Other Issues on

Environmental Geography
Prepared by: Eugenia B. Gutierrez
MAED SST
Depletion of Natural Sciences
 Occurs when natural resources are consumed
at a faster rate than of replacement.
 This referred to water usage, farming, fossil

fuel consumption, fishing and mining.

 Throughout the history most of the world’s

energy came from animate power; the use of

mules, ox and horses.
 But following the Industrial Revolution most

of the energy in Europe and US was used for

machinery.
Depletion of Natural Sciences
 The energy used to power the machinery
came from inanimate power such as biofuel
and fossil fuels.
 Currently the most used energy source for

less developed nations are biofuel such as

trees, coal, and methane. But in more
developed nations and nations transitioning,
fossil fuels have become the central source of
energy.
FINITENESS OF FOSSIL FUELS

 Fossil fuel-everything that is or was alive is made

out of carbon. Coal, crude oil and natural gas
 Fossil fuels are not considered renewable because
it requires millions of years for the earth to
replenish them
 Currently there are over a trillion barrels of
petroleum, called proven reserves, that we are
aware of with current technology. Potential reserves
are resources of petroleum not discovered yet by
society. Currently there is a lot of concern about
how many reserves of petroleum are left to
discover.
 UNEVEN DISTRIBUTION OF FOSSIL FUELS

 Another global problem in terms of fossil

fuels is that it is not found uniformly around
the planet.
 Today the United States and China are the

largest consumers of fossil fuels on the

planet. Yet in the 21st century, the demand
for coal, petroleum, and natural gas will shift
to less developed nations as they move
through the demographic transition model.
 UNEVEN DISTRIBUTION OF FOSSIL FUELS

 The majority of the world's petroleum prices is

determined by mid-latitude countries such as the United
States, Russia, and China have the largest supply of coal.
 The mission of the

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) "is

to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its
Member Countries and ensure the stabilization of oil
markets in order to secure an efficient, economic and
regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady
income to producers and a fair return on capital for
those investing in the petroleum industry."
 NONRENEWABLE SUBSTITUTES FOR PETROLEUM

 Since the world has plenty of coal to last

hundreds of years, some have pushed more coal
burning. But there are several environmental
concerns with coal.
 Coal is the "dirtiest" fossil fuel in terms of air

pollution.
 Burning coal releases vast amounts of sulfur,

which creates acid rain and mercury which

damages our neurological system. But it also
releases the largest amount of carbon dioxide
which is a greenhouse gas.
NONRENEWABLE SUBSTITUTES FOR PETROLEUM

 A third source of nonrenewable energy is

nuclear. The benefit of nuclear power is that
incredible amounts of energy can be
generated without polluting the environment.
But there are serious concerns about
potential accidents and the radioactive waste
it generates.
 Nuclear waste takes tens of thousands of

years to decompose
Environmental Pollution

 Pollution of the environment occurs when

humans contaminate the air, water, or land.
 Pollution have two categories: primary and

secondary. Primary pollution is when humans

directly contaminate the earth in some manner.
Examples include mercury, sulfur, and even
carbon dioxide.
 Secondary pollution happens when a primary

pollutant reacts with another primary pollutant,

sunlight, and/or water to create a different
pollutant. An example is acid rain.
Environmental Pollution

 Sulfur dioxide is a primary pollutant, but when it

reacts with precipitation is becomes a secondary
pollutant called acid rain.
 Acid rain or acid deposition includes any form of
precipitation with acidic components such as
sulfuric or nitric acid that fall to the ground in
wet or dry forms. (rain, snow, fog hail or even
dust that is acidic.
 One of the biggest problems with pollution is
that those who pollute are usually not the ones
affected by it; rather the down-winders are.
Air Pollution
 The atmosphere is mostly made of 78 percent
nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, and small percent’s
of other trace molecules such as ozone, carbon
dioxide, water vapor, and aerosols.
 Air pollution occurs when humans add unnatural

substances into the atmosphere. Most of the air

pollution from industry comes from coal while
automotive pollute vast amounts of ozone,
carbon dioxide, and sulfur into the atmosphere.
But in the 1970s the United States created the
Clean Air Act, which has greatly enhanced the
quality of our nation’s air.
 ANTHROPOGENIC CLIMATE CHANGE

