List down 10 Environment Problems and identify its causes.

Explain briefly each environment

problem in not more than 3 sentences each. Pls answer directly in this section. DO NOT UPLOAD
any file for your submission. Thank you. (30 points).

Rubrics:
Rubrics:
25% - Presentation of Ideas
50% - Originality
15% - Relatedness to Topic
10% - Innovativeness

1. Desertification is the long-term destruction of dry land ecosystems as a result of climatic changes
and human activity. It affects the livelihoods of millions of people, including a major proportion of the
impoverished in dry lands on all continents except Antarctica. Desertification is caused by the
removal of most vegetation in the land, agriculture tilling, drought, climatic fluctuations, overgrazing,
and deforestation. Its effects are crop failures, the loss of forage for livestock, reduced woody
biomass for burning and also building things.
2. Ocean acidification is the continuing drop in the pH value of the Earth's oceans and the dramatic
sea surface chemistry change that occurs due to series of chemical reactions in the seawater by
carbon dioxide which results to negative spillover on the ocean and the marine life there. The main
cause of ocean acidification is human activities that result to the overproduction of carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere such as burning of fossil fuels. Ocean acidification results to the drop in production
of the shells of shellfish and other aquatic life with calcium carbonate shells causing loss in marine
life and it also affects the physiological growth for marine organisms.
3. Microplastic pollution is the pollution of microscopic plastic particles that occurs as a result of both
commercial product creation and the breakdown of bigger plastics, making it a pollutant and
hazardous to the environment and human health. Microplastic pollution is mainly caused by
improper waste disposal of people into the oceans from which these plastics come from containers,
bottles, packages, fishing nets, and other plastic wastes. Microplastic pollution causes microplastics
to infiltrate streams and wash up in ecosystems that serve as home for marine life, causing toxicity in
aquatic life, which results in reduced food, growth delays, damage in oxidation, and abnormal
behavior.
4. Acid rain is the downpour of rain or precipitation that has a high degree of acidity or high levels of
hydrogen ions or that which has a low pH level. Acid rain is caused by a chemical reaction when
sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the air which then mixes up and reacts with
water, oxygen, and other chemicals that forms into an acid rain. The biggest contributor for
emissions of these compounds are fossil-fuel power plants, vehicles and oil refineries. Acid rain
negatively affects forests, fresh waters, and soils with its toxicity, it also peels paint, corrodes steel
and weathers stone buildings and statues.
5. Coral reef destruction is the the loss of coral reefs and destruction of coral reefs that acts as
habitat for marine life which results to grave implications there. Coral reefs destruction is caused by
coral mining, plastic pollution, digging of canals into islands and bays, destructive fishing practices
and warming of the ocean. Coral reefs destruction are Its effect are loss of marine life as area of
their food source disappears, coastlines become more susceptible to damage and flooding from
storms and loss of coastal fishing jobs and productivity.
6. Ozone layer depletion is the slow thinning of the earth's ozone layer in the upper atmosphere due
to the production of chemical compounds containing gaseous bromine or chlorine from industry or
other human activities. It is mainly caused by ozone depleting substances being released into the
atmosphere and these substances are chlorofluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, and many more
which contribute to the depletion of ozone layer. Ozone layer depletion causes direct exposure of
 harmful ultraviolet radiations of the sun that poses strong health issues to humans and also minimal
growth, flowering and photosynthesis in plants.
7. Soil erosion is the displacement of the upper layer of soil and a form of soil degradation. Soil
erosion may be a slow process that go unnoticed due to global warming, or it may occur at a quick
rate causing grave topsoil loss due to deforestation and overgrazing. Soil erosion decreases
agricultural yield, degrades ecosystem functions, amplifies risk of landslides or floods, significant
losses in land life, damage to urban infrastructure and also displacement of buildings or structures of
humans.
8. Extreme weather condition is the unexpected, unusual, severe, or extreme weather with range and
degree that has not been or rarely seen in the past. Extreme weather conditions is mainly caused by
massive increases in carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gas emissions, and also solar
storms. The effects of extreme weather results to massive and heavy rains that causes floods and
landslides, results to too much heat and no rain that results to drought and wildfires, results to strong
winds such as hurricanes and tornadoes which damage man-made structures and animal habitats
and results to large snowfalls that results to avalanches and blizzards.
9. Smog pollution is the pollution of noxious mixture of gases and particles that appears as a black
haze in the air of toxic fumes and gases. Smog pollution is mainly caused by emissions from coal
combustion, industrial emissions from power plants, factories, cars, forest and agricultural fires.
Smog pollution causes reduced visibility, airway irritation, increased risk of serious heart and lung
diseases,plant growth inhibition and damage to crops and forests.
10. Sea level rise is the phenomenon of the increase in the water level of the ocean affecting coastlines
due to the melting of polar ice caps. Sea level rise is mainly caused by two factors related to global
warming which are the added water from melting ice sheets and glaciers and the expansion of
seawater as it warms. Sea level rise negatively affects the environment in that sea water
increasingly invade coastal areas, causes soil erosion with floods, causes loss of habitat for aquatic,
terrestrial, and aerial species