UNIT
2 COMPILATION
1. Forests,
Grasslands, Parks & Nature Preserves
A. Forests
1.
Boreal and Tropical Forests
2. Forests’ Valuable Products
3. Tropical Forests-Being Cleared Quickly
A. Causes
B.
How we can protect them
4. Temperate Forests-Also Being Harmed
A.
Causes
B. Grasslands
1. Grazing
A. Benefits & Drawbacks
2. Overgrazing
C. Parks & Preserves
1.
Different Levels of Protection
2.
Conservation
3.
Important Role of Natives in Nature Protection
2. Water
Resources & Pollution
A. Water
Resources
1. Importance of Hydrologic Cycle
B. Major
Water Compartments
1. Different Water Compartments
2. Aquifers
C. Water
Pollution
1. Point & Non-Point Sources
2 Metals, Salts & Acids
a. Nonmetallic Salts
b. Acids & Bases
3. Organic Chemicals
a.
Pesticides
3. Food & Agriculture
A.
Global Trends in Food & Nutrition
1. Food Security
2. Famines
B. Amount
of food Humans need
1. Importance of a Healthy Diet
a. Malnourishment
b. Good and Bad foods for Health
2. Overeating
a. Health Consequences
3. Food Production
a. Meat
b. Seafood
C. Living
Soil as a Valued Resource
1. Six Components of Soil
2. Importance of Healthy Soil
a. Soil Horizons- O, A, E, B,
C, Parent Material
4. Earth Resources
A. Earth Processes
1. Makeup of the Earth
2. Tectonic Processes
B. Minerals
& Rocks
1. Minerals
2. Rocks
a. Types of rocks
3. Weathering & Sedimentation
a. Weathering
1. Mechanical Weathering
2. Chemical Weathering
b. Sedimentation
C. Economic Geology & Mineralogy
1. Economic Mineralogy
2. Importance of Metals to
Economy
3. Nonmetal Mineral Resources
D. Environmental Effects of Resource Extraction
1. Mining & Drilling
2. Processing
a. Smelting
b. Heap-Leach Extraction
E. Conserving Geologic Resources
1. Recycling
a. Mini-mills
2. New Materials
a. How they can be useful
F. Geologic
Hazards
1. Earthquakes
a. Tsunamis
2. Volcanoes
3. Floods
4. Landslides
5. Erosion
FORESTS,
GRASSLANDS, PARKS & PRESERVES
FORESTS
Forests
cover roughly 60 percent of the Earth, and they are responsible for providing
several of the resources we use on a daily basis as well as controlling climate
change and providing a habitat for wildlife. There are two particular kinds of
forests that are found the most, and they are Boreal and Tropical Forests.
Most
of the Boreal and Tropical Forests lie within the northern or taiga regions,
where the weather is predominantly cold. Many environmentalists have stated the
difficulty of assessing forests because they vary from one another, but the UN
Food and Agriculture Organization identifies a forest as any region where trees
take up more than 10 percent of the area. One major characteristic of forests
is that they store massive amounts of carbon within their environment, and when
the carbon is released due to forest burning, it greatly impacts the global
climate. Forests provide a great deal of moisture as well, and when it is
released, it can have an impact on precipitation in other regions and
countries. There is one type of forest in particular that is home to a
substantial amount of the Earth’s biodiversity, human cultures, and endangered
species. This type of forest is called an old-growth
forest , one of the very few forests that have been undisturbed and still
remain in their natural state. Only
about one quarter of old-growth forests still preserve their old-growth
features, and several of these forests are still visible in the countries of
Russia, Canada, and Brazil to name a few.
Forests offer us several valuable resources
that we use on a daily basis in our everyday lives. The most common resource is
wood, which is used in thousands of products all over the world. Paper pulp is
another resource that is derived from forests, and what we make paper from.
While one may think that the United States
makes and uses the most paper, North America, Europe and Asia actually use
paper more than the United
States. Therefore, the demand for paper is
steadily increasing in other parts of the world. However, because of the
increasing demand of paper and wood, deforestation is occurring at much faster
rate than normal. While there is a lot of deforestation occurring because of
the mass production of wood, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization reports
that some of the land is being replanted, making reforestation possible. Much
of this reforestation is occurring in big, single-species plantations, and is
given the term monoculture forestry. The
country of Asia has been the most successful in the forest restoration efforts,
and several other countries like China have followed suit.
