School of Education /English Department

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
ENVR200

Course Notes
Compiled by: Dr. Mona Karnib
 Course Objectives:
This first-level course examines the principles of environmental science, its major
topics, and strives towards producing awareness as to environmental issues. The
components of the physical environment will be described, and then the course will
proceed towards discussing the major types of pollution and the proposed solutions.

Contents
Chapter Page
1. Environment: Definition & Components 6
2. Matter, Energy, and Life 16

3. Geochemical Cycles 24

4. Agriculture, Food and Environment 34

5. Toxicology 41
6. water Resources 45
7. Water Pollution 49
8. Waste Generation and Disposal 58
9. Air Pollution 62
10. Deforestation 72
11. Global Warming 78

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 Syllabus
Week Topic

1 Course Orientation

Chapter 1: Environment definition & components

2 Chapter 2: Matter, Energy, Life

Food chain & food webs
Energy pyramid
3 Chapter 2 continued
Chapter 3: Geochemical cycles
4 Chapter 3
Geochemical cycles continued

5 Chapter 4: Food and Agriculture

-food security
Factors affecting food security
5 Quiz 1 Chapters 1,2 & 3

6 Chapter 5: Toxicology
-Environmental health risks
-Diseases
-minimizing toxic effects
-Acute and chronic toxic effects
7 Chapter 6: Water Resources
-Uses of water

8 Chapter 7: Water Pollution

-types & effects of water pollution
9 Chapter 8: Waste
Waste categories

10 Midterm Chapters 4,5, 6 & 7

Chapter 8 continued
waste management

11 Chapter 9: Air Pollution

-primary and secondary pollution

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 types of air pollution

12 Quiz 2 (chapters 8,9& 10 )

Chapter 10: Deforestation
-causes of deforestation
Effects of deforestation
13 Chapter 11: Global Warming
-Causes of global warming
-Green-house effect
-how to reduce global warming
14 Project presentations
15 Final Revision

Course Assessments:
Assessment 1: Quiz 1 Week 5
Assessment 2: Mid Term: Week 10
Assessment 3: Quiz 2 Week 12
Assessment 4: term paper (project) Week 14
Weight of Assessments

1. Class participation 10%

2. Presentations/Projects 20%
3. Quiz 1 10%
4. Midterm 20%
5. Quiz 2 (can be substituted by a Project) 10%
5. Final examination 30%
Total: 100%
List of references:
Miller, G. T., Spoolman, S., Environmental Science (Cengage Learning,
2013)
Environmental Science Education, Sterling publishers 2005
Environmental Science: A Global Concern, tenth edition, McGraw Hill
2008
USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) reports

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 Term paper: Environmental Disasters

Directions: The events below were tragic environmental disasters that occurred because of
human error. You are to research each environmental disaster and answer the questions
below.

For each disaster, answer the following using complete sentences:

a) Date of Disaster

b) Summarize the details of the disaster. You must have at least one complete paragraph here.

c) What was the environmental damage?

d) How was the disaster fixed?

List of suggested topics

1) Chernobyl, Ukraine: Nuclear Power Disaster

2) Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania: Nuclear Power Disaster

3) Bhopal, India: Toxic Air

4) Exxon Valdez, Alaska: Oil Spill

5) Love Canal, New York: Polluted Ground

6) James Bay, Canada: Where did the Water Go?

7) Deepwater Horizon: BP Oil Spill

8) Fukushima, Japan: Nuclear Power

9) 2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump

10) Jiyeh Power Station oil spill - Wikipedia

11) 2015 Gold King Mine waste water, Potrerillos River, Argentina

12) Mismanagement and shrinking of the Aral Sea

13) Great sparrow campaign

14) Mount Polley mine disaster

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15) 2006 Southeast Asian haze

16) Bento Rodrigues dam disaster

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 Chapter 1

Environment: Definition & Components

Definitions of environment:
Some important definitions of environment are as under:

1. According to Boring, A persons environment consists of the sum total of the stimulation
which he receives from his conception until his death. Indicating that environment comprises
various types of forces such as physical, intellectual, mental, economical, political, cultural,
social, moral and emotional.

2. Douglas and Holland defined that The term environment is used to describe, in aggregate, all
the external forces, influences and conditions, which affect the life, nature, behavior and the
growth, development and maturity of living organisms.

To simplify things, "Environ" means "surrounding" and "ment" means "action". The
meaning of the word "Environment" is the surrounding of an organism.

It denotes the total sum of physical, chemical and biological factors that directly influence the
survival, growth, development and reproduction of living organism.
The environment can be also split into two parts
1. Biotic Part:
It is made of all living organisms which includes, plant, animals, birds, micro- organisms
etc.
2. Abiotic Part:
It is also called the physical environment. It is the non-living components of environment
which includes, light, water, temperature, humanity, soil, air etc.

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Components of Environment:
Environment is made up of the physical, biological and cultural components.

1. Physical Environment: The Physical environment is classified into three broad categories:

a. The lithosphere (solid earth)

b. The hydrosphere (water component)

c. The atmosphere

2. The biological component of the environment consists of:

a. Plants (flora)

b. Animals (fauna).

c. microbes

3. The cultural component such as economic, social and political elements that are essentially
man made features, which make cultural milieu.

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Atmosphere:
The thick, gaseous cover of air surrounding the earth is called atmosphere. It sustains life on
earth by removing harmful cosmic and ultraviolet rays through absorption, maintaining heat
balance, providing oxygen for respiration and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis.

It is the gaseous envelope surrounding the earth and extends up to 500 Kms above the
earths surface. The composition of the atmosphere is given in the below table.

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The Structure of the Atmosphere:

The atmosphere is broadly divided into four major zones viz. Troposphere, Stratosphere,
Mesosphere and Thermosphere. Characteristics of these zones are pictorially represented in the
figure below.

Troposphere:
Troposphere is the layer of air nearest to the ground. Temperature decreases with height. The
average temperature drops from 15C at sea level to 56.5C at 11 km above sea level.
It contains 70% of the atmosphere's mass. The density of the troposphere decreases with altitude.
The air near the ground level is heated by the radiation from earth, but the temperature decreases
uniformly with altitude.

Stratosphere:
Stratosphere is the layer of air above the troposphere where temperature increases with height.
The average temperature rises to 2.5C at 50 km above sea level. Ozone is found in higher
concentrations between 20 and 30 km above the surface. Hence sometimes this layer is referred
to as the ozone layer. Ozone absorbs radiant energy from the sun and hence warmer
temperatures are encountered in the stratosphere.
Mesosphere:
Mesosphere is the layer of air above the stratosphere where temperature decreases with height.
The average temperature decreases to 90C at 90 km. This is the coldest layer of the
atmosphere.

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Thermosphere:
Thermosphere is the layer of air above the mesosphere. The temperatures in the thermosphere
increase with increasing height, but there are not many molecules in this layer. The air becomes
less and less dense as we reach space.

Hydrosphere:
This comprises all water resources both surface and ground water. The worlds water is found in
oceans and seas, lakes and reservoirs, rivers and streams, glaciers and snowcaps in the Polar
Regions in addition to ground water below the land areas. The distribution of water among these
resources is as under Table.

The water locked up in the Oceans and Seas are too salty and cannot be used directly for human
consumption, domestic, agriculture or Industrial purposes. Only less than 1% of water resources
are available for human exploitation.

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Lithosphere:
The upper layer of the earth's crust is called lithosphere. It is made up of soil, minerals, rocks and
other organic as well as inorganic matter. The lithosphere covers the crust of the earth and is
extended up to 100 km.

Biosphere:
It is that portion of the earth's surface, hydrosphere and atmosphere where life exists. Biosphere
is a biological environment where living organisms interact with physical environment, e.g. soil,
water and air.

Environmental Science:

It can be defined as the scientific study of the earth, air, water, living organisms and the man
with his impact on environment.

Environmental Studies:

It can be defined as branch of study concerned with the environmental disturbances and the
minimization of their impacts through changes in the society.

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Importance of Environmental Studies:

(Environmental protection starts by creating awareness)

It is very important for every person for self-fulfillment and social development.
It helps to understand different food chains and ecological balance in nature.
It helps to understand and appreciate how the environment is used for making a living
and for promoting a material culture.
It helps in appreciating and enjoying nature and society.
It generates concern for the changing environment in a systematic manner for the future
as well as immediate welfare of mankind.
It directs attention towards population explosion, exhaustion of natural resources and
pollution of environment and throws light on solutions.

Goals of Environmental education:

To develop a world population that is aware of and concerned about environment as a whole
and the problems associated with it, and committed to work individually as well as collectively
towards solutions of current problems and prevention of future problems

Primary objectives: (SPEAK Awareness)

Skill: Acquire skills for identifying and solving environmental problems.
Participation: To provide an opportunity to be actively involved at all levels in working
towards the solution of environmental problems.
Evaluation ability: Develop the ability to evaluate environmental measures and
education programs in terms of ecological, economic, social and aesthetic factors.
Attitude: Acquire a set of values and feelings of concern; motivation for active
participation to improve and protect environment.
Knowledge: Gain a variety of experiences and acquire a basic understanding of the
environment and its associated problems.
Awareness: Acquire an awareness of the environment as a whole and its allied problems
and sensitivity.

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Chapter 1 activities

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 Chapter 2
Matter, Energy, and Life

Food Chains and Food Webs

All animals need energy to run, breathe, and hunt, and they get this energy by consuming food.
Think about what you ate today: that is helping you walk, think, and read!
Most of the energy that enters an ecosystem comes, ultimately, from the sun. Green plants
convert some of this energy to chemical energy which is then stored as
carbohydrates (starch) into the plants; this process is called
photosynthesis. Eventually, this energy dissipates to the environment
and becomes no longer useful.

