Human impact on the

E2
1 environment

1.1 Human population growth and use of natural resources

1 The rapid growth in human population since the Industrial Revolution has mainly been due to
improvements in nutrition, sanitation, medicine and technology. There has been a large
decrease in the death rate, while the birth rate remains high.
2 The rapid growth of human population has increased the rate of exhaustion of natural
resources (自然資源) and has caused various forms of environmental degradation (環境退化).
3 Renewable resources (可再生資源) and non-renewable resources (不可再生資源):

Renewable resource Non-renewable resource

Definition Resource that can last indefinitely Resource that cannot be regenerated
through growth and reproduction. by nature once they are consumed.
They are renewable as long as they are Their supply is limited.
replenished faster than they are used.

Example Timber and fish Fossil fuels and metals

4 In order to satisfy the needs of a large human population, many natural resources are being
overexploited (過度開發).
5 The earth’s carrying capacity (負載力) is the maximum size of population which the available
resources on earth can continually support.
6 The ecological footprint (生態足印) is an estimate of the earth’s surface area required to
provide the raw materials humans consume in a year.
7 To reduce human impact on the environment, we need to:
- exercise population control by practising contraception and family planning
- change the ways of resource exploitation
- adopt an environmental friendly lifestyle
- exercise pollution control.

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1.2 Environmental impact of malpractices in fisheries
1 Examples of destructive fishing methods used in capture fishery (捕撈漁業) include cyanide
(氰化物) fishing, dynamite (魚炮) fishing, bottom trawling (底拖網) and drift net (流網)
fishing.
2 Destructive fishing methods lead to:
- destruction of marine habitats
- killing of non-target species
- depletion of fish stocks
- disturbance of ecological balance.
3 Aquaculture (水產養殖) is the practice of breeding, rearing and harvesting aquatic organisms in
water environments. The organisms are kept in large cages with meshes under the water and
fed regularly. Antibiotics (抗生素) may be added into the water to avoid the spread of diseases.
4 If aquaculture is not well-managed, it may lead to undesirable impact such as:
- destruction of natural habitats and reduced biodiversity
- changes in chemical composition of the water
- disturbance of the food chains in marine ecosystems
- spread of parasites and diseases.

1.3 Environmental impact of malpractices in agriculture

1 Agriculture (農業) is the cultivation of land for growing crops and rearing livestock.
2 Modern agricultural practice is characterized by:
- heavy usage of machines and technologies
- use of high levels of chemicals (e.g. chemical fertilizers 化學肥料 and pesticides 殺蟲劑).

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3 Environmental impact of malpractices in agriculture:

Malpractice in
Impact on the environment
agriculture

Clearing large - Destruction of natural habitats and reduced biodiversity

areas of - Disturbance of ecological balance
land for - Reduction in carbon dioxide absorption by the trees
agricultural use

Leaching - Toxic chemicals in pesticides kill non-target organisms

(淋溶) of - Through bioaccumulation (生物積聚) and biomagnifications (生物放大), the
pesticides into increasing concentrations of such chemicals in the body tissues cause harm
nearby waters particularly to top consumers

Leaching of - Nitrates, phosphates and ammonium compounds in chemical fertilizers are

chemical nutrients for algae. They can lead to eutrophication (富營養化) of the water
fertilizers into and algal blooms (藻類過量繁殖) may result
nearby waters - Algal blooms reduce the dissolved oxygen level (溶解氧水平) in the water,
causing aquatic organisms to suffocate (窒息)
- Thicker layer of algae on the water surface prevents sunlight from
penetrating deep into the water; aquatic plants growing below the water
surface cannot receive enough sunlight for photosynthesis and may die
- Some algae produce toxins that harm the aquatic organism

