To add to this these methods need vast amounts of energy for extraction, causing the high extraction cost and with this also pollute greatly as the oil is extracted and so raise CO2 and other GHG emissions before the fuel is even burnt. Some of the environmental cost in these areas would be evident. The Canadian Tar Sands, Arctic and the marine ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico are rich in biodiversity and pristine areas of wildlife and any spills of oil in these areas could be disastrous. The Arctic tundra is very sensitive to human interference and the Canadian Tar Sands is home to thousands of species of animals and is one of the largest bird migration centres in the world, millions of birds use this areas every year and groundwater depletion is another major problem as groundwater needs to be pumped out during mining operations otherwise flooding will occur. Reducing ground water levels will have consequences on the wider ecosystem and it will affect wetlands.
For example, in Indonesia many people settle near Mount Merapi because of the rich and fertile soil favoured for farming. As Indonesia is a poor country many people rely on subsistence farming, therefore are willing to risk everything by settling beside a volcano. Furthermore, in the last eruption in 2010 360,000 people were displaced from their homes, meaning not only did they lose their home but also their livelihood; hundreds also lost their lives. Therefore, the hazards posed could have been minimalised if people chose to settle elsewhere. However, this isn’t the same all around the world due to different types of volcanoes.
Wildland Fire Prevention Abstract Living in a house surrounded by nature and wildlands can be peaceful and beautiful, but it can also be risky. Wildfires that spread into wildland-urban interface (WUI) communities can be extremely costly in structural losses. The 1991 Oakland and 2007 Witch Creek fires in California resulted in property losses of $2.7B and $1.5B, respectively. The risk of a high intensity wildland fire, is rising in many wildland ecosystems, and with it comes an increased risk to homes in this interface area. The good news for people living in wildland settings is that you can do many things to protect your home even before a wildfire gets started.
The raise of the temperature has been affecting humans and animals. Glaciers started to melt really fast which is affecting the animals that live in the north/south pole. Hydrofracking will make us alot of money and would let us to make our own natural gas and wouldnt have to get it from somewhere else but we are harming our environment we havent going to last here if we keep messing with
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Drilling the oil and cleaning the oil from the underground wells, is not something that will be done overnight as it will take several years just to take the oil out and a few more years to clean it out of which the forest will be exposed to many toxins through this process. This will affect and change the pollution, and the weather and health conditions of the environment. The rainfall will be exposed to this toxins and pollution, which will in turn harm the animals that will drink from that water. Once the forest has been touched with the drilling of the oil, it will permanently damage it, as the forest will never return to being like it originally was as if nothing had ever happened there. The last and final step is “Risk Characterization.” I believe that the damage to the Bridger Teton National Forest will be inevitable based on the information we have gathered in the two steps “Dose-response Assessment” and “Exposure Assessment.” As mentioned before, it will take many years for the forest conditions to return to its normal stage and these will affect every species in the
The migration pattern of birds and other animals will change, there will be a disruption in our foodchain on land, and the possibility of loosing some species. As well, all of the negative consequences will cause global major economic distress (Skeptical Science, 2012). Some believe global warming is not a serious problem at all (Goudarzi, 2006). A warmer Earth may have positive outcomes for us. There could be a decrease in climate related disasters, an increase in the production of food, and a healthier human population (Noble, 2007).
The droughts and increased heat has had negative impacts on local aquatic invertebrates. Aquatic invertebrates are adapted to survive in a particular range of temperature and habitat. But global warming makes it harder to survive. This could lead to the extinction of several species of aquatic invertebrates which in turn would lead to serious consequences of the ecosystem. Many of the aquatic invertebrates are responsible for keeping the ecosystem clean by feeding on litters.
In the last century, many naturally occurring fires were put out immediately as rangers feared it would ruin the national park. However, this resulted in an incredible buildup of dead wood and undergrows that fueled catastrophic infernos. Today, the National Park firefighters manage and allow naturally occurring fires to burn or set controlled fires in order to maintain a balance. The Giant Sequoia trees are heavily dependent upon the fires as it needs fire to reproduce. When a fire burns, the heat opens up their seed cones which allows for their seeds to be released.
The primary effected area would be the damage of infrastructure, loss of power, fires and other potentially catastrophic hazards. Much of San Diego is located in low lying valleys and in a densely populated central business district, because of the strong concentration of people damage and loss of life from collapsed infrastructure and debris would be great. According to (Guzzetti& Carrara 1993 ) It is the location to human population that is key distinguishing feature of population risk .Furthermore much of the secondary effects like the loss/damage to property can be severe, according to (californiagreensolutions.com) in the past 26 years an accumulated amount of 19.43 billion dollars of damage has been attributed to catastrophes, and 19.43 billion has been related to earthquake damage. Conclusion Through my findings and research I have found that the two most common natural disasters that San Diego and its outlying areas are susceptible to are wildfires and earthquakes. Although the frequencies for earthquakes are relatively low the possible of catastrophic damage from one is a major possibility during the next 20 years.