We know that tropical forests are among the
most abundant and diverse on Earth, but they are beginning to disappear at an
alarming rate. Sadly, officials estimate that only about 40 percent of most
forests remain in their natural conditions, which explains why forests are
disappearing so quickly. The most common term that describes the disappearing
of forests is deforestation, which simply
means removing trees from forests. Some scientists argue on the real meaning of
deforestation where some say it is a complete change from forest to an
agricultural land, and others say that deforestation is any area that has been
cut, no matter when, where or how it occurred.
There
are several factors that cause deforestation, and the specific causes can vary
depending on what region the forests lie. Logging is a major cause of
deforestation, and granting access roads to remove logs can cause even further
damage since entry into the forest is accessible by farmers, miners and
hunters. Shifting cultivation, meaning a person will make use of a piece of
land, but abandon it later on, is another cause for deforestation, as well as
changes in rainfall annually. When drought occurs, it vegetation dies off,
increasing the chances for a wildfire to occur.
There are several ways in which we
can make an effort to preserve our forests and ensure that they remain in most
of their natural state. One thing that can be done is to make people aware of
what they can do to help protect forests, and encourage them to become more
involved. There is a company called REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation
and Degradation) that is making an effort to disperse money to as many
countries as possible in order to eliminate a lot of the greenhouse gas
emissions. They have come together with countries like Costa Rica and Papua New Guinea to help preserve
the forest land there, and seem to making substantial progress. The main
concern here is the release of harmful chemicals and toxins into the air, which
in turn can jeopardize the state of forests, so the fact that REDD and several
countries are working so closely together to tackle this problem is a huge step
in the right direction.
Tropical forests are not the only
types of forests being endangered, but temperate forests are also at risk. Old-growth
forests are being harmed due to more logging, as well as harvesting methods.
Some common harvesting methods being used is clear-cutting, meaning that every
tree in a designated area is cut, regardless of its size. The downside to this
is that by cutting all trees within a specific area, soil erosion is more
likely to occur and several animals that are dependent on these trees can no
longer live there. There is however, a method this is less destructive, but
still harmful, and this is called selective cutting, meaning that only a small
percent of mature trees are in each 10-20 year rotation. Logging and roads are
also culprits since the need for roads and materials made from logging remains
high.
In an environmental case study on Costa Rica
rainforests, scientists began to wonder why small toads and luscious, beautiful
plants began to disappear on mountaintops that were miles away from trees. They
wondered, “What is causing population of toads, birds and plants to lessen and
why are they becoming extinct?”. Monteverde is the specific mountaintop that
scientists referred to, and it was one of the best known cloud-forests in the world
and is majestically covered in fog and mist. Well, since the year 1990, there
has not been a single sighting of the small golden toads, which arose questions
as to what problems may have caused this. Scientists suggested that air
pollution, different diseases, and certain water contaminants played a part in
the disappearance of the toads.
Although
the forest seemed to have not been a victim of a lot of logging and
tree-cutting, scientists realized that the mountaintops lying within the forest
were not as isolated as they once presumed. Scientists have now discovered that
it is in fact because of logging in other areas of the forest that has made the
inhabitants and plants of the mountaintops vanish. The logging has also caused
a great loss in moisture on the mountaintops, which the plants in particular
need to flourish. This case study just goes to show how an entire area of a
forest can be affected by acts of destruction, even if there are no surrounding
trees in a specific area.
There
are a couple ways in which we can work to help make sure forest destruction
doesn’t occur so frequently. Fire management has been a big concern in the past
few years, even decades, due to the frequency of more droughts and the
carelessness of some humans when visiting forest campgrounds. An astonishing 40
million people living in the United
States live within the boundaries of the
risk of wildfires. One common way that is well known to help reduce the chance
of wildfires is to carry out prescribed burns to clean out excess debris that
may be present. Some people have complained of these burns being a waste of
potential valuable resources, and people living close to the areas of forests
often fear that the burns may escape their designated area and threaten their
homes.
Nevertheless,
the fact that people are taking caution in regard to forests is a good step in
the right direction. A second way that forests are trying to be preserved is
through Ecosystem Management, whose principles include some of the following:
Manage across entire landscapes over ecological time scales, maintain
biological diversity, and carry out essential forest ecosystem processes. With
some of these goals set in place, forest officials believe that they can become
successful in helping to preserve forests.
