Module III

1. Biological Extinction and Some
Environmental Issues
LESSON 1 ITS CAUSES AND THREATS TO
ECOSYSTEM

2. Everything is Connected to Everything Else
• Every living organisms has a role to play in maintaining the
balance in such a way that if one element is removed it could
cause IMBALANCE
• Ecological imbalance needs to be MAINTAINED

3. Biological
Extinction
• Excessive and uncontrolled
human activities or natural
factor may pose vulnerability
of the ecosystem to collapsed.

4. Desertification
- degradation of land due to
climatic variations or
human activities
Example: forest lands to
desert land

5. Extinction
- “Irreversible Process”
- Biological process ceases to
exist
- Ccomplete disappearance on
the earth

6. International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN)
• is the first global environmental organization that collates and
monitors the population of species around the world including a Red
List of threatened species

7. IUCN Terms Description
Biological extinction The complete disappearance of a species from the Earth.
Local extinction
When there is no doubt that the last individual of a particular species has
died from a defined region or area
Critically Endangered
there is an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate
future
Endangered there is very high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future
Threatened
Any species which is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable
future throughout all or a significant portion of its range
Vulnerable
Faces a high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future; classified
as threatened in the near future if causal factors persist
Endemic
Population of a species that is native to the region, and which area of
distribution is restricted to a small place
Exotic An introduced species not native or endemic to the area in question

9. Causes of Biological Extinction
1. Climate Change – human activities catalyzes the climate
change
2. Deforestation – deforestation often lead to habitat loss and
direct cause of extinction.
3. Overexploitation – kills numerous species
Forms: overhunting, overfishing and overharvesting
4. Invasive species – aggressive species
5. Pollution – pollutants disrupts habitats

10. Lesson 2
Consequences of Biological Extinction

11. Inevitable extinction of biodiversity adversely
affects the environment and humans, the effect
may be loss of food, collapsed of food web,
reduction of ecosystem efficiency, loss of
medicinal supplies and increased vulnerability of
species to disease and predator.

12. Categories Impacts
Basic human sustenance ● Reliance of people on biodiversity to support their day-to-day activities
as well as for their survival
Human health ● Source of raw materials for the formulation of pharmaceutical
products
● Dependence on ecosystem goods and outputs such as food, shelter,
potable water, fuel, etc.
● Reliance on natural products of ecosystem for cultural purposes
Infectious diseases ● Ecosystem disturbance disrupts food chain, thus altering the
interactions between organisms along with their physical and chemical
environments
● Sensitivity of patterns of infectious diseases to ecological disturbance

13. Agriculture ● Affects micronutrient availability in the diet
● Land conversion, in the form of mass clearance, of a forest
into an agricultural space leads to biodiversity and habitat
loss
Spiritual and cultural ● Indigenous peoples have sacred lands like forests which
has limited human access because of belief
● Due to human intervention, biodiversity-rich sacred areas
are degraded or exploited resulting to the displacement of
some indigenous groups
Business ● industrial materials derive directly from biological sources
such as timber, food, paper, etc.
● collection leads to extinction of varieties of species, or
sometimes an entire ecosystem

14. Lesson 3
Natural Resources and
Environmental Issues Concerned

15. A. Land Resources – essential natural land resources for the
survival, prosperity and maintenance of all terrestrial
ecosystem.
Uses of Land :
1. Production of food and other biotic materials
2. Provision of habitats
3. Provision of physical area for settlements
4. Enables movement of plants, animals and humans

16. Land Pollution
1. Pesticides and Fertilizers
2. Trash
3. Inefficient garbage collection systems
4. Landfills

17. Land degradation and Solid Waste
Management
3 kinds of wastes
1. Solid waste – domestic, commercial, and industrial
waste.
2. Liquid waste – wastewater
3. Gaseous waste – carbon, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen
oxides

18. Classification of Wastes according to their
Properties
1. Biodegradable can be degraded through a certain
period of time such as paper, wood, and other natural
products
2. Non – Biodegradable cannot be degraded that
contributes to pollution such as plastics, bottles, old
machines, cans, and Styrofoam containers.

19. Classification of Wastes according to their
Effects on Human Health and the Environment
1. Municipal Solid Wastes – household garbage
2. Biomedical wastes – solid or liquid wastes
3. Industrial wastes – generated by manufacturing and processing units
of industries.( like chemical, petroleum, coal, metal gas, sanitary & paper etc.)
4. Agricultural wastes –from farming activities mostly biodegradable
5. Fishery wastes
6. Radioactive wastes – product of nuclear processes
7. E – wastes electronic components

20. B. Water Resources – entire range of natural water
which has potential use to humans.
Marine Waters (oceans and seas)
Freshwaters (groundwaters and glaciers)
Surface waters (rivers and lakes)

21. Water Pollution
1. Availability of Adequate Water Supply – already in use to its
maximum capacity
2. Overutilization Resulting to Progressive Deterioration of Water
Quality – the overuse of water leads to its unfitness for human
consumption as well as disruption of aquatic ecosystem.
Examples:
A. Leaching of pesticides and herbicides to the subsurface of waters
B. Improper disposal of industrial wastes
C. Release of heated waters

