TMA 01, QUESTION1. Some of the most serious environmental issues today are climate change, air issue, waste and land pollution, over population and water issue. 1. Climate Change, is undeniable a global environmental concern that is triggering a rise in the amount of major natural disasters like floods and hurricanes; which causes destruction in societies and the regions which they effect. Global warming will only cause an increase in these issues along with additional problems that could eventually end this civilization, if we don’t work hard on improving our efforts on managing all the different types of pollution and waste that contributes to this major concern.
These gases increase around the time of an eruption. This is a feature of volcanic events but becomes a hazard when this affects the people around the area- for example the events of Lake Nyos. In 1985, Lake Nyos in Cameroon emitted large amounts of carbon dioxide in a short amount of time and suffocated around 1,700 people and 3,500 livestock overnight. This is an LEDC and it could be argued that if the area was wealthier, warnings could have been given to the local area and allow people enough time to evacuate; Therefore having a greater negative impact on the poorer people of Cameroon than an MEDC may suffer. Secondary effects include flooding, lahars and in severe cases- climate change.
The poaching over the years has greatly affects the yield of aquatic animals that the hatcheries have been receiving. This problem could lead to hardships in the economic markets “increasing competition for the legitimate industry” which will lead to drastic price changes. In which causes more problems for the people in Africa whom some already have problems in money management. The low yield comes to another negative consequence in which how long hatchery will be open for. But the hatcheries around Africa are too important to close down.
Environmental health Unit 38 P1 Explain how human activity can damages the environment For years now we have been warned about human activity destroying our planet and environment. Some of the things that humans are affecting are Climate Change, Depletion of Ozone Layer, Pollution, Deforestation and Extinction of Species. Overcrowding, urbanisation and population growth Overcrowding can affect our planet more than some people think, Overcrowding means more people this means we use more natural resources this means the earth in the end isn’t going to have enough resources to support the growing population. Remember every person on the planet takes up space which could be used for farmland, and forests. People excrete wastes and litter that flow into water systems, and animal habitats, this is slowly polluting water and killing wildlife.
They lose their habitat and forced to move to new location; besides, many cannot survive the deforestation that destroys their homes. It is undeniable that deforestation itself has extreme effect on Global warming and hurts the air. Global warming means that air and ocean temperature is increasing. Greenhouse gases exist primarily because of human activity. Unfortunately, humans are the most polluting species on the planet.
"More than 60 percent of the original African rain forest is gone." (Pulsipher) As well as depleting their rain forest Africans are cutting down their dry forests as well to make way for farmland and fuel wood and other settlements. Not only are they clearing their lands but they are grossly depleting the fish populations off of their coasts. THe wildlife which provides the protein, medications for the prevention of diseases, and revenue from tourism are becoming severely threatened by habitat loss. Desertification is spreading and water supplies are decreasing at an a rate faster than nature can replace it.
The largest human cause of dead zones is nutrient run off from abundant use of fertilizers, animal waste and sewage. The runoff is a bi-product of our agribusiness, farming practices and growing population. Before immense land development the wetlands acted as a natural barrier and filter. The runoff would be depleted in the soil by the plants before it could reach the rivers and ocean. Human commercial activity and land development have destroyed the natural shield of the wetlands.
Climate change: Fresh water is becoming increasing scarce in the future partly due to climate change. Climate change has a several impacts on these proportions, the main one being is that warming causes ice caps to melt which contaminate the freshwater supply. Over the next century, Africa will be at risk of experiencing decreases in water resources, especially in areas that are already water-stressed due to droughts, population pressures, and water resource extraction. As temperatures rise, snowpack is declining in many regions and glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates, increasing flood risks. Droughts are likely to become more widespread, while increases in heavy precipitation events would produce more flooding.
Wilkinson and Pickett explore two of the most common assumptions about the social gradient that shows people at the bottom of social hierarchies suffer more problems- circumstances and individual tendencies. The authors, in critiquing the material explanation to societal problems, argue that richer nations should do better than poorer ones. This is a flawed argument, as national wealth does not indicate its distribution. A generally wealthy nation may have poorer diets, less educational opportunities, or worse housing in comparison to a less wealthy nation. Wilkinson and Pickett also give reason as to why everyone in a society should be concerned about inequality, not merely those vulnerable to the problems with which it coincides.
The high content of carbon causes global warming and global warming causes climate change. These changes are destroying our blue planet and making the ecosystem become sicker. Unfortunately, all the high content of carbon was released by human activities. We must reduce Carbon Dioxide emissions in the next two to three years, or we will lose our natural environment that we depend upon for survival. The 11th Hour shows us the consequences of irreversible global warming that have already begun to affect our life and environment.