GRASSLANDS
Grasslands
are the second most widely used areas by humans, and they can be in danger as
well. We get a lot of valuable resources from grassland areas, like food crops,
and livestock that contribute to our nutrition. Because grasslands appeal to
humans, they are often disturbed and are most often converted to urban areas,
or croplands. One of the main issues with grasslands is grazing, and depending
on how it is used, it can either be beneficial or harmful. Ranchers often roam
and work on grasslands, so they are able to adjust to variations in weather,
specifically rainfall, adjust to different seasons for growing crops, and
maintain adequate health of their livestock. Therefore, this type of grazing
can be beneficial because the persons doing the grazing are aware of their
surroundings and familiar with the climate and change.
Another
issue is that of overgrazing and when
it occurs, much-needed rain leaves before it can absorb into the soil, which is
imperative to plants for nourishment. Therefore, almost everything dries up and
seeds cannot grow in the dry conditions, and because of the dryness, the ground
reflects more heat from the sun, which drives away any moisture clouds.
PARKS & PRESERVES
Natural preserves have been around for quite some time, and they date
back as early as the time of the Ancient Greeks. More so, national parks have
become increasingly popular attractions because of the uninterrupted nature
they obtain, and the creatures that inhabit them are rare wildlife that cannot
be seen in other places. One note that is definitely positive that close to 14
percent of the earth’s land is protected in the form of a park or preserve.
That’s an encouraging number when one thinks about how much land has been
disturbed over the years.
When talking about parks and
preserves, the World Conservation Union has
divided protected areas into five categories, or levels of protection. The
interesting thing about this is that they have divided the categories depending
on the amount of human interaction expected in the specific areas. The first
category is Ecological reserves and wilderness areas, which allows for little
to no human impact or intervention. The second category is National Parks, in
which there could be a low human impact or intervention. The third category is Natural Monuments and Archaeological Sites,
which could allow for low to medium human intervention and impact. The fourth category
is Habitat and Wildlife Management Areas, which could allow for Medium human impact
and intervention. The fifth category is Cultural or Scenic Landscapes and
Recreation Areas, which could allow for medium to high human impact or
intervention. Clearly, the first category is the most restrictive and does not
allow for potential invasion or disruption of natural land, and species. The
fifth category allows for more human use where the risk of potentially harming
species or natural resources is low.
Working to conserve and protect
parks and preserves is equally as important as it is to protect forests. The
World Conservation Union has begin to develop
a strategy within the past few years in hopes of better protecting natural
resources. They have developed a world
conservation strategy that includes three specific objectives, and the first
one being to conserve important ecological processes and life-support systems
on which humans are dependent on for survival. The second objective is to
maintain genetic variety for breeding programs in order to better cultivated
plants and domestic animals. The third objective is to make sure that any
practice of wild species and ecosystems is easy to maintain.
Another important concept that one
should consider in regard to conservation is that people in their countries can
work in harmony with conservation if they understand that their biological
resources are indeed their most valuable materials. Once they understand that,
they can take the right measures to preserve them in order to keep their
environment flourishing. Ecotourism in
particular can be the most beneficial over the long term because it is both
ecologically and socially sustainable.
The native people of lands can be
the most valuable asset in helping to conserve nature, and nearly 5,000 native
cultures that still stand today exhibit a great deal of ecological knowledge
about their homelands. Because of that knowledge, it can be very valuable in
regard to helping manage ecosystems. Some countries have taken this very
seriously, and because of that, have seen the natural beauty of their environment
remain intact. It has also been found that in order for successful
conservation, countries must find ways to incorporate human needs in
conjunction with nature’s.
WATER
RESOURCES & POLLUTION
Water Resources
Water is an
extremely vital element and component to the Earth and is the basic element to
sustain life on Earth. In fact, we can go without food for weeks, but only days
without water before our body and internal organs begin to stop working. If
that doesn’t explain the importance of water, I don’t know what does! Water has
several important jobs in ecosystems, plant and animal life, and human life.
For example, water dissolves nutrients and aids in the distribution of water to
and from cells, maintains the right body temperature, gets rid of waste
products, and supports thousands of structures. When we talk about the
importance of water in agriculture, human uses, and other varieties, we speak
of clean freshwater as our potentially most valuable natural resource.