All organisms, whether dead or alive, are potential sources of food for
other organisms.

An insect eats a leaf, a frog eats the insect, and a larger animal eats the
frog.

The sequence of organisms, each of which is a source of food for the

next, is called a food chain

A food chain shows a single, connected path of energy flow through an

ecosystem. Some animals only eat plants while some animals eat other
animals. A food chain shows the different levels of eating within an
ecosystem. The arrows show the flow of energy from one organism to
the next. Most food chains begin with the sun at the bottom. Lets
examine the example on the right.

There are three types of organisms in a food chain: producers,

consumers and decomposers.

1. Producers (autotrophs). These organisms absorb the suns energy

and convert the energy into food for themselves, allowing them to grow
larger, make flowers and fruit, etc. An example of a producer is a plant,
such as the flower in the picture.

2. Consumers (heterotrophs). These organisms, mostly animals, can

be split into a few categories:

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 Primary consumers only eat plants, so they are called herbivores. The primary
consumers in the picture are the bee and grasshopper.
Secondary consumers eat primary consumers. Many secondary consumers also eat
plants, which makes them omnivores (meat and plant eaters). The secondary consumers
in the picture are the wasp and beetle.
Tertiary consumers eat the secondary consumers and are usually carnivores (meat
eaters). The tertiary consumers in the picture are the frog and snake.
Quaternary consumers eat the tertiary consumers and are carnivores. The quaternary
consumer in the picture is the hawk. In this picture, the food chain ends with the hawk,
which claims the title as the top carnivore.

3. Decomposers. These organisms turn dead material (such as a fallen tree, or a dead hawk) into
soil and recycle nutrients so they can be re-used by producers to create food. Decomposers are
not shown in this picture, but they live underground where the flowers roots are. Decomposers
include earthworms, small soil beetles, fungi, and bacteria.

The trophic level of an organism is the position it occupies in a food chain.

Trophic levels can be represented by numbers, starting at level 1 with plants.

Level 1: Plants and algae make their own food and are called primary producers.

Level 2: Herbivores eat plants and are called primary consumers.

Level 3: Carnivores that eat herbivores are called secondary consumers.

Level 4: Carnivores that eat other carnivores are called tertiary consumers.

Level 5: Apex predators that have no predators are at the top of the food chain

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A food web shows how food chains overlap. The
same three types of organisms are in food webs:
producers, consumers and decomposers.
Good food webs should also include the sun as the
initial source of energy.
We can get a very good idea of how plants and
animals interact with one another by looking at, or
constructing, a food web.

How is the picture at the right different from the

food chain picture above?

In the picture to the right, there are multiple lines

from one organism to another. We see that the
grass in the bottom right hand corner is eaten by more than just the grasshopper; it is also a food
source for the rabbit and the deer. In this food web, we see that there are many top carnivores,
not just one. We can identify three: the owl, the hawk and the fox. We can also note the owl, the
hawk, and the fox are shown as secondary and tertiary consumers in this food web. The deer is a
primary consumer because it only feeds on plants, which makes it an herbivore. As you can see,
food webs are more complex than food chains, but they represent what goes on in real life much
better than a food chain!

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Energy flow in an ecosystem:

An energy pyramid shows how energy moves

throughout an ecosystem.
As you move up the pyramid levels, approximately
90% of the foods original energy is lost from level
to level because animals must use their own energy
to consume and digest food.
The consumers at the top of the pyramid do not
have as much energy available to them because
their food, another animal, is simply not very good
at converting the food it eats into energy in its
body.

In the picture above, we can see that energy (shown here as kilocalories (kcal)) is lost as we
move up the pyramid from producer to tertiary consumer. This diagram also gives you an idea
that it takes a lot of plants to support the predators at the top of the pyramid, such as this owl.

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Chapter 2 activities

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Select for each box the animal that would fit the best in the food chain:

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Food webs:

Look at this food web and answer the questions:

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 Chapter 3
Geochemical Cycles
All the ecosystems are interrelated by different mechanisms that affect the lives of plant, animal
and human beings. The commonly known mechanisms are the water cycle, the carbon cycle, the
oxygen cycle, the nitrogen cycle and the energy cycle. All the ecosystems are controlled by these
cycles and their abiotic and biotic features are distinct. All the functions of the ecosystem are in
some way related to the growth and regeneration of its plant and animal species. Biogeochemical
cycles: the movement (or cycling) of matter through a system.

Carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus, for instance, recycle through complex biogeochemical
paths.

Flow of energy in an ecosystem takes place through the food chain and it is the energy flow
which keeps the ecosystem going.

The flow of energy is unidirectional or one way flow.

According to the first law of thermodynamics, energy can neither be created nor be destroyed but
it can only be transformed from one for to another.

Energy from sunlight is converted by plants themselves into growing new plant material which
includes leaves, flowers, fruit, branches, trunks and roots of plants.

1. Water cycle

The water cycle (hydrologic cycle) is composed of the interconnections between water reservoirs
in the environment and living organisms and the physical processes (e.g., evaporation and
condensation) involved in its transport between those reservoirs.

The oceans contain about 97 percent of the total water on the planet. Only three percent of the
water is fresh water. Most of the fresh water is locked up in glacial and cap ice or deep in the
earth where it is economically unfeasible to extract it.

The amount of fresh water available for human use is 0.003 percent of the total amount of fresh
water.

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Processes of the water cycle:

-Evaporation: liquid water is converted to water vapor. The source of energy for this process is
usually the sun. Water that evaporates from Earths oceans, lakes, rivers, and moist soil rises up
into the atmosphere.

-Transpiration: The process of evaporation from plants is called transpiration. (In other words,
its like plants sweating.)

-Condensation: When water transform into tiny droplets of liquid water and form clouds.

-Precipitation: When the water in the clouds gets too heavy, the water falls back to the earth. It
can precipitate under the form of rain or snow

-Runoff: Water falling on the ground can move downslope over the surface e.g.,. Water that
collects in rivers, streams, and oceans is called runoff.

-Infiltration: Water falling on the ground and penetrate the surface.

-Percolation: Water that infiltrates the surface can move slowly downward through the layers of
soil or porous rock in a process known as percolation.

Human activities that disrupt the natural balance of the water cycle:

1. Burning fossil fuels: Warmer air causes more evaporation and warm air holds more
water. This intensifies the water cycle. In areas around water, there may be more clouds
and precipitation.
2. Irrigation: causes soil infertility, depletion of underground aquifers causing land
subsidence or salt water intrusion from the ocean, clearing of land for farming,
construction, or mining, increase surface runoff and erosion and decreasing infiltration.

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 3. Increasing human populations and their concentration in certain geographic localities will
continue to stress water systems.

2. Carbon cycle:

Carbon is the basic building block of all organic materials, and therefore, of living organisms.

The vast majority of carbon resides as inorganic minerals in rocks. Other reservoirs of carbon
include the oceans and atmosphere.

Important processes of carbon cycle:

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-Plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere during photosynthesis, to produce glucose, and release
O2 and release CO2 back in to the atmosphere during respiration.

-Another major exchange of CO2 occurs between the oceans and the atmosphere. The dissolved
CO2 in the oceans is used by marine biota in photosynthesis.

- Fossil fuel burning and changing land use. In fossil fuel burning, coal, oil, natural gas, and
gasoline are consumed by industry, power plants, and automobiles. Notice that the arrow goes
only one way: from industry to the atmosphere.

- Changing land use is a broad term which encompasses essentially human activities. They
include agriculture, deforestation, and reforestation.

Human activities and carbon cycle:

1. Burning fossil fuels: increase CO and CO2 in the atmosphere causing global warming
2. Deforestation: leads to decrease photosynthesis and increase global warming

Result: increase CO2 and global warming by green house effect

3. Nitrogen cycle

Nitrogen is found in amino acids, proteins and nucleic acids (DNA, RNA). Molecular nitrogen
(N2) is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere. 80% of the air consists of nitrogen gas.

All living things need nitrogen to make protein but plants and animals cannot make use of the
nitrogen gas directly.

Animals must eat plant or animal protein to obtain their supply of nitrogen.

Plants absorb nitrogen from the soil in the form of nitrate.

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Important processes of nitrogen cycle

-Nitrogen fixation: the nitrogen gas is absorbed by bacteria (often found in the root nodules of
leguminous plants e.g. clover).The bacteria convert the nitrogen into ammonia.

-Nitrification: Bacteria convert the ammonium compounds in the soil into nitrites and then to
nitrates.

-The plants then absorb the nitrates through their roots to make use of the nitrogen. The plants
need the nitrogen, to make proteins.

-Decomposition: When plants and animals die, bacteria and fungi (micro-organisms) break them
down causing them to decompose. Decomposition of dead organisms and animal waste
containing nitrogen forms ammonium compounds.

-Denitrification: The nitrates in the soil mix with water and turn into a solution. Bacteria break
down the nitrates and release nitrogen gas.

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Humans have disturbed the nitrogen cycle

1. Fertilizers run-off, livestock sewage, sewage effluents and detergent rich in phosphates:
causes excessive supply of water with nitrogen and phosphates.
2. Eutrophication: (algal bloom formation) algae are simple photosynthetic plants that lack
roots. Most live in water; many are microscopic (phytoplankton). Their growth requires
light, carbon dioxide, warmth and mineral nutrients (nitrate & phosphate). If algae have
the right conditions they multiply rapidly forming an algal bloom. When these algae die
they decompose and their decomposition needs oxygen; so oxygen will dramatically
decrease in water leading to death of other organisms like fishes.
3. Untreated sewage: If raw or inadequately treated sewage escapes into a river, bacteria
feed on the sewage and rapidly multiply causing water to become cloudy reducing
photosynthesis, decreasing in oxygen and consequently causing the death of animal and
plant life.
4. Burning of fossil fuels: Increased atmospheric levels of nitrous oxide are thought to
contribute to global warming and acid rain. Acid rain damages healthy trees, destroys
aquatic systems and erodes building materials such as marble and lime-stones.

