Chapter 5 - Environmental Issues and Concerns

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ENVIRONMENTAL

ISSUES AND CONCERNS


Chapter 5
“Climate change is the
Everest of all problems, the
thorniest challenge facing
humankind. On an increasingly
crowded planet, humanity faces
many threats - but none is greater
than climate change. It magnifies
every hazard and tension of our
existence.”

- Bill Nye
Objectives
1. Introduce acid rain and identify the problem it
causes.
2. Identify the human activities that caused acid
rain.
3. Discuss how ground-level ozone affects one’s
health.
4. Discuss what causes global warming. Use the
figure to illustrate the greenhouse effect.
5. Discuss the Chernobyl disaster to the students.
6. Identify the environmental effects of the
disaster.
CLIMATE CHANGE
CLIMATE CHANGE/ GLOBAL WARMING

• According to the National Academy of Sciences


which consists of scholars engaged in scientific
and engineering research in the USA, the term
‘climate change’ is more
preferred to be used than ‘global warming’ to
address the concern that there are other
changes in the environment aside from rising
temperature.
CLIMATE CHANGE/ GLOBAL WARMING

• Climate change - any considerable change in


measures in temperature, precipitation, or wind
lasting for an extended period (decades or
longer)
• Global warming – is the increase in the
temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and
oceans due to human influences.
HERE IS
CLIMATE THE
MAY SLIDE
RESULT
FROM: TITLE!

• Natural factors such as


changes in the sun’s
intensity or slow changes in
the Earth’s orbit around the
sun.
HERE IS
CLIMATE THE
MAY SLIDE
RESULT
FROM: TITLE!

• Natural processes within


the climate system

• Human activities alter the


atmosphere’s composition
and the land surface
HERE
THE ISABUNDANT
MOST THE SLIDE
TITLE!
GREENHOUSE GASES ARE:

• Water vapor
• Carbon dioxide
• Methane
• Nitrous oxide
• Ozone
• CFC’s (chloroflourocarbons)
SOME OF THE SUNLIGHT
THAT ENTERS THE EARTH IS:

• Absorbed and converted to


infrared radiation (heat)
• Sends heat back to the
atmosphere
• Reabsorbed by greenhouse
gases
SOME OF THE SUNLIGHT
THAT ENTERS THE EARTH IS:

• Re-emitted toward the


surface; some of the heat is
not heat is not trapped by
greenhouse gases
• Escapes into spaces
SOME OF THE SUNLIGHT
THAT ENTERS THE EARTH IS:

• The amount of heat


absorbed by the surface
increases due to human
activities that emit
additional greenhouse
gases to the atmosphere
before escaping to space
Effects of Climate Change
• Rising sea levels and degrading permafrost
• More precipitation in temperate and tropical regions that would
result to more floods
• Less precipitation in Central Asia, Mediterranean, Africa,
Australia, and New Zealand that would result to higher
probability of droughts.
• More powerful climatic events such as storms, heat waves, and
hurricanes.
• More sea-ice disappearance in the Arctic region and Antarctica
How does climate change affect the
species component biodiversity?

• Changes in the distribution of species


• Increase in extinction rates
• Changes in reproduction timings
• Changes in length of growing seasons for plants
Effects of climate change in polar ecosystem:

• Threatens the habitat of walruses (large sea mammals of Arctic


Ocean, and having flippers and two large tusks), polar bears,
seals (marine carnivorous mammals) and other marine mammals
that rely on ice for resting, feeding and breeding.
• Population of krill, and other small organisms essential in the
entire marine food web could be adversely affected.
• Affects the livelihood of the indigenous people in the Arctic region
particularly fishing and hunting.
Walruses
(large sea mammals of
Arctic Ocean, and
having flippers and two
large tusks)
Polar Bears
Seals
(marine carnivorous
mammals)
Effects of climate
change in
agricultural systems:

• May affect plant growth and


reproduction due to the spread
of pests and diseases.
• May reduce yields to heat
stress, drier soils, changes in
rainfall patterns, and wildfires.
Effects of climate
change in
forests ecosystems:

• More vulnerable to fire and


pests.
• Small changes in temperature
and precipitation can have
significant effect on forest
growth.
• May force species to migrate
or may die off as a result.
Effects of climate
change in
inland water
ecosystems:

• Changing rainfall and melt


patterns of ice results to
changing flow systems in
many lakes and rivers that
affects the spawning and
feeding of aquatic species.
Effects of climate
change in
inland water
ecosystems:

• Warmer climate forces


humans to increase their
demand of fresh water to meet
domestic and agricultural
needs that would result to
decreased flow in rivers and
streams.
Effects of climate
change in
island ecosystems:

• Increases in sea-surface
temperature and changes in
water chemistry can cause
coral bleaching and can
intensify the probability of
coral death.
Human
Instrumentality
Deforestation
• The logging, removing, or burning
of trees in forested areas
• Almost 50% - 90% of all
organisms inhabit tropical
rainforests. They prevent soil
erosion, flooding, and landslides.
• Most of the primates live in the
forest and humans benefit from
the rainforests, from food we eat
to life giving medicines.
Causes of Deforestation

• Logging, cattle grazing, human


settlement, fires and acid rain,
building of dam, mining and oil
exploration
Effects of Deforestation
• Damaged habitat
• Extinction of multiple species of
plants and animals
• Flooding
• Soil erosion
• The degraded piece of land will
unable to recover its original
biomass and fertility for many
years.
Overfishing
• occurs when fish activities deplete
fish stocks and a host of marine life
below an acceptable level
• overfishing is caused primarily by
poor fisheries management.
• fish contribute to the food supply,
health, and economy of a lot of
nations.
• many people rely on fish as an
important source of protein.
Causes of Overfishing

• Technological advances,
subsidies, fisheries agreement,
pirate fishers, catching
unwanted species, destructive
fishing practices, lack of
conservation program
Impacts of Overfishing

• May cause unemployment for


people who rely on a certain
marine species that may never
be recovered.
• The food chain of other marine
species may suffer due to lack
of food.
Industrial Dumping

• The disposal of toxic waste


materials such as dredged
materials, industrial waste or
chemicals, sewage- related
wastes or sludge, and
radioactive wastes in water
systems and landfills.
Industrial Dumping

• Human sewage – excrement


from toilet flushing, wastewater
from laundry, dishwashing, and
bathing, and animal and
vegetable matter from food
preparation disposed in sinks.
Industrial Dumping

• Industrial wastes dumped


indiscriminately at illegal sites
may create environmental
pollution such as foul odors and
water pollution.
Wastes in the Ocean

• Wastes Being Dumped In The


Ocean Can Cause Serious
Problems To The Reproduction
And Development Of Many
Marine Species.
• Human Health Can Also Be
Affected Since People Depend
On Fish And Other Marine
Mammals For Food.
Wastes in the Ocean

• Marine Life Can Be


Contaminated With High Levels
Of Mercury, Lead, Copper, And
Arsenic.
Effects of Human
Population Growth

• The poorest people due to


poverty often misuse the
environment
• Lack of better technology,
education, access to health care
and family planning
Effects of Human
Population Growth

• In 1778, Thomas Malthus, an English


political economists wrote “An essay
of the principle of population”
• The paper talks about the dangers of
population growth and the need to
control population.
• The continuous growth of human
population has a grave impact on
biodiversity.
Loss of Biodiversity

• Human tend to overharvest that


diminish the population of the
hunted or harvested species.
• Causes of the loss of
biodiversity, most of which is
due to human interference.
Loss of Biodiversity

• Species extinction is part of the


earth’s history dating back as to
the Palaeozaic era, over 100
years humans have amplified
the extinction rate by at least
100 times compared to the
natural rate.
Biodiversity Index

• Expert knowledge is drawn about how human


activities increase or decrease the total populations
of groups of ecologically similar species – such as
insect-eating birds or large herbivorous mammals.
• The index was applied to South Africa in year 2000
and shows 84% of the populations of all plant and
animal species have declined.
Biodiversity Index

• Mammals suffered the greatest loss of all the


taxonomic groups at 71%.
• Among the terrestrial biomes, grassland lost greatly
74% of its former populations.
ACID RAIN
ACID RAIN
• Acidic deposition or more commonly known as
acid rain occurs when emissions of sulfur
dioxide and oxides of nitrogen react in the
atmosphere with water, oxygen and oxidants to
form various compounds
• The formed compounds fall to the Earth in either
wet form (such as rain, snow, and fog) or dry
form ( such as gas and particles)
ACID RAIN
• Acid rain formation – when it rains, the particles
are washed from these surfaces and make the
runoff water more acidic due to the combination
of water coming from the acid rain.
• According to Danish chemist Johannes Nicolaus
Bronsted and English chemist Martin Lowry, acid
is generally ‘sour in taste’ which often produce
stinging feeling on mucous membranes.
ACID RAIN
• Strong acids are corrosive and cause severe
burns even after short contact

