Introduction

You have learned how the world's population has changed over time with the dawning of different agricultural, industrial, medical, and technological advancements. You have examined how the human population is distributed on Earth and how populations of different regions of the earth change based on different demographical characteristics. In this lesson, you will see how human population growth affects all areas of the biosphere.

The English poet John Donne (1572-1631) best describes humans' impact on the environment:

No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less...

Remember that all parts of the environment are connected and affect one another both directly and indirectly. As human numbers grow, the human impact on the environment increases.

With human population on the rise and resources being used and polluted at an ever increasing rate, it is estimated that 1.5 Earths are currently needed to meet human demands. At this rate, humans are using resources at a rate that the Earth will not be able to sustain indefinitely.

What if everyone lived the same lifestyle as you? How many planet earths would be needed to provide enough resources to sustain that lifestyle?

Participate in the interactive activity Footprint Calculator to determine just how much impact you have on the earth's resources. Once you get there, select USA and you are on your way.

Lesson Objectives

Following successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to...

  • Identify major areas in which humans affect ecosystems.
  • Differentiate between extinct/endangered/threatened species.
  • Identify an endangered species and explain why it is endangered, what environmental impacts it causes, and what is being done to help it.

Enduring Understanding:

  • Human impacts on the environment have occurred because population numbers have grown and standards of living have increased.

The above objectives correspond with the Alabama Course of Study: Environmental Science Objectives: 3, 6, and 15

This lesson incorporates the following Literacy Standard: R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R10, W1, W2, W3, W4, W8, W9, and W10

 

 

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