4. Phosphorus cycle

Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for plants and animals. Phosphorus is also a building block of
certain parts of the human and animal body, such as the bones and teeth.

The phosphorus cycle differs from the nitrogen and carbon cycles because phosphorus is unable
to achieve the gaseous state in the atmosphere. The phosphorus cycle occurs when phosphorus
moves from land to sediments in the seas and then back to land again. The main storage for

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phosphorus is in the earth's crust. On land phosphorus is usually found in the form of phosphates.
In the atmosphere, phosphorus is found as fine dust particles.

Human activities effects on phosphorus cycle

Fertilizers, animal wastes, municipal sewage and mining phosphate rocks as well as mining
phosphate rocks, increase availability of phosphates in water.

The increased availability of phosphate can cause overgrowth of algae. This reduces the oxygen
level, causing eutrophication and the destruction of other aquatic species.

5. Sulfur cycle:

Sulfur- S, it is an element naturally found in earth. It is present in proteins, amino acids,

vitamins, and enzymes, necessary for plants and animals.

Sulfur plays a vital role in organisms, especially as a minor and essential component of proteins.

Sulfur compound are important determinants for the acidity of rain, surface water, and soil.

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Most of the earths sulfur is accumulated in underground rocks.

Volcanic eruption and weathering release this inorganic sulfur into the air and water.

Human effects on sulfur cycle

-When mine ores, sulfur/sulfides released into soil

-Combustion of fossil fuels

-Release of SO2, causes acid rain, increases amount already present

-28% of sulfur in rivers is coming from pollution, mining, erosion, etc.

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 Chapter 3 Activities

Carbon and Nitrogen Cycle Activity:

1. Use the following diagram of the carbon cycle to help you match the letters to the statement.

Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere.

B A
F G

C Plants H
Fossil Fuels Dead Material
D

E Animals I

Process Letter (s)

photosynthesis
respiration
fossilation
combustion
death
consumption

What is the only process that removes carbon dioxide from the air?________________

______________________________________________________________________________
_

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2. The diagram below shows the nitrogen cycle.

Nitrogen in the atmosphere

B A Nodules A

C Lightning
Nitrates

Ammonium
compounds
Plants

Animals

i. Name bacteria A.____________________________________

ii. Name bacteria B.____________________________________

iii. Name bacteria C._____________________________________

iv. How do plants obtain their nitrogen._______________________________________

v. How do animals obtain their

nitrogen.__________________________________________

vi. Name the three ways atmospheric nitrogen can be changed to nitrates.

______________________________________________________________________________

vii. Why do all livings things need nitrogen?

________________________________________

viii. In what type of environmental conditions do bacteria B thrive in?___________________

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 Chapter 4
Agriculture, Food and Environment

Agriculture plays a major role in the entire life of a given economy. It provides not only food but
also raw materials for manufacturing industries like textiles, sugar, vegetables oil, jute and
tobacco.

I. Food Security

Food security means that all people at all times have economical and physical access to adequate
amounts of safe and appropriate foods, which are produced in an environmentally sustainable
and socially just manner, and that people are able to decide about their food choices.

Many of the poor have health problems from not getting enough food, while many people in
developed countries suffer health problems from eating too much.

A stable agricultural sector ensures a nation of food security. Food security prevents
malnourishment that has traditionally been believed to be one of the major problems faced by the
developing countries.

The greatest obstacles to providing enough food for everyone are poverty, political upheaval,
corruption, war, and the harmful environmental effects of food production.

II. Interaction between Agriculture and food

Agriculture produces food fundamental for human health. It therefore seems obvious that
agriculture, food, and health are related!

Agriculture affects whether people have enough food to eat, whether it is of sufficient nutritional
value, and whether it is safe, all of which affect human health.

14 plant species provide 90% of world food calories. 47% of world food calories come from rice,
wheat, and corn.

The development of agriculture had a direct impact on food consumption and health. In the
region with the first certain evidence of subsistence agriculturethe Fertile Crescent stretching
from present day southern Turkey to Iraqwheat, barley, peas, lentils, vetch, and flax were
developed.

Other crops developed in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe, changing diets and advancing
health. Plantation agriculture primarily in tropics include Bananas, Sugarcane, Coffee and
vegetables. They are exported primarily to developed countries

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Subsequent technical advances in farming consolidated the first great transition from hunter-
gathering to domestic food production enabling a dietary transition from local food to a different
range of foods traded beyond local bioregions.

III. Agricultural resources

Soil: Fertile soil for growing crops is an indispensable resource for our continued existence on
earth.

Water: more than 70% of fresh water withdrawn from rivers, lakes and ground water are used for
irrigation. Some countries are rich in water; others are poor and must use water carefully.

Green revolution:

The term Green Revolution refers to the renovation of agricultural practices beginning in Mexico
in the 1940s. Because of its success in producing more agricultural products there, Green
Revolution technologies spread worldwide in the 1950s and 1960s, significantly increasing the
amount of calories produced per acre of agriculture.

The crops developed during the Green Revolution were high yield varieties - meaning they were
domesticated plants bred specifically to respond to fertilizers and produce an increased amount
of grain per acre planted.

By selectively breeding plants that were not sensitive to day length, researchers like Borlaug
were able to double a crops production because the plants were not limited to certain areas of
the globe based solely on the amount of light available to them.

Impacts of the Green Revolution

1. Since fertilizers are largely what made the Green Revolution possible, they forever
changed agricultural practices because the high yield varieties developed during this time
cannot grow successfully without the help of fertilizers.

2. Irrigation also played a large role in the Green Revolution and this forever changed the
areas where various crops can be grown. For instance before the Green Revolution,
agriculture was severely limited to areas with a significant amount of rainfall, but by
using irrigation, water can be stored and sent to drier areas, putting more land into
agricultural production - thus increasing nationwide crop yields.

3. In addition, the development of high yield varieties meant that only a few species of say,
rice started being grown. In India for example there were about 30,000 rice varieties prior
to the Green Revolution, today there are around ten - all the most productive types. By
having this increased crop homogeneity though the types were more prone to disease and
pests because there were not enough varieties to fight them off. In order to protect these
few varieties then, pesticide use grew as well.

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 4. Finally, the use of Green Revolution technologies exponentially increased the amount of
food production worldwide. Places like India and China that once feared famine have not
experienced it since implementing the use of rice and other food varieties.

Criticism of the Green Revolution

Along with the benefits gained from the Green Revolution, there have been several
criticisms.

1. The first is that the increased amount of food production has led to overpopulation
worldwide.

2. The second major criticism is that places like Africa have not significantly benefited from
the Green Revolution. The major problems surrounding the use of these technologies
here though are a lack of infrastructure, governmental corruption, and insecurity in
nations.

3. Green-house gases emission: High yield agriculture has dramatic effects on the amount of
carbon cycling in the atmosphere. The way in which farms are grown, in tandem with
the seasonal carbon cycling of various crops, could alter the impact carbon in the
atmosphere has on global warming. Wheat, rice, and soybean crops, account for a
significant amount of the increase in carbon in the atmosphere over the last 50 years

4. Dependence on non-renewable resources: Most high intensity agricultural production

is highly reliant on non-renewable resources. Agricultural machinery and transport, as
well as the production of pesticides and nitrates all depend on fossil fuels

5. Health impact: The consumption of the pesticides used to kill pests by humans in some
cases may be increasing the likelihood of cancer in some of the rural villages using them.

6. Despite these criticisms though, the Green Revolution has forever changed the
way agriculture is conducted worldwide, benefiting the people of many nations in need of
increased food production.

Drivers of changes in agricultural production

Population growth will actually slow down, but demands will still grow because of:

Income growth in developing countries -changing diet (Since 1970, average caloric intake in
developing countries has jumped from just over 2,000 per person per day to over 2,600.) Need
for livestock products (fish), sugar and oil. By 2050, average meat consumption per person will
be 40% higher than in 2010 (+ 70% in developing countries)

Increasing energy demand: production of biofuels (type of energy or fuel derived from plant and
animal materials).

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Globalization (large-scale, monoculture)

Trade liberalization (The overall volume of food imports to developing countries is expected to
more than double to 2050.

Urbanization (land abandonment in rural areas)

Climate change (Balkan countries are especially vulnerable)

Land degradation, desertification, and water scarcity.

Urbanization is often considered as having negative impacts on agriculturefor instance, from

the loss of agricultural land to urban expansion and an urban bias in public funding for
infrastructure, services and subsidies.

Higher income nations may no longer urbanize, but this is largely the result of non-agricultural
workers being able to live in rural areas or industrial and service enterprises located in rural
areas.

Low- and middle-income nations with no economic success will have little urbanization. In
extreme crisis, they may de-urbanize through an increase in the proportion of the population
working in agriculture, forestry and fishing. But this is only likely in nations where parts of the
urban poor still have the links in rural areas that allow their reincorporation into rural livelihoods.

The effects of natural disasters - floods, bush- fires, hurricanes, earthquakes and droughts -
are all considered when assessing the quantity of food being produced and available

Drought's most severe effects on agriculture include water quality and quantity issues. Other
impacts include decreased crop yields, impact to feed and forage, and altered plant populations.

Earthquakes cause dramatic changes to the landscape of an area that can have devastating
impacts on agricultural production and the environment. These impacts could include loss of
harvest or livestock and destruction of irrigation systems and other agricultural infrastructure.