22. 3. Runoff - These are
chemicals and oils dumped or
seep into waterways which
could intoxicate the aquatic
ecosystem.
- create fertile environment
for cyanobacteria which
eventually can lead to
harmful algal bloom
Ex. Algal bloom in Boracay beach

23. 4. Mining and Drilling
- Release of
Sulfuric acid from
mine drainage
- Can be toxic
to plants, animals,
aquatic organisms as
well as humans.
Ex. Padcal, Benguet

24. 5. Oil Spill – thriving
organisms and other
mammals on the
contaminated waters are
greatly affected.
Ex. Guimaras Oil Spill (2006)

25. C. Air Resource – air is a mixture gases in the atmosphere which contains
oxygen, nitrogen and other particulates.
Six Major Air Pollutants:
1. Carbon monoxide (CO)
2. Lead
3. Nitrogen oxides (NO)
4. Ground-level ozone (O3)
5. Particle Pollution
6. Sulfur oxide (SO2)
•

26. Sources of Air Pollution
1. Human – Based -human activity is a major cause of
air pollution
includes: burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and
natural gas)
that could lead to accumulation of gas in the
atmosphere
2.Natural – Based – sources of air pollution are organic
compounds from plants, sea salt, and suspended oils.

27. Ozone (O3)
-highly reactive, invisible gas compose of three atoms
Found in two different of parts of atmosphere
a.) Ground level ozone –located in the troposphere
b.) High level ozone –located in the stratosphere

28. Ultraviolet Rays
-has shorter wavelengths
- main source is the sun
-subdivided into : UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C
a.) UV-A – longer waves and reaches the Earth’s surface
b.) UV-B – harmful rays, can cause skin reddening, sun burn and skin
cancer
c.) UV-C – shortest wave rays; most harmful

30. Natural
Ozone
Production
and
Destruction

32. Lesson 4
Energy Resources and Its Crisis

33. Energy and its importance
-humans typically depend
on the benefits of the key
energy resources because
of its convenience.
- The usable amount of
high quality energy from
an energy resource is
called the net energy
yield.
Searching and pumping
out of oil beneath the
ground or ocean floor
transferred
to refinery
converted to
gasoline and other
fuels and
chemicals
delivered to
consumers

34. Renewable Energy Resources
Solar Energy – an energy that heats the earth and makes it habitable
- direct input of solar energy produces forms of renewable
energy resources.
Wind Energy – comes from the moving air mass heated by the sun and
used through wind turbines.
Biomass – the product of converting solar energy into chemical energy.

35. Non – Renewable
Energy Resources
- Comes from the
carbon-containing
fossil-fuel such as
oil, natural gas and
coal.
Oil
searching
Oil companies will drill
holes and remove rock
cores from potential oil
deposit areas
Area survey on the enough
availability of oil to be
extracted profitably
If verified, one
or more wells
will be drilled
Oil will be drawn
by gravity out of
the rock pores
Oil will be flowed to the
bottom of the well and
pumped from there to the
surface

36. 1. Oil as Fossil Fuel –crude oil, or petrorleum
a.) Oil Refining – one of the process of cycling oil production
(produces large quantities of petroleum coke or petcoke )
Petrochemicals – products of refining (2%)
-used as a raw materials to make industrial
organic chemicals, cleaning fluids, pesticides, plastics,
synthetic fibers, cosmetics and other products.

37. 2. Oil –Supply -2 known supplies:
shale oil and tar sands
Shale oil – integrated with bodies
of shale rocks
- involves mining,
crushing, and heating oil shale rock
to extract a mixture of
hydrocarbons called kerogen that
can be distilled to produce shale oil

38. Tar sands or Oil Sands
-heavy oil
-mixture of clay, sand water, and
combustible organic material
called
bitumen (thick, sticky,tar like
heavy oil with a high sulfur
content )

39. 2. Natural Gas Is a Versatile and Widely Used
Fuel
Natural Gas – is a mixture of gases of which 50-90% is
methane
- also contains small amount of propane, butane and
- Highly toxic hydrogen sulfide
- Versatile fuel –widely used for cooking, heating, and
industrial purposes
- Can also used as a fuel for cars and trucks

40. Butane gases - can be liquified under high pressure and
removed as Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG)
-mostly used in rural areas
*natural gas can be transported across oceans, by
converting it to Liquified Natural Gas (LNG); highly
flammable.

42. Lesson 5
Environmental Hazard and Human health

44. Hazard – source of harm or adverse health
effect
Risk – resulting effects

45. Types of Environmental Hazard
1.) Physical Hazards – occur naturally and pose
health hazards like UV radiation from sunlight.
-substances that threaten our physical safety
-include ergonomic hazards
2.) Mechanical Hazards – repetitive movements

46. 3.) Chemical Hazards – synthetic and natural chemicals
-chemicals can be in the form of solid, liquid, and gases
-exposure to chemicals could acute health effects
4.) Psychological or Cultural Hazards –behavioral and social
hazards
-there are good culture and bad culture

47. 5.) Biological
Hazards
– refer to ecological interaction among organism like
infectious diseases.
-they are organism, or by-products from an organism
potentially harmful to human beings