A variety of environmental problems now affect our entire world. As globalization continues and the earth's natural processes transform local problems into international issues, few societies are being left untouched by major environmental problems.
Some of the largest problems now affecting the world are Acid Rain, Air Pollution, Global Warming, Hazardous Waste,, Ozone Depletion, Smog, Water Pollution, Overpopulation, and Rain Forest Destruction. Etc.
Every environmental problem has causes, numerous effects,some of these problems have been discussed here.
Acid rain
The term acid rain refers to what scientists call acid deposition. It is caused by airborne acidic pollutants and has highly destructive results. Scientists first discovered acid rain in 1852, when the English chemist Robert Agnus invented the term. From then until now, acid rain has been an issue of intense debate among scientists and policy makers.
Acid rain, one of the most important environmental problems of all, cannot be seen. The invisible gases that cause acid rain usually come from automobiles or coal-burning power plants. Acid rain moves easily, affecting locations far beyond those that let out the pollution. As a result, this global pollution issue causes great debates between countries that fight over polluting each other's environments.
For years, science studied the true causes of acid rain. Some scientists concluded that human production was primarily responsible, while others cited natural causes as well. Recently, more intensive research has been done so that countries have the information they need to prevent acid rain and its dangerous effects. The levels of acid rain vary from region to region. In Third World nations without pollution restrictions, acid rain tends to be very high. In Eastern Europe, China, and the Soviet Union, acid rain levels have also risen greatly. However, because acid rain can move about so easily, the problem is definitely a global one.
Some of the largest problems now affecting the world are Acid Rain, Air Pollution, Global Warming, Hazardous Waste,, Ozone Depletion, Smog, Water Pollution, Overpopulation, and Rain Forest Destruction. Etc.
Every environmental problem has causes, numerous effects,some of these problems have been discussed here.
Acid rain
The term acid rain refers to what scientists call acid deposition. It is caused by airborne acidic pollutants and has highly destructive results. Scientists first discovered acid rain in 1852, when the English chemist Robert Agnus invented the term. From then until now, acid rain has been an issue of intense debate among scientists and policy makers.
Acid rain, one of the most important environmental problems of all, cannot be seen. The invisible gases that cause acid rain usually come from automobiles or coal-burning power plants. Acid rain moves easily, affecting locations far beyond those that let out the pollution. As a result, this global pollution issue causes great debates between countries that fight over polluting each other's environments.
For years, science studied the true causes of acid rain. Some scientists concluded that human production was primarily responsible, while others cited natural causes as well. Recently, more intensive research has been done so that countries have the information they need to prevent acid rain and its dangerous effects. The levels of acid rain vary from region to region. In Third World nations without pollution restrictions, acid rain tends to be very high. In Eastern Europe, China, and the Soviet Union, acid rain levels have also risen greatly. However, because acid rain can move about so easily, the problem is definitely a global one.
Cause of acid rain
For many years, there was considerable debate and disagreement over what caused acid rain. Recent scientific work, however, has helped to clarify this .
The primary causes of acid rain are sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. These chemicals are released by certain industrial processes, and as a result, the more industrialized nations of Europe as well as the US suffer severely from acid rain.
Most sulphur dioxide comes from power plants that use coal as their fuel. These plants emit 100 million tons of sulfur dioxide, 70% of that in the world. automobiles produce about half of the world's nitrogen oxide. As the number of automobiles in use increases, so does the amount of acid rain. Power plants that burn fossil fuels also contribute significantly to nitrogen oxide emission.
Though human causes are primarily responsible for acid rain, natural causes exist as well. Fires, volcanic eruptions, bacterial decomposition, and lightening also greatly increase the amount of nitrogen oxide on the planet. However, even the gigantic explosion of Mt. St. Helens released only about what one coal power plant emits in a year.
Once the tiny pollutant molecules have entered the atmosphere, they can travel for thousands of miles. Eventually, the particles will combine with other compounds to produce new, often harmful, chemicals. Acid rain comes down to the earth in the form of rain, snow, hail, fog, frost, or dew. Once it reaches the ground, the acidity in the substance can harm and even destroy both natural ecosystems and man-made products, such as car finishes.
Effects of acid rain
Acid rain is having harmful effects both on people and on the natural ecosystems of the world. Scientists today are convinced that acid rain is severe in many areas, and that it is having an adverse effect on the environments of those locations.
The problem of acid rain is rapidly spreading. Because it is mainly caused by industrial processes, automobiles, and power plants, those countries that are developed have the most severe acid rain problems. However, as the undeveloped nations begin to industrialize, acid rain will increase greatly.
Determining just how much the planet is being hurt by acid rain is very difficult because the ecosystems that it affects are so diverse and complex. Many ecosystems are affected by acid rain. Bodies of water, such as lakes and rivers, see many of their inhabitants die off due to rising acidity levels.