Extreme cold may result in loss of livestock, increased deicing, downed power lines, and
increased use of generators. Deicing can impact agriculture by damaging local ecosystems and
contaminating water bodies. Downed power lines cause people to run generators more often,
which can release harmful air pollutants.

Hot weather and extreme heat can worsen ozone levels and air quality as well as leading to
drought conditions. Excessive heat and prolonged dry or drought conditions can impact
agriculture by creating worker safety issues for farm field workers, severely damaging crops, and
reducing availability of water and food supply for livestock.

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Wildfires can spread quickly and devastate thousands of acres of land, which may include
agricultural lands. This devastation could lead to large losses in crops, forestry, livestock, and
agricultural infrastructure.

Flooding causes many impacts to agricultural production, including water contamination,

damage to crops, loss of livestock, increased susceptibility of livestock to disease, flooded farm
machinery, and environmental damage to and from agricultural chemicals.

Hurricanes can produce violent winds, incredible waves, torrential rains, and floods. Hurricanes
can have devastating impacts on agriculture, many of which are similar to those for flooding,
which include loss of livestock, water contamination, damage to crops, increased susceptibility
of livestock to disease, and flooded farm machinery.

Tornadoes can appear without much warning and have the potential to devastate an area very
quickly. This devastation can impact agriculture by contaminating water and destroying crops,
livestock, and other farm property

Tsunamis: Some of the hazards associated with tsunamis that can impact agriculture include
flooding, contamination of water, and fires from gas lines or ruptured tanks. These events can
cause crop damage, livestock losses, facility damage, and loss of fishery stocks.

Volcanic ash can travel hundreds to thousands of miles downwind from a volcano. Ash can be
hazardous to grazing livestock and can damage or shutdown drinking water and wastewater
treatment facilities.

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 Chapter 4 activities

Class discussions for the following charts

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Page | 40
 Chapter 5
Toxicology

I. Definitions:

Toxicology can be defined as that branch of science that deals with poisons.

A poison can be defined as any substance that causes a harmful effect when administered to a
living organism.

Toxins are harmful substances that react with specific cellular components to kill cells. They are
harmful even in small doses.

II. Types of toxins

Toxins can be classified into subcategories according to:

Their effect on organs: liver, kidneys, lungs.

Their use: pesticides, solvents, food additives..
Their sources (animal or vegetal)
Their effects as:
o general toxins that kill different kind of cells
o extremely specific in their target and mode of action
They can be either general toxins that kill different kind of cells or extremely specific in their
target and mode of action:

Mutagens: affects DNA

Teratogens: cause abnormality during embryonic growth

Carcinogens: cause cancer

III. Routes of entry:

There are three primary routes of entry into the body: ingestion, skin or eye absorption,
and inhalation.

1. -Ingestion: This means taking a material into the body by mouth (swallowing). Ingestion
of toxic materials may occur as a result of eating in a contaminated work area.
2. -Absorption: Substances that contact the eye and the skin may be either absorbed into the
body or cause local effects. For the majority of organic compounds, the contribution from
skin absorption to the total exposure should not be neglected.

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 3. -Inhalation: This means taking a material into the body by breathing it in. In the lungs,
very tiny blood vessels are in constant contact with the air we breathe in. As a result,
airborne contaminants can be easily absorbed through this tissue. In the occupational
environment, this is generally the most important route of entry.

IV. Movement, distribution and fate of toxin

Exposure to toxins can be through the air, water, food and soil. The dose is the actual amount of
a chemical that enter the body.

Dose-response suggests that a dose, or a time of exposure (to a chemical, drug, or toxic
substance), will cause an effect (response) on the exposed organism.

Uptake of toxins into organisms can result in accumulation in tissues and transfer from one
organism to another.

Solubility of toxins is one of most important characteristics to determine how, where and when a
toxic material will move through the body to its site of action. Chemicals are divided into water
soluble and fat soluble toxins.

Water soluble materials move widely and rapidly in the environment and to cells.

Fat soluble toxins move inside cells and accumulate in lipid deposit where they can stay
for many years

Bioaccumulation is defined as the process by which organisms accumulate chemicals both

directly from the abiotic environment (i.e., water, air, soil) and from dietary sources (trophic
transfer).

Primary sites of uptake include membranes of the lungs, and gastrointestinal tract, while
integument (skin) and associated structures (scales, feathers, fur, etc.) provide a protective barrier
against many environmental Toxins.

Biomagnification means that toxins load of a large number of organisms at a lower level is
accumulated and concentrated by a higher trophic level.

Exp. Heavy metals accumulate in bacteria and phytoplankton then pass to zooplankton
and soon to higher trophic level in the food chain.

Sensitivity: Some people are more sensitive to toxins than others. Age, body weight, nutritional
or immunological status and ability to deactivate toxins or repair damage all help determine how
we react to a given toxin.

Persistence: Some chemicals are very unstable and degrade rapidly under most environmental
conditions so that their concentration decline quickly after release. exp. modern pesticides.

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Other substances are more persistent and last long time.exp. PVC plastics and old pesticides.

V. Mechanisms for minimizing toxic effects:

Metabolic degradation and excretion: most organisms have enzymes that process waste and
poisons to reduce their toxicity.

-In humans this process of minimizing toxic effects occurs in liver.

-volatile substances are excreted through lungs.

-Toxin can be eliminated through kidneys, colon and stomach.

VI. Environmental health risks and Diseases

It is often difficult to link pollutants to their effects on people Exposures to environmental

pollution remain a major source of health risk throughout the world, though risks are generally
higher in developing countries, where poverty, lack of investment in modern technology and
weak environmental legislation combine to cause high pollution levels. Associations between
environmental pollution and health outcome are, however, complex and often poorly
characterized.

Levels of exposure, for example, are often uncertain or unknown as a result of the lack of
detailed monitoring and inevitable variations within any population group. Exposures may occur
via a range of pathways and exposure processes. Individual pollutants may be implicated in a
wide range of health effects, whereas few diseases are directly attributable to single pollutants.

Acute toxicity is defined as toxicity appearing as a result of short-term exposure to a toxicant.

Incidences of acute toxicity in the environment are commonly associated with accident or
imprudent use of the chemical.

Chronic toxicity is defined as toxicity elicited as a result of long-term exposure to a toxicant.

Sub-lethal end points are generally associated with chronic toxicity. These include reproductive,
immune, endocrine, and developmental dysfunction.

Environmental impacts on human health include fibrosis, autoimmunity, COPD, asthma, cancers
of the lung and pleura, heart disease, developmental defects, chronic inflammatory diseases, air
pollution, neurotoxins, cancers caused by environmental agents, epidemiology of asthma,
autoimmune disorders, neurodegenerative disease, immuno-toxicology, autoimmunity, gene-
environment interactions, dioxins, toxicity of natural products, immune modulation by natural
products, chemistry of air pollution, anticancer drug discovery, mechanisms of toxicity, metals,
developmental toxicology, arsenic toxicology, cardiovascular effects, GPCR, respiratory
toxicology, asthma, lung inflammation, fibrosis, autoimmune disease following exposure to
silicates, asbestos, and organophosphate toxicology.

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VII. Risk Assessment

Risk assessment is a process by which scientists evaluate the potential for adverse health or
environmental effects from exposure to naturally occurring or synthetic agents. These agents
include chemicals such as those that occur in food naturally, food additives, drugs, and
environmental contaminants, and physical agents, such as radiation or electromagnetic fields.

Risk assessment typically includes an estimate of the probability of harm, such as the probability
of liver toxicity after use of a particular drug or the effect that a chemical in the environment may
have on wildlife, and a clear description of the various assumptions and uncertainties that go into
the risk assessment.

Chapter 5 Activities

Discussions of our daily encountered toxic substances

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 Chapter 6
Water Resources

I. Sources of water

Life is possible on earth due to the presence of water. Nearly three-fourths of the earth's surface
is covered with water. Water is also found below the earth's surface. It is present in air in the
form of water vapour.

Rainwater, oceans, rivers, lakes, streams, ponds and springs are natural sources of water. Dams,
wells, tube wells, hand-pumps, canals, etc, are man-made sources of water.

Rain Water:

Rain water collects on the earth in the form of surface water and underground water

Surface Water:

Water present on the surface of the earth in the form of oceans, rivers, lakes, ponds and streams
is called surface water. The water in rivers and lakes comes from rain and melting of snow on
mountains. Rivers flow into the sea.

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Underground Water:

Some of the rainwater seeps through the soil on to the non-porous rocks below. This is
underground water. Sometimes due to high pressure, this water sprouts out in the form of
springs. It can be obtained by digging wells, sinking tube wells, etc.

II. Water use

Water resources are sources of water that are useful or potentially useful. Uses of water include
agricultural, industrial, household, recreational and environmental activities. The majority of
human uses require fresh water.

97% of the water on the Earth is salt water.

Only 3% is fresh water; slightly over two thirds of this, is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps.
The remaining unfrozen fresh water is found mainly as groundwater, with only a small fraction
present above ground or in the air.

Agriculture

It is estimated that 70% of worldwide water use is for irrigation, with 15-35% of irrigation
withdrawals being unsustainable.

Industry

It is estimated that 22% of worldwide water is used in industry. Major industrial users include:

-hydroelectric dams, thermoelectric power plants, which use water for cooling

- Ore and oil refineries, which use water in chemical processes.

-Manufacturing plants, which use water as a solvent.

Household: It is estimated that 8% of worldwide water use is for household purposes

Fresh water is a renewable resource, yet the world's supply of groundwater is steadily
decreasing, with depletion occurring most prominently in Asia and North America, although it is
still unclear how much natural renewal balances this usage, and whether ecosystems are
threatened.