Discharge of - Decomposition of organic matter by bacteria causes an increase in

untreated biochemical oxygen demand (生化需氧量) and a decrease in dissolved oxygen
animal waste level in the water; aquatic organisms may die or move to other parts of the
into nearby water
waters - Ammonia is toxic to aquatic organisms and may cause deposition (沉積) of
acidic pollutants in the water
- Antibiotics residues may kill microorganisms that are naturally present and
thus disturb ecological balance; bacteria may develop antibiotic resistance

4 Bioaccumulation refers to the accumulation of certain chemicals in the body tissues of

individual organisms as they grow over time. These chemicals have a high fat solubility.
They are very stable, persistent and cannot be metabolized easily or excreted by organisms.
5 Biomagnification refers to the increase in concentration of a chemical in the tissues of
tolerant organisms at successively higher trophic levels in a food chain.

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1.4 Environmental impact of industrialization and
urbanization
1 Industrialization (工業化) and urbanization (都市化) require large areas of land. Obtaining
land by land clearance (闢地) and reclamation (填海) brings environmental impact:

Environmental impact

Land clearance - Destruction of habitats and reduced biodiversity

- Habitat fragmentation (生境斷裂)

Reclamation - Destruction of habitats and reduced biodiversity

- Suspended particles stirred up by dredging (挖泥) may suffocate marine
organisms and block sunlight from penetrating into the water
- Toxic chemicals released from dredged material may poison marine organisms
or harm top consumers through bioaccumulation and biomagnification

2 Industrialization and urbanization lead to air pollution (空氣污染) and water pollution (水污染):

Source Effect on human health

Air - Exhaust fumes released from - Respirable suspended particulates (RSPs, 可吸

pollution burning of fossil fuels in 入懸浮粒子) and photochemical smog
power plants, vehicles and (光化毒霧) may cause respiratory illnesses and
factories worsen existing heart and respiratory diseases
- Lead particles may damage our nervous system,
red blood cells and kidneys
- Carbon monoxide may cause dizziness,
headaches and fainting

Water - Domestic sewage (污水) - Pathogenic microorganisms in water may cause

pollution containing pathogenic water-borne diseases and skin infections
microorganisms, organic - Decomposition of organic matter by bacteria
matter, drug residues and worsens the water quality
detergents - Drug residues disturb ecological balance
- Phosphates in detergents cause algal bloom

- Industrial sewage containing - Poisoning of aquatic organisms

toxic chemicals - Harming top consumers due to biomagnification
of certain heavy metal ions

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3 Formation of photochemical smog:
- In sunlight, volatile organic compounds (VOCs, 揮發性有機化合物) react with nitrogen
oxides in the air to form ozone (臭氧). The accumulation of ozone and fine particulates in air
leads to the formation of photochemical smog.

1.5 Global environmental issues

1 The causes and consequences of global warming (全球暖化), acid rain and algal blooms:

Cause Consequence

Global Increased level of greenhouse Rise in global temperatures brings about

warming gases (溫室氣體), e.g. carbon climate change (氣候變化), leading to:
dioxide, nitrogen oxides and - speeding up of melting of sea ice (海冰)
methane (甲烷), due to burning of and polar ice sheet (冰原), and thermal
fossil fuels, removal and burning expansion of sea water
of forests, and rearing of livestock - unusual weather patterns
- extinction of species and disturbance of
ecological balance
- spread of infectious diseases
- faster growth of plants and algae

Acid rain Acidic gases, e.g. sulphur dioxide - The low pH kills or hinders the growth of
and nitrogen oxides dissolve in plants and aquatic organisms
rainwater, causing the pH value of - Nutrients are dissolved and leached from
the rainwater to drop below 5.6 the soil, leading to reduced soil fertility
- Release of aluminium ions from the soil; the
ions are toxic to plants and aquatic organisms

Algal bloom Leaching of chemical fertilizers - Dissolved oxygen level in water decreases
and discharge of sewage greatly
containing phosphates, nitrates - Harmful algal blooms (HABs, 有害藻花)
and ammonium compounds produce toxins that pose more serious threat
to aquatic animals, seabirds and humans due
to bioaccumulation and biomagnification

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