Acidic water also ruins plant nutrients, hurting plants' ability to survive and to give life to other organisms. Human-made products are also experiencing degradation from acid rain. Cars can lose their finishes, and outdoor statues are beginning to rust.
Acid rain's effects are destructive and long lasting. Though scientists have studied lakes, streams, and many other natural ecosystems to prove its negative effects, acid rain continues to be produced and is increasing in many parts of the world.
The chains of connection are crystal clear. Greenhouse gases are connected to energy production and consumption, which connects to the explosion of population and growth, which increases water shortages made worse by energy demands, practices of forest and agricultural management. These influence land erosion that increases flooding. Global warming intensifies weather, droughts and forest fires. The warming of polar regions affects ocean currents, their patterns, the conditions for all marine species.
Global warming
Global warming remains the most complex environmental problem of our time.On June 23, 1988, James Hansen, the director of the Goddard Institute at NASA, told the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources that global warming was a reality and that is was extremely dangerous.
Global warming, also known as the greenhouse effect, immediately received international attention. Scientists, environmentalists, and governments around the world took an interest in the subject. Global warming is called the greenhouse effect because the gases that are gathering above the earth make the planet comparable to a greenhouse. By trapping heat near the surface of the earth, the greenhouse effect is warming the planet and threatening the environment. The molecules responsible for this phenomenon are called greenhouse gases, i.e. water (H2O), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and carbon dioxide (CO2) because they act like the glass in a greenhouse, trapping re-radiated energy. Without these gases most life on earth would not be possible, as the surface temperature of the earth would likely be about 60°F colder.
In essence, greenhouse gases act like an insulator or blanket above the earth, keeping the heat in. Increasing the concentration of these gases in the atmosphere increases the atmosphere's ability to block the escape of infrared radiation. In other words, the earth's insulator gets thicker. Therefore too great a concentration of greenhouse gases can have dramatic effects on climate and significant repercussions upon the world around us. Climates suitable for human existence do not exist simply above some minimum threshold level of greenhouse gas concentration, rather they exist within a finite window - a limited range of greenhouse gas concentrations that makes life as we know it possible.
In the 1800s, as the Industrial Revolution takes off, atmospheric CO2 concentrations begin an unprecedented upward climb, rising rapidly from 280 ppmv (parts per million by volume) in the early 1800s to a current level of 376 ppmv, 77 ppmv above the highest concentrations previously attained in the course of the preceding 400 thousand years.
Current fears stem largely from the fact that global warming is occurring at such a rapid pace. Models are predicting that over the next century, the global temperature will rise by several degrees.
Some scientists still do not think that the effects of global warming are as severe as some people say. They think that droughts, hurricanes, and floods often blamed on global warming might actually have other causes.
One major difficulty in studying global warming is the fact that weather data only exists for the last century and a half. As a result, understanding the present and predicting the future are very difficult.
Global warming has a variety of causes. One of the largest factors contributing to global warming is the general problem of overpopulation and its many effects.
The greater number of people consume more items which take more energy to make, they drive more cars, and create larger amounts of garbage. These factors all increase the global warming problem. Many different gases can increase the planet's temperature. The number of different products and human activities that contribute to global warming are so numerous that finding solutions to the problem is very difficult.
Using a refrigerator releases dangerous gases, turning on the lights requires energy from a power plant, and driving to work causes gas emissions from the car. Countless other normal activities lead to global warming.
Though having an atmosphere is important, the greenhouse effect may be making it excessively thick. The levels of gases covering the Earth have soared with industrialization, and developed countries now produce about 75% of greenhouse gases.
The most common gas is carbon dioxide, accounting for about 50% of all greenhouse gases. Other gases, including methane, CFCs, nitrogen oxides, and ozone, also contribute to forming the greenhouse layer. Because these gases are produced by so many important and common processes, limiting their production to prevent global warming will be difficult. Human beings are causing the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere at rates much faster than the earth can cycle them. Fossil fuels - oil, coal, natural gas, and their derivatives - are formed through the compression of organic (once living) material for millions of years, and we are burning billions of tons of these fuels per year. Why is this disconcerting? Because the CO2 expelled into the atmosphere through these activities does not disappear immediately or even over the course of a year As population increases and Third World countries begin to use greater amounts of energy, the problem may expand rather than contract. To know just what the effects of global warming will be in the future is extremely difficult .Scientists predict the Earth will warm by 1.4 - 5.8C by 2100.
Most scientists blame - at least in part - increasing amounts of certain gases emitted by fossil fuel burning and other human activities source : BBC
Some scientists say global warming has already been going on for a while. Others say that we do not have enough information now to know for sure.
