The Roles of Human in Global Ecology1

The Role of Humans in
Global Ecology
What Is Global Ecology?
• Global ecology is the
study of the
interactions among the
Earth's ecosystems,
land, atmosphere and
oceans.
• Global ecology is used
to understand large
scale interactions and
how they influence the
behavior of the entire
planet, including the
Positive and Negative Human
Impacts on Global Ecology
Negative Human Impacts
1. Overpopulation
 We are now reaching the

• Dependency on coal and fossil fuels for
maximum carrying capacity that
energy, the larger the popula on, the more
our planet can sustain.
fossil fuels will be used. The use of fossil
• Results in more clear-cu ng, fuels (such as oil and coal) results in copious
resul ng in severely damaged amounts of carbon dioxide into the air-
ecosystems. Without enough threatening the ex nc on of thousands of
trees to filter the air, CO₂ levels species
increase
2. Pollution
• Pollu on can occur from the
runoff or disposal of
chemical substances, or from
energy sources.
• 2.4 billion people do not have

access to clean water sources.
• Air is arguably the most

polluted with the US
producing 147 million metric
tons of air pollu on each year
alone.
• Pollu on is the number one

threat to all aqua c life and is
lead cause of reduced biodiversity.
• Every year over 8 millions tons of • Marine life are tricked into thinking
garbage dumped into the ocean. Not only they are ea ng food when really it
is garbage introduced into the oceans, but is only a floa ng plas c bag or
also the excessive amounts of fer lizer other poisonous plas c that will
that finds its way into the ocean through cause starva on or suffoca on.
rains, floods, winds, or dumped in excess
right into the largest producer of
oxygen we have.
• "red des" or "brown des"

deplete water bodies of oxygen
and cause poison to
accumulate in all life that
consumes it, including fish and
birds.
3. Global Warming
• Global warming is arguably the greatest cause of impact to
the environment.
• The largest of causes emana ng through CO₂ levels from

respira on to more detrimental causes like burning fossil
fuels and deforesta on.
• Humans are consistently increasing CO₂ levels globally-

every year .
• The highest level of CO₂ in recorded history before 1950
was about 300 parts per million. However, current
measurements of CO₂ levels have exceeded above 400
PPM, abolishing every record da ng back 400,000 years.
As the Temperature increases, arc c land ice and glaciers melt which
causes the ocean levels to rise at a rate of 3.42mm per year, allowing more
water to absorb more heat, which melts more ice, crea ng a posi ve
feedback loop which will cause the oceans to rise 1-4 feet by 2100.
• Both natural • These es mates are of "radia ve
processes and forcing" by greenhouse gases, that
human ac vi es is, the change they produce in the
result in emissions earth's radia ve balance that in
of greenhouse turn changes global temperature
gases. and climate.
4. Climate Change
The increase will impact
As global weather pa erns,
temperatures promising more intense
increase, Earth's hurricanes in both size
weather pa erns will and frequency, as well
dras cally change. as intensifying and
prolonging droughts and
heat waves.
Ruining delicate
ecosystems, even
leading to increased
asthma and cancer
rates in humans.
5. Genetic Modification
• GMO's are selected bred crops or
crops that have had DNA directly
implanted into it in order to give an
advantage to the crop, whether that
be to sustain colder temperatures,
require less water, or yield more
product.
• But GMO's are not always inten onal.
For years humans have
used glyphosate, a herbicide designed
to eliminate weeds - the biggest
threat to any plant.
• "Super weeds" threaten farming lands

