HUMAN ECOLOGY

Human Ecology
is an academic discipline that deals with the association between humans and their
natural environment

Human ecology is about investigating how individuals and individual societies

interrelate with nature and with their environment.

It integrates knowledge from all academic disciplines and from personal experience
to investigate, and ultimately improve, the relationships between human beings and
our social and natural communities.

Human have both negative and positive impacts on the environment.

Main reason for the negative impacts is the human population is increasing. This
places increasing demands on natural resources such as food, water, energy and
space.

The pollution of environment (water pollution, air pollution, land pollution) has
the bad influence to human health. That is why nowadays a new branch of ecological
science begins to develop. It is HUMAN ECOLOGY.
The high level of industry, agriculture contributes human economic activities
showing terrible situation that human life in many countries is economically
dangerous.

As the human population increases in size, the space allotted to natural ecosystems
is reduced in size.
Natural ecosystems are then no longer able to process and rid the biosphere of
wastes, which accumulate and are called POLLUTANTS.

Human ecology views human communities and human population as part of the ecosystem
of earth. It is the special ecology of the species Homo sapiens.

Nowadays the main human ecology development line is directed to the decision of the
management problems by the environment, ways making of the rational nature usage,
peoples life conditions optimization in diverse anthropological systems.
Human ecology explores not only the influence of the environment on human behavior,
and their adaptive strategies as they come to understand those influences better.
It is a way of thinking about the world, and a context in which we should define
our questions and ways to answer those questions.

Human activities can alter the balance of ecosystem.

This destruction of habitat, is threatening the stability of the planets ecosystem.
The damage to the ecosystems may be permanent.

Sources of Waste

Environment
Environment is defined as all the external conditions, circumstances, and
influences surrounding and affecting the growth and development of an organism or a
community of organisms

The object of investigation is the system:

Environment
 human

The Structure Of Environment

Environment
Natural
(can have natural or changed (anthropogenic) condition)
Biosphere
Hydrosphere
Atmosphere

Lithosphere

Social
Different subsystems of structure of society

THE PLACE OF HUMAN ECOLOGY IN THE SYSTEM OF ECOLOGIAL SCIENCES

ECOLOGICAL SCIENCES
APPLIED
THEORETICAL

SOCIOECOLOGICAL

TECHNOECOLOGICAL

GEOECOLOGICAL
BIOECOLOGICAL
MICROORGANISM ECOLOGY
PLANT ECOLOGY
FUNGI ECOLOGY
ANIMAL ECOLOGY
HUMAN ECOLOGY

THE MAIN TASKS OF HUMAN ECOLOGY

The investigation of human health conditions.
The research of dynamics of human health condition in the process of historical and
socio-economical development.
The forecast of the health condition of the future generations
The investigation of the processes of human health protections
The analysis of global and regional problems of human ecology

The research of influence of environmental factors to human health

The composition of influence of environmental factors to human health;
The composition of medical-geographical maps and environment pollution maps and the
determination of correlation dependence between human diseases and environmental
pollution.
The determination of value of boundary technologenic load limit to human organism.

The Main Terms Of Human Ecology

Hygiene standard – is the definite range of values of the environment factor which
is optimal or is not dangerous for human health, activity and life;
Maximum permissible concentration – is maximum amount of toxic substances in unit
of volume or mass of water, air or soil which does not have any influence to human
health;
Maximum permissible level- is periodical or permanent influence of the environment
factor to human organism which can not cause any diseases or changes in human
health condition.
Maximum permissible dose- is the amount of toxic substance which penetrating in
human organism does not hurt it.

Natural Environmental Hazards

Physical
Biological
Chemical
Psychological
Social

Residues and Wastes from Human Activity

Human body waste: Urine, Feces
Excess materials and foods: Trash and Garbage
Yard Wastes: grass clippings and tree branches
Construction and manufacturing wastes
Agricultural wastes
Transportation wastes
Energy production wastes
Defense wastes

Factors Contributing to Environmental Hazard

Urbanization
Industrialization
Human population growth
The production and use of disposable products and containers

Types of Wastes and Pollution

Solid wastes
Hazardous wastes
Air pollution
Water pollution
Radiation
Noise pollution

Solid Waste
Household trash
Grass clippings
Tree trimmings
Excess stone generated from mining
Steel craps
Sources of Solid Waste
Mining, gas, oil production
Agriculture
Industry
Municipalities

Solid Waste Management

Collection
Disposal
a. Sanitary Landfills
b. Combustion
c. Recycling
d. Source of reduction

Hazardous Waste
The term “hazardous waste” means a solid waste, or combination of solid wastes,
which of its quality, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious
characteristics may:

The Influence Of Physical Factors To Human Organism

Solar Activity – there is the close connection between death, birth and solar
activity.
- if there are spots on the sun surface , people have bad mood, their
activity is reduced, especially diseases of cardiovascular and central nervous
systems.