The framework for allocating water resources to water users (where such a framework exists) is
known as water rights.

III. Management of water uses

The uneven distribution of rainfall has often threatened human welfare, livelihood and economic
development.

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The growing scarcity of water is due to the rapid growth of population, rising demand for food
and cash crops, increasing urbanisation and rising standard of living. All these have increased the
acuteness of the problem of water scarcity in future.

Water resource management is the activity of planning, developing, distributing and managing
the optimum use of water resources. It is a sub-set of water cycle management.

For efficient water conservation and management, the following points are to be kept in mind:

1. To aware people about the necessity of water and its conservation.

2. To involve people in all the activities of water management.

3. To make people aware that treated water should not be used in gardening, washing
toilets and wash basins and so on.

4. Drying up of underground aquifers should be prevented.

5. Water-bodies should be kept pollution-free.

6. Different measures for specific area should be adopted for efficient water management,
and active cooperation of the local people should also be sought in every measure. In
spite of the fact that irrigation facilities in the country have improved considerably since
independence, two-third of the cropped area is still rained. Increased use of tube wells
and wells in recent years has lowered the water table and has caused depletion of
underground water resources.

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Chapter 6 Activities

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 Chapter 7
Water pollution

- Sources of water pollution

- Types of Water Pollutants

- Effects of water pollution on the environment

-Solutions for water pollution

I. Sources of water pollution

Two types of water pollution sources: Point and Nonpoint Sources

-A point source pollution is a single, identifiable source of pollution, such as pipe or a drain.

Exp: Industrial wastes and wastewater treatment plants are commonly discharged to rivers and
sea in this way.

-A nonpoint source pollution, often termed diffuse pollution refers to those inputs and impacts
which occur over a wide area and are not easily attributed to a single source.

Exp: Water pollution sources are often associated with particular land: urban street rural homes,
cropland, animal feedlot, suburban development

Major sources of water pollution includes the following:

Agriculture: by far the leader. Sediment, fertilizers, bacteria from livestock, food processing, salt
from soil irrigation

Industrial: factories and power plants

Mining: surface mining toxics, acids, sediment.

Oil spills in oceans: Oceans are polluted by oil on a daily basis from oil spills, routine shipping,
run-offs and dumping.

Oil spills make up about 12% of the oil that enters the ocean. The rest come from shipping travel,
drains and dumping.

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II. Major types of water pollutants and their effect

The various types of water pollutants can be classified in to following major categories:

1) Organic pollutants

2) Pathogens

3) Nutrients and agriculture runoff

4) Suspended solids

5) Inorganic pollutants (salts and metals)

6) Thermal Pollution

7) Radioactive pollutants

1. Organic pollutants

Organic pollutants can be further divided in to following categories:

a) Oxygen Demanding wastes: The wastewaters such as, domestic and municipal sewage,
wastewater from food processing industries, canning industries, slaughter houses, paper and pulp
mills, tanneries, breweries, distilleries, etc. have considerable concentration of biodegradable
organic compounds either in suspended, colloidal or dissolved form. These wastes undergo
degradation and decomposition by bacterial activity.
The dissolved oxygen available in the water body will be consumed for aerobic oxidation of
organic matter present in the wastewater. Hence, depletion of the DO will be a serious problem
adversely affecting aquatic life, if the DO falls below 4.0 mg/L. This decrease of DO is an index
of pollution.

b) Synthetic Organic Compounds

Synthetic organic compounds are also likely to enter the ecosystem through various man-made
activities such as production of these compounds, spillage during transportation, and their uses in
different applications.
These include synthetic pesticides, synthetic detergents, food additives, pharmaceuticals,
insecticides, paints, synthetic fibers, plastics, solvents and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Most of these compounds are toxic and nonbiodegradable i.e., they are resistant to microbial
degradation. Even concentration of some of these in traces may make water unfit for different
uses. The detergents can form foams and volatile substances may cause explosion in sewers.

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Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are used in the industries since 1930s which are complex
mixtures of chlorobiphenyls. Being a fat soluble they move readily through the environment and
within the tissues or cells. Once introduced into environment, these compounds are exceedingly
persistent and their stability to chemical reagents is also high.

c) Oil: Oil enters in to water through oil spills, leak from oil pipes, and wastewater from
production and refineries. This pollutant is also responsible for endangering water birds and
coastal plants due to coating of oils and adversely affecting the normal activities.
It also results in reduction of light transmission through surface waters, thereby reducing the
photosynthetic activity of the aquatic plants. Oil includes polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
(PAH), some of which are known to be carcinogenic.

2. Pathogens: (disease causing organisms)

The pathogenic microorganisms enter in to water body through sewage discharge as a major
source or through the wastewater from industries like slaughterhouses.
Viruses and bacteria can cause water borne diseases, such as cholera, typhoid, dysentery, polio
and infectious hepatitis in human.

3. Nutrients:
The agriculture run-off, wastewater from fertilizer industry and sewage contains substantial
concentration of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous. These waters supply nutrients to the
plants and may stimulate the growth of algae and other aquatic weeds in receiving waters.
Thus, the value of the water body is degraded.
In long run, water body reduces DO, leads to eutrophication and ends up as a dead pool of
water.
People swimming in eutrophic waters containing blue-green algae can have skin and eye
irritation, gastroenteritis and vomiting.
High nitrogen levels in the water supply, causes a potential risk, especially to infants under six
months. This is when the methemoglobin results in a decrease in the oxygen carrying capacity of
the blood (blue baby disease) as nitrate ions in the blood readily oxidize ferrous ions in the
hemoglobin.

4. Suspended solids or particles :

These comprise of silt, sand and minerals eroded from land. These appear in the water through
the surface runoff during rainy season and through municipal sewers. This can lead to the
siltation, reduces storage capacities of reservoirs.
Presence of suspended solids can block the sunlight penetration in the water, which is required
for the photosynthesis by bottom vegetation.
Deposition of the solids in water affects the normal aquatic life and affects the diversity of the
aquatic ecosystem. Fine suspended solids such as silt and coal dust may injure the gills of fishes
and cause asphyxiation.

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5. Inorganic pollutants:
Apart from the organic matter discharged in the water body through sewage and industrial
wastes, high concentration of heavy metals and other inorganic pollutants contaminate the water.
These compounds are non-biodegradable and persist in the environment. These pollutants
include mineral acids, inorganic salts and heavy metals.
The accumulation of heavy metals may have adverse effect on aquatic flora and fauna and may
constitute a public health problem where contaminated organisms are used for food. Algal
growth due to nitrogen and phosphorous compounds can be observed.
Metals in high concentration can be toxic to biota e.g. Hg, Cu, Cd, Pb, As, and Se. Copper
greater than 0.1 mg/L is toxic to microbes.

6. Thermal pollution:
Considerable thermal pollution results due to discharge of hot water from thermal power plants,
nuclear power plants, and industries where water is used as coolant. As a result of hot water
discharge, the temperature of water body increases; which reduces the DO content of the water
and adversely affecting the aquatic life. This alters the spectrum of organisms, which can adopt
to live at that temperature and DO level. When organic matter is also present, the bacterial action
increases due to rise in temperature; hence, resulting in rapid decrease of DO.
The discharge of hot water leads to the thermal stratification in the water body, where hot water
will remain on the top.

7. Radioactive pollutants:
Radioactive materials originate from the following:
1. Mining and processing of ores, use in research, agriculture, medical and industrial
activities.
2. Radioactive discharges from nuclear power plants and nuclear reactors, uses and testing
of nuclear weapons.
These isotopes are toxic to the life forms; they accumulate in the bones, teeth and can cause
serious disorders.

III. Solution to water pollution

There is no easy way to solve water pollution; if there were, it wouldn't be so much of a problem.
1. Reducing Nutrient and Pesticide Pollution: Solutions to water pollution caused by excess
nutrients and chemical pesticides can be found in following broad categories:
2. Encourage smart agricultural practices...
3. Reduce urban/suburban runoff of lawn fertilizers and pesticides...
4. Prevent further destruction wetlands, and reestablish them wherever possible..
5. .Improve sewage treatment
a. -Reducing Sewage Pollution:
b. -Eliminate "straight pipes."
6. Conserve water

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 7. Reducing Pollution from Oil and Petroleum Liquids: The first-level solution to this type
of water pollution is to stop letting so much oil and oil by products get into the water in
the first place. Yes, we must reduce the occurrences of oil spills; but more importantly,
we must reduce the amount of petroleum pollution getting into water ways from non-spill
sources, which contribute far more to the problem than spills.
8. Cleaning Up Chemical Pollution: Chemicals are everywhere, in everything"better
living through chemistry" has turned out to have a serious pollution downside.
9. Fighting Global Warming: In terms of water pollution, there are two main threats from
global warming: Ocean Acidification and Ocean Temperature

Sewage treatment:

Greywater, is wastewater generate from domestic activities such as laundry, dishwashing, and
bathing, which can be recycled on-site for uses such as landscape irrigation and constructed
wetlands.

Black water: water from the toilets: sewage or black water: it contains human waste.

Sewage travels in a septic tank, then to a leaching field. In high population areas they must be
concerned about the possibility of high nitrates levels in the groundwater.

The basic methods of treating municipal wastewater fall into three stages:

1. Primary Treatment: including grit removal, screening, grinding, and sedimentation.

2. Secondary Treatment: which entails oxidation of dissolved organic matter by means of
using biologically active sludge, which is then filtered off
3. Tertiary Treatment: in which advanced biological methods of nitrogen removal and
chemical and physical methods such as granular filtration and activated carbon
absorption are employed. Wastewater can be treated completely at the plant and either
reused or discharged directly into receiving waters.

