Impact Tracker: Our Earth, Our Choices

Name: ____________________________

Directions: Think about the natural resources we use every day. For each resource, write down how humans use it, and then think about one positive way and one negative way humans impact that resource.

1. Natural Resource: Water

How we use it:

One Positive Human Impact: (How can we help water?)

One Negative Human Impact: (How can we harm water?)

2. Natural Resource: Trees (Forests)

How we use it:

One Positive Human Impact: (How can we help trees?)

One Negative Human Impact: (How can we harm trees?)

3. Natural Resource: Air

How we use it:

One Positive Human Impact: (How can we help air?)

One Negative Human Impact: (How can we harm air?)

4. Natural Resource: Soil

How we use it:

One Positive Human Impact: (How can we help soil?)

One Negative Human Impact: (How can we harm soil?)

My Challenge!

Think of one more natural resource YOU use every day that wasn't listed above:

Natural Resource: ____________________________

How we use it:

One Positive Human Impact:

One Negative Human Impact:

Impact Tracker: Answer Key

Directions: This answer key provides suggested responses for the worksheet. Student answers may vary and should be accepted if they demonstrate understanding.

1. Natural Resource: Water

How we use it: Drinking, washing, bathing, cooking, growing food, recreation, generating electricity.

One Positive Human Impact: Turning off the faucet when brushing teeth, fixing leaky pipes, collecting rainwater for gardens, cleaning up rivers/lakes, using less water for lawns.

One Negative Human Impact: Leaving faucets running, polluting water with chemicals/trash, over-irrigating crops, wasting water in daily activities.

2. Natural Resource: Trees (Forests)

How we use it: Building homes/furniture, making paper/books, providing oxygen, absorbing carbon dioxide, habitat for animals, recreation (parks).

One Positive Human Impact: Planting new trees, recycling paper products, using reusable bags instead of paper, supporting sustainable forestry, protecting national parks.

One Negative Human Impact: Cutting down too many trees (deforestation), illegal logging, forest fires caused by humans, wasting paper, littering in forests.

3. Natural Resource: Air

How we use it: Breathing (essential for life), flying airplanes, wind energy, drying clothes.

One Positive Human Impact: Walking or biking instead of driving, using public transportation, planting trees (which produce oxygen), reducing factory emissions, carpooling.

One Negative Human Impact: Driving cars (exhaust fumes), factory pollution, burning fossil fuels, littering (which can release harmful gases).

4. Natural Resource: Soil

How we use it: Growing food, building foundations for homes, habitat for insects and worms, filtering water.

One Positive Human Impact: Composting food scraps, planting cover crops to prevent erosion, gardening organically, rotating crops, avoiding chemical pesticides.

One Negative Human Impact: Littering on the ground, using harmful chemicals that deplete soil, excessive farming that leads to erosion, paving over fertile land.

My Challenge!

Natural Resource: (Examples: Sun, Wind, Animals, Metals, Coal, Oil)

Example: Sunlight

How we use it: For light, warmth, growing plants, solar power to generate electricity.

One Positive Human Impact: Using solar panels for electricity, designing buildings to maximize natural light, planting gardens, using clotheslines instead of dryers.

One Negative Human Impact: Not utilizing solar energy when available (relying on fossil fuels), excessive energy consumption needing more power from non-renewable sources.