Name Class Date

CHAPTER 4 Environmental Problems and Solutions

1 Environmental Problems
SECTION

National Science
BEFORE YOU READ Education Standards
After you read this section, you should be able to answer LS 3a, 4d
these questions:
• What is pollution?
• What are some other environmental problems?

What Is Pollution?
In the late 1700s, people started to depend on machines STUDY TIP
more and more. This is known as the Industrial Revolution. Underline As you read,
As people used more machines, they put larger amounts of underline any unfamiliar
words. Find out what these
harmful substances into the air, water, and soil. Machines words mean before you
today don’t make as many harmful substances as machines move on to the next section.
many years ago. However, there are now more sources of
pollution than there once were.
Pollution is an unwanted change in the environment
caused by substances such as wastes, or energy, such
as radiation. Anything that causes pollution is called
a pollutant. Pollutants can harm living things. Natural
events such as volcanic eruptions make pollutants.
Humans make many other pollutants. READING CHECK
1. Explain Is all pollution
GARBAGE caused by humans? Explain
Americans throw away more trash than people of any your answer.
other country. Most trash goes into landfills, like the one
shown below. Some kinds of trash, such as medical waste
and lead paint, are very dangerous. They are called
hazardous wastes, and include things that can catch fire,
eat through metal, explode, or make people sick.
Many industries, such as hospitals, oil refineries, paint READING CHECK
manufacturers, power plants, and paper mills, produce 2. Identify Give two examples
hazardous wastes. People need to dispose of hazardous of hazardous wastes.
wastes in places set aside for them.

Every year, Americans

throw away 200 million
metric tons of garbage.
Much of the garbage
ends up in landfills.

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Interactive Textbook 45 Environmental Problems and Solutions
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SECTION 1 Environmental Problems continued

Type of pollution Examples or sources Harmful effects

nuclear power plants

TAKE A LOOK
3. Summarize As you
read, complete this chart to Greenhouse gases
describe different types of
pollution.

CHEMICALS
People use chemicals for many things. Some chemicals
treat diseases. Others are used to make plastics and to
preserve food. Sometimes, the same chemicals that help
people may also harm the environment. For example, fer-
tilizers and pesticides can make plants grow bigger and
faster. However, they may also pollute the soil and water.
Critical Thinking CFCs and PCBs are two examples of chemical pollut-
4. Infer New refrigerators do ants. CFCs were once used in spray cans, refrigerators,
not use CFCs. However, CFCs and plastics. Scientists found that CFCs were destroy-
are still being released into ing the ozone layer. The ozone layer protects Earth by
the atmosphere. Explain why
this is happening. absorbing harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
Even though CFCs were banned years ago, they are still
found in the atmosphere.
PCBs were once used in appliances and paints. They
are poisonous and may cause cancer. PCBs are now
banned. However, they are still found all over the Earth.

NUCLEAR WASTES
Nuclear power plants provide electricity. They also
produce radioactive wastes. Radioactive wastes are haz-
ardous. They give off radiation, which can cause cancer
or radiation poisoning. They may take thousands of years
to break down into less harmful materials.

NOISE
Some pollutants affect your senses. These include loud
noises, such as airplanes taking off, and even loud music.
Noise isn’t just annoying. It can affect your ability to
think clearly. It can also damage your hearing.

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Interactive Textbook 46 Environmental Problems and Solutions
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SECTION 1 Environmental Problems continued

GREENHOUSE GASES
Earth’s atmosphere is made up of a mixture of gases,
including carbon dioxide. The atmosphere acts as a blanket.
It keeps Earth warm enough for life to exist. Critical Thinking
Since the Industrial Revolution, the amount of carbon 5. Analyze Ideas Are
dioxide in the atmosphere has increased. Carbon dioxide greenhouse gases always
harmful? Explain your answer.
and many pollutants act like a greenhouse, trapping heat
around the Earth. Many scientists think the increase in
carbon dioxide has caused global temperatures to go
up. If temperatures continue to rise, ice at Earth’s poles
could melt. This would cause the level of the world’s
oceans to rise and flood many areas of land along coasts.

