Human Impact and Sustainability

How will the construction shown above most likely effect the environment?

• Animals in different parts of the ecosystem will be separated

• Habitats on both sides of the road will be damaged by flooding

• Plants will stop growing in the cleared ground

• Populations of predators will increase in this region.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

If humans cleared a forest to build homes, we would expect _____________.

• fewer tree-dwelling animals

• increased insect populations

• more development of soil

• more frequent thunderstorms

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Give one main reason why humanity is using resources more than what our environment can provide.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

Which is not an action to combat

environmental problems?

• volunteer to plant trees

• organize and sign a petition

• throw waste into rivers

• take part in a demonstration

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-3

NGSS.MS-LS2-5

Which of the following INCREASES your IB ESS teacher's ecological footprint the most?

• Your teacher composts most of her biodegradable waste.

• Your teacher buys most of her produce from local farmers.

• Your teacher eats small amounts of meat about once or twice a week.

• Your teacher flies in an airplane across to the other side of the country each year.

• Your teacher's small old house doesn't have air conditioning.

Answer explanation

Flying is HORRIBLE for anyone's ecological footprint! Some companies have started programs that allow those who fly an opportunity to buy carbon offset credits to attempt to balance out their impact on climate change.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

Global Overshoot Day is ___.

• the day that forests overshoot their growth estimates

• the day that Earth's humans have used more resources than the planet can sustainably replenish within the year

• getting earlier and earlier each year (except for 2020 anomaly when so many people used fewer resources due to sheltering in place because of the COVID pandemic)

• the day when the Golden State Warriors' Steph Curry breaks his 3-point record during the basketball season

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

Sustainability is the use and management of resources that allows for ___.

• a full replacement of the resources exploited

• a full recovery of the ecosystems affected by resource extraction and use

• no changes in equilibrium

• no disturbances to the system

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-5

True or False: Measuring sustainability can be difficult because many groups don’t agree on a definition of sustainability.

• true

• false

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-5

Sustainability can be thought of as ___.

• hugging all the trees you can

• dedicating half of Earth to preservation

• living within Earth and nature's means

• embracing Thanos's version of environmentalism

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-5

When many individuals act in their own self-interest to harvest a resource but destroy the long-term future of that resource so there is none for anyone, this is considered ____. (choose the most specific answer)

• unsustainable

• a Tragedy of the Commons

• chronic pollution

• point source pollution

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS3-3