REN Revision 7-10 Flashcards
During the Industrial Revolution and the subsequent industrialisation of economies worldwide what sources of fuel became widely used and served as the major source of energy?
fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas
Prior to the industrial revolution in the 18th Century what were the principal sources for acquiring energy?
water power, fire power from wood and peat
Evidence of the use of fire as an early energy source for human activities are dated back to how many years and where?
evidence of humans using fire as an energy source date to just over 1 million years ago and from sites in China
Biological sources of power, from domestic animals date back to when and where?
Biological sources of power date to the early development of agriculture in the Middle East about 10’000 years ago
The dawn of the industrial revolution in Europe in the 1700s saw the invention of what?
The steam engine, which greatly revolutionised the use and sources of energy
How did the steam engine work? and why was it revolutionary?
The steam engine could essentially convert thermal (heat) energy into mechanical energy that was able to drive a range of machines.
What was the initial source of fuel used for the steam engine? and what was the first fossil fuel used to power the steam engine?
Wood was the initial form of energy utilised in the early steam engines but this was gradually replaced by coal, the first fossil fuel used in the early 19th century
What fuel source was coal replaced by to power the steam engine in the 20th century?
Coal was in turn replaced by oil in the 20th century.
In 1970s what became obvious about the use of fossil fuels?
it was becoming obvious that fossil fuels were not only causing localised pollution problems, but also that the growing use of fossil fuels was causing environmental and social impacts on a global scale.
What was the time period when it started to become clear that fossil fuels were not in limitless supply and are exhaustible resources?
The finite character of fossil fuels was highlighted during the 1970s.
What was the name of the report released in the 1970s focusing attention on the physical, technical and environmental limits to uncontrolled growth?
Club of Rome’s Limits to growth report
What did the report “Club of Rome’s Limits to growth” highlight?
it highlighted that fossil fuels, upon which the industrialising world had become so dependent, were not unlimited and could run out in the early part of this century.
When did the world energy crisis occur?
In the 1970s
What event began the world energy crisis?
The Arab-Israeli war saw Arab oil exporting nations cut exports of oil to the USA and other countries. (‘oil-embargo’).
What events followed the Arab-Israeli war that contributed to the World Energy Crisis?
The impacts on oil due to the Arab-Israeli war was closely followed by increasing oil prices and a quadrupling of the world oil price by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and development (OPEC) in 1974 (Pickering and Owen 1997).
What was the overall impact of the World Energy Crisis?
The crisis saw dramatic reductions in oil supply worldwide and was a major source of debt for many countries, particularly less-developed countries.
Despite environmental concerns and the energy crisis the world energy consumption continued to rise at a significant amount between what time period?
world energy consumption rose at a significant rate between the late 1960s and the early 1990s
There has been an increase in world energy demand of what percentage over the last 20 years?
35%
The predicted growth in demand for energy over the next 30 years is predicted to be what percentage?
70%
Today over 85% of the world’s energy is derived from what???
the combustion of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas)
What percentage of the world’s energy is derived from nuclear power?
5%
What percentage of the world’s energy is derived from other sources, such as generation, hydroelectricity, biomass?
Less than 10%
In the global energy use diagram what is the percentages of the different energy resources used?
Renewable (hydro, geothermal, solar, wind, biomass): 8% Nuclear: 5% Coal: 30% Oil: 33% Natural Gas: 24%
What is the definition of a Non-Renewable resource?
‘Non-renewable resources’ are those materials that exist in finite amounts and either are not replaced by natural processes (at least within a realistic time frame) or are replaced at a rate slower than the rate of use.
Non-renewable energy is based on what?
Non-renewable energy is based on fuels that are limited in their extent and finite in their availability. They take many hundreds of thousands of years to form.
What are the major non-renewable sources of energy?
are coal, oil, gas and to a lesser extent uranium
The world energy Council estimates that we have how many years, worth of oil reserves?
40 years
What is the estimated years left in natural gas reserves?
60-120 years
What is the number of years estimated for coal reserves?
more than 200 years (possibly up to 400 years)
Miller and Spoolman suggest that between 2050 and 2100 oil reserves will have what percentage remaining?
only 20% of oil reserves will remain and that this will be too costly to extract
The Swedish government in 1991 committed itself to phasing out the use of nuclear power by 2010 why was this so?
