Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Environmental Problems Chapter 14...
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Transcript of Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Environmental Problems Chapter 14...
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 14Environmental Environmental
ProblemsProblems
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•Any rental, lease or lending of the program.
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Myth or Fact?Myth or Fact?
• Environmental pollution did not become a problem until the 1960s and 1970s.
• Environmental conditions deteriorated in the last half of the twentieth century.
MYTH MYTH
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Globalization and the Globalization and the EnvironmentEnvironment
• Two aspects of globalization that have affected the environment are
– The permeability of international borders to pollution and environmental problems.
– Growth of free trade and transnational corporations.
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BioinvasionsBioinvasions
• Red fire ants, known for their painful sting, are an example of bioinvasion.
• They came from Paraguay and Brazil on shiploads of lumber to Mobile, Alabama, in 1957 and have spread throughout the southern states.
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Planned ObsolescencePlanned Obsolescence
• The manufacturing of products that are intended to become inoperative or outdated in a fairly short period of time.
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Greenwashing Greenwashing
• Refers to the way environmentally and socially damaging companies portray their corporate image and products as being “environmentally friendly” or socially responsible.
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Damage to EcosystemsDamage to Ecosystems
• Ecosystems are the complex and dynamic relationships between forms of life and the environments they inhabit
• Over the past 50 years, humans have altered ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any other comparable period of time in history.
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Depletion of Natural ResourcesDepletion of Natural Resources
• Freshwater resources are being consumed by agriculture, by industry, and for domestic use.
• More than 1 billion people lack access to clean water
• The demand for new land, fuel, and raw materials resulted in deforestation, the conversion of forest land to nonforest land.
• Desertification is the degradation of semiarid land, which results in the expansion of desert land that is unusable for agriculture.
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Social Sources of Social Sources of Environmental ProblemsEnvironmental Problems
• The social and cultural conditions that lead human beings to behave in ways that are detrimental to the environment include– population growth– Affluence– Technology– economic growth– cultural values
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The Functionalist Perspective The Functionalist Perspective
• Functionalists see the ecosystem in terms of the interdependence among land, air, water, people, and other resources in it.
• Problems arise when changes in the ecosystem produce social disorganization or dysfunctional consequences.
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The Conflict Perspective The Conflict Perspective
• Conflict theorists see environmental problems in terms of groups having competing interests in how the environment is to be used.
• Pollution becomes a problem when a group with some power feels that its interests are not being served.
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The Interactionist Perspective The Interactionist Perspective
• Interactionists stress the importance of social definition and subjective assessments of reality rather than the objective amount of pollution or degradation of the environment.
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The Social Construction of The Social Construction of Environmental ProblemsEnvironmental Problems
• Environmental problems do not exist as social problems until people identify and define them as such.
• The social construction happens as the media, influential people, and the government publicize the problems and enact social policies.
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Problems Related to Problems Related to WaterWater
• Water Supply and Pollution– The hydrologic cycle purifies water.
– The effects of pollution on the water supply include acid rain and eutrophication.
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Acid RainAcid Rain
• Air pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, mix with precipitation to pollute rain, snow, and fog that contaminate crops, forests, lakes, and rivers.
• As a result of the effects of acid rain, all the fish have died in a third of the lakes in New York’s Adirondack Mountains.
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Global WarmingGlobal Warming
• Accumulation of various gases collect in the atmosphere and act like glass in a greenhouse, holding heat from the sun.
• Effects: – Shifts in plant and animal habitats and
extinction of some species.– Melting of glaciers and permafrost, resulting in
rise in sea level.
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Greenhouse GasesGreenhouse Gases
• Gases (primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) that accumulate in the atmosphere and act like the glass in a greenhouse, holding heat from the sun close to the earth.
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CO2 Emissions Per CapitaCO2 Emissions Per Capitaby Region, 2003by Region, 2003
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Nuclear WasteNuclear Waste
• Radioactive waste from nuclear power plants and weapons production is associated with cancer and genetic defects.
• Radioactive plutonium, used in nuclear power and weapons production, has a half-life of 24,000 years.
• Disposal of nuclear waste is risky and costly,
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Problems Related to Problems Related to Nuclear Wastes and LandNuclear Wastes and Land
• Radioactive waste – Problems related to radioactive wastes include their
lifespan of thousands of years; NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard syndrome); transporting them; and the use of temporary storage for lack of permanent storage.
• Land Degradation– Desertification and deforestation are examples of land
degradation that results from human influence on the environment.
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Problems Related to Waste Problems Related to Waste
• Solid and Toxic Wastes– The average person in the U.S. throws
away between four and five pounds of waste everyday.
– Toxic waste can be problematic to dispose.
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Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Problems Related to Problems Related to Biodiversity and AirBiodiversity and Air
• Declining Biodiversity– The decline in the number of species means that
there is a loss of species that might be of use to humans and there may be a threat to the ability of the ecosystem to support human life.
• Air Pollution– Threats to air quality come from various sources.– Concern and controversy surround the “greenhouse
effect,” global warming, and climate change.
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Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Problems Related Problems Related to Chemicalsto Chemicals
• Pesticides and Other Chemicals– The volume of synthetic organic
chemicals produced has skyrocketed in the last fifty years.
– Alternatives to pesticide use include integrated pest management
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Problems Related to EnergyProblems Related to Energy
• Energy Resources– The affluent nations in the world use an
inordinate share of the world’s energy.
– Most existing forms of energy are finite.
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Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Future ProspectsFuture Prospects
• Collective action by environmental groups continues to be a significant source of pressure in the environmental realm.
• New cultural values and social institutions may be need to emphasize living in harmony with the environment, rather than mastering it.
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Future ProspectsFuture Prospects
• Efforts to alleviate environmental problems include– moderating economic growth– using government regulation– using environmental partnerships– reducing, reusing, recycling– developing renewable energy resources– developing international cooperation
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