 Also called global warming

 The earth has gone through dramatic climatic
changes from temperatures much warmer today
to ice ages. There are several reasons for climatic
shifts, but they include changes in earth's orbit
and tilt around the sun and the movement of
continents. Recently scientists have stated that
the planet is beginning to warm up because of the
greenhouse gases humans are emitting into the
atmosphere. We know that carbon dioxide is a
greenhouse gas, and we are quite grateful for the
greenhouse effect. Without the greenhouse effect,
humans could not live on this planet.
Ozone Hole
 In the 1920s, humans developed a chemical called
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) for things such as
refrigerating and air conditioners. But in the 1970s, two
American scientists discovered that these CFCs were
weakening the ozone hole. What they learned is that
when the CFC's reach the layer of the ozone hole, the
ultraviolet radiation from the sun breaks the chlorine off
which can attach and destroy over 100,000 ozone
molecules and continue in the upper atmosphere for
over 100 years. Over time and much debate, the world
got together and signed the Montreal Protocol in 1987
to phase out CFCs. Today, most industrialized countries
have eliminated the use of CFCs, but the ozone hole is
not required to heal for another 50-100 years.
Water and land Pollution
 Manufactures use water to create and process food.
 Vast amounts of water is polluted by farmers through
fertilizer and waste from pigs and cows in unhealthy feed
lots.
 Water pollution can greatly harm aquatic life in rivers, lakes,
and the ocean.
 Many of the fertilizers in farmers and the cleaners we use
can create algae blooms in our local rivers. When the algae
dies, it can also remove the oxygen from the water which can
kill fish and other aquatic life. These are called dead zones
and one of the biggest in the world is forming in the Gulf of
Mexico because of the pollution in the Mississippi River.
 Just like our air, the nation's water has greatly improved
since the 1970s because of the Clean Water Act.
Renewable Resources
BIOMASS

Is when humans burn vegetation as a fuel source. Many argue that

this not a viable option for human energy consumption. Burning
biomass releases large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
and requires the destruction of ecosystems such as deforestation.
 There has also been a recent push for ethanol as a "green" source of

energy.
 In the United States, corn has been used and subsidized to make

ethanol. The effects have been a spiraling rising in the cost of corn-
based food. Plus many would argue that humans should not be using
food for fuel when humans are now consuming more food than we
are producing.
 In Brazil, they are using sugarcane to produce ethanol. Because there

is a lot of money to be made in the ethanol industry, Brazil is cutting

down the Amazon rainforest to produce more sugarcane for their
energy economy. So it can be argued that ethanol is not really a
"green" energy if it requires deforesting the rain forests along with
causing food prices to rise.
Renewable Resources
HYDROELECTRIC POWER

 Hydroelectric power requires dams being built in order for

flowing water to turn turbines within the dam to generate
electricity.
 Their are numerous problems with power coming from

hydroelectric dams. It requires flooding usable and often

time fertile land to create a lake. Over time, the lake can fill
up as sediment gets deposited into the lake.
 Dams can also harm aquatic wildlife such as salmon

because the prevent them from returning to their spawning

locations. In fact, many Northwestern states in American
have dismantled damns because salmon are near
extinction. But it must be said that it is "clean" energy in
that hydroelectric power does not pollute the air or water.
 Renewable Resources
WIND POWER AND GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

 Windmills have been around for hundreds of years, but

only recently have they been used to generate electricity.
Until last year, wind power was the fastest growing energy
source in the world. And with the rising costs of fossil
fuels, wind power is now cheaper to produce than energy
from fossil fuels.
 Farmers are getting on board with wind power because

power companies will rent space to place the windmills,

which will provide a steady income for the farmer. But the
farmer can still grow their crops or have their cattle and
maintain their way of life
 Renewable Resources
WIND POWER AND GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

 There is also concern that windmills, can harm

migratory birds and bats. But wildlife is more
likely to be hurt by changing climates than by
small-scale windmills. Now out in Europe, they
have been real serious about wind power. Some of
the windmills along the continental shelf - where
the winds are steadily consistent - have windmills
so large you can land a helicopter on them.
 Renewable Resources
SOLAR POWER
 Active solar energy captures heat and generates
electricity by using photovoltaic cells with solar panels.
The panel's cells are made from silicon which is the
second most abundant mineral on Earth's crust and
when combined with other materials become sensitive
to sunlight - called the photovoltaic effect. The
electrons within the cells move through the silicon and
produce an electrical current. In 2008 solar panels
surpassed windmills as the fastest growing energy
source in the world.
 Renewable Resources
SOLAR POWER
 In less developed nations, renewable energy such
as solar panels is being used to provide electricity
to people who are not connected to a grid system.
 There is also a new movement to include solar
panels to the tops of hybrids and electric cars. In
2009, the new Toyota Prius will have an upgrade
option to have solar panels on the top to charge
the battery.
 Renewable Resources
RECYCLING
 There has also been a steady demand to recycle
rather than through products into our landfills.
But recycling is not only about saving landfill
space, it's about water, natural resources and
energy. It requires a lot less energy, water, and
resources from the earth to re-create something
than to mine and process the raw material.