Environmental Education and Awareness

2. Introduction
Ecology comes from the Greek word “oikos” or house and
“logos” the study of. It is defined as the scientific study of the
interrelationship of plants, animals and the environment.
The plants and trees in the Philippines forests are the
sources of our medicines. The seas, rivers and waters are the
sources of fish. It is only in the Philippines where the fish die of old
age and yet the country imports sardines. Some Filipino fishermen
still use dynamite in fishing which destroys the ecological balance
of nature. There are other environmental problems that our world
is facing now that would include population growth,
pollution of water, air, land, poverty, waste disposal, deforestation
and the loss of species. In this respect, the Filipino needs a lot
education in ecology. Environment Education had been introduced
in the Philippine Educational System for many years, but it had
never been properly and strongly addressed to ensure functional
environmental programs.

3. In our daily newspapers, it is very alarming
to note that there is an alarming and rapidly
deteriorating ecological situation in the country.
There is a continuing rape of our forests and seas,
the unabated soil erosion of our mountains and
shores, the destruction of watersheds, the drying
up of rivers and their pollution with harmful
chemical. The wanton exploitation of our land and
waters is the “root of many of our economic and
political problems”, and a “more deep-seated
crisis” than “political instability, economic decline
and a growth in armed conflict.

4. The Many Faces of Planet Earth
Global Warming caused by “Greenhouse Effect”
According to Toh, Swee-Him & Cawagas (1990),
people all over the world are increasingly alarmed over the
rapid deterioration of our natural environment. The
continuing depletion of the ozone layer of the planet earth
as well as global warming through the ‘’greenhouse effect,”
there is a prediction that there will be an increase in the
incidence of skin cancer and other ailments due to harmful
solar radiation. The rising global temperature would cause
the melting of glaciers and polar caps, which will result in
severe flooding in coastal cities and communities. The so-
called ‘greenhouse effect’ is compounded as countries
continue to burn fossil fuels like coal, oil, natural gas and
other petroleum by-products, which increase the carbon
dioxide content in the atmosphere.

5. Further, they say that the destruction of
rainforests in all continents adds to this “greenhouse
effect” by disrupting the process that transforms
carbon dioxide to oxygen. At the same time, myriads
of valuable plants and animal species are killed and
suffer extinction. Rainforests are essential in the
functioning and maintenance of natural water
systems. They hold rainwater and then gradually
release the water into the ground, the rivers and the
lakes. With the death of rainforests, streams and
rivers have gone dry while during the rainy season,
massive soil erosion and floods occur, causing further
social and ecological damage (e.g. landslides, silting,
loss of crops, even loss of species).

6. Effects of Pollution
• Even our marine resources are greatly affected by pollution
which are brought by industrial wastes and mine tailings that
are dumped into our rivers, lakes and seas. The rich countries
are also contributors to ecological breakdowns in the Third
world. Because of the lower pollution standards of our
country, they take an advantage by dumping toxic wastes into
the air, land and waters of the host nations.
• In the urban areas, especially in Metro Manila, the air that we
breathe is no longer safe. It poses danger to our health. The
unhealthy attitude of Filipinos throwing garbage into the
rivers, lakes and seas can cause death, because the marine
resources are being contaminated with “red tide” and other
poisonous chemicals. The “red tide” phenomenon is truly one
message from nature to remind all of us of the harsh reality
that the garbage we throw will go back to us in another form
of trash.

7. Environmental Crisis
The Filipino people living in the mountains do not stop from
cutting trees, Philippine forests are not being conserved, so, as a result,
there are often brownouts and power shortages which greatly affect our
economy and consequently the whole country.
The increasing number of tragedies brought by our abusive acts
against nature like flash floods in Baguio, Nueva Vizcaya, Antipolo and San
Mateo; volcanic eruption in Bicol, Taal, and Zambales in which the latest is
“Lahar”, many Filipinos suffer the consequences of our own abuses to
mother nature.
This is the picture of our Planet Earth. As a Filipino citizen, how can
we be of help to our Mother Earth? What can we do in order to minimize,
if not totally eradicate, abuses in our environment? Let us not forget that
everything that we see in this world is a gift from God, which we have to
treasure. Let us love and protect nature. Let us not lose hope for God is
always with us. He has taught us and planted in our hearts the good things
that we have to do to protect our environment.
This environment crisis is an urgent issue to be resolved by each
and every one of us. Let us join hands in protecting nature. Act now!

