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Environmental problems around the world - Contemporary Social Issues
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- 2. Table of Contents What are Environmental Problems Earth as Our Provider Facts About Global Environmental Issues Facts About Canadian Environmental Issues Sociological Perspective Three Serious Environmental Issues that need to be Resolved Fresh Water Crisis Global Warming Extinction of Species Extinction Due to Deforestation Reasonable Solutions Conclusion References
- 3. What Are Environmental Problems? A wide range of sources that have influenced the environment in a negative way The environment is the most essential aspect in our lives as it determines everything that we do As humans we don’t realize just how much we depend on the physical environment that we live in for our survival
- 4. Earth as OurProvider The earth is made up of different natural resources that we solemnly rely on for survival Some natural resources may be recycled (such as water) and others are considered a non-renewable resource this includes fossil fuels
- 5. Facts About Global EnvironmentalIssues Forests make up only 30.9% of the world About 17% of the Amazon’s Rainforest has been destroyed over the passed 50 years Coal is the number one fossil fuel used globally Although the world is made up of 70% of water, there is only about 2.5% of fresh water on earth It is estimated that by 2025, 1.8 billion people will have little access to water, and 2/3 of world’s population will live in water-stressed areas 90% of the world’s water shortage is due to first world countries
- 6. Facts About Canadian EnvironmentalIssues Acid rain has been a serious issue presented due to sulphur emissions in the air. Sulphuric and nitric acid become combined with other gases that are washed away in the air from rain, snow or smog. This results into acid rain. Although Canada has the most fresh water in the world, most of it is located in the north. With the vast majority of citizens living within 300 kilometers of the US border. This means that Canada could in fact become a water- stressed society.
- 7. Sociological Perspective Structural-FunctionalistPerspective – this focuses on humans impact on the environment through everyday life, cultural beliefs and social patterns and in turn compares how the environment impacts human life everyday, including their living situations or cultural beliefs. For example, if a drought were to occur it could cause crops to die, leaving farmers financially unstable since they have no product to sell, leaving vegetables scarce to buy. The drought could have been caused by extreme pollution (increased carbon dioxide in the air) in the area in the form of smog.
- 8. Three Serious Environmental Issuesthat NEED to be Resolved Fresh Water Crisis Global Warming Extinction of Species
- 9. Fresh Water Crisis Since only 2.5% of water on earth is fresh water, water shortage is a huge global issue About half of the world’s general available fresh water is being used every year. This could increase to 74% by 2025. Areas like the Middle East and North Africa contain about 6.3% of the World’s population, but only have access to about 1.4% of the World’s fresh water. This has resulted in a huge increase of deaths, significantly dropping the population in those areas.
- 10. Global Warming Carbon,the main substance that makes up coal, is being burned in substantial amounts for a source of energy. This is the main reason why our environment is getting hotter. With this heat, our climate change has shifted causing a record amount of extreme disasters including record breaking hurricanes, year-long droughts in parts of the US and Canada, excessive loss of crops and cattle, health risk from the extreme heat. Here is a short clip to sum out the extreme weather from the hottest year recorded, 2012 http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/climate- change-impacts/
- 11. Extinction of Species It is the nature of the world that different species will die off and be replaced. With much research, scientists have discovered that approximately 1-5 species a year are supposed to become extinct. Due to human activities such as agriculture and deforestation, scientists have estimated that we are losing about 1000 – 10000 % more than what we are supposed to. We are currently in the world’s sixth wave of extinction. The group of species that have been greatly impacted are the amphibians due to air pollution and climate change.
- 12. Extinction Due to Deforestation The main reasons that deforestation occurs if to find more natural expensive resources such as gold, or to build urban areas, roads and manmade rivers. The impacts of deforestation are massive including the loss of biodiversity that may result in extinction, since animals no longer can live in their habitat. Other impacts include loss of water recycling, changes in climate (more carbon dioxide in the air), and less natural resources.
- 13. Reasonable Solutions? Unfortunatelythere are no easy solutions to any environmental problems Governments need to enforce new laws about the usage of fresh water in areas that overuse it, and spread awareness through seminars and advertisements about over water usage. Politicians need to spend more money and bring more attention to the overuse of fossil fuels like coal and create other alternatives of energy. This can include more money towards nuclear power, windmills, solar panels etc.
- 14. Reasonable Solutions Cont. Governments should help communities that are likely to be hit with severe weather like hurricanes, tornadoes, and flooding Environment conservationists should continue their approach with limiting areas that can be subjected to deforestation for agriculture, logging industries and urban centers
- 15. Conclusion The environmentis essential to every species in the world and humans need to acknowledge that their activities are destroying our necessity We need to do our job of spreading awareness of environmental issues so that we can limit the negative impact the humans have. This could potentially save thousands of plants and animals, and even humans that may die due to natural disasters or health issues.
- 16. References Alley, R.(2011). Earth: The Operators Manual, Top documentary films. Retrieved from: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/earth- operator-manual/ Center of Biological Diversity (n.d). The extinction crisis, Wildlife Services: Retrieved from: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/elements_ of_biodiversity/extinction_crisis/ Effects of Global Warming (n.d). Retrieved from: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/global-warming- prevention/images/250238/title/effects-global-warming-wallpaper Fellmann, J., Getis, A., Getis, J., Shrubsole, D., Hopkins, J. (2009). Human Geography, Second Ed. McGraw-Hill. Ryerson. Mooney, L., Holmes, M., Knox. D., Schacht, C., (2013). Understanding Social Problems. Nelson.
- 17. References National Geographic(2014). Freshwater crisis, Environment National Geographic. Retrieved from: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwa ter/freshwater-crisis/ Natural Resources Defense Council(2014). Extreme weather: impacts climate change. Retrieved from: http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/climate-change-impacts/ Shah, A. (2005). Global dimming, Global Issues. Retrieved from: http://www.globalissues.org/article/529/global- dimming#Healthandenvironmentaleffects The World Bank (2014). Environment. Retrieved from: http://data.worldbank.org/topic/environment World Wildlife Foundation (n.d.). Forest burn, soil dwindles, people suffer, Problems in the Amazon. Retrieved from: http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/amazon/prob lems/