• The mixture forms a mild solution of sulfuric


acid and nitric acid.
HERE IS THE
PROBLEMS SLIDE
CAUSED
BY THE TITLE!
ACID RAIN

• Acidifies bodies of water


that can eradicate marine
species

• Ruins plant nutrients and


the plant’s ability to survive
HERE IS THE
PROBLEM SLIDE
CAUSED
BY THE TITLE!
ACID RAIN

• Accelerates the decay of


architecture and artworks
• Sandstone figure destroyed
by acid rain over a portal of
a castle in Germany.
HERE IS THE
PROBLEM SLIDE
CAUSED
BY THE TITLE!
ACID RAIN

• Acid rain produced by air


pollution generated in the
heavily industrialized Ruhr
region of Germany probably
accounts for the severe
damage. The castle was
built in 1702.
HERE IS THE
PROBLEM SLIDE
CAUSED
BY THE TITLE!
ACID RAIN

• Causes serious illness to


people
HERE IS
HUMAN THE SLIDE
ACTIVITIES
TITLE!
THAT CAUSE ACID
RAIN

• Burning of fossil fuels

• Combustion of fuels
WHAT CAN BE DONE

CONSERVE
01 REDUCE
EMMISONS 03 RESOURCES

FIND RESTORE
02 ALTERNATIV
E SOURCES 04 DAMAGE
DONE BY
OF ENERGY ACID RAIN
OZONE
OZONE
• Ozone is a gas that occurs naturally in the
Earth’s upper atmosphere that protects us from
the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays produced
from the reaction of ultraviolet rays with
oxygen
OZONE
• Ozone in the lower atmosphere, such as near
ground level, is formed from the pollutants
emitted by cars, power plants, boilers, chemical
plants, and other sources that react chemically
in the presence of sunlight.
HERE
HOW CANIS THE SLIDE
GROUND-LEVEL
TITLE!ONE’S
OZONE EFFECT
HEALTH

• It irritates the respiratory system.


• It can reduce lung function by
making it more difficult to
breathe as deeply as you
normally would.
• It can aggravate asthma and lung
diseases.
HERE
WHO AREIS THEFROM
RISK SLIDE
TITLE! OZONE?
GROUND-LEVEL

• Active people

• People with asthma or


other respiratory diseases
HOW CANIS
HERE PEOPLE DEFECT
THE SLIDE
THE ACTUAL LEVEL OF
TITLE!
OZONE AND AIR
POLLUTANTS?

• Air Quality Index (AQI) is a


scale used to report the actual
levels of ozone and other
common air pollutants.
• The higher the AQI level, the
greater is the health concern.
HOW CANIS
HERE PEOPLE DEFECT
THE SLIDE
THE ACTUAL LEVEL OF
TITLE!
OZONE AND AIR
POLLUTANTS?

• USA and Canada, the level


of air quality is being
monitored by the AIR Now
website.
HOW CANIS
HERE PEOPLE DEFECT
THE SLIDE
THE ACTUAL LEVEL OF
TITLE!
OZONE AND AIR
POLLUTANTS?

• In the Philippines, the


Environmental Management
Bureau of the Department of
Environment and Natural
Resources has built air
quality built monitoring
stations to monitor pollution
levels.
FOUR AIRQUALITY MONITORING
STATIONS THAT CAN BE FOUND IN THE
COUNTRY

01 BAGUIO
CITY
03 ILOILO
CITY

CAGAYAN
02 CEBU
CITY
04 DE ORO
CITY
HERE
EACH IS THE SLIDE
STATIONS GIVES
TITLE!
ACTUAL LEVEL OF THE
FOLLOWING:

• Carbon dioxide (CO2)


• Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
• Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
• Ozone (O3)
• Benzene (C6H6)
• Toluene (C7H6)
OIL SPILL
OIL SPILL

• An oil spill is a form of pollution that occurs


when liquid petroleum hydrocarbon is released
into the environment such as the ocean and
coastal waters due to human activities.
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS

• An indirect cause of
decreased fish production
• Disturbs the natural
ecosystems of mangroves
ENVIRONMENTAL
EFFECTS

• Makes birds and marines


mammals vulnerable to
temperature fluctuations
and less buoyant in the
water
HOW OIL CLEANSED UP
AFTER A SPILLS?