8. Classification of Pollution
Pollution is defined as the alteration of our surroundings, wholly
and largely as a product of man’s actions, through direct and indirect
effects that changes every pattern of chemical and physical constituents
of organisms.
1. Air Pollution is the physical and chemical alteration of the properties of
AIR HARMFUL to Human Health, vegetation and animals (Encarta, 2008)
Major Type of Air Pollution:
a. Outdoor Pollution – is a type of pollution derived from the mixture or
collection of additional loads of chemicals produced by natural events and
human activities which react with the natural components of the
atmosphere thereby producing harmful effects to living systems.
Major Sources:
• burning of fossil fuels for power consumption.
• Photochemical and industrial smog.
• Volcanic eruption that emits sulfur dioxide
• Forest fire, ‘kaingin’

9. 2. Indoor Air Pollution – is a type of pollution derived from the accumulation or
build up of chemicals, suspended Particulates Matter (Dust, soot, lead…) and
Volatile Organic Compound (Methane, Butane) inside offices, buildings, houses,
schools and commercial stores.
Sources and Classes:
• Aerosol Sprays (Breathing difficulty)
• Chlorine Treated Water (Cancer)
• Tabacco and Cigarettes (Lung cancer and Heart Disease)
• Paint Stripper and Thinner ( Diabetes and Nerve disorder)
• Gas stove, kerosene, heater, wood, stone (Respiratory Disorder)
Effects of Air Pollution:
Air Pollution is responsible for major health problems. It has ruined or
endangered the health of countless people.
• Damage to human health includes:
– Over loading and degrading of body’s defense mechanisms.
– Chronic bronchitis;
– Emphysema (rapture of lung air sacs); and
– Lung cancer.
• Damage to plants include to dehydration and inhibition of photosynthesis
• Damage to materials are discoloration of clothing materials and cars.
• Depletion of ozone layer leads to increase global warming caused by
‘greenhouse effect.”

10. Air pollution has indeed become a serious problem. In an
effort to address this problem, “Clean Air Act” was passed in 1999
to provide comprehensive and integrated policy for air quality
management. The law set the national standards for the
protection of the environment and the improvement of the
quality of the air we breathe.
Acid Rain (Other Kind of Air Pollution)
• Acid rain is a kind of air pollution. When coal, oil, or gasolines
are burned, they release harmful gases into the air. These
gases mix with the moisture that is always present in the air
and form weak acids. Wind can carry the acidic droplets huge
distances. Eventually, these droplets return to the ground as
acid rain or as acid hail, snow, sleet, or even fog.
• Acid rain looks, feels, and tastes just like clean rain. For
humans, walking in acid rain, or even swimming in a lake
polluted by acid rain, is no more dangerous than walking or
swimming in clean water. But acid rain is extremely harmful to
the environment.

11. THE EFFECTS OF ACID RAIN
When acid rain gets into lakes and streams, it kills the fish and
other animals and plants that live there. Many rivers in Scandinavia no
longer have any fish. All the fish have been killed by acid rain.
Acid rain can also damage plants on land, including farm crops and forests.
By the mid-1980s, acid rain had damaged or killed almost half of the trees
in Germany’s Black Forest.
The outside surfaces of stone buildings and monuments can also be
corroded, or worn away, by acid rain. Some of the world’s greatest buildings
and monuments show signs of damage caused by acid rain. Acid rain eats
away at the steel in bridges and railings as well.
WHERE DOES ACID RAIN COME FROM?
Acid rain is not natural, but it’s also not new. The problem began in
the 1700s with the Industrial Revolution. It has been growing ever since. In
the past, city air was sooty from thousands of coal fires. The soot turned
buildings black and produced acid rain. Trees and other plants near large
industrial cities were dead or dying. Today, people burn less coal, but there
are many more fuel-burning power stations, cars, trucks, buses, and
aircraft. All of these pollute the air and contribute to acid rain.
REDUCING ACID RAIN. But, HOW?

12. GLOBAL WARMING
Do you like warm weather? Do you wish it could be
warmer still? Be careful what you wish for. The Earth may be
moving in that direction. The trend is called global warming.
Not all scientists agree that global warming is happening. Some
say it is impossible to know if the climate is changing overall. After
all, temperatures vary from day to day and year to year.
Most scientists, however, say the trend is up. The warmest
days are warmer, the coldest days not as cold. They point out that
the ten warmest years of the last century happened after 1980.
The three hottest came after 1990. The hottest year on record was
1998.
These scientists say the Earth has warmed up about 1°
Fahrenheit (0.6° Celsius) in the last 100 years. The rate of change,
they say, is speeding up. A hundred years from now, the Earth may
well be as much as ten degrees hotter!
WHAT CAUSES GLOBAL WARMING?

