1. Identify and describe several current environmental issues, and describe the
ID: 299913 • Letter: 1
Question
1. Identify and describe several current environmental issues, and describe the federal laws and regulatory agencies that exist to protect the environment.
2. List organizations and global initiatives that protect the environment.
3. Describe the major sources of air pollution, and list strategies for minimizing their effects.
4. Analyze sources of water pollution, and list ways to protect water quality.
5. Describe the risks of noise pollution and methods for minimizing it.
6. Describe the elements of the visual environment and how they affect health.
7. List the common energy sources and describe how to conserve them.
8. Explain the benefits of recycling, and describe methods of waste disposal.
9. Discuss the impact of the natural environment on human health status, and list guidelines for protecting and preserving the environment.
10. Describe ways to become an effective health advocate for the environment.
Explanation / Answer
1. The term environmental issue signifies the harmful effect caused by the human on the Earth. There are several environmental issues we can see. of which some major are listed below:
a) Global warming and Climate change - Both of this are associated with each other. Due to combustion of fossil fuel and harmful gases from industries along with the emission of different greenhouse gases caused by several human practices leads to an increase in the temperature of Earth which eventually leads to global warming. Not only this is responsible for the melting of polar ice and sea-level rise but also leads to change in season, unusual patterns of precipitation, the occurrence of new diseases.
b) Pollution - The air, water, and soil are getting polluted day by day. Air pollution is the result of various gases and toxins released by industries as well as motor vehicles. Where the water pollution is caused mainly by the oil spill, acid rain, urban runoff; This polluted urban runoffs are also responsible for soil pollution it flushes out essential nutrients from the soil.
c) Overpopulation - It is one of the crucial current environmental problems. The population explosion mainly in less developed and developing countries is a burden in the already scarce resources.
d) Waste disposal - The over-consumption of natural resources by human and creation of plastics are creating a crisis of waste disposal. Nowadays people are shifting towards renewable energies. But as far as the waste disposal is concern developed countries produce an excessive amount of waste or garbage and dumping their waste in the oceans and, less developed countries. Along with this the Nuclear waste disposal produces another burden as it has tremendous health hazards.
e) Loss of Biodiversity - Due to human activity many species and habitats are losing their habitat which inturn is producing a disequilibrium in the ecosystem.
f) Deforestation - Forests are the natural producers of oxygen but day by day the forest cover is getting reduced to compensate for the growing demand for food and shelter for humanity.
g) Ocean Acidification -The excessive production of co2 by human leads to this.
h) Depletion of the Ozone layer - The Ozone layer protects us from the sun’s harmful rays. The depletion of this layer is caused by Chloro-fluoro carbons (CFC’s). Many industries are banning CFC's now.
i) Public Health Issues - The dirty water is the biggest health risk. Pollutants cause respiratory diseases like Asthma and cardiac-vascular problems in humans. The high temperatures encourage the spread of many infectious diseases like Dengue.
j) Urban Sprawl - This is the migration of people which produces severe pressure on land as well as the resources and can cause land degradation and health issues.
Laws and regulatory agencies that protect the environment
The largest international agency is the United Nations Environment Programme. International non-governmental organizations include Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and World Wide Fund for Nature.
2. International organizations that protect the environment :
a) Earth System Governance Project (ESGP)
b) Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)
c) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
d) International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
e) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
f) Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA)
g) European Environment Agency (EEA)
3. There are four main sources of air pollution :
a) mobile sources - eg. cars, buses, planes, trucks, and trains
b) stationary sources – eg. power plants, oil refineries, industrial facilities, and factories
c) area sources – eg. agricultural areas, cities, and wood burning fireplaces
d) natural sources – eg. wind-blown dust, wildfires, and volcanoes
strategies for minimizing air pollution :
1. Reduce the number of car use
2. Avoid burning trashes.
3. avoid smoking
4 sources of water pollution:
Mainly the surface runoff from industries and polluted urban as well as agricultural sectors are the sources of water pollution
Ways to protect water quality:
1 Reduce fertilizer use.
2 Keep pavement clean
3 Reduce the use of road salt
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