Human Action and Recent Environmental Change

7/29/2019 Human Action and Recent Environmental Change

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HUMAN ACTION AND RECENT

ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE


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INDUSTRIALIZATION

and URBANIZATION Two processes that more than any others

have revolutionalized human life and

brought about far-reaching ecologicalchanges


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What is industrialization?

oTransformation of a society or country from a primary

agricultural activity into manufacturing of goods and

services


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oChange from individual manual labor to mechanized

mass production and assembly lines


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oUses technological innovations instead of superstitious

beliefs and dependency


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o More efficient division of labor and economic growth


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INDUSTRIALIZATION

AND URBANIZATION Two processes that more than any others

have revolutionalized human life and

brought about far-reaching ecologicalchanges


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THE IMPACT OF ENERGY NEEDS

ON THE ENVIRONMENT

What is urbanization?

o Formation and growth of cities


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oMigration of population from rural to urban areas


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o Commonly referred to as the human civilization

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

What is your concept of urban and rural areas? Are these places really independent of each other?

RECALL Rural Urban Dichotomy vs. Rural Urban Continuum


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INDUSTRIALIZATION AND URBANIZATION

Changes that have moved beyond a local or a

regional scale to affect the entire globe

Environmental impacts

omassive energy use

(industrialization)

o land use change(urbanization)


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MASSIVE ENERGY USE

AND ITS IMPACT

ON THE ENVIRONMENT


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MASSIVE ENERGY USE

AND ITS IMPACT

ON THE ENVIRONMENTINDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

The discovery and utilization of fossil fuels - coal, oil,

and natural gas Why use these fuels?

o they provided more constant, dependable, and effectivesource of power

As a resulto A steady increase in power production and demand

occurred

Furthermore

o Resource extraction and conversion increased rapidly


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MASSIVE ENERGY USE

AND ITS IMPACT

ON THE ENVIRONMENT

SOURCES OF ENERGY

Renewable resources

solar, hydroelectric, wind, and geothermal power

used to drive pumps, machines, and electricity

generators

Nonrenewable resources: fossil fuels derived from organic materials that are

burned directly

nuclear energy originated from isotopes which emit

radiation

MASSIVE ENERGY USE


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MASSIVE ENERGY USE

AND ITS IMPACT

ON THE ENVIRONMENTLARGEST PROPORTION OF THE WORLDS CURRENTENERGY CONSUMPTION

35%

oil

24%

coal

18%

gas

6%

hydropower

5%

nuclearpower

12%

biomass


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MASSIVE ENERGY USE

AND ITS IMPACT

ON THE ENVIRONMENTHENCE, THE WORLD HAS VAST AMOUNTS OF

RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO HUMAN NEEDS

BUT

THE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION

OF THESE AVAILABLE RESOURCES

IS GEOGRAPHICALLY UNEVEN.

MASSIVE ENERGY USE


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MASSIVE ENERGY USE

AND ITS IMPACT

ON THE ENVIRONMENTWORLD PRODUCTION OF ENERGY

50% of oil supply is from the Middle East

Most of the coal is from the Northern Hemisphere

MASSIVE ENERGY USE


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MASSIVE ENERGY USE

AND ITS IMPACT

ON THE ENVIRONMENTWORLD CONSUMPTION OF ENERGY

Affluent core regions far outstrip the peripheral regions inenergy consumption BUT

consumption of energy in the peripheral regions is risingrapidly due to globalization


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MASSIVE ENERGY USE

AND ITS IMPACT

ON THE ENVIRONMENT

EVERY STAGE OF ENERGY CONVERSION PROCESSHAS AN IMPACT ON THE PHYSICAL

LANDSCAPE.