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Page | 54
 Chapter 7 Activities/ Discussion

Case study: The Minamata Disaster, Japan

The Chisso Corporation first opened a chemical factory in Minamata in 1908.

Initially producing fertilizers, the factory followed the nationwide expansion of Japan's
chemical industry, branching out into production of acetylene, acetaldehyde, acetic
acid, vinyl chloride, and octanol, among others.
The Minamata factory became the most advanced in all of Japan, both before and
after World War II.
The waste products resulting from the manufacture of these chemicals were released into
Minamata Bay through the factory wastewater.
These pollutants had an environmental impact. Fisheries were damaged in terms of
reduced catches, and in response, Chisso reached two separate compensation agreements
with the fishery cooperative in 1926 and 1943.
On April 21, 1956, a five-year-old girl was examined at the Chisso Corporation's factory hospital
in Minamata, Kumamoto.

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 The physicians were puzzled by her symptoms: difficulty walking, difficulty speaking,
and convulsions. Two days later, her younger sister also began to exhibit the same
symptoms and she, too, was hospitalized.
The girls' mother informed doctors that her neighbor's daughter was also experiencing
similar problems. After a house-to-house investigation, eight further patients were
discovered and hospitalized.
On May 1, the hospital director reported to the local public health office the discovery of
an "epidemic of an unknown disease of the central nervous system", marking the official
discovery of Minamata disease

They found that the victims, often members of the same family, were clustered in
fishing hamlets along the shore of Minamata Bay. The food of victims was
invariably fish and shellfish from Minamata Bay.
The cats in the local area, which tended to eat scraps from the family table, had died
with symptoms similar to those now discovered in humans. This led the researchers
to believe that the outbreak was caused by some kind of food poisoning, with
contaminated fish and shellfish being the prime suspects.

On November 4, the research group announced its initial findings: "Minamata disease is rather
considered to be poisoning by a heavy metal, presumably it enters the human body mainly
through fish and shellfish."
In February 1959, the mercury distribution in Minamata Bay was investigated. The results
shocked the researchers involved. Large quantities of mercury were detected in fish,
shellfish, and sludge from the bay.
The highest concentrations centered on the Chisso factory wastewater canal in Hyakken
Harbour and decreased going out to sea, clearly identifying the plant as the source of
contamination.
Pollution was so heavy at the mouth of the wastewater canal; a figure of 2 kg of mercury
per ton of sediment was measured: a level that would be economically viable to mine.
Indeed, Chisso did later set up a subsidiary to reclaim and sell the mercury recovered
from the sludge.[17]
Hair samples were taken from the victims of the disease and also from the Minamata population
in general. In patients, the maximum mercury level recorded was 705 parts per million (ppm),
indicating very heavy exposure
On November 12, 1959, the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Minamata Food Poisoning
Subcommittee published its results:
"Minamata disease is a poisoning disease that affects mainly the central nervous
system and is caused by the consumption of large quantities of fish and shellfish
living in Minamata Bay and its surroundings, the major causative agent being some
sort of organic mercury compound."

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 Symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, loss
of peripheral vision, and damage to hearing and speech. In extreme
cases, insanity, paralysis, coma, and death follow within weeks of the onset of symptoms.
A congenital form of the disease can also affect fetuses in the womb.
As of March 2001, 2,265 victims had been officially recognised as having Minamata
disease (1,784 of whom had died)[2] and over 10,000 had received financial compensation
from Chisso.[3] By 2004, Chisso Corporation had paid $86 million in compensation, and
in the same year was ordered to clean up its contamination.[4] On March 29, 2010, a
settlement was reached to compensate as-yet uncertified victims.[5]
A second outbreak of Minamata disease occurred in Niigata Prefecture in 1965. The
original Minamata disease and Niigata Minamata disease are considered two of the four
big pollution diseases of Japan.
Today
The company's "historical overview" in its current website makes no mention of their role
in the mass contamination of Minamata and the dreadful aftermath.
Their 2004 Annual Report however reports an equivalent of about US$50 million (5,820
million yen) in "Minamata Disease Compensation Liabilities". From 2000 to 2003, the
company also reported total compensation liabilities of over US$170 million.
Their FY2004 and FY2005 reports refer to Minamata disease as "mad hatter's disease", a
term coined from the mercury poisoning experienced by hat-makers of the last few
centuries
A memorial service was held at the Minamata Disease Municipal Museum on 1 May
2006 to mark 50 years since the official discovery of the disease.
On Monday, March 29, 2010, a group of 2,123 uncertified victims reached a settlement
with the government of Japan, the Kumamoto Prefectural government, and Chisso
Corporation to receive individual lump-sum payments of 2.1 million yen and monthly
medical allowances.

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 Chapter 8
Waste Generation and Disposal

In the past and still in many countries, waste was dumped in nearest convenient places such as
disused places. Later these places were sold for construction, but due to leakage of wastes, many
diseases appeared, like birth defects, seizures and learning problems.

I. Definition: substances or objects which are disposed of or are intended to be disposed of or

are required to be disposed of by the provisions of the law

Disposal means any operation which may lead to resource recovery, recycling, reclamation,
direct re-use or alternative uses.

II. Types of wastes:

-Solid wastes: domestic, commercial and industrial wastes especially common as co-disposal of
wastes. Examples: plastics, bottles, cans, papers, scrap iron, and other trash.

-Liquid Wastes: wastes in liquid form. Examples: domestic washings, chemicals, oils, waste
water from ponds, manufacturing industries and other sources.

-Bio-degradable means: they can be degraded (paper, wood, fruits and others)

-Non-biodegradable: cannot be degraded (plastics, bottles, old machines, cans, and others).

-Hazardous wastes: Substances unsafe to use commercially, industrially, agriculturally, or

economically that are shipped, transported to or brought from the country of origin for dumping
or disposal in, or in transit through, any part of the territory of the Philippines

-Non-hazardous: Substances safe to use commercially, industrially, agriculturally, or

economically that are shipped, transported to or brought from the country of origin for dumping
or disposal in, or in transit through, any part of the territory of the Philippines

III. Management of wastes:

Waste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal, and monitoring
of waste materials.

Waste management can involve solid, liquid, gaseous or radioactive substances, with different
methods and fields of expertise for each.

Hierarchy in waste management means priority of the methods; we call it: 4Rs: reduce-re-use-
recycle-remove (dispose).

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Waste management needs information on nature of waste and its impact on environment, costs
and benefits of each option.

Each method of waste management has its own advantage and disadvantage.

1. Waste reduction: has the greatest potential for conserving resources and protecting the
environment by not producing or purchasing items which are superfluous to requirements. Items
not required or used, sooner or later become 'waste'.

2. Reuse: means the actual use of the product in its original form without additional processing.
Products are used many times before becoming waste. exp. food and drink tank.

Products can be re-used by other consumers for other purposes.exp. Shopping bag as rubbish bin

Advantages of re-use are:

-Saving of energy and raw materials

-Reduced disposal needs and costs

3. Recycling: Its one of the most accepted means of reducing municipal solid waste generated
by the community by diverting material from the waste stream for reprocessing into similar
products.

There are many types of wastes that can be recycled; These include glass, metals, plastics, rubber
and leather, textiles and wood, and food and garden wastes.

Two types of recycling:

-Primary recycling: post-consumer products are used to produce new products of

the same type. exp: newspaper, soft drink cans
-Secondary recycling: post-consumer products are used to produces new different
products: plastic materials

Recycling often uses less energy than waste disposal, conserves resources and prevent waste
from ending in landfills or incinerators and less pollution

Composting is an example of recycling: It is used in case of biodegradable wastes. Composting

removes waste from landfill or incinerators and creates a product that can be used as soil
nutrient.

4.Remove or dispose: products that cannot be recycled or re-used must be disposed in landfill
and incineration. These methods have many impact and must regulated. Regulation and
treatment methods vary among countries

4.1. landfill: is the process of dumping wastes in the land.

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4.2. Incineration: is the process of burning of wastes through use of incinerators, boilers.
Advantages:
-Incineration reduce the volume of waste by 90%
-Incineration products are disposed in landfill
-Incineration at high temperature can kill all microorganisms

IV. Effects of waste management:

1. Landfill: the main problems in assessing landfill health effects are:
-Unknown mixture of chemicals
-Unknown exposure route: soil, air, water, agriculture
-Unknown doses
Health effects associated with landfill are: low birth rate, birth defects and cancers
2. Composting:
Products from composting can leach into water or produce gaseous emission
Workers may be exposed to pathogenic fungi and bacteria
3. Incineration produces pollutants:
-Dioxins: cancers and birth defects
-Heavy metals: acute toxicity, cancer, low birth rate
-Particulates: respiratory disorders
4.Landfill: Hazardous waste disposed in land fill. Health effects associated with landfill are: low
birth rate, birth defects and cancers.

V.Global issues of waste management:

The main issue of waste management is Climate change
Landfill produces methane, a greenhouse gas
Incineration produces CO2 and other greenhouse gases that lead to global warming
Composting also produces methane and CO2
Recycling and re-use have positive impact on environment

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 Chapter 8 Activities

Discussion of the Garbage state in Lebanon

Where are we now?

What are the methods of waste treatment that you know?

