acre ft).”
 The aquifer is cut off from

 natural recharge sources.

http://www.npwd.org/Ogallala.htm
Aquifer Problems
 Sink Holes and Karst Topography

CaCO3 + H2SO4  CaSO4 + H2O +CO2

http://www.soils.umn.edu/academics/classes/soil2125/doc/1-snkle.htm
 Water Pollutants
 Sewage

 Animal wastes
 Fertilizers

 Pesticides

 Industrial chemicals

 Radioactive material

 Excess heat (thermal

pollution)
Groundwater Pollution
 Wastewater Treatment
 Primary treatment
– Use of screens and settling tanks
– Addition of chlorine to kill pathogens
 Secondary treatment
– Microbes break down organic matter
 Tertiary
treatment removes
additional toxic substances; rarely
used
 Sewage Treatment
 More than 500 pathogenic bacteria,
viruses, and parasites can travel
from human or animal excrement
through water.
 Natural Processes

– In many areas, outdoor urination and

defecation is the norm.
 When population densities are low, natural
processes can quickly eliminate waste.
 Municipal Sewage Treatment
 Primary Treatment - Physical separation
of large solids from the waste stream.
 Secondary Treatment - Biological
degradation of dissolved organic
compounds.
– Effluent from primary treatment transferred
into trickling bed, or aeration tank
 Effluentfrom secondary treatment is usually
disinfected (chlorinated) before release into
nearby waterway.
 Municipal Sewage Treatment

 TertiaryTreatment - Removal of plant

nutrients (nitrates and phosphates) from
secondary effluent.
– Chemicals, or natural wetlands.
 In
many US cities, sanitary sewers are
connected to storm sewers.
– Heavy storms can overload the system,
causing by-pass dumping of raw sewage
and toxic runoff directly into watercourses.
Municipal Sewage Treatment
 CSO Tunnels and Treatment
Facilities (Atlanta, GA 2005)
 “The tunnel is part of a storage and
treatment system that involves capturing
and storing combined sewer overflows.
The overflows are stored in a large
underground tunnel in bedrock similar to
the rock that comprises Stone Mountain.
When a storm is over, the captured CSO
volume is conveyed to a separate
treatment system for removal of
pollutants and reduction of harmful
bacteria with sodium hypochlorite
disinfection followed by dechlorination with
sodium bisulfite before discharge to
receiving waters. The City is building two
facilities, the West Area CSO storage
 Milestone Completion Date for
West Tunnel October 2007

These will collect storm water for

treatment.
http://www.cleanwateratlanta.org/CSOTunnels/
 Oxygen-Demanding Wastes
 Waterwith an oxygen content > 6
ppm will support desirable aquatic
life.
– Water with < 2 ppm oxygen will support
mainly detritivores and decomposers.
 Oxygen is added to water by
diffusion from wind and waves, and
by photosynthesis from green plants,
algae, and cyanobacteria.
– Oxygen is removed from water by
 Oxygen-Demanding Wastes
 BiochemicalOxygen Demand -
Amount of dissolved oxygen
consumed by aquatic
microorganisms.
– Dissolved Oxygen Content - Measure of
dissolved oxygen in the water.
 Effectsof oxygen-demanding wastes
on rivers depend on volume, flow,
and temperature of river water.
– Oxygen Sag - Oxygen levels decline
downstream from a pollution source as
decomposers metabolize waste
Oxygen Sag
 Water Wars?
 Per capita amount of freshwater
available is decreasing
 International conflicts over water
use and quality have already
occurred
 Building dams or dumping
pollutants effect countries
downstream
Weiss Lake Organization Declares
War!

“Weiss Lake Improvement Association is the environmental

and ecological watchdog for Weiss Lake and against
‘Metro Atlanta’ from taking our WATER.”
(Coosa River Drainage)
Energy Use (Stopped here. 
9/11/08)
 Only 10 percent of energy used in 

developed countries is from 
renewable sources
 Less developed countries rely more 

heavily on renewable sources 
(primary biomass)
 Fossil Fuels

 Coal, oil, natural gas

 Main energy source of
developed countries
 Burning of fossil fuels
contributes to global warming
http://faculty.virginia.edu/setear/courses/globwarm/images.htm
 Oil
 Reserves are declining
 Many reserves are in ecologically
fragile wilderness areas
 Environmental costs of extracting
and transporting reserves from such
areas are high
Total Energy Consumption
Domestic Product
 Oil and Gas Injection Wells
 Typically, when oil and gas are extracted,
large amounts of salt water (brine) are also
brought to the surface. This salt water can
be very damaging if it is discharged into
surface water.
 Coal

 Extensive reserves exist

 Mining is very destructive
 Burning coal releases sulfur
dioxides that cause acid
deposition
Coal Strip Mining
 EPA targets utilities’
mercury pollution
 “Coal-burningpower plants in the
United States now emit an estimated
48 tons a year of mercury, and the
EPA rule aims to reduce that to 31.3
tons in 2010, 27.9 tons in 2015, and
24.3 tons in 2020.”
Updated: 3:03 p.m. ET March 15, 2005 (AP)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6448213/did/7185001
 How Mercury Gets into the Food
Chain

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6448213/did/7185001
 EPA’s Cap and Trade Policy
EPA sets yearly limits on mercury emissions

Industry is assigned a quantity of tradable mercury

emissions certificates

These are bought and sold by power companies

(bid/ask system).