MASSIVE ENERGY USE


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MASSIVE ENERGY USE

AND ITS IMPACT

ON THE ENVIRONMENTENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTACID RAIN

o the wet deposition of acids on earth created by the

natural cleansing properties of the atmosphere

MASSIVE ENERGY USE


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MASSIVE ENERGY USE

AND ITS IMPACT

ON THE ENVIRONMENTo Forests are being poisoned/killed and soils are becomingtoo acidic


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MASSIVE ENERGY USE

AND ITS IMPACT

ON THE ENVIRONMENTGLOBAL WARMING

o increase in global temperatures associated with the

greenhouse effect

MASSIVE ENERGY USE


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MASSIVE ENERGY USE

AND ITS IMPACT

ON THE ENVIRONMENT

MASSIVE ENERGY USE


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MASSIVE ENERGY USE

AND ITS IMPACT

ON THE ENVIRONMENTo Reduction in the winter hunting season and global rise insea levels


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IMPACTS OF LAND USE CHANGE

ON THE ENVIRONMENT


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ON THE ENVIRONMENT

In addition to industrial pollution and steadilyincreasing demands for energy, the environmentis also being dramatically affected by PRESSURES

ON THE LAND. WHAT IS LAND USE?

exploitation of land for agricultural, industrial, residential,recreational, or other purposes

WHAT IS LAND USE CHANGE? Includes clearing of land for fuel, farming, grazing, resource

extraction, highway building, energy generation, and war


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ON THE ENVIRONMENT


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ON THE ENVIRONMENT

PROCESSES OF LAND USE CHANGE:

o CONVERSION: the wholesale transformation of

land from one use to another; ex: forested land to

settlementoMODIFICATION: an alteration of existing cover; ex:

grassland overlaid with railroad tracks and forest

thinned but not clearcut


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ON THE ENVIRONMENT

AS HUMAN POPULATIONS HAVE INCREASED

AND THE NEED FOR LAND FOR SETTLEMENT

AND CULTIVATION HAS ALSO INCREASED,

CHANGES TO THE LAND HAVE FOLLOWED.


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ON THE ENVIRONMENTREGION OR

COUNTRY

PRE-1650 1650-1749 1750-1849 1850-1978 TOTAL

North America 6 80 380 641 1107

Central America 18 30 40 200 288

Latin America 18 100 170 637 925Australia 6 6 6 362 380

Former USSR 70 180 270 575 1095

Europe 204 66 146 81 497

Asia 974 216 596 1220 3006

Africa 226 80 216 469 759

TOTAL 1522 758 1592 4185 8057

TABLE 1 Estimated Area Cleared (square kilometer)


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ON THE ENVIRONMENTGLOBAL DEFORESTATION


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ON THE ENVIRONMENT

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

o Elimination of a renewable resource that is not

easily regenerated

o Loss of biological diversity of an ecosystem

o Destabilization of oxygen and carbon dioxide

cycles of the forests


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ON THE ENVIRONMENT

WITH RESPECT TO HUMAN IMPACTS ON THE

WORLDS FORESTS, GREAT GEOGRAPHICAL

VARIABILITY EXISTS AMONG COUNTRIES.

For most core regions, net clearance of the forests

has been replaced by regeneration BUT

Most of the periphery clearance of the forests hasaccelerated way farther


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ON THE ENVIRONMENT

GLOBAL LAND USE

CULTIVATION

oOccurred mostly in the core regions because of the

increased population, increased consumption, andincreased globalization


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ON THE ENVIRONMENT

o GRASSLANDS: cleared for other uses and have been

overgrazed

NOT


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ON THE ENVIRONMENT

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

DESERTIFICATION: the degradation of land cover

and damage to the soil and water in grasslands

and arid and semi-arid lands

DESERTS

IN THE

WORLD


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ON THE ENVIRONMENT

This phenomenon leads to:

Severe drought

Land decline

Recurrent famine

More disaster


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ON THE ENVIRONMENT

WETLANDS

swamp

marshland

bog


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ON THE ENVIRONMENT

HUMAN IMPACTS ON WETLANDS

o Draining or filling of wetlands

oWetland conversion into settlement/ cultivation

RECALL: MINAMATA DISEASEIN JAPAN


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MANS EFFORT IN REDUCING

ENVTL IMPACTS OF ENERGY

CONSUMPTION Preferred alternatives to the more obviously

environmentally polluting fossil fuel sources

Something to think about:

Bataan Nuclear Power Plant

Jathropa Biofuel


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MANS EFFORT IN REDUCING

ENVTL IMPACTS OF ENERGY

CONSUMPTION

Bataan Nuclear Power Plant

Advantage: Zero Carbon Emissions

Nuclear energy does not involve burning fossil

fuels, and therefore does not in any way

contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. In thisrespect (albeit only this respect), it is as clean as

solar, wind, geothermal and hydropower.


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Disadvantage: Waste Disposal

Spent fuels from a nuclear power plant are

radioactive and highly toxic.They also pose

security risks, as a terrorist who acquired asubstantial amount of nuclear waste could

construct a so-called "dirty bomb," with the

purpose of spreading radioactive materials over a

large area. An accident or attack involvingradioactive waste would likely contaminate a

strictly local area.


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Advantage: Energy Independence

Nuclear fuels are derived from uranium and

plutonium. Uranium is available in plentiful

quantities in the United States, and plutonium iscreated as a byproduct of the nuclear fission

process (indeed, Breeder Reactor designs

maximize plutonium production). Replacing oil

burning power plants with nuclear power plantwould therefore be helping with achieving energy

independence.


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Disadvantage: Reactor Safety

In the case of an extreme failure, the result would bea nuclear meltdown, where the reacting nuclearmaterial burns or melts its way through its

containment vessel, into the ground, and then intothe water table. This would throw a huge cloud ofradioactive steam and debris into the atmosphere.Accidents of this type have the potential to release

radioactivity over an immense area. A small, well-contained accident might just contaminate the powerplant, while a major one could result in fallout beingspread worldwide.


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Disadvantage: Cost

According to the United States Department of

Energy, when all costs are factored in, nuclear

power costs an estimated $59.30/MWH. This isexpensive when compared to other means of

generating electricity. For example, clean wind

power is $55.60/MWH; coal $53.10/MWH; and

natural gas $52.50/MWH.


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Jathropa Biofuel

Using biofuels can reduce the amount of greenhouse

gases emitted. They are a much cleaner source ofenergy then conventional sources.

As more and more biofuel is created there will be

increased energy security for the country producing it,

as they will not have to rely on imports or foreignvolatile markets.

First generation biofuels can save up to 60% carbon

emissions and second-generation biofuels can save up

to 80%. Biofuels will create a brand new job infrastructure and

will help support local economies. This is especially

true in third world countries.


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There can be a reduction in fossil fuel use.

Biofuel operations help rural development.

Biodiesel can be used in any diesel vehicleand it reduces the number of vibrations,

smoke and noise produced.

Biodiesel is biodegradable. They are non-toxic.

They are renewable.

Biodiesel has a high flash point, making it

safer and less likely to burn after an

accident.


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DISADVANTAGES

Very costly

Biofuel may raise the price of certain foods, which are

also used for biofuel such as corn.

Biofuel development and production is still heavilydependant on Oil.

As other plants are replaced, soil erosion will grow.

A lot of water is used to water the plants, especially indry climates.

Deforestation in South America and South EasternAsia causes loss of habitat for animals and for

indigenous people living there. New technologies will have be developed for vehicles

for them to use these fuels. This will increase theirprices significantly.



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ON THE ENVIRONMENT

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

Let every individual and institution now think and

act as a responsible trustee of Earth, seekingchoices in ecology, economics and ethics that willprovide a sustainable future, eliminate pollution,

poverty and violence, awaken the wonder of life

and foster peaceful progress in the humanadventure.

- John McConnell, founder of Intl Earth Day

Documents

Human Action and Recent Environmental Change