Perhaps the most important
environmental cycle that aids in water is the Hydrologic Cycle. During the
Hydrologic Cycle, water goes through a cycle by dissipates from moist surfaces,
comes down as rain or snow, travels through live organisms, and then returns
back to the ocean. Massive amounts of water and moisture evaporates from the
ocean each year, as well as from lakes, rivers, soil, and plants. Why is this
important? Because that water through its cycle becomes the world’s renewable
freshwater supply that all organisms thrive off of. Plants play a vital role in
the Hydrologic Cycle because they take in groundwater and deliver it into the
atmosphere by transpiration. Solar energy also plays an important role in the
Hydrologic Cycle by helping to even out water resources by evaporating surface
water into the form of rain and/or snow.
MAJOR WATER COMPARTMENTS
When
we talk about water components, we refer to the areas in which water dwells
within an environment. Water and molecules within them can remain in specific
compartments for either long or short periods of time, known as residence time. Here’s an astonishing
fact: Only .02 percent of the world’s water is in an accessible form to humans
and other organisms that rely so heavily on it. Of all the compartments that
hold water, glaciers, ice and snow contain the majority of fresh surface water.
The water on these lands help supply billions of people all over the world,
even though the majority of this water is held in Antarctica, and the Arctic. In the United
States, the Rocky Mountains account for three-quarters of
the water flow into the Colorado River.
However, current droughts have caused a reduction in rain and snowfall in
western regions of the United
States, which then cannot bring an adequate
supply of water to these areas.
Groundwater is another major
compartment that stores fresh, liquid water as well as large resources. With
groundwater, plants gain moisture from a flat-like layer of soil that contains
both air and water. This is known as the zone
of aeration, and depending on the rainfall amount and kind of soil, the
zone can be from centimeters to meters deep. Another zone to note is the zone of saturation, which is where the
lower layers of soil and soil pores fill with water.
Rivers, lakes and wetlands are another
form of compartments in which water cycles quickly, but they normally obtain a
small amount of water at a time. Rivers in the world hold nearly half of all
surface runoff on earth, and the majority of that occurs in The Amazon River. The Amazon is incredible in the fact that
it holds nearly as much water as the next seven rivers after the Amazon put
together! Lakes account for more water than rivers and streams combined, but
the water is only in a few of the world’s big lakes. Lakes play an important role
like rivers in regard to water supply, food, transportation, and settlement.
The wetlands of the world are not often seen as being as important as rivers
and lakes, but they do in fact play a vital role in the water and hydrologic
cycle. The plants that grow in the wetlands help to maintain soil and prevent
surface runoff, which in turn allows infiltration to occur and filter into
aquifers. Floods can result from the disturbance of wetlands, which also brings
forth erosion and a low stream of water flow.
Aquifers are also important
components in water flow and production. Simply stated, an aquifer is a
permeable or cracked layer of rock that contains water. Much of the action that
occurs in an aquifer happens below the surface, where rocks or clay keep the
water from leaking out at the bottom and instead soaks through the porous
layer. It can take just a few hours to several years for water to move through
an aquifer, depending on environmental and geographical conditions. Pressure is
important in an aquifer because it helps water to flow freely at the surface,
particularly for wells and springs. Aquifers also have the ability to recharge,
simply known as the recharge zone.
Recharge zones are areas in which surface water filters into an aquifer, but the
rate at which they recharge can happen very slowly in most cases. One downside
of recharge zones is the ability for contaminants to enter the aquifers, and
urban/agricultural runoff then becomes a problem also. When this occurs, the
supply of clean water is no longer readily available, which then creates
several problems in itself.
WATER POLLUTION
Pollution
has been caused significant harm on the environment, organisms, and humans
alike. Pollution can take several forms such as water pollution, chemical
pollution, and air pollution to name a few. Pollution can be classified as
point sources and non-point surfaces. Areas such as factories, treatment
plants, coal mines, and power plants are categorized as point sources because
they release pollution from distinct locations. Because they come from specific
sources, it is easy to identify and regulate; however, non-point sources do not
have an exact location where they release pollutants, making it much more
difficult to locate the sources and monitor them. Some non-point sources
include lawns, gardens, roads, streets, and construction sites.