What Is Resource Depletion?

Resources are depleted when they are used up without
being replaced. Some of Earth’s resources can be replaced
as quickly as they are used. Others, however, can never be
replaced.

RENEWABLE RESOURCES
A renewable resource is one that can be replaced
as quickly as it is used. Solar and wind energy, as well
as some kinds of trees, are renewable resources. Fresh
water is generally a renewable resource because it is
replaced every time it rains. However, some areas are
using up water faster than it can replaced. This may
cause water to become a nonrenewable resource.

NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES
A nonrenewable resource is one that cannot be
replaced or can only be replaced over many thousands
of years. Minerals and fossil fuels, such as oil, coal, and
natural gas, are nonrenewable resources. Nonrenewable
resources are depleted as they are used because they
cannot be replaced. In addition, removing some resources
from Earth may lead to oil spills, loss of habitats, and
damage from mining. All are harmful to the environment.

Renewable resources Nonrenewable resources

TAKE A LOOK
6. Identify Use the text
to complete the chart with
examples of both types of
resources.
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Interactive Textbook 47 Environmental Problems and Solutions
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SECTION 1 Environmental Problems continued

What Are Exotic Species?

People can carry plant seeds, animal eggs, and adult
organisms from one part of the world to another. An ani-
mal or plant that is brought into a new environment is an
exotic species. Sometimes an exotic species cannot sur-
vive outside of its natural environment. However, some-
times an exotic species does well in its new home.
Exotic species can cause problems. One reason for
this is the organism does not have its natural predators
in the new environment. This can allow populations of
READING CHECK exotic species to grow out of control. An exotic species
may compete with native species for resources. They may
7. Identify What are two
effects exotic species can also kill the native species.
have on native species?

Northern snakehead fish are an

exotic species in the United States.
These fish can move across land as
they look for water. They can survive
out of water for up to four days!

STANDARDS CHECK
LS 4d The number of organisms
an ecosystem can support
depends on the resources available Why Is Human Population Growth a Problem?
and abiotic factors, such as the
quantity of light and water, range
Advances in medicine, such as immunizations, have
of temperatures, and soil helped people live longer. Advances in farming have let
composition. Given adequate
biotic and abiotic resources and no farmers grow food to feed more people. Because of this,
disease or predators, populations the number of people on Earth has grown very quickly
(including humans) increase at
rapid rates. Lack of resources over the past few hundred years.
and other factors, such as Eventually there could be too many people on Earth.
predation and climate, limit the
growth of populations in specific Overpopulation happens when a population gets so
niches in the ecosystem. large that individuals cannot get the resources they need.
8. Predict What will For example, one day there may not be enough food or
happen to resources as water on Earth to support the growing human population.
the human population
continues to grow? Human Population Growth
6
Population (in billions)

5
4
3
2
1
0
00 E
E
E

18 CE

E
20 0 C
0C
BC

BC

BC

BC

C
00
00

00

00

00

0
10
40

30

20

10

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Interactive Textbook 48 Environmental Problems and Solutions

Name Class Date

SECTION 1 Environmental Problems continued

What Is Habitat Destruction?

An organism’s habitat is where it lives. Every habitat
has its own variety of organisms. This is known as
biodiversity. If a habitat is damaged or destroyed,
biodiversity is lost.
Habitats can be destroyed in different ways. Topsoil
may erode, or wash away, when people clear land for
crops or buildings. Also, chemicals may pollute streams
and rivers. Organisms living in these areas may be left
without food and shelter, and may die.

FOREST HABITATS
Trees provide humans with oxygen, wood, food, rub-
ber, and paper. For many of these products trees must
be cut down. Sometimes all the trees in a forest are cut
down. This is called deforestation. People can plant new
trees to replace ones that they cut. However, trees take READING CHECK
many years to grow.
9. Define What is
Tropical rain forests have some of the highest biodi- deforestation?
versity on Earth. However, people clear many acres of
rainforest for farm land, roads, and lumber. After a forest
is cleared, the biodiversity of the area is lost.

