Environmental

Problems and
Their Effects
Essential Questions

• Why be concerned
with our country’s
environmental
problems?
• Why address
community health
problems?
•Why live in a
healthy community
and environment?
Identify the three environmental
problems that your community is
facing now. Write them in the boxes
with 1 as the most urgent, and 3 as
the third most urgent.
 1. Deforestation

• This is the permanent removal of

large areas of forest, usually to
transform the natural ecosystem in
the area to serve another purpose.
• Logging is the primary
contributor to forest loss in the
country.
 2. Flash Flood

• This happens when the rain falls

so fast that the underlying ground
cannot cope or drain it away fast
enough.
• It is also characterized by a rapid
stream rise that can reach the
banks of creek or river.
 3. Soil Erosion

• This is the removal of soil, sediment,

and rock fragments from the
landscape.
• Three processes:
– Detachment
– Entertainment
– Transport
 4. Oil Spill

• This is a release of a liquid

petroleum to the environment,
most often the ocean.
5. Coral Reef Degradation

• Coral reef thrive only in clear

water. Large population near
coast has led to silting of reefs,
pollution by nutrients that lead to
algal growth, and overfishing.
 6. Illegal Mining

• Mining has serious health

implications for local
communities.
 7. Climate Change

• This is one of the greatest

challenges for humanity in the
twenty-first century.