13. WHY IS THE ATMOSPHERE CHANGING?
• People are changing the atmosphere. The changes
started hundreds of years ago when people began
cutting down forests and burning the wood. The
invention of cars and other machines greatly
increased the amount of greenhouse gases
released into the atmosphere. Such machines burn
fuels like wood, coal, oil, and natural gas. When
these fuels burn, they add carbon dioxide to the
atmosphere. Methane comes from producing coal.
• Today, the air contains almost one-third more
carbon dioxide than it did in 1750. The amount of
methane has doubled.

14. 2. Water Pollution
Water pollution is defined as the physical or chemical changes in
the surface and ground water caused by pollutants and which can
adversely affect living organisms. Every year, 14 billion pounds of sewage,
sludge and garbage are dumped into the world’s oceans. The problem of
ocean pollution affects every nation around the world. This is true because
water is able to transport pollution form one location to another. With
industrialization and rapid pollution growth, the problem of water
pollution has intensified (Encarta, 2008)
Major Sources of Water Pollution
• Point sources refer to sources of discharges, pollutants or any affluent,
such as waste water, through pipes, ditches, and sewers into bodies of
water to specific location.
• Sources: sewage treatment plants of factories, electric power plants,
abandoned underground coal mine, oil tanker and offshore oil wells.
• Non-point sources are widely scattered and they discharge pollutants
over a large area
• Sources: run off into surface water, seepage into ground water in urban
and suburban lands, and construction areas and roadways.

15. 3. Solid Wastes / Land Pollution
Land pollution refers to the presence of any solid waste in
land in such quality, of such nature and duration and under such
conditions that are injurious to human health and to the
existence of plants and animals.
• Solid wastes disposal is an issue in all countries. Most
countries produce millions of tons of household wastes and
industrial toxic wastes from factories, industries and hospitals.
These wastes pollute the air, soil and water because most
countries and communities do not have safe means of
disposing them.
• When solid wastes are burned, toxic gases spread into the air,
causing air pollution.
• Some wastes are dangerous to public health because acid and
non-decomposable organic materials seep through the soil,
thus contaminating the drinking water and polluting farm
lands. Solid wastes take up space and produce unpleasant
smell.

16. Wastes end up in only three places:
• Landfills which are sanitarily designed to reduce
the amount of waste that leaks out into the
environment. It protects the environment from
pollution and uses the methane produced in the
landfill to generate electricity. Water dissolves
pollutants out of the garbage forming a solution
known as leachate.
• Incinerators which reduce solid waste by burning,
however, this is the source of flies, ashes, gases and
particulate matters emitted to the air.
• Oceans where about 50 million tons of wastes a
year are discharged 300 kilometers off-shore.
However, disease-causing organisms and heavy
metals have destroyed numerous fish varieties.

17. What is the Ecological Solid Wastes Management Act of 2000?
• Republic Act of 9003 considers “waste as a resource that can be recovered,”
emphasizing re-cycling, re-use and composting as methods to minimize and
eventually manage the waste program.
Types of Wastes Identified by RA 9003.
• Solid Wastes – these are all household, commercial wastes, non-hazardous
institutional and industrial wastes, street sweepings, construction debris,
agricultural wastes and other non-hazardous / nontoxic solid wastes.
• Special Wastes – these are household hazardous wastes as paints, thinners,
household batteries, lead-acid batteries, spray canisters and the like. These
include wastes from residential and commercial sources that are composed of
bulky wastes, consumer electronics, white goods, yard wastes that are
collected separately, oil and tire. These wastes are usually handled separately
from other residential and commercial wastes.
• Hazardous Wastes – these are solid, liquid, contained gaseous or semisolid
wastes that may cause or contribute to the increase in mortality, or in serious
or incapacitating reversible illness or acute/chronic effect on the health of
people and other organisms.
• Infectious Wastes – these are mostly generated by hospitals’ wastes and
mining activities, which contaminate soil, and debris.

18. The Four R’s of Waste Management: A Guiding Principle
The most cost-effective way to manage waste is to do something
at the source of generation. The sources of generation are the
household, office or institution. Waste Management activities such as
sorting of waste and recovery can be best done at these points. The
following are the practical tips that should be at the core of any
ecological waste management:
1. REDUCE – avoid wasteful consumption of goods. Begin by asking the
question: “Do I really need it? In doing so, waste can be minimized and
our natural resources can be conserved. Conservation is like charity that
begins at home.
2. REUSE – whenever practicable, reuse useful items instead of throwing
them away. It would greatly help if reusable goods are patronized.
3. RECYCLE – waste cane be a valuable resource. Items that are useless or
of little value to someone who wants to dispose of them may have
significant value to others. The process of sorting out and using these
wastes into something beneficial is called recycling.
4. REPAIR – have items repaired to make them functional and reusable.
Avoid throwing them.