Due to public pressure on the use of nuclear energy
What is the definition of Renewable Resources?
are those materials that can be consumed and then replenished relatively quickly by natural or human-assisted processes, or are continuously present as a feature of the solar system.
Examples of renewable resources?
renewable resources include food crops, forests (given sufficient time), grasslands, and animal stocks
In terms of energy, renewable energy resources include.
- hydroelectricity (or water power)
- biomass (plant matter such as fuelwood and charcoal, animal manure)
- geothermal energy
- solar energy
- wind energy
- tidal and wave energy
What provides the main source of electricity in countries such as Brazil, Canada and Norway?
hydroelectricity
Biomass accounts for about what percentage of worldwide energy consumption?
6%
Biomass comes in a number of forms:
- unprocessed: wood, straw, dung, vegetable matter, and agricultural wastes
- processed: charcoal, methane from biogas plants and landfills, logging waste and sawdust, and alcohol produced by fermentation.
What are the two main sources of geothermal energy utilised?
heat extracted from rocks and the tapping of hot water, including oceanic thermal energy by heat exchange processes.
Examples of how solar energy is utilised.
for example in the design of buildings to reduce consumption of other energy resources, or directly through thermal electric generation, such as for domestic hot water systems
How long has tidal energy been used?
Tidal energy has been used since before 1100AD in the form of tide mills on the coasts of the UK, France and Spain.
Wind power alone is growing at the rate of?
about 30% annually
How is coal formed?
coal is formed as a result of plant matter being buried under layers of sediment over very long periods of time
What is the world’s most abundant fossil fuel?
coal
coal reserves vary greatly in quality
What are the major environmental impacts associated with coal extraction?
- disposal of waste rock
- vegetation disturbance and exposed land surface that may lead to erosion and siltation.
- un-rehabilitated strip/open cut mining which can result in land that is severely degraded and often inhospitable for plants
- contaminated water into adjacent aquatic systems
What are the environmental impacts involved with burning of coal?
Air pollution in the release of many millions of tons of material into the atmosphere
Coal contains high levels of what?
sulphur which is released in the form of sulphur dioxide and sulphuric acid when burning coal for electricity.
Sulphuric acid from coal emissions has led to direct damage to local what?
aquatic and terrestrial communities.
Sulphuric acid from coal emissions is an important component of?
acid rain.
What is the greatest contributor among the fossil fuels for increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concertation?
The burning of coal for energy production
oil extraction is less environmentally damaging than what?
coal mining
The cost of oil in the form of petrol, heating oil etc to the consumer has greatly increased why?
Due to the costly nature of oil exploration and extraction of smaller oil reserves, including offshore reserves
The processing of crude oil provides what potential environmental problems?
- Air pollution Nitrous oxides (NO and NO2) are released from the combustion of oil
- Pollution from toxic by-products from the refining process
Gas extraction and the associated problems?
the erection of pipelines for the transportation of gas.
Risks of explosion.
What are the advantages of natural gas?
Natural gas extraction, processing and transport is generally regarded as having the least potential and realised impact on the environment
Natural gas has an advantage in that it burns cleanly and causes almost no air pollution.
What percentage of the energy consumed worldwide comes from nuclear power?
just over 7%
What reasons have raised questions about the safety and long-term viability of nuclear power generation?
A number of significant nuclear accidents and the continual threat of the misuse of nuclear reactors
large-scale nuclear contamination became a reality when and where?
1986 in Chernobyl, Ukraine.
What where the impacts of Chernobyl, Ukraine?
31 fatalities, 500 people were hospitalised and an estimated further 24 000 people received high doses of radiation. As well as The radiation cloud impacted upon many thousands of square kilometres of northern Europe.
Exposure to large doses of radiation can cause?
cancer, birth defects in unborn children, and many other illnesses.
What are the disadvantages to Nuclear energy
As well as the obvious impacts, the potential for radioactive contamination of the environment is present at all stages, from the extraction of uranium ore to the problems associated with the disposal of radioactive wastes.
Advantages to nuclear energy?
nuclear power is still considered by many to be one of the least polluting energy resources
The most significant environmental problems related to energy utilisation come from?
problems associated with the burning of fossil fuels
Definition of energy efficiency?
is a measure of the energy produced compared to energy consumed
Production efficiency is?
a subset of overall energy efficiency, is the efficiency in which energy is converted from the resource into a usable form (heat, electricity, movement etc.)
