Transcript Environmental Problems and Solutions

Ch 6: Environmental Problems and Solutions
p.154
Section 1: Environmental Problems
Industrial Revolution (late 1700s):
– People started to rely more and more on machines
– as a result, more harmful substances entered the air,
water, and soil
Types of Pollution
 Pollution: an unwanted change in the environment
 caused by: substances or forms of energy (radiation or
volcanic eruptions)
may harm plants, animals and humans
 Five types of Pollution:
1.Garbage
2. Chemicals
3. High-Powered Wastes
4. Gases
5. Noise
1. Garbage
Hazardous waste: wastes that can catch fire,
corrode metal, explode, or make people sick
 Produced by industries(paper mills, oil
refineries)
2. Chemicals
• Fertilizer promotes the growth of algae.
• As dead algae decompose, oxygen in the water is used up.
• Fish die because they cannot get oxygen.
3. High-Powered Wastes
 Nuclear power plants provide electricity but
produce radioactive wastes.
 Radioactive wastes : hazardous wastes that give
off radiation that can take thousands of years to
become harmless.
Nuclear power plant
Nuclear Storage Plant
Drums of Radioactive
Waste
4. Gases
CO2: acts as a protective blanket keeping Earth
warm enough for life to exist
greenhouse effect: has caused the atmosphere to
trap the heat around the Earth that has resulted in
increased global temperatures
If temperatures
continue to rise:
1. polar icecaps
could melt
2. oceans would
rise and
coastal areas
could flood
Resource Depletion
1. Renewable resource: can be replaced at the
same rate the resource is used
Ex: Solar, wind energy and some kinds of
trees (Christmas tree farm)
Christmas Tree
Farm
Solar Panels
Wind Mill Farm
Resources Cont.
2. Nonrenewable resource: cannot be replaced or that can be
replaced only over thousands or millions of years
 Examples: Most minerals and fossil fuels, such as oil and coal
 Cannot last forever; will become harder to find and more
expensive
Coal Mines
Oil Wells
Minerals
 The removal of some materials may lead to oil spills, loss of
habitat, and damage from strip mining, as shown below.
Renewable or Nonrenewable?
Resources once thought to be renewable are
becoming nonrenewable.
Ex: Fresh water supplies are being used faster
than being replaced, so some areas may run
out.
Invasive (Exotic) Species
 Exotic Species: Organism that makes a home for itself in a
new place outside its native home
 Ex: Northern snakehead fish, kudzu, zebra mussels
 thrive in new places because they are free from predators
found in their native homes
 so, they can become pests and compete with native species.
Eating other fish, amphibians, small birds
and mammals, it can move across land in
search of water and could invade more
lakes and ponds. It can also survive out
of water for four days.
Human Population Growth
 Factors possibly causing increase:
1.Advances in medicine-immunizations
2.Advances in farming
Habitat Destruction
Habitat: where an organism lives
Biodiversity: habitats have their own number
and variety of organisms
 If a habitat is damaged or destroyed, biodiversity
is lost.
1. Forest Habitats
Deforestation: clearing of
forest lands
Environmental Solutions: Section 2
Conservation
Conservation: the preservation and wise use
of natural resources.
 Ex: Use organic compost instead of chemical
fertilizer in your garden thus reducing soil and
water pollution.
Three ways to conserve Resources:
1. Reduce 2.Reuse 3.Recycle
Reduce
Waste and Pollution
1/3 of waste is packaging material
Nonrenewable Resources
Use sources of energy that can replace
fossil fuels
 Ex: Biofuels, solar energy, wind, tides,
falling water, electric and hydrogen fueled
Solar automobiles
Falling Water
Wind
Reuse
 Reusing Products : An important way to conserve
resources.
 Examples: plastic bag: sandals, tires: handbags, building
materials including wood, bricks, tiles
Plastic sandals
Brick
composite decking
Re-purposed tile
Reused tires
Recycle
 Recycling: the recovery of materials from
waste
Yard clippings: made into different products for
natural fertilizer
Trash: Recyclable materials: Plastics, paper,
aluminum, wood, glass, cardboard
Yard clippings into fertilizer
 Recycling Resources
Electricity is generated in waste-to-energy plants
 Resource recovery: Use garbage to make electricity
 Ex: companies make electricity using their own waste
which saves money and conserves resources
A waste-to-energy plant can provide electricity to many homes and businesses.
About 16% of the solid waste in the United States is burned in waste-to-energy plants. But
some people are concerned that these plants pollute the air. Other people worry that the
plants reduce recycling.
Maintaining Biodiversity
 Every species has a unique role in an ecosystem-Losing one species could disrupt an entire ecosystem
 Protecting Habitats
 To protect the interconnected
web of organisms, COMPLETE
HABITATS, not just individual
species, must be preserved.
Environmental Strategies
 Laws have been passed to help protect the
Earth’s environment.
1. Reduce pollution:
Recycle, don’t dump wastes
2. Reduce pesticide use
Use natural pesticides
3. Protect habitats
Conserve wetlands; Reduce deforestation
4. Develop alternative energy sources:
Increase use of renewable energy (solar
and/or wind power) or biofuels