WES - What are the Top Environmental Concerns? Lesson
What are the Top Environmental Concerns?
Top Environmental Concerns
Over the years the environment has been undergoing drastic change – and not for the better. While sometimes the exact cause of an environmental problem can be hard to find, there is no denying that they are affecting the interactions of living and non-living factors in the biosphere.
According to a poll conducted by Harris Interactive, the Top Environmental Concerns for teens 14-18 include the following:
No matter what your major environmental concern is, it probably can be placed in one of these three categories:
- Resource Depletion
- Pollution
- Extinction
Learn more about each one by clicking on the categories below:
The problems of pollution and resource depletion can be reversed if actions are taken now, but extinction cannot be reversed. Environmental scientists are working to find ways to manage resources, replenish them, or find alternatives that are safe for people and the environment alike. Scientists are also discovering ways to clean up and prevent pollution. Solving both of these can help slow the extinction of current species but will never bring back ones that are already gone.
Learn more about the different forms of pollution and their ecological effects from the video below:
Top Environmental Concerns Challenge
Classify each of the following environmental problems as resource depletion, pollution, or extinction and place in the Venn diagram. Some of the problems below may be a combination of two or three categories and should be placed in the Multiple Category.
Before You Go, You Need to Know
The following key points are from this explore section of the lesson. You must know the following information before moving to the next lesson. This is just a summary of the key points.
1. Understand that all significant environmental concerns can be included in one of three categories
a. Resource Depletion
b. Pollution
c. Extinction
2. Understand that resource depletion of both renewable and non-renewable are an environmental concern.
3. Understand the different forms of pollution and their effects on the environment.
4. Explain what extinction is and what the primary reasons for extinction are today.
5. Understand that some significant ecological problems can be placed in one, two, or three of the categories of Resource Depletion, Pollution, and Extinction.
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