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 Chapter 9
Air pollution
Classifications of Air Pollutants

1. Criteria Pollutants
There are 6 principal, or criteria pollutants regulated by the US-EPA and most countries in the
world:
a. Total suspended particulate matter (TSP), with additional subcategories of particles smaller
than 10 m in diameter (PM10), and particles smaller than 2.5 m in diameter (PM2.5).
PM can exist in solid or liquid form, and includes smoke, dust, aerosols, metallic oxides,
and pollen.
Sources of PM include combustion, factories, construction, demolition, agricultural
activities, motor vehicles, and wood burning.
Inhalation of enough PM over time increases the risk of chronic respiratory disease.

b. Sulfur dioxide (SO2). This compound is colorless, but has a suffocating, pungent odor. The
primary source of SO2 is the combustion of sulfur-containing fuels (e.g., oil and coal). Exposure
to SO2 can cause the irritation of lung tissues and can damage health and materials.

c. Nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2). NO2 is a reddish-brown gas with a sharp odor. The primary
source of this gas is vehicle traffic, and it plays a role in the formation of tropospheric ozone.
Large concentrations can reduce visibility and increase the risk of acute and chronic respiratory
disease.

d. Carbon monoxide (CO). This odorless, colorless gas is formed from the incomplete
combustion of fuels. Thus, the largest source of CO today is motor vehicles. Inhalation of CO
reduces the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream, and high concentrations can lead to headaches,
dizziness, unconsciousness, and death.

e. Ozone (O3). Tropospheric (low-level) ozone is a secondary pollutant formed when sunlight
causes photochemical reactions involving NOX and VOCs. Automobiles are the largest source
of VOCs necessary for these reactions. Ozone concentrations tend to peak in the afternoon, and
can cause eye irritation, aggravation of respiratory diseases, and damage to plants and animals.

2. Lead (Pb)
The largest source of Pb in the atmosphere has been from leaded gasoline combustion, but with
the gradual elimination worldwide of lead in gasoline, air Pb levels have decreased considerably.
Other airborne sources include combustion of solid waste, coal, and oils, emissions from iron

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and steel production and lead smelters, and tobacco smoke. Exposure to Pb can affect the blood,
kidneys, and nervous, immune, cardiovascular, and reproductive systems.

3. Toxic Pollutants
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPS), also called toxic air pollutants or air toxics, are those
pollutants that cause or may cause cancer or other serious health effects, such as reproductive
effects or birth defects. The US-EPA is required to control 188 hazardous air pollutants
Examples of toxic air pollutants include benzene, which is found in gasoline; perchlorethlyene,
which is emitted from some dry cleaning facilities; and methylene chloride, which is used as a
solvent and paint stripper by a number of industries.

4 Radioactive Pollutants
Radioactivity is an air pollutant that is both natural and anthropogenic. Natural radioactivity
results from the presence of radionuclides originating either from radioactive minerals in the
earths crust or from the interaction of cosmic radiation with atmospheric gases. Anthropogenic
radioactive emissions originate from nuclear reactors, the atomic energy industry (mining and
processing of reactor fuel), nuclear weapon explosions, and plants that reprocess spent reactor
fuel. Since coal contains small quantities of uranium and thorium, these

What happens to pollutants in the atmosphere?

1. Photochemical smog: Photochemical smog is formed when emissions containing nitrogen
oxide, such as car exhaust, interact with volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight.
The oxygen in the compounds and the heat from the sunlight react to form ground-level ozone.
Such a situation is known as smog (smoke + fog).
Smog requires sunlight, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and temperatures of at least
18 degrees Celsius to form. Sunlight breaks down nitrogen dioxides into nitrogen oxide and
atomic oxygen molecules. The free atomic oxygen then reacts with atmospheric oxygen to form
ozone.
The most well-known example is that of the London Smog that occurred in 1952. The city
used large quantities of sulfur containing coal for domestic heating that released smoke, along
with smoke from thermal power plants and other industrial establishments. This used to lead to
the generation of high levels of smoke containing sulfur oxides.
Within two days of the formation of this smog, people started suffering from acute pulmonary
disorders which caused irritation of bronchi, cough, nasal discharges, sore throat, vomiting and
burning sensations in the eyes. This event leads to several deaths.
Smog represents a grave threat to the health of plants, humans and animals, according to the
Environmental Protection Agency. Smog can irritate respiratory systems, aggravate chronic lung
conditions and asthma, and even cause permanent lung damage. Smog causes damage to forests,
crops and other green life and can destroy large swaths of vegetation.

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2. Sulfur dioxide irritates respiratory tissues. Nitrogen oxides especially NO2 can irritate the
lungs, aggravate asthma or chronic bronchitis and also increase susceptibility to respiratory
infections such as influenza or common colds.

3. Acid rain formation: When sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are transported by prevailing
winds they form secondary pollutants such as nitric acid vapor, droplets of sulfuric acid and
particles of sulfate and nitrate salts.
These chemicals descend on the earths surface in two forms: wet (as acidic rain, snow, fog and
cloud vapor) and dry (as acidic particles). The resulting mixture is called acid deposition,
commonly called acid rain.
Acid deposition contributes to human respiratory diseases such as bronchitis and asthma, which
can cause premature death. It also damages statues, buildings, metals and car finishes. Acid
deposition can damage tree foliage directly but the most serious effect is weakening of trees so
they become more susceptible to other types of damage.

4. The nitric acid and the nitrate salts in acid deposition can lead to excessive soil nitrogen levels.
This can over stimulate growth of other plants and intensify depletion of other important soil
nutrients such as calcium and magnesium, which in turn can reduce tree growth and vigour.

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 Formation of photochemical smog

Formation of acid deposition (wet & dry)

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Effects of air pollution on living organisms

1. Diseases such as lung cancer, asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Elderly people,
infants, pregnant women and people with heart disease, asthma or other respiratory
diseases are especially vulnerable to air pollution.

2. Cigarette smoking is responsible for the greatest exposure to carbon monoxide. Exposure
to air containing even 0.001 percent of carbon monoxide for several hours can cause
collapse, coma and even death. As carbon monoxide remains attached to hemoglobin in
blood for a long time, it accumulates and reduces the oxygen carrying capacity of blood.
This impairs perception and thinking, slows reflexes and causes headaches, drowsiness,
dizziness and nausea. Carbon monoxide in heavy traffic causes headaches, drowsiness
and blurred vision.

3. Suspended particles aggravate bronchitis and asthma. Exposure to these particles over a
long
4. Period of time damages lung tissue and contributes to the development of chronic
respiratory disease and cancer.

5. Many volatile organic compounds such as (benzene and formaldehyde) and toxic
particulates (such as lead, cadmium) can cause mutations, reproductive problems or
cancer.
6. Inhaling ozone, a component of photochemical smog causes coughing, chest pain,
breathlessness and irritation of the eye, nose and the throat.

Effects of air pollution on flora

The leaf structure is damaged by air pollution. Plant growth and photosynthesis are also affected.
When particulate matter deposits on the leaf they clog stomata and disturb the photosynthesis

Indoor air pollution:

Human spend up to 80% of their lifetime either inside their workplace or in their own homes.
Indoor air quality of building occupant is a basis determinant of healthy life and people's well-
being, the interactions between the site, climate, building system, construction techniques,
contaminant source and respondents are the factors that affect the quality of indoor air. For
example, hazardous compounds emitted from human activities indoors such as combustion of
fuels for cooking, emission of toxic gas from construction materials and indoor equipment.

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Chemical contaminants from indoor sources:

Most indoor air pollution comes from sources inside the building.
For example, adhesives, carpeting, upholstery, manufactured wood products, copy
machines, pesticides, and cleaning agents may emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs),
including formaldehyde.

Environmental tobacco smoke contributes high levels of VOCs, other toxic compounds,
and respirable particulate matter. Research shows that some VOCs can cause chronic and
acute health effects at high concentrations, and some are known carcinogens. Low to
moderate levels of multiple VOCs may also produce acute reactions.

Combustion products such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, as well as respirable

particles, can come from unvented kerosene and gas space heaters, woodstoves,
fireplaces and gas stoves.
Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is one of the main contributors to indoor pollution,
as are CO, NO, and SO2, which can be emitted from furnaces and stoves.

Cleaning or remodeling a house is an activity that can contribute to elevated

concentrations of harmful chemicals such as VOCs emitted from household cleaners,
paint, and varnishes.

Also, when bacteria die, they release endotoxins into the air, which can cause adverse
health effects. So ventilation is important when cooking, cleaning, and disinfecting in a
building.
When a building is not properly ventilated, pollutants can accumulate and reach
concentrations greater than those typically found outside. This problem has received
media attention as Sick Building Syndrome.

Asbestos
Because of its fiber strength and heat resistance asbestos has been used in a variety of
building construction materials for insulation and as a fire retardant. Asbestos has also
been used in a wide range of manufactured goods, mostly in building materials (roofing
shingles, ceiling and floor tiles, paper products, and asbestos cement products), friction
products (automobile clutch, brake, and transmission parts), heat-resistant fabrics,
packaging, gaskets, and coatings.

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 How Can People Be Exposed to Asbestos?
Asbestos fibers may be released into the air by the disturbance of asbestos-containing
material during product use, demolition work, building or home maintenance, repair, and
remodeling. In general, exposure may occur only when the asbestos-containing material
is disturbed or damaged in some way to release particles and fibers into the air.

Health Effects From Exposure to Asbestos

Exposure to asbestos increases your risk of developing lung disease. That risk is made
worse by smoking. In general, the greater the exposure to asbestos, the greater the chance
of developing harmful health effects.
Disease symptoms may take many years to develop following exposure.

Three of the major health effects associated with asbestos exposure are:
i. lung cancer
ii. mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that is found in the thin lining of the lung,
chest and the abdomen and heart
iii. asbestosis, a serious progressive, long-term, non-cancer disease of the lungs

Radon or more properly radon-222, is a natural radioactive gas generated by the

spontaneous decay of radium-226, which in turn is generated by the decay of uranium-
238. Radon itself is inert, and so much of what we inhale is exhaled immediately
afterwards. The concern is with the radioactive decay particles generated as the gas
breaks down. These particles can adhere to household dust, which can remain in the lungs
long enough to put the lungs at risk from ionizing radiation.

