Environment

By Adrian Licea

Lorena Chavez

Alejandro Nunez

Khasandra Ayon

~A lot of our environment’s resources have

been used up over the years

~We are dealing with more environmental

issues every day

Climate Change

Habitat Loss

Water Shortage

Why should we care?

Deforestation

In nine years, deforestation in the Amazon

forest rose from 415,000 to 587,000 km

Why did this occur?

● Mainly seen as a resource for cattle

pastures, wood, and housing availability

● Employs at an international level, being a

source of agricultural needs

● The demand for food and the need to feed

the animals being sustained increases the

deforestation rates

● Approximately 80 percent of deforestation in

the world is attributed to agriculture.

● Since 1970, 232,000 square miles of

Amazon forest have been cleared for

agriculture.

● Amazon forest is being cleared at 1.5 acres

per second.

Agriculture

Brazil as a Producer of Beef

● Cattle breeding is typically seen in Brazil

because it yields huge profits as meat prices

are constantly rising.

● Currency devaluation- the devaluation of the

Brazilian real against the dollaro Doubled the price of beef in reals

o Created an incentive for ranchers to expand pasture

areas.http://www.mongabay.com/brazil.html#cattle

● According to FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the

United Nations, one in each five pounds of commercialized cattle

meat is from Brazil.

● Brazil is the second biggest exporter of cattle beef in the world.

According to the Foreign Trade Secretariat, Russia (26%), Egypt

(17%), Iran (14%), Hong Kong (9%), Chile (6%), Venezuela (5%)

and Saudi Arabia (3%) represented 80% of Brazilian cattle beef

exports.

● Dairy products import accounted for 50 times the volume exported

in 2012.

o Brazil is a major importer of dairy products in order to supply

the domestic demand.

● Brazilian products are bought mainly by Argentina and Uruguay.

http://thebrazilbusiness.com/article/the-brazilian-cattle-industry

The future...

GLOBAL WARMING

● Global warming refers to an unequivocal and continuing

rise in the average temperature of Earth's climate

system.

● Since 1971, 90% of the warming has occurred in the

oceans.

● "Global warming" is also used to refer to increases in

average temperature of the air and sea at Earth's

surface.

● Since the early 20th century, the global air and sea

surface temperature has increased about 0.8 °C (1.4 °F),

with about two-thirds of the increase occurring since

1980.

● Each of the last three decades has been successively

warmer at the Earth's surface than any preceding

decade since 1850

● Climate changeo Rainforests are attributed with being the the world's

largest emitters of oxygen

● Endangered Species○ Loss of habitats will result in endangered species as

the forest is home to half the species of plants and

animals

Climate Change

● About 20 percent of the worlds oxygen is

produced by the Amazon rainforest

● Forests are stripped faster than they can be

replanted, therefore, photosynthesis is

greatly reduced.o Vegetation continuously recycles carbon dioxide into

oxygen

WASTE-DIFFERENT TYPES● Waste — Electronic waste

● • Great Pacific Garbage Patch

● • Incineration

● • Litter

● • Waste disposal incidents

● • Marine debris

● • Medical waste

● • Landfill

● • Leachate

● • Toxic waste

● •Environmental impact of the coal industry

● • Exporting of hazardous waste

~ Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection

of debris in the Northern Pacific Ocean

~This gyre lies in between Hawaii and

California

~ The motion of the gyre prevents

debris from escaping

~ Micro Plastics make up the majority

of garbage patches

~ Plastic isn’t biodegradable, instead it breaks

down into tiny pieces known as micro plastics

~ Marine debris is very deadly to a lot of sea

creatures

Sea turtles often mistake plastic bags for

jellyfish which are their favorite food

POLLUTION-DIFFERENT TYPES

● Pollution — Nonpoint source pollution • Point source pollution • Light

pollution • Noise pollution • Visual pollution • Interplanetary

contamination

Water pollution — Acid rain • Environmental impact of the coal industry •

Eutrophication• Groundwater recharge • Marine pollution • Ocean dumping

• Oil spills • Thermal pollution • Urban runoff • Water crisis • Marine debris •

Microplastics • Ocean acidification • Ship pollution • Wastewater • Fish kill •

Algal bloom • Mercury in fish •Environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing

Air pollution — Atmospheric particulate matter•Environmental impact of the

coal industry • Smog • Tropospheric ozone • Indoor air quality • Volatile

organic compound •Environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing

Iraq War

Effects of Depleted Uranium~ Left behind in inhabited areas

~ Birth Defects, Cancer

~ Tainted water/food supplies

● 10 million barrels of oil spilled

● Water supply still contaminated today

● Destroyed aquatic ecosystems

● Temperature dropped 10 degrees due to

absence of sunlight

Chernobyl 1986

Cold war Disaster

-Largest uncontrolled radioactive realease

- Rapid increase in Thyroid Cancer

- Fetal Deaths

- Attributed to faulty reactor design and

inadequate staf according to the WNA.

