LITTLE FLOWER PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL, BATHINDA

POLLUTION

SUBMITTED BY :AMRINDER SINGH

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Ecosystem

• The interrelationships between all living things and the environment.

• Emphasis is on interdependence of all things.• People, nature, and the earth form a delicately

balanced system. • Ozone is a rare form of oxygen that is poisonous

to human beings at ground level but is necessary in the upper atmosphere to absorb the deadly ultraviolet radiation of the sun.

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Environmental Pollution• Pollution is the harmful

alteration of our environment by our own actions.

• Pollutants – either unwanted by-products or our activities or the obnoxious residues of things we have made, used, and thrown away.

• Air Pollution• Water Pollution• Land Pollution• Global Warming• Noise Pollution• Aesthetic Damage

© Norman R. Rowan/Stock Boston

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Types of Pollution • Air pollution

– Most air pollution is caused by the burning of fossil fuels.

• Water pollution– Organic sewage

– Eutrophication

– Infectious agents

– Organic chemicals

– Inorganic and miscellaneous chemicals

– Sediments from land corrosion

– Radioactive substances

– Waste heat from power plants and industry

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Types of Pollution—Continued

• Land pollution– Pesticides – chemicals used to kill insects defined as

pests. – Herbicides – chemicals used to kill plant life,

particularly weeds. – Chemical wastes– Radioactive fallout– Acid rain– Garbage

• Global warming – Since the late 1800’s the average global surface

temperature has increased about 0.75 degrees C. – Most warming has occurred since 1950.

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Environmental Depletion

• The Dwindling Natural Resources– No nation is self-sufficient in the modern

world.

• Energy Production and Consumption– Energy consumption per capita is higher in

the United States than it is in any other country in the world.

– Consumption is growing more rapidly than production.

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Environmental Pollution Problems • Enforcement of air pollution standards has been

reducing the amount of pollutants released into the air. • In 2002, 34.3% of children under the age of 18 lived in

an area that did not meet one or more of the air quality standards.

• Sick building syndrome. • Presence of radon gas• Electromagnetic radiation• In 2000, 39% of rivers and streams; 45% of lakes,

reservoirs, and ponds; 78% of the Great Lakes shoreline; and 14% of ocean shoreline were polluted.

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Environmental Depletion

• Over the course of human history, nearly half of the earth’s forests have been depleted, most of which has occurred since 1970.

• Energy use per capita is increasing in most of the developing nations.

• In 1970, Americans drove their cars, vans, pickups, and SUVs 1.043 trillion miles; by 2004, the number rose to 2.72 trillion miles.

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The Physical Threat

• Air pollution can cause or contribute to:– Permanent lung damage in children– Fetal deaths– Infant mortality– Respiratory illness– Cardiovascular disease– Skin problems, ulcers, and liver and kidney damage– Premature deaths– Asthma attacks– Lung cancer

• Exposure to toxic materials can also lead to sterility• The depleted ozone layer raises the risk of skin cancer

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Threat to the Ecological Balance • The lust for more affluence and unrestrained population

growth are ravaging the environment – Paul Ehrlich. • A number of species of animals and plants have

disappeared.• People depend on biological diversity for the quality of

their lives. • Photosynthesis – a natural process essential to life,

resulting in the production of oxygen and organic materials.

• Urbanization – the increasing concentration of people living in cities.

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Other Problems

• The Economic Costs

– Damage to livestock, trees, and crops

– Death of wildlife

– Expense of pollution-control measures

– Cost of medical care for those whose health is affected

– Lost work time due to ill health

– Expense of maintaining and refurbishing buildings and other structures that deteriorated because of pollution

– Cost of restoring the quality of the air and of waterways.

• Threat to World Peace

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Social Structural Factors

• Population Growth– Population growth accelerates the consumption of

earth’s natural resources.– Any given area on earth has a limited carrying

capacity. – Threshold effect

• The Industrial Economy– The U.S. with about 4.6% of the world’s population,

accounts for 22% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions.

– More than ¼ of all cars in the world are on U.S. roads.

• The Politics of the Environment

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Social Psychological Factors

• Attitudes and the Environment– Many people see the earth as a resource to be mined

rather than as a trust to be cared for. – 42% of Americans believe the government was doing

about the right amount or too much to protect the environment.

• Values and the Environment– Quantitative colossalism – Individualism

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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