Assignment 3.1: Determining Causes and Effects Lake Huron is one of the well-known five Great Lakes located on the west side of Michigan. It was created when glaciers melted during the last ice age, making it a fresh water lake. Lake Huron has the largest shore line than any of the other great lakes making it home to many locals. With all the Great Lakes Combined there are 1.5 million jobs tied to them with 200,000 jobs supported by recreation and tourism. (Natural Resources Defense Council, n.d) Many tourist will come to the Great Lakes for sport fishing, boating, and swimming.
In the past couple of years the low water levels in the Great Lakes have brought up many concerns. As citizens and consumers of the fresh water that is provided to us through these lakes it is of great importance to analyze and be informed on how the water level of these Great Lakes could impact our lifestyle. The context of this paper will focus on “ What has caused the low water levels in the Great Lakes?” Also, information will be provided on the main causes, effects and possible solutions that could be applied in order to minimize issues involving the lakes water levels. Pictures, chart analysis and statistics will be provided throughout this paper in order produce a visual and clearer information on the changes that have occurred in the
Environmental Protection Agency estimated that 70 to 140 billion gallons of water are used to fracture 35,000 wells in the United States each year. This is approximately the annual water consumption of 40 to 80 cities each with a population of 50,000. Fracture treatments incoalbed methane wells use from 50,000 to 350,000 gallons of water per well, while deeper horizontal shale wells can use anywhere from 2 to 10 million gallons of water to fracture a single well. The extraction of so much water for fracking has raised concerns about the ecological impacts to aquatic resources, as well asdewatering of drinking water aquifers. It has been estimated that the transportation of a million gallons of water (fresh or waste water) requires 200 truck trips.
Within this past century, there have been five major floods that were recorded to have claimed hundreds of millions of lives, millions of acres of farmland, destroyed thousands of homes, and billions of dollars of damage. In 1998, a flood of such catastrophic level in the Three Gorges area caused 4,000 casualties, left 14 million people homeless, and created $24 billion in economic loss. The proponents of the Three Gorges Dam believe that it will serve to protect 15 million people and 1.5 million acres of farmland in areas of the Yangtze River that are vulnerable to flooding. In order to do this, the water height of the reservoir upstream from the dam will change according to season. During the dry season, from November to April, the water level will be allowed to reach 185 meters above sea level, but during the flooding months, the water level will be reduced to 135 meters in order to attempt to contain flood waters.
It produces 1/3 of the earth’s oxygen and 1/5 of the earth’s fresh water supply by its water cycling. The Amazon absorbs carbon dioxide and cleanses the atmosphere, and therefore prevents global warming. It also has thousands of different endangered species that are threatened to extinction by deforestation. According to World Wild Life more than 350 indigenous ethnic groups are living in the Amazon, some for as long as thousands of years. Today, more than 30 million people live in the region and are dependent on the Amazon’s ecosystem for food and shelter.
Moreover, “cities have become areas of massive sprawl, serious environmental problems, and widespread poverty (University of Michigan, 2002).” Within the nation of Peru, one of the larger areas in which urbanization has created such problems is Lima. According to the CIA World Fact Book, about 71 percent of Peru’s population lives in urban centers, with a 1.3 percent annual increase (2010). Urbanization in Peru is partially the result of deforestation in its rural areas due to logging and overgrazing of the slopes due to poor land management practices. The urbanization of Lima, Peru has resulted in polluted rivers and coastal waters from municipalities. As the 25th largest city in the world (University of Michigan, 2002), the city also is experiencing “increasing domestic [illicit] drug consumption (CIA, 2010).” The issues of urbanization, if not addressed, can impact the quality of life of individuals in Peru, as well as in border nations, and ultimately other nations dependent on fisheries in the waterways in and around Peru.
There are many plants and animals that will not be able to adjust to these patterns and may become extinct. In addition to that, sea levels are continuing to rise and are causing thousands of people in areas around the coast to have to relocate. One of our main greenhouse gas emissions is carbon dioxide, CO2. Examples of natural greenhouse gases include water vapor, CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide. As a result of man made activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, the amounts of all of these gases in our atmosphere has greatly increased.
Energy consumption and residential wood heating is the greatest single source of air pollution in Canada. These air pollutants cause a lot of respiratory and cardiovascular problems in human body including difficulty breathing, coughing and wheezing. There is an increase in respiratory infections such as pneumonia and
First, the melting of ice caps and glaciers is releasing water into the oceans. Second, human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, combined with natural activities, it causes the rise of the earth's surface temperature.3 Second, climate change is already having a serious effect on every continent and throughout the world’s ocean. The consequences of sea level rise mainly reflected in three aspects: cultural heritages, indigenous communities and coastal lands. 4 First, sea level rise threats cultural world heritage. Data shows that 136 out of 700 listed cultural heritages throughout the world will be affected in the long term.
In the river many rapids and waterfalls of the Livingstone falls, among others. The Congo River gets up to 90 inches of rainfall a year. It has within its banks 30 waterfalls and thousand of islands. At Inga falls there is a Hydroelectric Dam on the Congo River. It’s worth 80 Billion Dollars, and provides energy for millions of people.