Eutrophication:

is the build-up of nitrates in water causing algae to bloom and oxygen to decrease. Because
if this the ecosystem dies.

How does the nitrate end up in the water?

1. Agricultural practices – ploughing and excessive use of artificial fertilizers
2. Discharge of treated sewage – in inland water
3. Use of phosphorus containing detergents
4. “Factory farming”- if urine/faeces of farm animals is washed out of sheds with water,
it forms a slurry which may get into streams and rivers eventually

ways to reduce eutrophication:

1. Exposing treated sewage to denitrifying bacteria
2. using detergents with less/no phosphates
3. using natural fertilizers (do not dissolve)
4. ensuring animal waste remains on land.
if nitrates end up in drinking water it can cause blue baby syndrome

Air pollution:
Factories, PowerStation, and cars release pollutants in the air:
These are:
Carbon dioxide- caused by combustion, this can cause damage to buildings and can contain
carcinogens (cause cancer), chimney filters will help
Sulphur dioxide – this dissolve in water causing acid rain which damages buildings and kills
organisms.
Oxides of nitrogen – high amounts of these in our lungs can cause asthma.
Carbon monoxide – when inhaled is picked up by red blood cells and does not let go,
catalytic converters solve this problem.
Lead – high amounts of lead can cause brain damage unleaded petrol solves the problem.
Chlorofluorocarbons – CFC’s are found in old sprays CFC’s deplete the ozone layer, more
harmful UV rays enter causing skin cancer, ozone friendly sprays could be used to solve the
problems.

Global warming & the greenhouse effect

In the greenhouse effect radiation enters the earths atmosphere and is not allowed to leave
causing it to warm up, this can cause the
melting of polar ice caps
changes in the climate which can lead to extreme weather
to reduce this, we need to burn less fossil fuels and plants more trees

land pollution:
 dumping of rubbish
 dumping of building debris
 to get rid of these we either use a landfill (disused quarry) or incinerated (burnt)
recycling:
advantages:
 the amount of waste produced is reduced.
  sources of materials are conserved.
 the amount of energy used to create them is reduced.

The best thing to do would be to use renewable energy sources