Big Ideas (learning targets)

• In the United States we throw a lot of resources away

• paper products are our biggest residential waste

• wood, paper, water, rock, air, oil, etc. are all examples of natural resources

• miners get resources by tunneling underground and scraping beneath vegetation and soil

• crude oil is usually found in pockets in the rock layers beneath Earth's surface

• crude oil is formed mostly by the remains of dead sea organisms put under intense pressure over time

• forests are important for recreation, the prevention of soil erosion, and homes for many plants and animals

• water rushes through hydroelectric dams to produce electricity

• tides are the rising and falling of the oceans and seas along coastlines

• cycles are necessary for ecosystems to function and life to exist

• oxygen and nitrogen never run out because they are constantly recycled

• tropical rain forests are the most diverse ecosystem on Earth and produce the most oxygen in the atmosphere

• During photosynthesis plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen

• Lightning converts nitrogen into forms that living things can use

• Human change ecosystems, sometimes in harmful ways

• Burning coal releases sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere

• Sulfur dioxide can mix with water vapor to form sulfuric acid

• Air pollution has been linked to heart disease, asthma, and other heath problems

• A wetland is an area covered by water all or much of the time

• Laws have been passed to protect our ecosystems

• People often change Earth's surface to meet their needs