• A boom can be placed


somewhere in the ocean or
around a habitat oil into
many animals alive.
• Suction skimmers are
attached to a boat and
suck up the spilled oil into
storage tanks.
HOW OIL CLEANSED UP
AFTER A SPILLS?

• Airplane can be used to drop


chemicals on the oil spill.
• Vacuum trucks can be driven
on the beaches to vacuum up
the oil.
• Use of indigeneous absorbent
materials such as human hair,
bird/ chicken feathers, and
rice straw.
OIL SPILL IN THE WORLD:

• Philippines: Solar I, oil tanker


chartered by Petron Corp.
Sank on the coast of the
Guimaras Island, Iloilo on
August 11, 2006. About 200,000
liters of bunker oil has initially
spilled and an additional 1.8
million of oil still on board.
OIL SPILL IN THE WORLD:

• Australia: Hong Kong flagged-


ship Pacific Adventurer was
toppled by Cyclone Hamish
causing 31 containers of
ammonium nitrate fertilizer
to spill on the ocean floors of
Brisbane, Queensland on
March 12, 2009.
OIL SPILL IN THE WORLD:

• Alaska: The Exxon Valdez


spilled 10.8 million gallons of
oil into the marine
environment of the Bligh
Reef in Prince William Sound,
Alaska on March 24, 1989. It is
one of the largest oil spills in
the world.
CHERNOBYL DISASTER
CHERNOBYL DISASTER

• The Chernobyl Power Plant lies in northern


Ukraine near the border of Belarus.
• The Uranium (U-235) nuclei split in a nuclear
reactor on the night of April 25-26, 1986.
• The explosion released 100 times more
radiation than the atomic bombs dropped on
• Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
CHERNOBYL DISASTER

• Radiation also spread over large parts of


Scandinavia, Poland, Baltic States, as well as
Southern Germany, Switzerland, Northern
France and England.
EFFECTS OF CHERNOBYL
DISASTER

• The accident is one of the


most costly nuclear
disaster in history costing
about $200 billion
EFFECTS OF CHERNOBYL
DISASTER

• The fire from the disaster


was extinguished by
dropping over 5,000 tons
materials like sand, lead,
clay and boron onto the
burning reactor and
injection of liquid nitrogen
EFFECTS OF CHERNOBYL
DISASTER

• Most of the fire fighters


who helped control the fire
on the plant described
their experience of
radiation as “tasting like
metal”
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
OF THE DISASTER:

• Radioactive elements such


as caesium, strontium, and
plutonium contaminate the
soil and entered the food
chain through crops and
livestock.
• Severely contaminated
aquatic species.
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
OF THE DISASTER:

• Almost 2,640 km of
agricultural land can no
longer be formed. Forested
area were severely
contaminated especially
the coniferous plants,
berries, mushrooms,
lichens, and ferns.
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
OF THE DISASTER:

• Grazers such as cattle and


goats became susceptible
to radioactivity.
• People who feed on what
they have produced or
collected were at high risk.
HOW DOES RADIATION
AFFECT THE HUMAN BODY?

• Radiation produces free


radicals that may impair
cellular function and will thus
damage the DNA of a person.
• Such damage to the genetic
blueprint can thereby cancer
and other genetic
abnormalities.
THE FOLLOWING ORGANS
CAN ALSO BE AFFECTED BY
RADATION:
• cells of the embryo in the uterus
• lymph glands
• bone marrow
• intestinal tract
• thyroid glands
• female breast and egg cells
• (if above organs where affected
these may result to thyroid cancer
and leukemia, and may affect the
physical and mental development
of adolescents and children)
ACTIVITY 10:
EFFECTS OF GLOBAL
WARMING
1. What comes to your mind when you hear or are
being asked about ozone? Relate your answers
to the technical definition of ozone.

2. How ground-level ozone affects one’s health.


ACTIVITY 10:
EFFECTS OF GLOBAL
WARMING
3. How the terms “climate change” and “global
warming” differ or is there really a difference
between the two terms.

4. What causes global warming? Use the figure to


illustrate the greenhouse effect.
ACTIVITY 10:
EFFECTS OF GLOBAL
WARMING
5. What causes oil to spill on the oceans or coastal
areas?
6. What are the recent oil spill disaster s you
know of?

7. What are the effects of radiation in the body?


END

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