Pollution can also take the form of
certain pathogens and waste. Pathogens are the most harmful to humans because
they cause diseases, and are especially scary when they are waterborne. Among
some of the diseases that occur because of waterborne pathogens are typhoid,
polio, bacterial and amoebic dysentery, and hepatitis. Most pathogens are
created because of untreated or incorrectly treated human wastes, and animal
wastes as well. When environmentalists and scientists test for water pathogens,
they use coliform bacteria to determine if there are potential pathogens. This
kind of bacteria mainly subsides in the colon and intestines of humans and
animals.
Another cause of pollution can be
metals, salts and acids and can be released by human mining and the use and
discard of minerals. Among the most harmful minerals present in the Earth right
now are heavy metals such as mercury, lead and arsenic. Mercury is passed out
into the air, precipitates in water supplies, and then enters food webs that
can become very harmful to major predators. In water, metal pollution can occur
when mining waste is drained and emptied into the sources for human and animal
drinking water.
Nonmetallic salts are also polluting
our drinking water, as well as arsenic, which can be very harmful. Selinium,
which can also be very toxic, has appeared at an increasingly alarming rate in
several farmlands. Because it has entered at such a high level, several hundred
acres of valuable crops and resources have become abandoned because this toxin
has taken over.
In an
environmental case study done on arsenic, the article talks about the toxin
being present in drinking water, and looks at the harmful health effects it has
had on people in several countries. The article concentrates on Bangladesh, India, where the presence of
arsenic in groundwater is among the worst in the world. Because of the speed at
which the population is growing, and more industrialization, there has been
more stress put on the limited water supply there. The article cites an
increased dependency on water wells as one of the main reasons why arsenic is
appearing in the water. When the water table is lowered during the dry season, explains
the author, there is a greater chance that arsenic-bearing rocks will dissolve
insoluble salts into soluble oxide and aquifers will pump out arsenic when they
near the end of their cycle. Because some parts of India are quite poor, or even rich
for that matter, there is no other available source for water except for the
one that contains the arsenic toxin. We all know that without water, we cannot
live, so even though there are harmful and potentially deadly chemicals in that
water, they need it to survive. So how can the quality of this infested water
be improved? We would need help and money from government officials, but here
is the scary part: The case article stated that the government refuses to take
measures to increase the quality of arsenic-filled water because they feel that
the cost is too high. From that, it’s clear that they do not want to put
individual health of humans at the top of their priorities, which is very
disheartening. Hopefully in the future, scientists and other environmentalists
can find other ways to try and improve the quality of water to better the
health of people.
One last important
cause of pollution is organic chemicals, those that we use almost everyday, and
that contain harmful toxins that pollute our water, the environment, and affect
humans. Organic chemical toxins in water come from two major sources:
unsuitable disposal of industrial and household waste products, and pesticide
overflow from farming areas, roads, private lawns, and forests. It doesn’t help
that thousands of tons of dangerous wastes are dumped into landfills, lagoons,
and dumps, which then risk the chance of spilling toxic chemicals into
groundwater and water alike.
FOOD
& AGRICULTURE
Global Trends in Food & Nutrition
Global food
trends are appearing in countries like Brazil
and China,
and food production in particular has greatly increased partly because of the
competitive global market. With the increase in food production, one would
assume that would help to solve the worldwide hunger issue, but it has not
cured hunger altogether.
One reason that hunger still remains
a problem is because distribution of food is not evenly spread from country to
country. With the world’s population rapidly increasing, the production of food
remains high, which has kept the food supply at a good level in most countries.
In poor countries like Africa and Somalia, most families live well
below their means because of the lack of food supply, and poor air and water
quality. When there is poor food security, the local economy can suffer a great
deal if farmers are not able to produce and sell a crop to locals. Famine is
another global concern in regard to food supply and distribution. Famines occur
on a much larger scale when food becomes scarce, so many families kill their
own livestock in order to stay alive.
Amount
of Food Humans Need
A healthy
diet is imperative to stay healthy, be disease-free, and live a longer life. A
healthy diet involves the right amount of proper and essential nutrients your
body needs, as well as an adequate amount of calories to maintain energy.
Millions of people do not get the right amounts of nutrients in their bodies
and often have deficiencies, which can sometimes lead to malnourishment. Malnourishment simply means that a person is not
getting the proper balance of nutrients in their diet, and in some cases, it
can become extreme. The best and most effective way to stay healthy is to eat
an adequate amount of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and limited dairy
products. People should try to avoid processed foods, a lot of meat, oils, and
fats.