Despite the disagreements, most scientists are convinced that greenhouse gases are warming the Earth. What they are still trying to figure out is how quickly temperatures are rising, and what will happen as a result.
The climate changes that will result from global warming are extremely difficult to predict. The weather is determined by so many factors that it is often compared to chaos by scientists. Changing the temperature will likely have some effect on the planet's weather, but just what that effect will be is nearly impossible to predict.
If temperatures do indeed rise significantly, the most important result would be that some portion of the polar icecaps would melt, raising global sea levels.
The rise in sea levels would be disastrous for some places. Islands would disappear, meaning their millions of inhabitants would have to relocate. Flooding would occur along coastlines all over the world, displacing more people and ruining cropland.
In the case of major global warming and melted ice caps, some countries might simply cease to exist. Global warming, if uncontrolled, could cause a major catastrophe.
Certain laws and treaties are aimed at reducing the emission of pollutants that result in global warming. In 1988, the International Conference on the Changing Atmosphere drew scientists and decision makers from 48 countries.
Some policies could successfully reduce global warming. Raising fossil fuel, prices, taxing emissions, and encouraging people to take environmentally friendly action through such activities as planting trees will all help.
Because many problems leading to global warming are caused or contributed to by overpopulation, people are beginning to work to reduce family sizes. Family planning services actually help in the fight against global warming. Education is a key method of reducing the greenhouse effect. By teaching people about such things as deforestation, environmental activists hope to prevent the problems that ultimately lead to global warming.
For many years, there was considerable debate and disagreement over what caused acid rain. Recent scientific work, however, has helped to clarify this .
The primary causes of acid rain are sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. These chemicals are released by certain industrial processes, and as a result, the more industrialized nations of Europe as well as the US suffer severely from acid rain.
Most sulphur dioxide comes from power plants that use coal as their fuel. These plants emit 100 million tons of sulfur dioxide, 70% of that in the world. automobiles produce about half of the world's nitrogen oxide. As the number of automobiles in use increases, so does the amount of acid rain. Power plants that burn fossil fuels also contribute significantly to nitrogen oxide emission.
Though human causes are primarily responsible for acid rain, natural causes exist as well. Fires, volcanic eruptions, bacterial decomposition, and lightening also greatly increase the amount of nitrogen oxide on the planet. However, even the gigantic explosion of Mt. St. Helens released only about what one coal power plant emits in a year.
Once the tiny pollutant molecules have entered the atmosphere, they can travel for thousands of miles. Eventually, the particles will combine with other compounds to produce new, often harmful, chemicals. Acid rain comes down to the earth in the form of rain, snow, hail, fog, frost, or dew. Once it reaches the ground, the acidity in the substance can harm and even destroy both natural ecosystems and man-made products, such as car finishes.
Effects of acid rain
Acid rain is having harmful effects both on people and on the natural ecosystems of the world. Scientists today are convinced that acid rain is severe in many areas, and that it is having an adverse effect on the environments of those locations.
The problem of acid rain is rapidly spreading. Because it is mainly caused by industrial processes, automobiles, and power plants, those countries that are developed have the most severe acid rain problems. However, as the undeveloped nations begin to industrialize, acid rain will increase greatly.
Determining just how much the planet is being hurt by acid rain is very difficult because the ecosystems that it affects are so diverse and complex. Many ecosystems are affected by acid rain. Bodies of water, such as lakes and rivers, see many of their inhabitants die off due to rising acidity levels.
Acidic water also ruins plant nutrients, hurting plants' ability to survive and to give life to other organisms. Human-made products are also experiencing degradation from acid rain. Cars can lose their finishes, and outdoor statues are beginning to rust.
Acid rain's effects are destructive and long lasting. Though scientists have studied lakes, streams, and many other natural ecosystems to prove its negative effects, acid rain continues to be produced and is increasing in many parts of the world.
The chains of connection are crystal clear. Greenhouse gases are connected to energy production and consumption, which connects to the explosion of population and growth, which increases water shortages made worse by energy demands, practices of forest and agricultural management. These influence land erosion that increases flooding. Global warming intensifies weather, droughts and forest fires. The warming of polar regions affects ocean currents, their patterns, the conditions for all marine species.
Global warming
Global warming remains the most complex environmental problem of our time.On June 23, 1988, James Hansen, the director of the Goddard Institute at NASA, told the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources that global warming was a reality and that is was extremely dangerous.
Global warming, also known as the greenhouse effect, immediately received international attention. Scientists, environmentalists, and governments around the world took an interest in the subject. Global warming is called the greenhouse effect because the gases that are gathering above the earth make the planet comparable to a greenhouse. By trapping heat near the surface of the earth, the greenhouse effect is warming the planet and threatening the environment. The molecules responsible for this phenomenon are called greenhouse gases, i.e. water (H2O), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and carbon dioxide (CO2) because they act like the glass in a greenhouse, trapping re-radiated energy. Without these gases most life on earth would not be possible, as the surface temperature of the earth would likely be about 60°F colder.