Energy conservation and efficiency is related to the concept?
the concept that it is cheaper to save one kilowatt of electricity than to produce one more from the supply side.
utilisation efficiency is?
The efficiency with which energy is consumed minus the extraneous energy lost in the process, including wastage.
Energy Conservation is?
is a way of reducing the demand for additional energy, thereby reducing the impact of energy generation on the environment.
There are a range of energy conservation techniques and approaches for industrial, transportation and domestic sectors examples include?
- Developments in mass transport
- improved automobile efficiency
- alternative renewable heating
- insulation technologies
- house and building designs
- more efficient lighting
- effective land use planning
What are important components of the energy conservation process?
Education and behavioural change
What is the pro and con to energy conservation strategies
Con: have a high initial (short-term) cost
Pro: but are economically more favourable in the longer term.
What is a major constraint to hydroelectricity?
Major constraints on the further development of hydroelectricity are the social and environmental impacts associated with dams
What are the environmental impacts associated with dams?
- loss of fertile agricultural lands
- destruction of natural aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems
- potential associated loss of biodiversity
- reductions in water available for the environment downstream of the plant
What are the social impacts associated with the construction of a reservoir for a hydroelectric power plant?
- relocation costs with moving entire human communities
- reductions in water available for the agriculture downstream of the plant
The utilisation of biomass reduces and impacts what?
the organic matter available to decomposers, and hence can greatly impact on nutrient cycles within ecosystems
less developed countries that utilise large amounts of biomass also struggle with?
Domestic food shortages as agricultural lands become less productive due to nutrient depletion
Through the burning of fuelwood causes?
the production of greenhouse gases and other forms of air pollution
If managed sustainably biomass ….?
biomass fuel may produce no net emissions, as the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere will be taken up by growing plants.
geothermal plants in some cases may emit high?
emissions of CO2 and hydrogen sulphide
Geothermal energy generation often requires?
high water consumption, which may be re-directed from aquatic system
What is the environmental disadvantage of Geothermal energy that requires water consumption.
The water wastes from this process may also contain a range of minerals toxic to aquatic organisms when in high concentrations
what is the suggested geological impact that could be caused by deep drilling
the initiation of micro-earthquakes
What was one of the early problems with wind power generation?
Noise pollution
What are still occurring problems of wind power generation
Bird kills and interferences with TV reception and sensitive electronics are still problems.
modern wind turbines are designed to reduce bird deaths by?
by turning more slowly allowing many birds to more easily avoid the turning blades
To insure guaranteed supply electricity generated by wind must be??
coupled with other more reliable sources of energy to ensure guaranteed supply
What are tidal power generation environmental impacts?
- impairing fish reproduction
- a reduction of the amount of mud flats washed by the tides (leading to reductions in the abundance and diversity of invertebrate animal life)
- adverse effects on migratory and spawning fish populations
Environmental problems associated with the use of renewable energy resources are generally considered to be significantly less than impacts associated with??
non-renewable energy resources (fossil fuels and nuclear power.)
The impacts from the burning of fossil fuels include?
- Global warming (enhanced greenhouse effect).
- acid rain from coal combustion
- air pollution from cars and industry.
Mineral resources are?
non-renewable elemental, chemical, mineral or rock resources
minerals constitute what amount of the earth’s crust?
a small fraction of the earth’s crust – far less than 1%
Mineral reserves are?
known deposits from where materials can be extracted profitably
What is evident in recent years in relation to the exploitation of mineral resources?
- Humans are depleting usable world reserves (many reserves of minerals are becoming harder to find)
- The there are increasing costs as high grade deposits are removed
Why is cost of mineral extraction increasing?
Costs increase as more advanced energy-consuming technologies are required from greater depths or from new deposits of smaller content.
Examples of metallic minerals are?
these include such metals as iron ore, copper, lead, gold, silver
Examples of non-metallic minerals?
- These include construction materials (such as sand and gravel, building stone, gypsum and limestone)
- mined fertiliser minerals (such as potash and phosphate)
- precious and semiprecious stone
Examples of mineral fuels?
these include coal, gas and oil
Mineral resources can be divided into three broad categories what are these categories?
