Human Effects on
the Environment
Layers of the Earth:
• Atmosphere: Air and layer of gasses that surrounds the Earth.
• Biosphere: The living things on Earth (people, plants, animals)
• Lithosphere: Land and Soil
• Hydrosphere: All the water on Earth (oceans, lakes, rivers,
clouds, and frozen water)
Negative Effects on the
Atmosphere
• Deforestation – because trees make oxygen, if there are less
trees, less oxygen is being made
Negative Effects on the
Atmosphere
• Global Warming – the air around the earth is heating up
because of air pollution and deforestation.
Negative Effects on the
Atmosphere
• Air Pollution from Cars, Factories(anything that burns fossil
fuels) puts pollution into the air
Positive Effects on the
Atmosphere
• Many laws regulate how much factories and cars can emit,
how many trees can be cut down and how, etc… These laws
will stop some air pollution from happening
Positive Effects on the
Atmosphere
• REDUCE
• REUSE
• RECYCLE
HINT !!!
Can you think of an example that would have a
positive impact on the environment???
Positive Effects on the
Atmosphere
• New Technologies - machines and cars that pollute less, and
use alternate energy, have less negative effects on the
atmosphere.
Negative Effects on the
Biosphere
• Deforestation – when the forest is cut down there is less plant
life, animal life, and possible medicines
Negative Effects on the
Biosphere
• Poaching / Over hunting and Over fishing – leads to plants
and animals being endangered or becoming extinct
Negative Effects on the
Biosphere
• Humans are affected by all types of pollution (air, water, soil).
Can cause sickness, people die quicker
Negative Effects on the
Biosphere
• Creating farmland – destroys grasslands, marshes, and other
natural environments
• Insecticides and Fertilizers can wash off into the water and
affect animals; if foods are not washed they can contain
chemicals that hurt humans that consume them.
Negative Effects on the
Biosphere
• Littering – can affect plant and animal life (kill them)
Negative Effects on the
Biosphere
• Global Warming – heating of the Earths temp. creates many
problems for the animals and plants that need certain
temperatures. (For example: melting ice caps hurts polar
bears)
Positive Effects on the
Biosphere
• Reforestation – planting trees
Positive Effects on the
Biosphere
• Laws for protection of plants and animals – protect
endangered species and creating areas where people can’t cut
trees or flowers
Positive Effects on the
Biosphere
• Use the Native peoples knowledge of medicines from plants
and their healing techniques
Positive Effects on the
Biosphere
• REDUCE
• REUSE
• RECYCLE
Positive Effects on the
Biosphere
• New technologies – allow for less negative effects on plants,
animals, and humans
Dolphin safe tuna nets
Natural Pesticides
Negative Effects on the
Lithosphere
• Pesticides / Fertilizers seep into the soil and poison it
Negative Effects on the
Lithosphere
• Overuse of land farming same land over and over again sucks
nutrients out of soil
Negative Effects on the
Lithosphere
• Erosion – caused by deforestation or clearing of lands for
farming or ranching
Negative Effects on the
Lithosphere
• Mining – taking out minerals or fossil fuels from the ground
cause huge changes to the soil make-up, and ruin landscape
Negative Effects on the
Lithosphere
• Creating Farmland – clears the
natural land and effects the soil
Positive Effects on the
Lithosphere
• Crop rotation- growing different crops every few years helps
to keep the soil from loosing certain nutrients.
Positive Effects on the
Lithosphere
• Laws regulate: where mining can take place and how it can be
done, and they regulate the use of chemicals on farms
Positive Effects on the
Lithosphere
• REDUCE
• REUSE
• RECYCLE
Positive Effects on the
Lithosphere
• New technologies – like new methods of farming, bug
protection, etc. allow for less effects on soil.
Negative Effects on the
Hydrosphere
• Pesticides and Fertilizers run off from farms and golf courses
into water – poisons water supplies
Negative Effects on the
Hydrosphere
• Water pollution – drainage
from sewers or factories,
boats, oil spills pollute the
water
Negative Effects on the
Hydrosphere
• Acid Rain – air pollution gets trapped in clouds and falls back
to the earth in the rain this poisons water supplies
Negative Effects on the
Hydrosphere
• Dams – cause flooding behind the dam, take away water from
downstream, and dead fish and plants build up behind the
dam, affecting the water quality
Negative Effects on the
Hydrosphere
• Global Warming – as air temperature rises the icecaps melt
causing the ocean levels to rise (flooding coastal cities)
Positive Effects on the
Hydrosphere
• Wetland laws – Must create more wetlands if you destroy
existing wetlands
Positive Effects on the
Hydrosphere
• Laws for waste removal, shipbuilding, or farming that help to
control pollution in the water.
Positive Effects on the
Hydrosphere
• REDUCE
• REUSE
• RECYCLE
Positive Effects on the
Hydrosphere
• New technologies – example: double hulled boats help stop
oil spills