The document discusses three major environmental issues in Europe: acid rain in Germany, air pollution in the United Kingdom, and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine. Acid rain in Germany was caused by vehicle and factory emissions releasing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. This resulted in acid rain that damaged forests and buildings and killed wildlife. Germany has taken strong action through emissions laws and alternative energy use to reduce acid rain. Air pollution in the UK was caused by coal burning and vehicle emissions, releasing smoke and smog that damaged plants, wildlife, and human health. Solutions included monitoring air quality and reducing vehicle use. Finally, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred due to reactor defects and poor safety practices, contamin

1. Environmental Issues
of Europe

2. SS6G9 The student will
discuss environmental issues
in Europe.
a. Explain the major concerns of Europeans
regarding the issues such as acid rain in
Germany, air pollution in the United
Kingdom, and the nuclear disaster in
Chernobyl, Ukraine.

3. Student will be able to:
• Explain the impact of acid rain, air
pollution and the Chernobyl Nuclear
Disaster on the economies and population
of Europe.

4. Environmental Issue____________________________________________________
Causes Effects
Event
(Important Facts)
Solutions?

5. Acid Rain: Caused by these…

6. Acid Rain: Results in this…

7. Acid Rain in Germany
• What causes acid rain?
• Acid rain occurs when factories’ smoke or
vehicles’ exhaust containing sulfur dioxide and
nitrogen oxides go up into the atmosphere
• It comes back down to earth in the form of
harmful precipitation (rain, snow, etc.)

9. Event: Acid Rain in Germany
• Causes:
car emissions (gases and particles which are
put into the air by various sources)
factories emissions
other air pollution
• Effects:
kills animals
pollutes water, kills forests and other plants
destroys buildings and monuments

10. Germans afraid of this…
Black Forest in Germany

11. …becoming this…

13. Acid Rain
 Damage to fish stocks and forests have great
economic impact to local economy and international
trade.
 Damage to buildings resulting in money having to
be spent to renovate.
Closure of many factories resulting in loss wages.
What can be done?
European Union members have agreed to the Kyoto
Protocol, or reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses
• Find alternative energy sources
• Conserve resources
All of these “fixes” cost money!!

14. Germany
• Until 1980’s, people did not believe that acid rain was
a problem
• When people saw that forests were dying, they
started to worry (Germans love their forests)
– Almost half of trees in forest were damaged
• Pollution in Germany was actually causing acid rain in
other countries
• Then Germans and others in Europe began pushing
for emissions laws (how much pollution can be let out
in the air)
• Now Europe has very strong laws about this: very
little pollution allowed
• Germans are using hydroelectricity to reduce acid rain.

15. Hydroelectricity: Human/Environmental
Interaction: Depending on our environment.

16. Environmental Issue___________________________________________________
Causes Effects
Event
(Important Facts)
Solutions?

17. Event: Air Pollution in the U.K.
How are acid rain and air
pollution related?
• Related to acid rain
• Air pollution rises into the air
and returns as acid rain in the
form of precipitation
• Air pollution is carried from the
U.K. to other countries by air
currents
• The UK has very bad air
pollution
• Air pollution includes smoke,
dust, and smog (mixture of
smoke and fog)

18. Event: Air Pollution in the United Kingdom
Causes:
coal-burning in homes (Great Smog of 1952) sending
ash into the air, mixed with fog; creating smog
vehicle emissions
local factories
Effects:
hurts plants through acid rain
hurts atmosphere
 hurts humans (burns the lungs, nose and eyes forcing
senior citizens and children to stay indoors)

19. Air Pollution
Respiratory disease= greater healthcare costs.
Contribution to acid rain in the U.K .and other
European countries.
Damage to fish stocks and forests have great
economic impact to local economy and international
trade.
Damage to buildings resulting in money having to be
spent to renovate.
Closure of many factories resulting in loss wages.
Money has to be spent on improving public
transportation to reduce number of vehicles on road
therefore reducing emissions.

20. Solutions
• Air quality monitoring station
– European Union is
pressuring them to improve
this
• One major goal of the EU
is to improve the
environment and protect
the earth
• Newer cars produce less
exhaust and people drive
less.
•Government monitors air quality
Air Quality Monitoring Station

21. Environmental Issue_____________________________________________________
Causes Effects
Event
(Important Facts)
Solutions?

22. Event: Important Information: Chernobyl
(Ukraine)
• April 26, 1986 Nuclear accident
– Estimates: up to 5,000 will die due to cancer from
radiation
– 336,000 had to be resettled
– Most areas now considered safe

23. Chernobyl after the disaster…

24. Whole cities had to be abandoned
due to radiation…

25. Before
After
Evacuation

26. Effects:
Red Forest

27. The Pripyat Fun Fair
was scheduled to begin
May 1st. The ferries
wheel remains one of
the most irradiated
parts of Pripyat since
the disaster, making it
still dangerous today.

28. 400m away from the reactor:
0.623 rt/m2
Average radiation level of a
Non-contaminated area:
0.010 rt/m2

29. Event: Chernobyl Nuclear
Disaster in Ukraine
• Cause:
communist government was not careful
defective reactor design that was operated
with poorly trained workers
• Effect: Nuclear accident at Chernobyl
Land evacuation and contamination (Europe farmers, )
Health issues- high rates of cancer, birth defects, death
Nuclear Fallout- radioactive particles stirred up by or resulting
from a nuclear explosion and descending through the
atmosphere

30. Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster
April 26, 1986
• spread to surrounding countries by air
currents.
• still effects people and land TODAY!
• worst in history
Event: Important Information: Chernobyl
(Ukraine)

31. Chernobyl Disaster, cont.
• Most deaths were attributed to nuclear fallout which
was more than 400 times more than the amount of
nuclear fallout caused by the bomb over Hiroshima.
• Evacuation and resettlement of over 360,000 people.
• Thousands of people exposed to radiation at risk to
cancer
• Firefighters did not know that the fire they were
fighting contained deadly amounts of radiation poison.
• Most of these men died within 3 months after the
accident.
Event: Important Information: Chernobyl
(Ukraine)

32. • Buried the reactor
• 25 years later:
Solutions: Chernobyl Nuclear
Disaster in Ukraine

33. General Map of Chernobyl Fallout
Throughout Europe

34. Chernobyl
• people don’t really know how much damage was
done even today!
• agriculture in other parts of Europe suffered
• affected land useless in the Ukraine.
• payments to victims
• loss of jobs due to closed reactors
• high medical costs.

35. Summary: Use Thinking Maps
Compose 1 paragraph per environmental issue
(3 Paragraphs)
1.Where does it occur in Europe?
2.What are the causes?
3.What are the effects?
4.What is being done to solve the problem?
5.How well or poorly did the country solve the
problem?