Ecology Essays

#1 CFC’s

• Why were they banned? chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)

• Widely used in refrigerants, aerosol propellants, and solvents.

Ozone protects the earth from harmful UV rays; if broken to just

oxygen, then we are not protected.

• The manufacture of such compounds is being phased out by(2005) the Montreal Protocol (1987)because they contribute to ozone depletion.

Ozone = O3

#2 Biological Magnification

• A substance appears in higher concentrations in organisms higher in a given food chain than in organisms lower in a food chain.

• Food Chain Concentration of DDT in a Long Island Marsh sprayed for Mosquito Control (1967)

   ppm

Water  .00005

Plankton  .04

Silverside Minnow  .23

Sheephed Minnow  .94

Pickerel 1.23

Needlefish 2.07

Heron 3.57

Tern 3.91

Osprey 13.8

Merganser 22.6

Cormorant 26.4

DDT BIOMAGNIFICATION EXAMPLE

• DDT biomag in Eagles

• DDT builds up in the fatty tissues of organisms.

Acid Rain

• form of precipitation that is unusually acidic (pH of 5.5 or lower)

• SO2 and NO2

combine with H2O to form acids

• Almost all of the electricity that powers modern life comes from burning fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, and oil. acid deposition is caused by two pollutants that are released into the atmosphere, or emitted, when these fuels are burned: sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx).

Fossil Fuel Factories Common Around the Great Lakes

• Note the acidic pH’s around the Great Lakes

Acid Rain Effect on Plants

• Damages leaves

• Stunts roots

• Inhibits seed germination

Acid Rain Effect on Aquatic Life

• pH reaches 5.5, plankton, certain insects and crustaceans begin to die.

• At a pH of around 5.0, the fish population begin to die.

• When the pH drops below 5.0, all the fish have died,

Acid Rain Effect on Animals

• Lose habitats

• Eventually animals up the food chain will die

Effect on Human Beings

• entire fish stocks in certain lakes have been wiped out

• asthmatic people and children are directly affected.

FUEL: COAL OR WOOD

COAL WOOD

• Price is acceptable• Burns higher amount

of heat• Polluted smoke• Not a renewable

source• Pollutes water as acid

rain

• Not real expensive• Can replant as a

renewable source• Puts carbon dioxide in

the air• Does not pollute the

water• Can get local wood

COAL WOOD