In essence, greenhouse gases act like an insulator or blanket above the earth, keeping the heat in. Increasing the concentration of these gases in the atmosphere increases the atmosphere's ability to block the escape of infrared radiation. In other words, the earth's insulator gets thicker. Therefore too great a concentration of greenhouse gases can have dramatic effects on climate and significant repercussions upon the world around us. Climates suitable for human existence do not exist simply above some minimum threshold level of greenhouse gas concentration, rather they exist within a finite window - a limited range of greenhouse gas concentrations that makes life as we know it possible.
In the 1800s, as the Industrial Revolution takes off, atmospheric CO2 concentrations begin an unprecedented upward climb, rising rapidly from 280 ppmv (parts per million by volume) in the early 1800s to a current level of 376 ppmv, 77 ppmv above the highest concentrations previously attained in the course of the preceding 400 thousand years.
Current fears stem largely from the fact that global warming is occurring at such a rapid pace. Models are predicting that over the next century, the global temperature will rise by several degrees.
Some scientists still do not think that the effects of global warming are as severe as some people say. They think that droughts, hurricanes, and floods often blamed on global warming might actually have other causes.
One major difficulty in studying global warming is the fact that weather data only exists for the last century and a half. As a result, understanding the present and predicting the future are very difficult.
Global warming has a variety of causes. One of the largest factors contributing to global warming is the general problem of overpopulation and its many effects.
The greater number of people consume more items which take more energy to make, they drive more cars, and create larger amounts of garbage. These factors all increase the global warming problem. Many different gases can increase the planet's temperature. The number of different products and human activities that contribute to global warming are so numerous that finding solutions to the problem is very difficult.
Using a refrigerator releases dangerous gases, turning on the lights requires energy from a power plant, and driving to work causes gas emissions from the car. Countless other normal activities lead to global warming.
Though having an atmosphere is important, the greenhouse effect may be making it excessively thick. The levels of gases covering the Earth have soared with industrialization, and developed countries now produce about 75% of greenhouse gases.
The most common gas is carbon dioxide, accounting for about 50% of all greenhouse gases. Other gases, including methane, CFCs, nitrogen oxides, and ozone, also contribute to forming the greenhouse layer. Because these gases are produced by so many important and common processes, limiting their production to prevent global warming will be difficult. Human beings are causing the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere at rates much faster than the earth can cycle them. Fossil fuels - oil, coal, natural gas, and their derivatives - are formed through the compression of organic (once living) material for millions of years, and we are burning billions of tons of these fuels per year. Why is this disconcerting? Because the CO2 expelled into the atmosphere through these activities does not disappear immediately or even over the course of a year As population increases and Third World countries begin to use greater amounts of energy, the problem may expand rather than contract. To know just what the effects of global warming will be in the future is extremely difficult .Scientists predict the Earth will warm by 1.4 - 5.8C by 2100.
Most scientists blame - at least in part - increasing amounts of certain gases emitted by fossil fuel burning and other human activities source : BBC
Some scientists say global warming has already been going on for a while. Others say that we do not have enough information now to know for sure.
Despite the disagreements, most scientists are convinced that greenhouse gases are warming the Earth. What they are still trying to figure out is how quickly temperatures are rising, and what will happen as a result.
The climate changes that will result from global warming are extremely difficult to predict. The weather is determined by so many factors that it is often compared to chaos by scientists. Changing the temperature will likely have some effect on the planet's weather, but just what that effect will be is nearly impossible to predict.
If temperatures do indeed rise significantly, the most important result would be that some portion of the polar icecaps would melt, raising global sea levels.
The rise in sea levels would be disastrous for some places. Islands would disappear, meaning their millions of inhabitants would have to relocate. Flooding would occur along coastlines all over the world, displacing more people and ruining cropland.
In the case of major global warming and melted ice caps, some countries might simply cease to exist. Global warming, if uncontrolled, could cause a major catastrophe.
Certain laws and treaties are aimed at reducing the emission of pollutants that result in global warming. In 1988, the International Conference on the Changing Atmosphere drew scientists and decision makers from 48 countries.
Some policies could successfully reduce global warming. Raising fossil fuel, prices, taxing emissions, and encouraging people to take environmentally friendly action through such activities as planting trees will all help.
Because many problems leading to global warming are caused or contributed to by overpopulation, people are beginning to work to reduce family sizes. Family planning services actually help in the fight against global warming. Education is a key method of reducing the greenhouse effect. By teaching people about such things as deforestation, environmental activists hope to prevent the problems that ultimately lead to global warming.
2 comments:
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