BSC111 - Test #2 Environmental Issues

The current world population is

8.22 billion people

Total fertility rate for 2023

 2.3

 environmental refugee

people who are displaced by environmental degradation or catastrophic weather events due to global climate change

What factors keep nations (LDCs - lower developed countries) poor?

1. Lack of resources

2. Limited educational opportunities

3. Lack of skills

4. Economic, social, and political systems that impede broad based growth

In a general way, what are the 3 consequences of the wealth of HDCs? (know these well enough to answer multiple choice or T/F question)

Consequence of rich nations wealth -

1. HDC’s have much higher rates of consumption (produces more waste)

2. A much greater demand on earth's resources (ability to absorb pollutants then does avg. person in LDC)

3. Contribute disproportionately to the world's environmental problem (global warming, ozone depletion, toxic waste generation, and deforestation) 

What is an ecological footprint?

Representing the productive area of the Earth required to support the lifestyle of one individual in a given population, the footprint estimates land use for crops, grazing, forest products, housing and ocean area exploited for food. Also includes forest area to absorb carbon dioxide from fossil fuel use. 

Average ecological footprint for the world

6.92 acres

Less than ___acres of productive land and water available per person - exceeding Earth’s general capacity, human kind uses ⅓ more resources than nature can sustainably replenish 

3.95 acres

Earths overshoot day

August 2cd

Can ingenuity and technology save humanity, and make the world more sustainable? (yes or no)

No

What was the green revolution?

 from 1950-1984 there was an introduction of high yield crops and energy intensive agriculture 

marine sources are

declining

Environmental Vegetarianism

eating a vegetarian diet because the production of meat is environmentally unsustainable due to land, air and water pollution, land-use and the use of fossil fuels, and uses a much greater amount of water

how much edible food is wasted worldwide?

30% (1/3) of edible food is wasted worldwide.

 What is the primary source of food for the world?

grain

Land Resource supply

less than one half of the world's land area is suitable for agriculture and this includes land for grazing. Nearly all the world's productive land is being exploited. The majority of deforestation (70-80%) is due to the spread of agriculture.

Water Resources and irrigation

water is a major limiting factor for world agriculture production

Water and soil conservation

 soil management and tillage practices to conserve soil and water, such as, contouring furrows,  terraces, no till, trees and shrubs grown around the perimeter and as windbreaks

Crop varieties

plant dryland crops that require less water, develop varieties with a better harvest index, plant nitrogen fixing legumes, or native crop varieties ie. sorghum and cowpeas in western Africa where the harvest yields were twice that of modern crops ie. soybean

Maintaining biodiversity

need to conserve genetic diversity of crops ie. svalbard global seed vault in Norway 500,000 seeds from every country, and Kew Gardens seed bank in London.

Sustainable intensification

 increase food production from existing farmland while minimizing the pressure on the environment. Produce more from the same area of land (protecting natural ecosystems from development), with fewer inputs, less water fertilizer, pesticides etc. Example would be combined fish and rice farms

Alternative food sources

microlivestock ie. bugs and guinea pigs, or aquaculture ie. growing fish in tanks or garden ponds

How much of the world’s cropland produces grain for livestock?

about 40% of the world’s cropland produces grain for livestock. (Don’t need to memorize the percentage but recognize a lot of the grain that is grown is fed to livestock to produce meat) - Eat less meat.

What are the ways you can increase the shelf life of foods. (only know 2) (short answer)

• freeze baked goods ie, breads, cake, bagels, crackers, cookies, ect.

• freeze nuts and seeds

• stop vegetables from spoiling by blanching them in boiling water, and fully cook later

• cook over-ripe fruits into desserts or eat the cooked fruit

• the door is the warmest part of the fridge, so don’t store your milk or eggs there

• keep the fridge at 34-38 degrees

Dirty Dozen

fruits and vegtables that are laden with pesticides so are better to buy organic: strawberries, spinach, kale, necterines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, blueberries and green beans

Clean Fifteen

fruits and vegetables with the least pesticides: avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, frozen sweet peas, onions, papayas, eggplants, asparagus, kiwis, cabbages, califlower, honeydew, mushrooms, mangoes, carrots sweet potatoes and watermelon

Soil

both a physical and biological factor

Litter

top layer of non-decomposed matter newly added to the soil

Humus

partially decomposed organic matter; the rich black earth that is generally considered indicative of soil fertility 

On average how many years does it take for soil to form, if you start from bare rock?

