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Name CHAPTER 4 Class Date Environmental Problems and Solutions 2 Environmental Solutions SECTION National Science Education Standards BEFORE YOU READ After you read this section, you should be able to answer these questions: LS 5c • What is conservation? • What are some things people can do to protect the environment? How Can People Conserve Resources? As the human population grows, it will need more resources. People will need food, health care, transportation, and ways to get rid of wastes. All of these needs will affect the Earth. If people don’t use resources wisely, people will continue to pollute the air, soil, and water. More natural habitats could be lost and many species could die out. However, there are many things people can do to protect the environment. Conservation is the protection and wise use of natural resources. When you conserve resources, you use fewer of them. Conservation not only keeps us from using up resources, but also reduces waste, pollution, and habitat destruction. For example, using a bike instead of a car can save fuel and help prevent air pollution. There are three ways to conserve resources: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. These are known as the three Rs. STUDY TIP Organize As you read, make a Spider Map to show different ways you can help protect the environment. READING CHECK 1. List What are the three Rs of conservation? TAKE A LOOK 2. Infer How is the girl with the bag reducing her use of resources? Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. Interactive Textbook 51 Environmental Problems and Solutions Name SECTION 2 Class Date Environmental Solutions continued REDUCE READING CHECK 3. Identify What is the best way to conserve resources? The best way to conserve resources is to use fewer of them. Using fewer resources also helps reduce pollution and the amount of waste we produce. Almost one third of the waste produced by some countries is packaging material, such as boxes, plastic bags, and paper. Wrapping products in less paper and plastic reduces waste. For example, fast-food restaurants used to serve sandwiches in large plastic containers. Today, many wrap food in thin paper instead. Paper is biodegradable. Biodegradable means that living organisms, such as bacteria, can break it down. In addition to reducing waste, people need to reduce the amount of nonrenewable resources they use. For example, scientists are looking for sources of energy that can replace fossil fuels, such as oil and gas. One way to use fewer nonrenewable resources is to use renewable resources, such as solar and wind energy. TAKE A LOOK 4. Identify Are the people living in this house using a renewable or nonrenewable resource for energy? The people who live in this house use solar panels to get energy from the sun. Scientists are also studying energy sources such as wind, tides, and waterfalls. Car companies have developed automobiles that use electricity and hydrogen for fuel. Driving these cars uses less gas and oil, and produces less pollution. Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. Interactive Textbook 52 Environmental Problems and Solutions Name SECTION 2 Class Date Environmental Solutions continued REUSE Every time you reuse a plastic bag, one bag fewer needs to be made. This also means that one bag fewer will end up in a landfill. Reusing products is an important way to conserve resources. You can reuse many things. For example, clothes can be passed down and worn by someone else. Sports equipment can be repaired instead of being thrown away. Builders can reuse materials such as wood, bricks, and tiles to make new structures. Even old tires can be used again. They can be reused for playground surfaces or even in new homes. Critical Thinking 5. Identify Relationships How are reducing and reusing related? This home is made of reused tires and aluminum cans American homes use about 100 billion liters of water each day. When you wash your hands or take a shower, most of the water goes down the drain. This is called wastewater. No new water is ever made on Earth. Wastewater eventually returns to Earth as rain in the water cycle. However, this takes a very long time. Because of this, many communities are learning how to reuse, or reclaim, wastewater. Reclaiming wastewater allows people to use the same water for more than one thing. One way to do this is to clean the water so that it can be used again. Some organisms can be used to filter water and take out many of the wastes. These organisms include plants and filter-feeding animals, such as clams. The reclaimed water may not be pure enough to drink. However, it can be used to water crops, lawns, and golf courses. READING CHECK 6. Explain What does reclaiming wastewater mean? Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. Interactive Textbook 53 Environmental Problems and Solutions Name SECTION 2 Class Date Environmental Solutions continued RECYCLE Say It Investigate Find out where in your neighborhood you can take materials to be recycled. Does your city or town pick up recyclables? What sort of things can you recycle in your community? Share with the class what you learn. Recycling is the recovery of materials from waste. This means that new products can be made from old products. A material that can be recycled is recyclable. Some recyclable items, such as paper, are used to make the same kind of product. Other recyclable items are made into different products. For example, yard wastes, such as dead leaves and cut grass, can be recycled into a natural fertilizer. Paper Aluminum Plastics Common Recyclables Wood Cardboard Glass READING CHECK Recycling newspapers could save millions of trees. Recycling aluminum uses 95% less energy than turning raw ore into aluminum. Glass can be recycled many times to make new bottles and jars. This uses less energy than making new glass. Burning some wastes can produce electricity. Using garbage to make electricity is an example of resource recovery. When companies make electricity from their waste products, they save money and conserve resources. However, some people are concerned that burning wastes for electricity pollutes the air. 7. Identify What is one problem with burning garbage to make electricity? A waste-to-energy plant can provide electricity for many homes and businesses. Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. Interactive Textbook 54 Environmental Problems and Solutions Name SECTION 2 Class Date Environmental Solutions continued How Can People Help Maintain Biodiversity? Biodiversity is important because each species has a unique role in an ecosystem. Losing one species could affect the entire ecosystem. Biodiversity also protects against the spread of disease. For example, if a disease spreads in a forest that has only one species, the entire forest may be destroyed. If there are many different species, a disease is not likely to affect them all. READING CHECK PROTECTING SPECIES One way to maintain biodiversity is to protect individual species. In the United States, a law called the Endangered Species Act was designed to do just that. An endangered species is one that generally has few individuals left. Without protection, an endangered species may become extinct. Scientists identify endangered species and put that species on a special list. The law forbids activities that would harm any species on this list. The law also requires recovery programs for endangered species. This means that scientists work both to protect existing individuals of an endangered species, and to increase the population. To help some species recover, scientists remove individuals from the wild to breed them. This is known as captive breeding. It can help some species produce more offspring than they would in the wild. Individuals that are bred in captivity are often released back into the wild. However, this is not a solution for all endangered species. Many species are endangered because their habitats have been destroyed. They may have no habitat left to return to. These species can only survive if their habitat is protected as well. 8. Identify Give two reasons that maintaining biodiversity is important. READING CHECK 9. Explain What is the purpose of a species recovery program? Captive-breeding programs have helped the population of California condors to grow. Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. Interactive Textbook 55 Environmental Problems and Solutions Name SECTION 2 Class Date Environmental Solutions continued PROTECTING HABITATS Scientists want to keep species from becoming endangered. They don’t want to wait until a species is almost extinct before they try to protect it. Plants, animals, and microorganisms depend on each other. Each is part of a huge, interconnected web of organisms. To protect the web, whole habitats need to be protected, not just individual species. Say It Describe Have you ever visited a nature reserve or national park? Tell the class about your visit. If you have never been to a reserve or national park, tell the class about the kind of park you would like to visit. Nature preserves are large areas of public land set aside for wildlife. They can protect important habitats. ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES Laws have been passed to help protect resources and preserve habitats. By following these laws, people can help the environment. People can also use the following environmental strategies. • Reduce pollution. Recycle as much as possible and Critical Thinking 10. Infer How could recycling help protect habitats? • • • • buy recycled products. Do not dump wastes in forests, lakes, rivers, or oceans. Participate in a local cleanup project. Reduce pesticide use. Use pesticides that work only on harmful insects. Use natural pesticides whenever possible. Protect habitats. Preserve entire habitats. Use fewer resources, such as wood and paper, that can destroy habitats. Learn about local issues. Research how laws or projects will affect your area, and let people know about your concerns. Develop alternative energy sources. Use fewer nonrenewable resources, such as coal and oil. Use more renewable resources, such as solar and wind power. Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. Interactive Textbook 56 Environmental Problems and Solutions Name Class SECTION 2 Date Environmental Solutions continued EPA The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a government organization. Its job is to help protect the environment. The EPA keeps people informed about environmental problems and helps enforce environmental laws. WHAT YOU CAN DO Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Protect the Earth. These are jobs for everyone. Children and adults can help clean up the environment. As they improve their environment, they improve their quality of life. How You Can Help the Environment 1. Volunteer at a local preserve or nature center, and help other people learn about conservation. 2. Give away your old toys. 3. Use recycled paper. 4. Fill up both sides of a sheet of paper. 5. Start an environmental awareness club at your school or in your neighborhood. 6. Recycle glass, plastics, paper, aluminum, and batteries. 7. Don’t buy any products made from an endangered plant or animal. 8. Turn off electrical devices when you are not using them. 9. Wear hand-me-downs. 10. Share books with friends, or use the library. 11. Walk, ride a bicycle, or use public transportation. 12. Carry a reusable cloth shopping bag to the store. 13. Use a lunch box, or reuse your paper lunch bags. 14. Turn off the water while you brush your teeth. 15. Buy products made from biodegradable and recycled materials. 16. Use cloth napkins and kitchen towels. 17. Buy things in packages that can be recycled. 18. Use rechargeable batteries. 19. Make a compost heap. TAKE A LOOK 11. Apply Concepts Next to each item in the figure, write whether the activity is a way to reduce, reuse, or recycle. Some items might have more than one answer. 12. Identify Circle five things in this figure that you could start to do today to help the environment. Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. Interactive Textbook 57 Environmental Problems and Solutions Name Class Date Section 2 Review NSES LS 5c SECTION VOCABULARY conservation the preservation and wise use of natural resources recycling the process of recovering valuable or useful materials from waste or scrap 1. Define What does biodegradable mean? 2. Describe Decribe one way that water can be reclaimed. 3. Identify What are two roles of the EPA? 4. Explain How would driving a car that uses hydrogen for fuel be helpful to the environment? 5. List Name six materials that can be recycled in many communities. 6. Explain What is the purpose of the Endangered Species Act? 7. Apply Concepts How is using cloth napkins an example of both reusing and reducing? Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. Interactive Textbook 58 Environmental Problems and Solutions E Environmental Science Answer Key continued Chapter 5 Energy Resources SECTION 2 FOSSIL FUELS from fossil fuels mostly in Texas and Oklahoma heating Tiny sea creatures die and are buried in sediment. Over time, their remains become natural gas. 5. Petroleum occurs naturally as a liquid. 6. 7% 1. 2. 3. 4. SECTION 1 NATURAL RESOURCES 1. any natural material that people use to fulfill their needs 2. Possible answers: water, air, coal, metal 3. a resource that cannot be replaced as fast as it is used 4. Many renewable resources are renewable only if people do not use them too quickly. If they are used too quickly, they become nonrenewable resources. 5. Possible answer: Nonrenewable resources should be conserved so that we don’t use them up. Renewable resources should be conserved so that they have time to regenerate. 6. Instead of... You can... ...keeping your home very warm in the winter and very cool in the summer, ...use less heat and air conditioning. ...taking long, hot showers, ...take shorter showers and use less hot water. 12% Middle East North and South America 15% Europe and Asia 66% 7. lignite, bituminous coal, and anthracite 8. anthracite 9. Fossil fuels are fairly cheap and are very compact sources of energy. We now rely on fossil fuels. 10. rain, sleet, snow that contains a lot of acid 7. Fewer natural resources and less energy are needed to make recycled objects than to make new objects. Review 1. Petroleum exists as a liquid in its natural state. Review 1. A renewable resource can be replaced as 2. 3. 4. 5. Africa Natural gas exists as a gas in its natural state. fast as it is consumed. A nonrenewable resource cannot. Turn off the water when you brush your teeth. Wash only full loads of laundry. Turn the lights out when you leave a room. Use both sides of a piece of paper. In most cases, wood can be replaced at the rate at which it is consumed. If people use it faster than it can grow back, it is a nonrenewable resource. Conserving resources means using only what you need and protecting resources, even when you are not using them. They take millions of years to form. 2. Kind of fossil fuel What it is How it forms Coal a solid fuel made from plant matter Partly decomposed plant matter is put under heat and pressure. Natural Gas a mixture of gases containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen Tiny sea creatures die and are buried in sediment. Petroleum a mixture of liquids containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen Tiny sea creatures die and are buried in sediment. Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. Interactive Textbook Answer Key 33 Environmental Science