Transcript pollution and solutions

POLLUTION
PROBLEMS AND
SOLUTIONS
Root of the problem: Human
population growth
• In the last 200 years the population of
Earth has grown from 1 billion to 6 billion
• More people require more resources like
food, water and energy. And also create
more waste and pollution
• Overpopulation occurs when there are
more people than there are resources
WORLD POPULATION
BAD NEWS
• Pollution is the presence of harmful
substances in the environment
– Solid materials (litter, garbage and etc.)
– Chemicals (oil spills, cleaners, smoke from
burining fossil fuels, etc.
– Noise
– Heat
• Pollution may effect humans, animals or
other organisms and sometimes all of
them at once
Piles of garbage
• Americans produce
more trash per
person than any
other country in the
world
• 12 kg or 25 lbs per
week! (per person)
• Garbage that is not
recycled (most of it)
is placed in landfills
HAZARDOUS WASTE
• Most hazardous waste goes into landfills
especially designed to contain them
• Some wastes are burned improperly and pollute
the atmosphere
• Chemicals from plastics, cleaners, pesticides
and paint pollute water, air and soil
• CFC’s (chloroflorocarbons) from plastics,
aerosols and refrigerants destroy the ozone
layer. They are now illegal
• Nuclear waste can kill, cause cancer and cause
birth defects
• Too much noise can also be hazardous to your
health when it is it is called noise pollution
Too much of a good thing!
• A greenhouse keeps
temperatures inside warm
enough for plants to grow
year round by trapping the
heat in with insulated glass
• The sun heats the surface
of the earth and the gasses
(especially CO2) act as a
blanket to keep the heat in
so the Earth is warm
enough to live on.
• This is known as the
Greenhouse Effect
GLOBAL WARMING - cont
• Burning fossil fuels for
transportation, heat,
electricity and other
energy needs puts A LOT
of extra carbon dioxide
(CO2) into the
atmosphere
• Extra (CO2) traps more
heat and causes the
earth to warm up causing
global climate change in
the forms of floods,
drought, polar ice cap
melt and more.
Natural Resources
• Natural resources are natural substances,
organisms or energy that living things use
• Resources that can be replaced relatively
quickly are called renewable resources
– Fresh water
– Solar power
– Some kinds of trees
• Resources that can be used only once are
called non-renewable
– Most minerals
– Fossil fuels
Fossil Fuels
• Fossil Fuels are made from the remains of
living things millions of years ago
(Coal,Oil, and Natural gas)
• Burning fossil fuels puts CO2 into the air
• Getting fossil fuels from the ground can
cause environmental damage
• People continue to use fossil fuels
because they are cheaper and more
convienent than alternatives
Other problems- Alien species
• Alien species invasion when an organism
not native to an ecosystem is transplanted
• the population grows out of control since
there are no natural predators
• The alien species uses up resources
normally used by native species and
usually wipes out the native species
Habitat destruction
• Connected directly to overpopulation of
humans
• More people also need more space so
natural habitats are being destroyed
– Forests, wetlands, and marine are under the
most pressure
• Every time a habitat is destroyed
biodiversity decreases
• Biodiversity means variety of life
Good News! Pollution solutions
• Conservation is
making wise choices
with the resources
available
– Reduce how much you
use
– Reuse items that can
be used again
– Recycle products
whenever possible
REDUCE!
• 1/3 of waste is
packaging so avoid
over packaged
products
• Use environmentally
friendly cleaners,
pesticides and other
products
• Use less energy
REUSE!
• Use cloth bags when
shopping or reuse
plastic ones
• Pass on products that
are still in good
condition to someone
who can use it
RECYCLE!
• Recycling is a form of reusing when a product is
broken down and made into another product to
use again
• Recycling a can saves 95% of the energy
needed to make a whole new one
• Glass, plastic and paper can be recycled with
similar benefits
• In the U.S. 11% of trash is recycled compared to
30% in Europe and 50% in Japan
Other important ways to conserve
• Support programs that maintain
biodiversity
• Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and
Endangered species Act are all federal
laws put in place to help improve
environmental conditions
• Action steps: reduce pesticide use,
reduce pollution, reduce waste, reduce
use of fossil fuels