Module 2 Intro

Module 2—Biosphere Equilibrium and the Impact of Humans

 

Lesson Summary

 

This lesson explored the following essential question:

• How do human activities influence the biosphere?

If the idea of an ecological footprint was new to you, after this lesson you will probably agree that you do leave a mark on the environment.  Humans, intentionally or unintentionally, leave these marks—or footprints—everywhere. The trick is to somehow reduce the ecological foot size of one person. By doing so, imbalances in the biosphere, which can cause global warming, may be returned to a sustainable balance. And people, such as the Inuit, may not have to worry about losing their way of life.

 

You have already begun to leave your mark in this world. The question is, what kind of mark do you hope to leave, and how will the mark affect others? By recognizing that the biosphere is a living organism, you are becoming more aware that human actions in one area are not contained but instead ripple out to touch many other areas.

 

Lesson Glossary

 

ecological footprint: an analysis of human consumption of natural resources compared to the ability of Earth to recreate them

 

An ecological footprint gives an estimate of the area in hectares that is required for a human to live based on his or her lifestyle. Most North American lifestyles are not currently sustainable, according to the analyses.

 

sustainable: capable of being continued with minimal long-term effects on the environment