500 years

 How long does it take for a Composter to produce humus?

1-2 years

Erosion

process of soil and humus particles being picked up and carried away by water or wind

Desertification

 1) as water holding capacity is diminished by erosion of topsoil such areas become deserts both ecologically and from a standpoint of production 2) a climatic change that involves a decrease in precipitation thus causing a loss or destruction of the biological productivity of the landscape will lead to desert like conditions

Desertification affects

• Provisioning Services

• Regulating Services

• Cultural Services

• Supporting Services

Provisioning Services

such as food, forage, fiber, and freshwater

Regulating Services

 water purification, climate regulation 

Cultural Services

recreation and cultural identity

Supporting Services

soil conservation 

OverCultivation

 continuous plowing, compaction due to farm equipment, and the planting of monocultures result in a gradual decline in soil quality and eventually desertification 

Overgrazing

animals grazing in greater numbers than the land can support. There may be temporary economic gain in the short run, but the grassland or other ecosystem is destroyed and its ability to support life is greatly diminished. Soil erodes and is compacted making it easier for weeds to invade.

Deforestation

 the removal of forest from a site

Sedimentation

filling of lakes, reservoirs, streams, channels ect. With soil particles, which comes from erosion aka siltation, which results in clogged channels, increased flooding, loss of wildlife in freshwater and marine habitats, such as coral reefs. 

Is organic farming is far more beneficial for the soil than conventional farming?

Yes

The hydrologic Cycle

when a layer of air saturated with moisture is driven upward and it expands. This expansion, which requires energy, causes the parcel of air to cool. Cool air condenses the moisture and precipitation occurs in the form of rain or snow. This is one part of the hydraulic cycle

Freshwater Resources

most of earths water is saline found mostly in oceans and ground water. of the 2.5% of freshwater on the plant only 0.3% is found on the surface. A lot of fresh water is locked in glaciers or ice caps, the rest if ground water.

How much of the world’s population faces chronic water shortages 

25%, 2/3 face water scarcity for at least one month per year,

Water as foreign policy

Many of the world’s major river systems are shared by 2 or more countries, and there are often disputes over water usage and distribution

The Middle East

is in the worst drought in 900 years and it contributes to the political instability in the area (think civil war in Syria).

Asia and the Pacific

No developing nation in Asia and the Pacific are considered water secure

Shortages in the United States - South/Southeast

• vulnerable to increasing heat, decreased water availbility, demands on water not met by local sources, region is growing

• Severe drought in summer of 2002, 2005, 2007, 2016, corn and hay crops lost

Shortages in the United States - Midwest

• the Ogallala aquifer is being pumped at an unsustainable rate. (4 times replacement rate) and 30% of irrigated farmland is watered by the aquifer

• Exports large amount of agriculture (50% worlds corn, 40% soybeans, 30% wheat)

• global warming - more intense and longer droughts

Shortages in the United States - Western

• long term drought conditions persist

• colarado river used by people across 7 states, has decreased water cause lack of snow and rain

• Arizona and Navada have mandated reductions of water usage, but Cali and mexico have volunterily reducing use for last 2 years

• snow drought - snowpacks down 15-30%

3 consequences of the overuse of water.

• Falling water tables and depletion of aquifers

• Diminishing Surface water

• Salt water intrusion

Falling water tables and depletion of aquifers

e.g in Flordia springs flows have declined by ⅓. State consuming water faster than it can be replaced

Salt water intrusion

decreased groundwater in costal areas. The rapid rate of groundwater removal reduces pressure in the aquifer allowing Sea water into the aquifers and wells

Drip irrigation

neworks of plastic pipe with pinnoles that deliver water to the base of the plant

 xeroscaping

water conservation tactic in which people landscape with drought tolerent crops

gray water

slightly dirtied water from sinks, showers bathtubs, and laundry, wash cars, flushed toilets, water lawns ect. - recycled for water conservation

desalination

desalting of seawater. Expensive process (3-6x what Americans pay)

Point Sources

 discharge of pollutants at specific locations through pipes, ditches, or sewers into surface waters. Examples include factories, sewage treatment plants, mines, oil wells, and oil tankers.