Deforestation can lead to soil erosion. This means that soil washes away.
Critical Thinking
10. Apply Concepts Dumping
MARINE HABITATS plastics into the oceans is
When people think of pollution in marine habitats, another form of pollution.
It can kill many marine
many think of oil spills. An oil spill is an example of
animals. Is dumping plastics
point source pollution, or pollution that comes from one in oceans an example of
source. point-source or nonpoint-
Unlike oil spills, some pollution comes from many dif- source pollution? Explain
your answer.
ferent sources. This is called nonpoint-source pollution.
For example, chemicals on land wash into rivers, lakes,
and oceans. These chemicals can harm or kill organisms
that live in marine habitats.
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Interactive Textbook 49 Environmental Problems and Solutions
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Section 1 Review NSES LS 3a, 4d

SECTION VOCABULARY
biodiversity the number and variety of pollution an unwanted change in the environment
organisms in a given area during a specific caused by substances or forms of energy
period of time renewable resource a natural resource that
nonrenewable resource a resource that forms can be replaced at the same rate at which the
at a rate that is much slower than the rate at resource is consumed
which the resource is consumed
overpopulation the presence of too many indi-
viduals in an area for the available resources

1. Apply Concepts Use the vocabulary terms above to complete the Concept Map.

depletion of can lead to overuse of

which can create

and can lead to habitat destruction and a loss of

2. Define What is resource depletion?

3. Analyze Ideas Is it possible for a renewable resource to become nonrenewable?

Explain your answer and give an example.

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Interactive Textbook 50 Environmental Problems and Solutions
 E Environmental Science Answer Key continued

Chapter 5 Energy SECTION 2 FOSSIL FUELS

1. from fossil fuels
Resources 2. mostly in Texas and Oklahoma
SECTION 1 NATURAL RESOURCES 3. heating
1. any natural material that people use to fulfill 4. Tiny sea creatures die and are buried in
their needs sediment. Over time, their remains become
2. Possible answers: water, air, coal, metal natural gas.
3. a resource that cannot be replaced as fast as 5. Petroleum occurs naturally as a liquid.
it is used 6. 7%
4. Many renewable resources are renewable
12%
only if people do not use them too quickly. If Middle East
they are used too quickly, they become non- North and South America
renewable resources.
15% Africa
5. Possible answer: Nonrenewable resources Europe and Asia
should be conserved so that we don’t use them
66%
up. Renewable resources should be conserved
so that they have time to regenerate.
6. Instead of... You can...
...keeping your home very ...use less heat and air 7. lignite, bituminous coal, and anthracite
warm in the winter and conditioning.
very cool in the summer, 8. anthracite
...taking long, hot ...take shorter showers 9. Fossil fuels are fairly cheap and are very
showers, and use less hot water. compact sources of energy. We now rely on
7. Fewer natural resources and less energy are fossil fuels.
needed to make recycled objects than to 10. rain, sleet, snow that contains a lot of acid
make new objects.
Review
Review 1. Petroleum exists as a liquid in its natural state.
1. A renewable resource can be replaced as Natural gas exists as a gas in its natural state.
fast as it is consumed. A nonrenewable 2. Kind of fossil What it is How it forms
resource cannot. fuel
2. Turn off the water when you brush your Coal a solid fuel Partly
teeth. Wash only full loads of laundry. Turn made from plant decomposed
matter plant matter is
the lights out when you leave a room. Use put under heat
both sides of a piece of paper. and pressure.
3. In most cases, wood can be replaced at the Natural Gas a mixture of Tiny sea
rate at which it is consumed. If people gases containing creatures die
carbon, and are buried
use it faster than it can grow back, it is a hydrogen, and in sediment.
nonrenewable resource. oxygen
4. Conserving resources means using only Petroleum a mixture of Tiny sea
what you need and protecting resources, liquids containing creatures die
carbon, and are buried
even when you are not using them. hydrogen, and in sediment.
5. They take millions of years to form. oxygen

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Interactive Textbook Answer Key 33 Environmental Science