by chocking outcrops. One of the only
solu ons is to ll the land.
6. Ocean Acidification
• is caused when CO₂ dissolves
into the ocean bonding with
sea water crea ng carbonic
acid. The acid reduces the pH
levels in the water, essen ally
changing the Ocean acidity by
30% in the last 200 years
according to analysis - a level
that the ocean has not been
at in over 20 million years.
• The acidity depletes the calcium concentra ons, making it difficult for
crustaceans to build their shell, leaving them vulnerable without their
armor.
• Between the global temperature rise of one degree and the ocean
acidifica on, scien sts say a quarter of all coral reefs are considered
damaged beyond repair, with two-thirds under serious threat.
7. Deforestation
• According to
interna onal data, an
es mated 18
million acres of trees are
clear-cut each year to
make way for new
development and wood
products.
• With millions of different species that live in forests,

deforesta on is a major threat to their survival and a big
conserva on issue.
• It also increases the greenhouse gases within the atmosphere
which leads to further global warming.
8. Acid Rain
• When humans burn coal, sulphur
dioxide and nitrogen oxides are
released into the atmosphere where
they rise up and accumulate in the
clouds un l the clouds become
saturated and rain acid, causing
havoc on the ground beneath.
• The ground surrounding the water
soaks up the acid, deple ng the soil
of essen al nutrients.
• Trees that absorb the acid accumulate toxins that damage

leaves and slowly kills large areas of forest.
• Acid rain has also been known to completely eliminate en re
species of fish.
9.Ozone Depletion
• Ozone is made up of
three bonded oxygen's
that float up to the
stratosphere where they
absorb a substan al
amount of UV radia on,
protec ng all life down
below.
• "ozone-deple ng
substances" (or ODS)
• The human impact is devasta ng for primarily made up of
plants that are extremely sensi ve to chlorine and bromine
UV light including wheat and barley
• The chemicals that have already been released can take upwards of 80
years to reach the upper atmosphere.
10. Introduced species
Humans may inten onally, or uninten onally introduce a non-na ve
(invasive) species into an ecosystem. This can nega vely effect an ecosystem
because the introduced species may outcompete na ve organisms and
displace them.
Small Indian mongoose

(Herpestes
auropunctatus)
Na ve To: Southeast Asia
Introduced To: Asia, Central
America, South America
11. Resource exploitation/ over
harvesting
Positive Human Impacts
1.Recycling
recycling offers a posi ve contribu on to the ecosystems of

the world by reusing or remaking old products into new ones
without having to take resources from nature.
2. Wildlife Preserves
Within these
zones, animals
and plant life
thrive under laws
that keep them
from harm.
3. Green and Open Spaces
• In the last few decades,
many state and local
communi es created laws
require developers
that
who build homes and
commercial buildings to
set aside green, open
spaces of land to protect
animals from
development.
• This includes bridges over

highways and freeways
that allow deer and other
creatures to migrate
across the developed
area without threat of - Singapore
death-by-vehicle.
4. Biological augmentation
5. Environmental Awareness
Once human beings
are sufficiently made
aware of the
importance of
preserving and
protec ng our
environment,
nega ve, harmful
ac vi es will be
reduced to a great
extent.
6. Afforestation and Reforestation
Afforesta on reduces the

level of air pollu on. This,
in turn, will improve the
quality of air that we
breathe in.
Reforesta on is an effec ve mi ga on
strategy to fight global warming. It helps
protect important species of animals.
Reforesta on helps to rebuild habitats and
degrada on which are the leading threats to
the health of a species.
7. Pollution control
Reducing or elimina ng the release
of pollutants into the environment.
8. Environmental Protection Laws
These laws are

in place to keep
companies from
destroying
ecosystems
Save Planet
Earth

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The Role of Humans in

 We are now reaching the

• 2.4 billion people do not have

• Air is arguably the most

• Pollu on is the number one

• "red des" or "brown des"

• The largest of causes emana ng through CO₂ levels from

• Humans are consistently increasing CO₂ levels globally-

• "Super weeds" threaten farming lands

• With millions of diﬀerent species that live in forests,

• Trees that absorb the acid accumulate toxins that damage

Small Indian mongoose

recycling oﬀers a posi ve contribu on to the ecosystems of

• This includes bridges over

Aﬀoresta on reduces the

These laws are

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