Non-point sources

cannot be traced to any single site of discharge. Examples include acid deposition (acid rain), run off of chemicals into surface waters inducing storm drains and seepage into the ground from crops, feedlots, logged areas, streets, lawns, and parking lots.

Water pollution causes Health problems:

• Infectious Agents

• Endocrine Disruptors

• Inorganic Chemicals

• biomagnification.

Causes ecosystem disruption

• sediment (soil and silt)

• plant nutrients

  • Eutrophication

  • Cultural Eutrophication

• loss of wetlands

Both Cause Health Problems and ecosystem disruption

Plastics

Infectious Agents

from bacteria, viruses and parasites

-main source of pathogens is from untreated or improperly treated human wastes, and from animal wastes generated from feedlots or fields near waterways

Endocrine Disruptors

sources include personal care products ie. sunscreens, and agricultural chemicals, plastics and PCBs

-mimic and/or interfere with the function of hormones in the body, may turn on, shut off or modify signals hormones carry and affect the normal functioning of tissues and organs

-effects include increases in breast and prostate cancer and lower sperm counts

Inorganic Chemicals

are pesticides, plastics, detergents, oil and gas

-from industrial waste, cleaners and surface run-off

Bioaccumulation

when a chemical is found in specific organs or tissues ie. fat at higher levels than it would be expected

biomagnification.

 increase in concentration of a pollutant as it moves through the food chain, pollutant must be long lived, mobile, soluble in fats and biologically active for this to occur

Plant Nutrients

come from fertilizers, sewage, manure and cleaners (detergents)

Eutrophication

 natural process by which rivers and lakes are rich in organisms and organic material

Cultural Eutrophication

if the water body is getting excess amounts of nutrients from fertilizers, detergents and animal and human wastes

Wetlands

land areas that are naturally covered by shallow water at certain times and are more or less drained at other times

Plastics

sources of every kind of plastic waste coming from land, washing into streams, rivers and lakes, and eventually into our oceans, 80% comes from land, 20% from ships and dumping

solutions to water pollution (know 2-3)

• Prevention

• reduce use of pesticides and fertilizers

• energy conservation- decrease thermal and particulate air pollution and toxic run-off

• recycle - aluminums, steel, paper, and glass (mining and processing causes air pollution and toxic run off)

• solar or wind energy to reduce burning of fossil fuels

• Restore wetlands and estuaries

Pathogens

disease causing bacteria, viruses, and other parasitic organisms

the three phases of sewage treatment (T/F Questions)

1) primary Sewage treatment

2) Secondary Sewage treatment

3) tertiary treatment

Primary Sewage treatment

involves screening and settling of raw sewage to remove large materials separating solid from liquid. The liquid will also be disinfected to kill pathogenic microorganisms. The nutrients are organic wastes and nitrogen and phosphorus due to run-off from agricultural land and detergants

Secondary Sewage treatment

reduce biochemical oxygen demand

biochemical oxygen demand - a measure of pollutants of organic origin and a measure of how much oxygen will be required to break them down

product of process is humus like sewage sludge - can be disposed on agricultural land, landfilled or incinerated.

tertiary treatment

many processes

one- chlorine gas added to disinfect the water before water returns to natural body

two - remove phosphorus and nitrogen which can leave the water with nutrient removal of 90% (expensive)

three - artificial wetland with algae or aquatic plants that take up phosphorus and nitrogen “free water surface” wetlands can be used as outdoor recreational and educational areas

Clean Water Act

1972, federal legislation to keep waterways clean and to provide sewage treatment and to control point sources of pollutants. has been instrumental in the development and improvment of sewage treatment plants.

Air pollutants

substances in the atmosphere that are harmful. There are natural pollutants from volcanoes and forest fires but the atmosphere has mechanisms for the removal, recycling and assimilation of these pollutant sources.

Smog

a combination of the words “smoke” and “fog” that refers to an atmospheric condition of very poor visibility and a large concentration of air pollutants.

