NSES Content Standard F Science in Personal and Social Perspectives: Environmental quality  Grades 9-12, page 198  Natural ecosystems provide an array of basic processes that affect humans. Those processes include maintenance of the quality of the atmosphere, generation of soils, control of the hydrologic cycle, disposal of wastes, and recycling of nutrients. Humans are changing many of these basic processes, and the changes may be detrimental to humans.

 
Benchmark 3C The Nature of Technology: Issues in Technology
Grades 9-12, page 57
Human inventiveness has brought new risks as well as improvements to human existence.

Benchmark 4B The Physical Setting: The Earth
Grades 6-8, page 69
The benefits of the earth's resources--such as fresh water, air, soil, and trees--can be reduced by using them wastefully or by deliberately or inadvertently destroying them. The atmosphere and the oceans have a limited capacity to absorb wastes and recycle materials naturally. Cleaning up polluted air, water, or soil or restoring depleted soil, forests, or fishing grounds can be very difficult and costly.

Benchmark 5E The Living Environment: Flow of Matter and Energy
Grades 9-12, page 121
The amount of life any environment can support is limited by the available energy, water, oxygen, and minerals, and by the ability of ecosystems to recycle the residue of dead organic materials. Human activities and technology can change the flow and reduce the fertility of the land.