Overeating has become a huge
problem, and often leads to obesity, which is now a worldwide epidemic. Highly
processed foods containing a lot of sugar and fat has sadly become a necessity,
or even an addiction, for millions of people. Being overweight increases a
person’s risk of diabetes, certain cancers, heart attacks, breathing problems,
and strokes. Lack of healthy, quality food has been a cause for overweight to
occur, as well as processed snacks, fast-food, and soda. A combination of all
of these can lead to harmful and potentially deadly disproportions among
people.
There
are really only a few sources that provide us with the food we eat on a daily
basis. Some of those sources include crops, a number of fruits and vegetables,
fish, a couple mammals, and domestic birds. Corn is the major crop that is
grown that has become an important necessity, as well as livestock like cows,
chickens, and pigs to produce beef, chicken and pork. Meat, in moderation, is
an important part of the human diet because it supplies protein, iron, healthy
fats, and other nutrients to help give our bodies the energy it needs. Seafood
is also an important part of our diet because it does contain protein as well,
as well as omega-3’s and other important nutrients. Because of the over-harvesting and destruction of
aquatic habitats, the seafood supply has
decreased, which has increased the need for better solutions for fishermen,
fishing boats, and fisheries.
Living Soil as a Valued Resource
It’s
important to understand the role soil plays in regard to food production, as
well as the environment. When thinking about soil, there are six important
mixtures that all have a different responsibility. The six soil components are sand and gravel, silts and clays, dead
organic material, soil fauna and flora, water and air. Each of these
components have unique characteristics about them, and help to give soil
variety. Clays play the role of making soil sticky and wet while organic
material and sand give the soil a soft and silky texture. Silty sand does not
drain quickly, which makes it ideal for growing crops; however, they tend to
blow away when they encounter wind. Soil fauna helps get rid of dead leaves and
roots, giving new plants the nutrients that they need.
Soil horizons are divided into six
different horizons, and they all gather different materials and nutrients. The
top layer is called the “O” horizon, which is where the soil consumes leaf
litter. The layer below the O Horizon is known as the A-Horizon (Topsoil) ,
which is where there is a mixture of organic material, living organisms,
inorganic materials, and mineral soil. Below the A-Horizon is the E-Horizon
(Zone of Leaching) , which is where diffused materials move further downward
into the ground. Below the E-Horizon is the B-Horizon (Subsoil), which is the
collection of iron, aluminum, compounds, and clay that has leaked down from the
A and E horizons. Below the B-Horizon is the C-Horizon (Weathered Parent
Material), which contains slightly broken down inorganic materials. Last, below
the C-Horizon lies the Parent Material. The food that we eat mainly comes from
the A-Horizon level due to its thick texture, and organic richness.
In a case study done on regenerative
farming in Iowa,
two farmers found alternative farming techniques to ensure the best quality
crops and soil. After 30 years of experimenting with different techniques, they
developed a regenerative way of farming that relied on natural resources to
repair and protect soil. Some of the techniques they used were crop rotation,
mechanical cultivation, and cover crops. They also changed crops every year so
that no specific species can dominate and therefore all of the species are
easier to maintain and control. The methods of the Thompsons became very well
known by scientists, who collaborated with them to help determine how their way
of farming affected the well-being of livestock, erosion, and land/soil
fertility. They concluded that the methods used by the Thompsons were extremely
beneficial in several ways. Not only did the Thompson farming techniques work
in their favor financially, but it also had a major impact on the quality of
their soil, which was much healthier and richer than most other soils. The
important thing about the Thompsons’ farming techniques was that they found
new, innovative and financially profitable ways of farming without harming soil
and other elements of the environment.
EARTH
RESOURCES
Earth Processes
The earth is
an amazing structure that is everchanging due to the earth’s makeup and
processes. It’s important to know how the earth is made up in order to have a
better understanding of the role it plays in our resources. The earth is a
spherical circle that is made up of three major parts: the core, mantle and
crust. The core is made up of an
incredibly hot, thick matter of metal that is thousands of kilometers in
diameter. The mantle is a thinner texture due to its ability to hold elements such
as oxygen, silicon and magnesium. The crust is the outer layer of the earth and
it’s texture can depend on where it is located in the earth (oceans and
continents).
