Transcript ESA 485 presentation- human interactions with

Human Interactions with the
Environment
By: Shannon Moore
ESA 485
Spring 2009
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A Preview…
• Analyze the interrelationship between humans and the environment
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- Climate Change
1.) Human activities
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Ozone Depletion
1.) Effects of ozone depletion
2.) Protecting the ozone layer
Understand air pollution and methods of controlling it
- Types
- Sources
- Effects
- Preventing, Reducing and Controlling
- Clean Air Act
- Other EPA and Michigan Acts
Preview Continued…
• Principles of Conservation
-Definition
- Resource Management
- Stewardship
- Environmental Wisdom
- Living more sustainably
Analyze the interrelationship between humans and their
environment----Climate Change
• What is climate change?
- any long-term significant change in the weather
patterns of an area
• What causes climate change?
-Climate change can be natural or caused by
changes people have made to the land or
atmosphere.
• Types of human activities:
-burning fossil fuels
-clearing and burning forests and grasslands
-raising large numbers of livestock
-using inorganic fertilizers
*The United States emits more greenhouse gases as a
nation and on a per person basis than any other
country!...ouch!
Analyze the interrelationship between humans and their environment--- Greenhouse gas emissions
•
What is a green house gas?
-any of the gases that absorb heat and warm
the lower atmosphere
•
What are examples?
-Carbon Dioxide: 9-26%
-Water Vapor: 36-70%
-Methane: 4-9%
-Nitrous oxide:
-Ozone: 3-7%
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How does it affect climate
change?
- the release of these greenhouse gases at a
faster rate increases the overall
temperature of the earth
-the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation,
plant burning, landfills, fertilizers and
livestock wastes are all examples of
greenhouse gas emissions that affect
climate change.
Analyze the interrelationship between humans and their environment---Ozone depletion
• How is the ozone being depleted?
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Freons (CFC’s) lower the concentration of ozone in the stratosphere.
They remain in the troposphere because they are in soluble in water and chemically
un-reactive.
Once they reach the stratosphere the CFC molecules break down and accelerate the
breakdown of ozone (O3) into O2 and O.
This causes ozone in parts of the stratosphere to be destroyed faster than it is
formed.
CFC molecules can last in the atmosphere for over 300 years and each chlorine
molecule can continue to convert O3 to O2.
• Effects of ozone depletion
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Less ozone in the stratosphere will allow more harmful UV radiation to reach the earths
surface.
This causes a greater increase in skin cancer
Greater sunburn
Eye cataracts
Accelerated warming due to the decrease of ocean uptake of CO2 from the
atmosphere by phytoplankton and CFC’s acting as greenhouse gases.
• How can we protect the ozone?
-stop the production of ozone-depleting chemicals
-research shows that even after the stop of production of these chemicals it will still take
50 years for the ozone to return to levels of 1980 and over 100 years to return to
1950 levels.
Understand air pollution and methods of controlling it
• What is air pollution?
-The presence of chemicals in the atmosphere in concentrations high enough to affect
climate and harm organisms and materials.
• What are types of air pollution?
- Indoor
- Outdoor
• Sources?
- Natural: dust particles, volatile organic chemicals released from some plants, decay of
plants, forest fires, volcanic eruptions, sea spray (spray from oceans and seas).
These rarely reach harmful levels.
- Anthropogenic: burning oil, gasoline and natural gases. Burning coal. These can reach
harmful levels.
-Stationary Sources: factories and power plants
- Mobile Sources: motor vehicles
http://www.epa.gov/air/airtrends/2007/graphics/Air_pollution_pathways_textbox.gif
How to classify air pollutants
• Primary pollutants: emitted directly into the troposphere. Ex: carbon
monoxide
• Secondary pollutants: formed when primary pollutants are in troposphere
and they react with themselves or other components of air to form new
pollutants.
• Cities usually have higher outdoor air pollution due to the concentration of
factories and cars in comparison to rural areas.
• Winds can spread both types from urban and industrial areas to rural areas
or other urban areas.
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Indoor pollution
• Where do they come from?
-infiltration of polluted outside air
• Both indoor and outdoor pollution are high risk to human health
• How are we protected?
- Nose hairs filter out large particles
-Sticky mucus in the lining of the upper respiratory tracts, captures smaller
particles
- Sneezing and coughing can help to get rid of contaminated air and mucus
when pollutants irritate your respiratory system
- Cilia: tiny hairs that line the upper respiratory tract, continually wave to catch
smaller particles that can be trapped in your throat and are expelled.
Outdoor pollution
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Cigarette smoking
Fossil fuel burning in motor vehicles
Power and industrial plants
Photochemical reaction: any chemical reaction
activated by light.
Smog
• Photochemical smog: a mixture of air pollutants formed by the reaction of
nitrogen oxides and volatile (readily evaporated) organic hydrocarbons due to the
influence of sunlight.
• Industrial smog: a mixture of sulfur dioxide, droplets of sulfuric acid and
suspended particles emitted by burning coal and oil.
• Directly influenced by pollution and affects climate change
Air pollution cont’d
• Effects?
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-respiratory health issues
How can we prevent, reduce and control air pollution?
- ban smoking inside or permit only in well ventilated areas
- circulate building air
- use exhaust hoods for stoves and appliances burning natural gas
-improve energy efficiency to reduce fossil fuel use
- rely on renewable energy like solar and wind (reduces fossil fuel use)
Understand air pollution and methods of controlling it
The Clean Air Acts
• United States Congress passed acts in 1970, 1977 and 1990
• Established air pollution regulations for key pollutants
• Enforced by each state and major cities
Understand air pollution and methods of controlling it
Other EPA and Michigan Laws
• EPA established National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
for six outdoor pollutants: Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Dioxide,
Sulfur Dioxide, Ozone, Lead and Suspended particulate matter
(SPM)
• Regulates by setting a maximum level in outdoor air
Understand air pollution and methods of controlling it
Other EPA and Michigan Laws
• Hazardous air pollutants (HAP’s)- EPA set national emission
standards for over 180 hazardous air pollutants that cause health
and ecological effects
• Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)- requires refineries, power plants,
hard rock mines, chemical manufacturers and factories to reports
their releases of toxic chemicals
Principles of Conservation
• Official supervision of rivers, forests, and other natural resources in
order to preserve and protect them through management
• Careful utilization of a natural resource in order to prevent depletion
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Resource Management
• Organizations like the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are
created to help maintain and manage our natural resources on a
state level
• Mission statement of Michigan’s DNR
"The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is
committed to the conservation, protection,
management, use and enjoyment of the State's
natural resources for current and future
generations."
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/
Stewardship… This one goes to you Shari!
• Means that we have a responsibility for the well being of the world.
• As teachers we need to teach our children to care about our world
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as much as we do!
We have a responsibility to care for nature and teach our youth to
care too
Encourage alternative ways of living sustainably
Help the management and preservation of natural resources
Actively engage in conservation, preservation, prevention and
sustainability on a local, national and world wide level
Foster a desire to make the world a better place and act on this
desire
A new perspective
Environmental Wisdom
• Understanding of our world on a deeper level
• As humans we should not be selfish about the resources we have
available to us and realize they are not for humans use only
• Our success depends on learning how nature sustains itself and
how to integrate what we learned into ways that we think, act and
teach.
• Inspires and empowers us to become good earth citizens who
practice good “earth keeping”
Living more sustainably
“The earth provides enough to satisfy every
person’s needs but not every person’s greed.
When we take more than we need, we are
simply taking from each other, borrowing from
the future or destroying the environment and
other species.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
How can we live more sustainably?
Questions?
THE END!