Weather – it can have different influence to human organism. It influences to human

behavior and psychological condition.

Temperature – high temperature can change the immunological reactionary of human

organism, reduces the attention and causes anemia. Low temperature can change the
system of thermoregulation of human organism and immunological reactions to
different infections

The Influence Of Anthropogenic Factors To Human Organism

Ozone hole – it can pass ultraviolet rays that hurt human cells, cause mutations
(e.g. cancer)

Ozone depletion
Ozone is another form of oxygen. You breath oxygen (O2). But you don’t breath ozone
(O3)
Ozone decreases the amount of solar radiation that reaches the earth from the sun,
also known as UV.

What causes ozone depletion?

Use of CFC’s or chlorofluorocarbons lowers ozone by break up O3.
CFC’s are used in some aerosols can (not as much any more)
They are also released from some refrigerators and air conditioning systems
Consequences: skin cancer, cataracts.

Greenhouse effect – it is the increase of environmental temperature (global

warming) that has negative influence to human organism;
Carbon dioxide is also known as a greenhouse gas

Consequences of global warming

Rising sea levels and coastal flooding
Changed rain patterns resulting in droughts and crop failures
Increase in insect diseases in the regions

Acid rain – they can hurt human respiratory tracts and skin, attack fruits and
vegetables.
Is caused by sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide pollution from burning fossils
such as coal and oil.

Some problems associated with acid precipitation;

Streams and lakes becoming more acidic,, killing fish, frogs and other life.
Damage forests and plants and deteriorates buildings.

Photochemical fogs – it is the mixture of different gases that are wastes from the
plants of chemical industry and transport. It hurts human respiratory tracts and
causes poisoning.

Heavy metals – lead, mercury, manganese, zinc, chromium etc.- they poisons that
hurt all organs and central nervous system, cause pathological changes in them.

Water pollution – water is the most spread nonorganic substance in whole world. It
is the basis of all processes in alive organisms and it is the unique source of
oxygen in the process of photosynthesis. The biosphere would not exist without
liquid water.

Hydrosphere – is polluted with human help, industrial wastes can include heavy
metals and organic chlorides, such as pesticides. These materials are not destroyed
under natural conditions. So they accumulate in the bottom mud of deltas of highly
polluted rivers and cause environmental problems.

Water pollution
Mineral
Sand, mineral salts, acid and alkali solutions
Biological (bacterial)
Causative agents of cholera, dysentery, typhus etc.
Organic
plant and animal remains, animal and human feces

Every year 5 million people die in the result of poisoning by polluted water.
Nowadays new diseases appear that are connected with chemical water pollution.
Itay-itay – it is the disease caused by water with high concentration of cadmium.
Minomata – it is the disease caused by water with high concentration of mercury;
Molybdenum podagral - it is the disease caused by water with high concentration of
molybdenum;
Fluorosis – it is the disease caused by water with high concentration of fluor.

Land pollution – the geosphere and biosphere are intimately connected through
soils, which consist of a mixture of air, mineral matters, organic matters, and
water. Soils can accumulate almost all toxic substances.

The Main Sources Of Soil Pollution

Industry
Transport
Agriculture

Land pollution
Pesticides
Nitrates
Bacterial

In agriculture people use pesticides and nitrates. These substances are very
dangerous and toxic. They can cause mutations, cancers, pathological processes in
central nervous system, respiratory and alimentary tracts, skin.

Air pollution – human population poses a threat to the biosphere by habitat

destruction, especially by the destruction of tropical rainforests (deforestation).
This process is driving thousands of species to extinction each year and reducing
biological diversity.

The Results Of Air Pollution

Photochemical smog;
Acid deposition
Global warming
Destruction of the ozone layer

Actions being taken by humans to reduce or repair damage to the environment

include;
Recycling wastes
Conserving available resources
Using cleaner resources ( ex. Solar over fossils fuels)
Protection of habitats and endangered species
Use of biological controls instead of pesticides and herbicides

Farming native plants

Planting trees to replace those cut down
Rotating crops or planting cover crops to reduce soil loss
Passing laws to control pollution, land management, hunting and fishing.

Love your planet!#Don’t harm it!

Activity #
For each of the following ecological problems, identify the specific cause, their
negative effects on the environment, and a way that people are trying to fix the
problem;
Acid rain nuclear power
Deforestation use of chemical fertilizers
Loss of diversity burning of fossil fuels
Global warming

Questions:
Cause:_____________________
Negative effects:______________
How we are trying to fix:________