Tectonic plates are blocks that
slide at a slow pace across the earth’s surface, and sometimes can break apart
into smaller pieces that ultimately bring about new, much bigger landmarks.
Earthquakes are often caused by thrusting as the tectonic plates abrasively rub
against each other as they pass.
Minerals & Rocks
Minerals and
rocks correlate with one another because rocks contain one or more minerals
that make up their composition. Both minerals and rocks are solids and specific
rocks contain unique characteristics of certain minerals and grain sizes. There
are three categories into which rocks are classified: Igneous, Metamorphic and
Sedimentary. Igneous rocks are shaped from hot lava, and it is said that the
earth’s crust is made of this type of rock. Metamorphic rocks get their shape
from other rocks that melt, curve/twist, regain a crystallized shape. These
rocks are often classified by how they are chemically made up, and how they
form from recrystallization. Sedimentary rocks are created when loose grains of
other rocks are joined by time and pressure.
Certain environmental exposures can
alter the shape of form of rocks, but weathering can have the biggest affect on
them. There are two kinds of weathering: mechanical weathering and chemical
weathering. Mechanical weathering occurs when rocks are broken into smaller
particles not having changed the chemical make-up of the minerals. Chemical
weathering occurs when specifically chosen minerals in rocks are taken away or
changed, which in turn results in the rock’s increased weakness and
dissolution. Another factor that can affect rocks and their composition is sedimentation. Sedimentation occurs when
loose rock particles, caused by weather, run downward until they reach a new
location to stay in.
Our earth is filled with an immense
amount of minerals and rocks. Among the most important mineral is metal, partly
because of its flexibility to be re-constructed, the lightweight feeling, and
its strength. Some of the metals that are most widely used in the world are
iron, aluminum, manganese, copper/chromium, and nickel. Metals are vital for
the success of a country’s economy, which can explain why they are so highly
consumed by almost all parts of the world. Nonmetals are also widely used by
countries, and the most common ones include sand, gravel, salts, soils, etc. We
see the use of these nonmetals almost everyday in our daily life, like construction
sites, paving of roads, or brick/concrete.
Environmental Effects of Resource Extraction
When
we extract geological mineral and metal resources, the most common way to do
that is through mining and drilling. This action can be harmful because not
only does it lower the water quality, but it also harms the natural environment
and natural state of those resources. Problems arise when mining or drilling
for a certain resources occurs in an area that is too deep; this in turn causes
difficulty in extraction of wells, and gives way to water pollution.
When all
of this mining and drilling is occurring, the chemicals and toxins are being
released into the atmosphere and the ground, which increases the risk for more
pollution and contamination. There are two major practices that release harmful
toxins in the air that cause it to become polluted and one of them is smelting, which occurs when ores are
roasted to extract metals. The second common practice used that releases
harmful chemicals is heap-leach
extraction, a method that involves accumulating crushed ore in large piles
and then spraying it with an alkaline-type solution. The problem with this is
that once miners get enough of the mineral they need, they often leave the site
full of leftover chemicals that runs into nearby ponds, lakes, etc.
Conserving Geologic Resources
The topic of conservation has been
widely discussed and still remains an important component in regard to keeping
the environment healthy and safe for animals, plants and humans. The most
common way that we can conserve is to recycle, recycle, recycle!
Recycling has
many benefits, including the amount of energy it saves as well as materials,
which makes extraction of certain materials occur less frequently. Products
that are most often recycled are glass, steel, plastic, aluminum, titanium,
copper, and paper. When you think about how much of the things we use in our
everyday life are made from those materials, that is a lot of money that can be
saved by simply being more conscious about recyclable products. In regard to
steel and iron recycling, mini-mills
have become increasingly productive and beneficial because they are smaller and
operate at a lower cost unlike traditional mills. They also use less energy,
and now produce almost half of all the United States steel.
The introduction of new materials
and the replacement of old ones in electronics, automobile production, and
other technologies has allowed the use and extraction of certain minerals to
become less. Each new production or replacement has been able to reduce the
need for necessary minerals such as copper, aluminum, and steel.
Geologic Hazards
Because the
earth is constantly shifting and changing shape, there are geologic hazards
that present themselves as a result. We like to refer to it as “mother nature”,
the one thing that the human population cannot control, which is why they can
be devastating when they happen. Some of the most common natural disasters, or
geological hazards are earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, floods, landslides and
erosion.