- Metallic Minerals
- Non-metallic Minerals
- Mineral Fuels
environmental impacts associated with extraction (mining)
Seperation of valuable mineral from surrounding rock
- disposal of waste rock (often containing toxic material)
- excess water use (lead to degraded water quality)
- vegetation disturbance and exposed land (leading to erosion)
- unrehabilitated strip/open-cut mining
Recycling is?
simply the process where material is reclaimed and used again in another structure or process
Economic and effective recycling depends on?
- the ease of collection of materials.
- economic value of the recycled material.
What percentage of aluminium is recovered for reprocessing or exported for scrap?
About 31%
aluminium beverage cans are recycled at a rate of?
62%
The recovery rate for lead is?
60%
what percentage of lead scrap produced in Aus comes form lead-acid batteries in vehicles?
90%
Recovery rate for scrap steel is?
26%
what is the estimated amount of steel generated by each person?
13.8 kg of steel (mostly cans) per year.
what percentage of lubricating oil is recovered for reuse?
35%
how much of the 469 000 tonne of lubricating oil sold in Australia can be potentially recovered?
239 000 tonne of potentially recoverable
The main environmental impacts of urbanisation can be summarised as:
- impacts on energy flows and climate
- impacts on hydrological cycles
- reduction in air quality
- reduction in water quality
- waste production
Define Urbanisation
an increasing concentration of the population in cities and a transformation of land use and society to a metropolitan pattern of organisation
What percentage of the world’s population now live in cities?
~50%
What percentage of the Earths surface do cities account for?
less than 3%
What is the predicted percentage of human population that will live in cities by the end of the 21st century?
80 to 90%
90% of the population growth over the next 25 years will occur in what countries?
less developed countries
The two main processes contributing to population growth in cities are?
natural increase and immigration
Natural increase to population growth in cities is possible through?
- improved food supplies
- improved sanitation
- advances in medical care that reduce mortality
Immigration into cities occurs due to factors that force people out of rural areas these factors are described as?
Push factors
Factors that attract people out of rural areas into urban ones are described as?
Pull factors
What are some examples of Push Factors?
- changes in land tenure
- agricultural developments (reduces workforce)
- over-population in rural areas
What are some examples of Pull Factors?
- greater employment prospects
- housing
- entertainment and recreation
- a greater diversity of goods
Government policies usually favour urban areas over rural with….
- capital expenditure
- transport and housing subsidies
- improved utilities and educational facilities
- centralisation of government
what is an example of inputs in the urban system?
- energy
- food
- water
- raw materials for building and manufacturing
- biota (pets, plants, unplanned introduction of species and disease)
- human population
what us an example of outputs in the urban system?
- wastes (including gaseous emissions)
- degraded energy (particularly excess heat)-biota (disease, release of introduced species)
Impacts of urban environments summarised?
- impacts on energy flow and climate (heat retention, condensing of air pollution etc.)
- Hydrological cycles are affected (urban areas are large consumers of water, roads, pavements, buildings etc affects runoff)
- reduction in air quality (low level ozone, other air pollutants)
- reduction in water quality (degrading water through release of wastes and heat)
- waste production
Urban environments with high population and high rates of consumption are responsible for?
Generating most of the world’s solid and hazardous wastes
World cities discard what amount of solid waste annually?
1.3 billion tonnes
waste discarded by the worlds cities is expected to rise to….
2.2 billion tonnes per year by 2025
The impact of population on the environment is primarily related to two fundamental factors what are these?
- The consumption of resources
- the production of wastes and pollutants
What is an example of solid waste?
Rubbish (general household and commercial wastes)
What is an example of hazardous waste?
Industrial and other toxic wastes.
What is waste assimilation?
The environment’s ability to absorb wastes
The environments ability to absorb wastes is determined by?
The nature of the particular environment, as well as the nature and quantity of wastes
What are we now manufacturing that does not naturally occur in nature?
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
High income countries produce what percentage of the worlds waste and pollutants
80%
What percentage do high income countries account for in all resources consumed?
80%
Modern consumer societies produce more residue through consumption because?
- packaging on foods (plastic, cardboard, aluminium)
- manufactured goods
- consumer durables (refrigerators, cars)
- materials designed for single use and quick disposal.