Agent Orange

80million Liters Dropped

-Polluted water supplies

-Birth Defects

-Continues effects today

-5million acres affected

-Inhabitants heavily afflicted

Napalm

● Used in Vietnam and Tokyo

● Death by burn or asphixiation.

● Destroys Vegetation

Keystone XL Pipeline

What is the Keystone XL Pipeline?Keystone XL Pipeline is an oil pipeline that runs through the US

and Canada. More specifically it runs from Alberta, Canada to

refineries in Nebraska, Illinois, and Texas and also carries light

crude oil from Montana to N. Dakota.

● The pipeline is highly controversial as it faces criticism from

environmentalists and congress because of the pipeline's

impact on Nebraska's Sand Hills region.

Criticisms of Keystone XL Pipeline-risk of spills alone pipeline path and could potentially mess up a

highly sensitive region of Nebraska’s Sand Hills

-12-17% higher greenhouse gas emissions from the extraction of oil

sands

-Also pipeline spills would pollute air, water, supplies, and harm

birds & wildlife

-Ogallala Aquifer, one of the largest reserves of fresh water in the

world provides drinking water for 2 million people and supports

$20 billion in agriculture. A leak would ruin drinking water and

also devestate Midwestern US economy.

California Drought

● California is facing one of the driest years ever

recorded since rainfall has been recorded in 1849.

● Obama has recognized the drought in California as a

problem.

Possible reasons for the drought?

● Man-made climate increases make California hotter

today than it has been in the past.

The drought is already

affecting snow covered

areas, greatly decreasing

the total amount of snowfall

and snow that covers the

floor in places like Lake

Tahoe.

Places like Yosemite

National Park are actually

offering horseback riding

and hikes to those who visit

(when normally at this time

of year, Yosemite attracts

skiers).

Who cares?

● Lack of water may cause an increase in the prices of

food

● Increased forest fires

● Conflict over available water

● Possible water rations, or increased water cost

Solutions to Environmental Problems

● Creating a clean energy future

Our demand for oil in our oil dependent

economy threatens the environment and

other countries have already been making

progress in being green.

Cleaner, better cars● Electric cars provide a affordable monthly price for

transportation.

ENERGY USE-ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

● Energy — Energy conservation •

Efficient energy use • Environmental

impact of the coal industry •

Environmental impact of the energy

industry • Environmental impact of

hydraulic fracturing • Renewable

energy • Renewable energy

commercialization •

Elio, Ultra High Mileage Vehicle

● Newer better cars reduce the amount of gas we

consume, saving you money at the pump and reducing

our dependency on oil.

● 84 Miles per gallon

● Only $6,800 new

● Made in the USA

● Hemp vs. Marijuana

● Hemp is the variety of the cannabis plant that secretes low-

grade THC in negligible amounts of less than 0.3%.

● Marijuana is rich in THC, with content ranging from 2 to 20%

● THC, short for tetrahydrocannabinol, is a chemical compound

found in the cannabis plant.

o In low doses, the compound causes some pain reduction,

may reduce aggression, can stimulate appetite, and may

help reduce nausea.

o Higher doses may cause the “high” associated with

marijuana, leading to altered perception of time and space,

and fatigue.http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-thc.htm

Hemp

Environmental Benefits of Hemp● Fuel

o One acre of hemp yields 1,000 gallons or 3,785 liters of fuel.

● Compared to Cotton

○ 1 acre of hemp will produce as much as 2-3 acres of cotton

○ Hemp replaces cotton as a raw material in the manufacturing of

paper and cloth

● Paper

○ One acre of hemp (grown in a single season) yields as much

paper as up to 4 acres of trees.

Hemp

● Low Maintenance

o The high amount of pesticides and herbicides used on cotton

amount to 50% of the world’s usage, as against none in the

case of hemp.

● Switching to hemp paper could reduce deforestation significantly.

For every 4 acres of trees that are required annually to make

paper, only an acre of hemp would be required.

○ Hemp paper can be recycled up to 7 or 8 times), much less is

needed.

○ In comparison, paper from wood pulp can only be recycled

around 3 times

● Hemp can actually clean up toxins from the

ground. o This process is called phyto-remediation.

o A good example of this is when hemp was used to

help clean up the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site to

remove radioactive elements from the ground.

o Phyto-remediation can be used to remove nuclear

elements, and to clean up metals, pesticides,

solvents, crude oil, and other toxins from landfills.

Hemp breaks down pollutants and stabilizes metal

contaminants by acting as a filter.http://hempbenefits.org/environmental-benefits-of-hemp/