Some companies “over pollute” and some “under

pollute”

Each year the EPA reduces allowable emission

quantities leading to an economic solution to
pollution
 Nuclear Energy
 Usedextensively in some energy-
poor developed countries
 Little support in the United States
 Emitsfewer air pollutants than
burning coal, but creates
radioactive wastes
 Potential for meltdown
 Chernobyl Accident - 1986
 Coremeltdown at a nuclear power
plant in the Ukraine
 31 immediate deaths, radiation
sickness and death for others
 Cloudof radiation spread by winds
across Europe
 Long-term health impacts downwind
Map of Chernobyl Region
 Nuclear Power in France
 “When the Civaux nuclear power plant comes on line
sometime in the next 12 months, France will have 56
working nuclear plants, generating 76% of her electricity.”
(Frontline)
 Some Alternatives……
 Solar­Hydrogen Energy
 Photovoltaic cells use sunlight energy 

to split water 
 Hydrogen gas produced in this way 

can be used as fuel or to generate 
electricity
 Clean, renewable technology
Fuel Cells
 Farmed Hydrogen
 Photobiological Hydrogen
Production
 Aquatic algae bio-engineered to
produce hydrogen gas rather than
sugars via photosynthesis
 Place algae in a clear tube, reduce
sulfur, place in sunlight, and collect
the hydrogen!
Hydrogen from Algae

Chlamydomonas reinhardt
MIT Algae Photobioreactor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E
nOSnJJSP5c&feature=related
 Shec – labs System
Mirror array focuses sunlight on a
hydrogen generator (850 C)
Waste gases (methane, CO2, etc) are
heated and converted to hydrogen
gas. Hydrogen gas (plus O2) is used
to power fuel cells.

www.shec-labs.com/press/images.php
 Wind Energy

 An indirect use of solar energy

 Wind farms are arrays of
turbines
 Can supplement needs of some
regions but is not dependable
enough on it own
 Giant wind turbines at Aapua,
Sweden

http://www.xahlee.org/Whirlwheel_dir/windturbine.html
San Gorgonio Field Near Palm
Springs, CA
 Overview of Wind Energy in
California
 “the year 2004, wind energy in California
produced 4,258 million kilowatt-hours of
electricity, about 1.5 percent of the state's total
electricity.
 According to the Electric Power Research
Institute, the cost of producing wind energy has
decreased nearly four fold since 1980. The
levelized cost of energy from wind turbines in
1993 was about 7.5 cents per kilowatt/hour. With
current wind research and development efforts,
the Energy Commission estimates that newer
technologies can reduce the cost of wind energy
to 3.5 cents per kilowatt-hour.”
http://www.energy.ca.gov/wind/overview.html
Electricity Costs (2003)
 Fusion
 Energy is released when atomic
nuclei fuse
 This process produces solar energy
 Attemptsto mimic this process on
Earth require use of lasers, magnetic
fields
 Notyet a commercially viable energy
source
 Fusion Reaction
Note: Fusion tutorial available at
website below.

http://hif.lbl.gov/tutorial/tutorial.html
Changes in the World of Life 
 Adaptations of species have
changed the environment
 Photosynthetic organisms that
arose during the Proterozoic
altered the atmosphere by
adding oxygen
 Change is natural
 Humans and Change

Unlike previous species, human

have the capacity to observe and
make decisions about the changes
they bring about.

A couple of examples of using

misplaced resources….
 Gas for the Greenhouse
 "By transporting CO2 by pipeline
from the Shell refineries in Pernis to
the cultivators in the Westland, the
emission of greenhouse gas can be
greatly reduced. At the same time,
the farmers can save a lot of money;
there is no more need for them to
produce their CO2 themselves".
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/features/science/051107rf
 OCAP Waste CO2 Used in
Greenhouses

6 CO2 + 6 H2O + sunlight  C6H12O6 + 6O2

 “Anything Into Oil”
Changing World Technologies, Inc.
“…Carthage, Missouri, turkey plant accumulates
1.3 million gallons a day of turkey grease,
guts, fat, and feathers that is stored in
lagoons and sent to waste treatment facilities”
Estimated production of fuel oil,
500 barrels a day.

http://www.perc.org/perc.php?id=290

“Twenty tons of slaughterhouse turkey parts, freshly

dumped by a truck, await processing into oil, gas,
and minerals at the thermal conversion process plant
in Carthage, Missouri. When the plant reaches full
capacity in the fall, it will process 10 dump trucks of
leftovers, one tanker truck of blood, and one tanker
truck of discarded restaurant grease every 24 hours.”