12.3 environmental degradation Flashcards
1
Q
china’s cancer villages
A
- cancer rates in some villages near factories and polluted waterways have shot up
- small hamlet of Shangba in southern China: high levels of poisonous heavy metals in the water
- 459 cancer villages across 29 of China’s 31 provincial units
2
Q
pollution
A
- pollution of air and water affects mortality rates
- WHO: 8 million people died worldwide of pollution in 2012: 3.7 due to ambient air pollution, 4.3 household air pollution: mainly from MICs/LICs
- London air as bad as smoking 154 cigarettes/year
- increased economic costs of care, work absences and school interruptions
- land: deposition of solid and liquid wastes on land or underground in a manner that contaminates the soil, groundwater, threatens public health, is an eyesore: mining, industry, energy production, domestic waste
3
Q
types of pollution
A
- pollution is an externality of industry: a cost or benefit of industrial activity which affects others but does not directly economically effect the producer
- green revolutions and green deals are aiming to make industries greener, while penalties and increasingly given to industries for the negative externalities rather than have society pay the cost
- one off pollution is known as Incidental Pollution: Chernobyl, 1986: reactor 4 exploded producing 400x radiation of Hiroshima bomb, 100,000 people died, 2,600km2 exclusion zone
- Sustained Pollution over a longer period: depletion of the Ozone Layer and global warming
- air: China: 1.42 million premature deaths due to air pollution
- water: industrial waste, mining, fertilisers, sewage leakage, ship discharge, land runoff, litter,
- BP Deep Water Horizon (Gulf of Mexico): blowout spill threatened 400 species like Pelicans
4
Q
equity
A
Poorer people tend to be more affected by pollution. The uneven implementation of laws means that it is difficult to achieve:
- Procedural Equity – when rules and regulations are applied in an equal way
- Geographical Equity – when communities are affected in an equal way. Environmental hazards should not just be closer to poorer communities
- Social Equity – when race and class do not play a part in environmental decision-making
5
Q
the global water crisis
A
- increasing issue with 80 countries (40% of world pop) affected and rising.
- 840 000 die each year from water related diseases and 750 suffer from
- water security: having reliable access to a clean and affordable water supply
- water stress: when demand is larger than supply or when the water supply is poor quality
- water scarcity: a lack of freshwater to meet demand.. Can be due to physical or economic reasons affecting supply
6
Q
types of water
A
- utilising uses and access to different types of water is key to water security
- green water, blue water, grey water
- potable water: drinkable
- virtual water: amount that has been used in the creation of products: 1 steak: 4500 litres of water
7
Q
Degradation in rural environments stats
A
- 2 billion hectares of soil resources degraded globally = 15% of Earth’s land area
- Resulted in loss of 15% of world’s agricultural supply in the last 5 decades
- 2000: annual global meat consumption was 230 mil tons– 2050: 465 mil tons
- changing from the avg American diet to a vegetarian could cut annual emissions by 1.5 tons of CO2
- expanding large scale farming: 1990-2005, world’s total forest areas reduced by 3% = 7.3 mil hectares annually
- more than 345 million people facing high levels of food insecurity in 2023
- soil degradation: 75 billion tonnes of soil are eroded every year from arable lands worldwide
- r-to-u migration: 59% city growth in Namibia
- deforestation: 20% of GHG emissions
8
Q
Degradation in urban environments
A
- Urban use of groundwater can lead to depletion of aquifers and saltwater intrusion
- High living densities create a lot of pollution
- Lack of understanding and ignorance environmental problems can lead to passing legislations enhance climate change
- affect on hydrology and water quality
- loss of (urban) tree cover
- Animal populations are inhibited by toxic substances, vehicles, and the loss of habitat and food sources
- urban stream syndrome
- The increase in storm runoff (imp surf), alters stream flow, morphology, temperature, and water quantity and quality.
- leaky sewer lines and septic systems as well as the lack of sanitation systems : nutrients and organic contaminants such as pharmaceuticals, caffeine, and detergents: affect aquatic flora and fauna
- Habitat loss is the greatest threat to biodiversity.
- deforestation and fragmentation of forest lands lead to the degradation and loss of forest interior habitat as well as creating forest edge habitat
- shift species composition and abundance from urban avoiders to urban dwellers.
- roads and other urban features isolate populations causing local extinctions, limit dispersal among populations, increase mortality rates, and aid in the movement of invasive species
9
Q
Constraints on improving environmental degradation
A
- Policy failure, Rural inequalities, Resource imbalances, Unsustainable technologies, Trade relations
- LICs/MICs: growing pop, rural urban migration, civil war, natural hazards
- poor knowledge, poor management by local and central government
- Many degraded environments require substantial investment beyond the means of poorer countries
- Corruption and crime reduce effectiveness: October 2009 UN scheme to cut carbon emissions by paying poorer countries to preserve their forests was a recipe for corruption, and without strong safeguards could be hijacked by organized crime
- creation of National Parks or the complete limitation of human activities to reduce human impacts
- Assessing environmental degradation: needs, measures and outcomes
- Andean Cloud Forest: the Andean Corridor project aims to preserve vital ecosystems in the forest by creating 142000 hectares of reserves with plans for more
- When degraded environments cross international borders, it can pose a problem for managing it – eg. Deforestation in Nepal can have impacts on countries downstream of a river system
10
Q
Urban degradation in Delhi
A
- Rapid population growth has increased from 17.8m in 2014 and expected reach 22.5m in 2025
- the environmental impacts of transportation, industrial activity, power generation, construction, domestic activities, and waste generation
- Power plants are responsible for over half of SO2 emissions and almost 30 per cent of CO2 emissions
- Increase number of cars due to economic growth reaching 7.2m, Pollution are higher in winter
11
Q
degradation
A
Deterioration on the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil
12
Q
solutions
A
- energy from waste plants
- in New York, 450-600 tonnes waste is collected and transported by ship to plants to burn
- education, organisations raising awareness
- legislation on a local and global levels to reduce land pollution
- The Federal Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 established pollution prevention as the public policy of the United States. The Federal Act declares that pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source wherever feasible, while pollution that cannot be prevented should be recycled in an environmentally safe manner
- air: direct carbon capture, catalytic converters, less fossil fuels and afforestation
- Carbon Engineering plant in British Columbia does work equivalent to 40 million trees.
- ban or re-route waste pipes from factories and power stations, or send water through cleaning and cooling process
- Development: untreated sewage kills 2.2 million people per year
- Land use restrictions: limit fertiliser use in the area 10-20km from a river
- oil spill cleanup, ocean cleanup
- US Clean Water Act (section 311), prohibits hazardous waste being disposed off from ships
- EU: Urban waste water treatment directive: collect and treat wastewater in urban settlements with a population of at least 2,000
13
Q
water demand in agriculture
A
- if precipitation levels are too low to maintain crops, then farms must be irrigated
- Locational variation: 3% UK, 80% Malawi
- Seasonal variation: Arizona Alfalfa farmers use 10x more water in June, compared to February
14
Q
industrial water demand
A
- large amounts of water are needed for power production and manufacture
- Locational variation: 75% UK, 5% Malawi
- Seasonal variation: Ghanaian beverage plant uses between 12,000 (May) and 7,000 m3 (July)
15
Q
domestic water demand
A
- water must be consumed daily by humans, otherwise we dehydrate and could die. It is also used in cooking, cleaning and sanitation
- Locational variation: 22% UK, 15% Malawi
- Seasonal variation: stayed almost constant at 400,000m3 in the UK 2012-13