19. Why Recycle?
• It saves energy.
• It saves resources.
• It saves money.
• It saves space.
• It creates jobs.
• It reduces pollution.

20. CONCLUSION:
Think of all the things you throw away like juice
bottles, soda cans, candy wrappers, etc. If it is adds
up, how much trash do you produce? Americans,
for example, throw away an average of 1 ton of
trash per person every year. That’s 2,000 pounds
(907 kilograms) of garbage! Most of this trash gets
buried in big holes in the ground called landfills.
A lot of this garbage can be recycled, or turned back
into something useful. Just about any material can
be recycled. The main things we recycle today are
made from metal, paper, glass, or plastic.

21. Prepare for a short QUIZ..


22. QUIZ #1 (final term)
1. It refers to Earth’s slowly rising temperature and the major cause is
the air pollution from both cars and factories.
a. Carbon Dioxide c. Climate Change
b. Global Warming d. Acid Rain
2. Which is sanitarily designed to reduce the amount of wastes that
leaks out into the environment and it protects the environment from
pollution and uses the methane produced by it to generate electricity.
a. Incinerators c. Landfill
b. Oceans d. Waterfalls
3. These are all household, commercial wastes, non-hazardous
institutional and industrial wastes, street sweepings, construction
debris, agricultural wastes and other non-hazardous/non-toxic wastes.
a. Solid Wastes c. Infectious Wastes
b. Special Wastes d. Residual

23. 4. This is a kind of waste that cannot be thrown into
landfills. They are too dangerous and must be
recycled or disposed of in special ways.
a. Biodegradable wastes
b. Residual Wastes
c. Hazardous wastes
d. Recyclable wastes
5. This is a kind of Air Pollution. When coal, oil, or
gasolines are burned, they release harmful gases
into the air. These gases mix with the moisture that
is always present in the air and form weak acids.
a. Acid Rain c. Carbon Monoxide
b. Carbon Dioxide d. Global Warming

24. 6. It is a type of pollution derived from the mixture or
collection of additional loads of chemicals produced by
natural events and human activities which react with the
natural components of the atmosphere thereby
producing harmful effects to living systems.
a. Water Pollution c. Indoor Pollution
b. Air Pollution d. Outdoor Pollution
7. It is a type of pollution derived from the accumulation
or build up of chemicals, suspended particulars Matter
and Volatile Organic Compound inside offices, buildings,
houses, schools and commercial stores.
a. Indoor Pollution c. Outdoor Pollution
b. Air Pollution d. Water Pollution

25. 8. It is defined as the physical or chemical changes in the surface and
ground water caused by pollutants and which can adversely affect living
organisms.
a. Red Tide c. Air Pollution
b. Water Pollution d. Waste Disposal
9. Landfill protects the environment from pollution and uses the
methane produced in the Landfill to generate electricity. Water
dissolves pollutants out of the garbage forming a solution known as:
a. Oxygen c. Leachate
b. Methane Gas d. Carbon
10. It is by which reduce solid waste by burning, however, this is the
source of flies, ashes, gases and particulate matters emitted to the air.
a. Landfill c. Compost Pit
b. Dumpsite d. Incinerator

26. 11. These are all household, commercial wastes, non-hazardous
institutional and industrial wastes, street sweepings, construction
debris, agricultural wastes.
a. Solid Wastes c. Special Waste
b. Hazardous Wastes d. Infectious wastes
12. These are household hazardous wastes as paints, thinners,
household batteries, lead-acid batteries, spray canisters and the like.
a. Solid Wastes c. Hazardous Wastes
b. Special Waste d. Infectious wastes
13. These are solid, liquid, contained gaseous or semi-solid wastes that
may cause or contribute to the increase in mortality or in serious or
incapacitating reversible illness or acute effect on the health of people
and other organisms.
a. Solid Wastes c. Hazardous Wastes
b. Special Waste d. Infectious wastes

27. 14. These are mostly generated by hospital wastes
and mining activities which contaminate soil and
debris.
a. Solid Wastes c. Special Waste
b. Hazardous Wastes d. Infectious wastes
15. It is a proven way to reduce air and water
pollution, reduce energy consumption and decrease
gases emissions linked to global warming.
a. Recycling c. Tree Planting
b. Use Non-disposable Materials d. Coastal
Clean-up