-Indoor pollutants coming from outdoor sources:

The outdoor air that enters a building can be a source of indoor air pollution. For example,
pollutants from motor vehicle exhausts; plumbing vents, and building exhausts (e.g., bathrooms
and kitchens) can enter the building through poorly located air intake vents, windows, and other
openings. In addition, combustion products can enter a building from a nearby garage.

-Biological contaminants: Bacteria, molds, pollen, and viruses are types of biological
contaminants. These contaminants may breed in stagnant water that has accumulated in ducts,
humidifiers and drain pans, or where water has collected on ceiling tiles, carpeting, or insulation.
Sometimes insects or bird droppings can be a source of biological contaminants. Physical
symptoms related to biological contamination include cough, chest tightness, fever, chills,
muscle aches, and allergic responses such as mucous membrane irritation and upper respiratory
congestion.

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Sick Building Syndrome
Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a phenomenon affecting building occupants who claim to
experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a building.
In many cases, the reduced outdoor air ventilation rates were found to be inadequate to maintain
the health and comfort of building occupants which was referred to as the following sick
building syndrome. World Health Organization (WHO) report suggested up to 30% of new and
remodeled buildings worldwide may be subject of complaints related to poor indoor air quality.

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Chapter 9 Activities

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Directions: Read each statement carefully. If the statement is true, mark it true. If false, state
false and then correct the statement so that is right.

1) The largest outdoor air pollutant type is particulate matter. Examples of this are ash, dust, and
pollen.

2) Sulfur oxides are a class of air pollutants that are primarily released from burning coal. They
also mix with water in the atmosphere to make acid rain.

3) The three fossil fuels are coal, oil, and petroleum.

4) Methane is an example of a carbon oxide air pollutant. The air pollutant is composed of
carbon and is highly reactive with chemicals in the atmosphere.

5) Mold is an indoor air pollutant that likes to grow in hot and humid places; flooded properties
are often home to its many spores.

6) Radon comes from the decay of platinum in the rocks below a house.

7) Lead is a heavy metal air pollutant that was used in paint and gasoline. It leads to mental
retardation and paralysis.

8) Nitrous oxides are released through gasoline burning and fertilizer application.

9) Carbon dioxide causes hemoglobin to release oxygen, thus slowly suffocating your cells of
oxygen. You will pass out and die

10) Photochemical smog is caused by the mixture of nitrous oxides mixed with VOCs and
sunlight.

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 Chapter 10

Deforestation

Forest Functions

1. Protective and ameliorative functions:

a) Watershed protection
i. Reducing the rate of surface run-off of water by increasing infighter from rate.
ii. Preventing flash floods and soil erosion
iii. Producing prolonged gradual run-off and thus safeguarding against drought.
b) Erosion control
i. Holding soil (by preventing rain from directly washing soil away)

c) Land bank
i. Maintaining soil nutrients and structure.

d) Atmospheric regulation
i. Absorption of solar heat during evapotranspiration
ii. Maintaining carbon dioxide levels for plant growth
iii. Maintaining the local climatic conditions

2. Productive Functions:
a) Local use Consumption of forest produce by local people who collect it for survival
b) Food: (consumptive use) gathering plants, fishing, hunting from the forest.
c) Fodder for cattle
d) Fuel wood and charcoal for cooking and heating
e) Poles for building homes in rural and wilderness areas
f) Timber for house hold articles and construction
g) Fiber for weaving baskets, ropes, nets, strings, etc.,
h) Sericulture for silk
i) Apiculture for rearing bees for honey (bees as pollinators)
j) Medicinal plants for traditional medicines, investigating them as potential source for new
modern drugs Market use (productive use) Most of the products used for consumptive

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 purposes and good source of income for supporting their livelihood of forest dwelling
people.
k) Minor forest products (NTFPs): Fuel wood, fruits, gum, fiber, etc. which are collected
and solid in local markets as a source of income for forest dwellers
l) Major timber extraction for construction, industrial uses, paper pulp etc. III. Recreational
And Educational Functions: Eco tourism
3. Developmental Functions:
a) Employment functions
b) Revenue
4. Ecological significance of forests:
a) Balances CO2 and O2 levels in atmosphere.
b) Regulates earth temperature and hydrological cycle
c) Encourage seepage and reduces runoff losses, prevents drought
d) Reduces soil erosion (roots binding), prevents siltation of reservoirs and landslides
thereby floods
e) Litter helps in maintaining soil fertility
f) Safe habitat for birds, wild animals and organisms against wind, solar radiation and rain
Deforestation:

Deforestation refers to the loss of forest cover; land that is permanently converted from forest to
agricultural land, golf courses, cattle pastures, home, lakes or desert. The FAO (Food and
Agriculture Organization of the UN) defines tropical deforestation as change of forest with
depletion of tree grown cover more than 90% depletion of forest tree crown cover less than 90%
is considered forest degradation

Causes for Deforestation:

1. Agriculture: Conversion of forests to agricultural land to feed growing numbers of people

2. Commercial logging: (which supplies the world market with woods such as meranti, teak,
mahogany and ebony) destroys trees as well as opening up forest for agriculture. Cutting of
trees for fire wood and building material, the heavy lopping of foliage for fodder and heavy
grazing of saplings by domestic animals like goats.
3. The cash crop economy: Raising cash crops for increased economy.
4. Mining

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 5. Increase in population: The needs also increase and utilize forest resources.
6. Urbanization & industrialization
7. Mineral exploration
8. Construction of dam and reservoirs
9. Infrastructure development
10. Forest fires
11. Human encroachment & exploitation
12. Pollution due to acid rain
Environmental effects /Consequences of deforestation:
1. Food problems
2. Ecological imbalance
3. Increasing CO2
4. Floods leading to soil erosion
5. Destruction of resources
6. Heavy siltation of dams
7. Changes in the microclimate
8. Loss of biodiversity
9. Desiccation of previously moist forest soil
10. Heavy rainfall and high sunlight quickly damage the topsoil in clearings of the tropical
rainforests. In such circumstance, the forest will take much longer to regenerate and the land
will not be suitable for agricultural use for quite some time.
11. Where forests are replanted, their replacement can mean a loss of quality
12. Loss of future markets for ecotourism. The value of a forest is often higher when it is
left standing than it could be worth when it is harvested.
13. Some indigenous peoples way of life and survival are threatened by the loss of forests.
Fewer trees results an insecure future for forest workers
14. Deforestation can cause the climate to become extreme in nature. The occurrence and
strength of floods and droughts affecting the economy.
15. The stress of environmental change may make some species more susceptible to the
effect of insects, pollution, disease and fire
16. Most humid regions changes to desert

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 17. Environmental pollution
18. Global warming

Conservation:
Conservation derived from two Latin words, con together,- servare to keep or guard
measures, i.e. an act of preservation or to keep together .
Concepts in conservation

1. Restraining cutting of trees and submerging the forests

2. Reforestation

3. Afforestation

4. Control forest diseases and forest fire

5. Recycling forest products

6. Replacing forest products

7. Avoids diversion of forest lands for other activities through acts like Forest Conservation
Act and Wild life (protection) Act

8. Bringing awareness among people

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Chapter 10 Activities

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 Chapter 11

Global Warming
Climate change due to global warming is the most important global environmental challenge
facing humanity with implications for food production, natural ecosystems, fresh water supply
and health.

According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Global Warming is an average

increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earths surface and in the troposphere,
which can contribute to changes in global climate patterns.

Global warming can occur from a variety of causes, both natural and human induced. In common
usage global warming often refers to the warming that can occur as a result of increased
emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities.

The unequivocal warming of the climate system is now evident from observations of increases in
global average air and ocean temperature, melting of ice and snow and rising global average sea
level.

Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming:

Many greenhouse gases occur naturally, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous
oxide, and ozone. Others such as chloroflorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
result exclusively from human industrial processes.

The United Nation in its latest report warns that a large part of the changes that occur on the
planet cannot be reversed even after the next few centuries unless carbon dioxide emissions are
brought down fast, substantially and kept extremely low for a very long time. The summary
notes, it is very likely that more than 20 % emitted carbon dioxide will remain in the
atmosphere longer than 1000 years after anthropogenic emissions have stopped. Carbon dioxide
induced warming is projected to remain approximately constant for many centuries following a
complete cessation of emissions. This will have long lasting impact on the environment.

For the green house formation, climate change, greenhouse gases emissions
and effects of global warming refer to the below figures.

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Green-house gases and climate change

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Natural and human enhanced greenhouse effect

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The greenhouse gases

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Effects of Global warming
How to stop global warming:
One way people can help to stop global warming is by using alternate forms of energy
that are not using up fossil fuels, products that create greenhouse gases.
Some of the forms of renewable energy that have been suggested as alternatives are wind
energy and solar energy
Another way we can stop global warming is by attempting to take greenhouse gases out
of the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, through techniques
such as carbon sequestration.

Carbon sequestration is the process involved in carbon capture and the long-term storage
of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Carbon sequestration involves long-term storage of carbon dioxide or other forms
of carbon to mitigate or defer global warming. It has been proposed as a way to slow the
atmospheric and marine accumulation of greenhouse gases, which are released by burning fossil
fuels.
Carbon dioxide is naturally captured from the atmosphere through biological, chemical, and
physical processes. Artificial processes have been devised to produce similar effects, including
large-scale, artificial capture and sequestration of industrially produced CO2 using
subsurface saline aquifers, reservoirs, ocean water, aging oil fields, or other carbon sinks.

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Carbon sequestration

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