Earthquakes
occur when there is an abrupt movement in the earth’s crust that takes place
along weak fault lines, where one rock slides past another. Earthquakes most often occur along the
outside edges of the tectonic plates and friction in this area is what can
cause the sudden jerk or jolt on the earth giving that it prevents the earth’s
rocks from slipping easily. Countries like Indonesia, China, Japan, and Haiti
are accounted for having some of the strongest earthquakes to date, and it
doesn’t help that most of these countries live in poor conditions, therefore
they are less prepared for earth disasters than other countries might be.
One
of the most significant results from earthquakes is the tsunami, which occurs at sea and creates huge, tall waves that can
demolish a town in a matter of minutes. Tsunamis are not just affected by
earthquakes, but can also occur from volcanic eruptions under the sea or
slumping of the sea’s floor.
Volcanoes
are another major geological hazard that can release harmful gases and massive
amounts of ash when they erupt. The ash and dust that is released by a volcano
can cause a decrease in sunlight and air temperature; without proper sunlight,
hundreds of plants, animals, and humans are harmed because they need the
benefits that sunlight delivers in order to survive.
Floods are
often said to be human-caused in the sense that cities and other industrial
buildings have been built on the flat plains that are essential to the
surrounding rivers. Floods are responsible for doing the most damage to towns,
cities and human assets and lives. Because so much of the world is made up of
water, it’s no surprise that major floods are so disastrous and very hard to
regulate and control. Not only do floods cause property damage, but they also
cause a serious amount of pollution from all of the toxic chemicals, sewage,
waste and dirt transported by water. Scientists say that the increase in human
activity such as the development of land and construction of buildings speeds
up the rate that water runs off into streams and lakes. Flood-control
structures have also been to blame for the increase in flooding because these
structures don’t really do anything to help out, but instead they run
downstream, which will lead to more flooding.
In a case
study article done on a flood in North
Carolina in the year 1999, the number of hogs that
were raised in farmlands drastically decreased from the major flood that took
place. At the time, North Carolina was among
the highest in producing hogs and was also home for the most waste and
manure-holding lagoons in the United
States, but was washed out by the flooding
from Hurricane Floyd. All of that waste had floated out of the lagoons and
mixed with the thousands of dead hogs as well as sewage plants that had been
flooded. Coastal rivers became drop-offs for all the waste, which created a
major hazard because hundreds of miles of land and water became unlivable, and
millions of dollars had been lost as a result. Because of the explosive growth
in raising and producing hogs that occurred in North Carolina, there sometimes was not
enough space to raise them in their own farmland area, so they would join
thousands of other animals. The main problem here is that the Department of
Agriculture was not strict enough on regulations how to regulate and control
waste and manure. Therefore, this results in the spilling of lagoons that contain
manure, which in turn can harm and kill thousands of animals, making production
on farms in these areas extremely difficult financially, and inaccessible.
Landslides
can occur when hillsides collapse due to the loss of certain materials and too
much water sliding downwards. Landslides mostly occur in areas near beaches,
hillsides, and even flat farmlands and they can cause significant property
damage. When heavy rainfall occurs in an area and soil is exposed, mudslides
most likely occur and can be very hard to control, especially on hillsides. Farmland acres have been the most
affected by erosion by reducing the effectiveness of the farming soil, and in
the past few years has become more of a crisis than a hazard. Beaches are also
affected by erosion and because beaches have been disturbed by housing, the
vegetation of this area makes it unstable, therefore causing storms to get rid
of beaches by washing them away. This process is what creates hurricanes on
ocean fronts, which can cause severe damage to properties and other parts of
the city. Cities have taken measures to help prevent erosion by building
artificial barriers to prevent sand from migrating into unwanted areas.
The amount of natural
and mineral resources we have on this earth is astonishing, and not many of us
realize just how many of the things we use everyday is made from these
resources. Without any of these, we wouldn’t have a lot of the things we take
for granted! It’s also amazing to know that most of the food we eat on a daily basis
comes from just a few sources that are able to give us what we need to maintain
our health and give us energy.
Without any of these resources, it’s hard to say
how we would survive in a world that is so dependent on them, animals, plants
and humans alike. When we take look at all of the amazing and beautiful things
the world has to offer, and learn to appreciate the natural state of things, we
realize just how important we are to them as they are to us and we should give them the proper treatment
they deserve.
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