Air Quality Index

Index for reporting air quality, it tells you how unhealthy your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern, runs from 0-500 with 0 being no pollution to 500 being an extreme health risk

3 Categories of Impact

• Chronic

• Acute

• Carcinogenic

Chronic

pollutants cause the gradual deterioration of a variety of physiologic functions over a period of years. Examples include bronchitis, fibrosis of the lungs, (scarring), contribute to heart disease and lowered immunity 

Acute

pollutants bring on life-threatening reactions within hours or days. People who surfer from respiratory or heart disease can die if they go out during a smog alert.

Carcinogenic

pollutants initiate changes within cells that lead to uncontrolled growth and division (cancer). WHO classifies outdoor air pollution as a definitive carcinogen. Air pollution contains a mixture of cancer causing-causing substances

Air pollutants and human health

• higher mortality rates

• across world air pollution linked to 1 in 5 deaths

• effects- moist surface of eyes, nose throat and lungs

• smokers higher chance of respiratory disease - overload our natural defenses

Clean Air Act

1970, amended in 1990, set standards for controlling the emissions of the major pollutants - particulates, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, lead and ozone.

Sick building Syndrome

pollutants found in buildings can cause headaches, dizziness, burning eyes, coughing, sneezing, nausea, chronic fatigue and flu-like symptoms

Greenhouse effect

the natural warming of the atmosphere that allows the planet to be inhabitable. It is the warming of the atmosphere from various gasses e.g, carbon dioxide, water vapor, ect. Absorbing infrared (heat) energy from the sun

Global warming

warming of the atmosphere from increases in concentration of one or more of the greenhouse gases, which can result in global climate change

Global climate change

refers to changes in any aspects of the earth’s climate including temperature, precipitation, and storm activity

Which one of the greenhouse gases is the primary concern?

carbon dioxide

Consequences of increased warming: in the Artcitic

• In the past 50 years, Arctic temperatures rose 2X faster than anywhere else

• Glaciers and floating sea ice (ice floes) are melting and shrinking at increased rates

• Arctic, Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are melting at unprecedented rates. By 2037 the Arctic will be ice-free during the warm months

• During the last century, the world’s average sea level rose by 4-8 inches, with estimates from NOAA of 1 ft. by 2050 and 3.2 to 6.6 ft. by 2100

How is GCC affecting water scarcity?

• Low precipitation, drought and heat waves will contribute to water scarcity

• The ranges of many plants and animals are shifting and extinctions will (and have) occurred due to climate related selection pressures e.g. increased heat and weather events

• Spread of diseases into new areas with animal/insect vectors moving into new ranges e.g. Lyme disease in NE U.S.

• Spread of insect pests or plant diseases that threaten crops and/or forests

Carbon Dioxide Sinks (Know both)

1. Oceans help moderate the earths average surface temperature by removing 25-30% of the CO2 pumped into the lower atmosphere by human activities. Unfortunately, as the ocean heats up the solubility of CO2 decreases. The acidity of the ocean surface has increased 30% since pre-industrial times and could reach dangerous levels by 2050

2. Forests take up about 25% of the carbon dioxide created by human activites

What can an individual do?

• Vote for a politician that cares about mitigating climate change

• The average american household emirates 15 tons of CO2 a year

• Reduce energy usage at home and when in transit

• Buy renewable energy from your power company

• Use recycled paper products to preserve trees

• Reduce food waste (tips at end of the handout)

• Eat more plant-based food

• Carpool, use public transport, keep car in good condition, ect.

What Can government do:

• Regulate and enforce carbon dioxide and methane as pollutants 

• Institute carbon and energy taxes 

• Greatly increase subsidies for using carbon-free alternative energy technologies, energy efficient technologies, carbon capture and storage, and sustainable agriculture

• Pull the subsidies and tax breaks for fossil fuels

• International negotiations, such as, the yearly conference of parties (COP) and follow through on the targets to lower emissions ect. 

• Governments of HCDs should help fund the transfer of the latest green technologies to LDCs, this would help stimulate a more environmentally sustainable global economy

• Require more direct routing of airline flights and more efficent take-offs and landings (could reduce emissions 10% by 2025)

• Stop cutting down forests