Environmental Unit Reflection

In Elizabeth Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction, Kolbert claims that “Though it might be nice to imagine there once was a time when man lived in harmony with nature, it’s not clear that he ever really did". Humans might have been the start of the destruction of this planet, all the advancements humans have made have caused damage on the entire planet. The environment is what surrounds human beings and all other species that live and operate. The environment is extremely important to the organisms that inhabit this planet, therefore it is necessary that it is kept safe.

Image From My Teachback

Humans have had a great impact on the planet. A great example of this has been ocean acidification. As the years have gone by, humans have been using more and more carbon dioxide due to transportation, building, consuming electricity and so much more. There has been such an increase in carbon dioxide because the use of machines such as cars has increased as well, before the car was even invented, there was a much lower amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than there is now. Carbon dioxide gets absorbed by the ocean, which turns it into

Concept Map on Coral Bleaching

carbonic acid, which causes a more acidic pH in the ocean. Ocean acidification can lead to limited shell growth in marine life, damage

the reproductive organs in fish and bleach the coral. For the past 300 million years, the ocean's pH level has been 8.2 however, it has now dropped to 8.1. Conserving the ocean and protecting it from acidification is important because marine plants account for approximately 70% of the world's oxygen. Without this great source of oxygen, humans would surely die out

Model for Unit Project

Pollution is yet another danger to the environment currently that humans have contributed to. An example of this is littering, countless pounds of plastic and other trash has been dumped into water sources all over the world which is contributing to pollution in waters. Although there are many different factors that lead to pollution, trash is one of them and by stopping one habit that causes pollution, it could greatly decrease the current amount of pollution the environment is dealing with right now. One example of local pollution is The Russian River. The visitors and locals at The Russian River dispose a lot of trash and waste into the river that is converting this beautiful place into a gross dump. Not only does the trash pollute the river, but it can also travel to the oceans and contribute to the gyres that are collecting in the rivers. The trash is also harming the wildlife that occupy the ecosystem. Fish species such as the coho salmon, chinook salmon and steelhead trout have become threatened or even endangered due to the harmful environment they occupy. Littering is a serious danger to the environment, not just for the rivers, but also for the animals that live there and the oceans that those rivers lead to. Not tossing one piece of plastic into the rivers or oceans can make a big difference.

Concept Map on Carbon Dioxide

Energy was another important topic that the NEW students learned about during this unit. Humans often use fossil fuels as an energy source, however, it takes hundreds of millions of years for them to form. They form with pressure, high heat and time. Fossil fuels are not considered a renewable resource, meaning that they can't be replenished in a human lifetime. The United States alone uses about 11 billion tons of oil in fossil fuels every year. It is expected that there will be no more fossil fuels by the year 2088. To protect the environment and maintain the fossil fuels, there needs to be a more clean and efficient alternative to the energy humans are currently using. Clean energy sources is energy that does not pollute the atmosphere when used. Clean energy sources can come from the sun, wind, water, and steam. Although these options are very healthy for the environment, they are not as efficient. It is important that humans keep the air from being polluted because it contaminates the atmosphere and can even negatively affect the health of someone that has been exposed to the air pollution for a long period of time.

In conclusion, this unit has taught me a great deal of information about how important the environment is to the humans an animals that occupy this planet. The environment is in danger, humans have many bad habits that are harming it and will cause it to slowly die away unless something is done about it soon. Humans have greatly affected the planet in both positive and negative ways, but the negative impacts can be deadly. Water and air pollution along with ocean acidification are serious issues that the environment is struggling with for a while now, if the people on this planet all helped a little, there would be a drastic change and it could help lead to a healthier environment.