Subsistence societies produce relatively little residue through consumption. why?
food moves directly from garden to table, and wastes back to farm animals or to compost heaps
what type of wastes accounts for much of the domestic waste in developed consumer countries?
Paper and garden wastes
What materials are mostly found in ordinary household and urban rubbish?
- food scraps
- garden waste
- waste papers
- electrical appliances
- tins
- car bodies
- paints/paint removers
- used motor oils
- pesticides
- bleaches
- a wide range of plastic
What are the three main options for waste disposal of solid wastes?
- dumping in landfill or offshore
- incineration
- recycling/conversion for reuse
What is often the cheapest and most convenient option for waste disposal available
Landfill
What are the examples of affects on public health from open dumps?
- odours, dust, flies and vermin, wind-blown rubbish
- redevelopment of housing, recreation or industry on abandoned landfill site.
- contamination of soils, groundwater with toxic substances
What are the main concerns for the environment and public health due to open dumps?
- Rainfall mixture with waste leading to the production of toxic substances
- older landfills may include more hazardous wastes
- production of methane (decomposing organic rubbish)
What does incineration involve?
the burning of rubbish to produce steam or electricity
What is the issues with incineration?
- The technology is extremely expensive
- air quality problems (air pollutants such as noxious gases and smoke)
- toxicity if disposal ash
What are the benefits of modern incinerators?
Modern incinerators have highly advanced emission controls
What are some of the emission controls that modern incinerators use?
- electrostatic precipitators
- dual scrubbers
- fabric filters.
small amounts of pollution are still released into the atmosphere even with modern incinerators what kinds of pollutants?
- heavy metals
- acid gases
- classes of chemicals known as dioxins and furans
What is Toxic Ash?
Toxic ash is the residual ‘bottom ash’ produced in the process of incineration
What does toxic ash contain
-heavy metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic)
Global recycling is growing because?
- technology advancements
- increased cost effectiveness of recycling
The benefits of recycling and re-use include.
- the conservation of resources (less wastage)
- pollution reduction/reduced energy consumption
- viable alternative to landfill and incineration
Problems associated with recycling?
- technical problems (eg. recycling plastics many variations of plastic)
- separation needed before recycling
- the economics of recycling
- continued production depends on continued demand
Strategies for source waste reduction include?
- less material during production
- making consumer products in concentrated form
- public awareness
- individual choices and actions.
Future management of waste will depend on what?
- economics
- changes in technology
- public awareness and involvement.
What is hazardous waste?
Hazardous substances are simply those that can cause harm to humans or the environment
Examples of hazardous waste
refers to all wastes
including toxic waste and sewage that pose an immediate or long term effect.
Define toxic waste?
materials that can cause death or serious injury to humans or animals
chemical toxic and hazardous wastes come from industries that produce?
materials as plastics, soaps, synthetic rubber, fertilisers, medicines, paints, pesticides, and cosmetics
What are the more advanced methods of disposal of hazardous wastes?
containment, incineration, infrared heating, and bacterial decomposition
Issues with hazardous waste production and disposal
- contaminated land
- high levels of metals in waterways
- potential risks to groundwater supplies
- movement of waste through food chain
- health implications of direct breathing and ingestion of air and water borne toxic pollutants
What are pollution prevention and waste minimisation strategies?
- Reduce the amount of pollution at the source (fewer accidental spills/leaks etc)
- recycling wastes wherever possible
- Treat waste to reduce hazard or volume (eg. biodegradation by micro-organisms)
- dispose of wastes in landfill (eg. deep well injection)
Is sewage a hazardous waste?
yes
how many people are estimated worldwide that live without sanitation?
2.6 billion
What is a major source of disease due to waste disposal?
The release of raw, untreated sewage into waterways is a major source of disease
Contamination of drinking water leads to outbreaks of what
cholera and typhoid.
what increases the safe disposal of sewage?
If sewage can be collected and conveyed via a system of sewers to a treatment facility
sewage at a treatment plant can undergo levels of treatment which include?
- Primary Treatment
- Secondary Treatment
- Tertiary Treatment
What is involved in primary treatment of sewage at a treatment plant?
involves removal of large objects, sand and grit and allows solids to separate from liquids in a settling tank
What is involved in secondary treatment of sewage at a treatment plant?
involves a biological treatment component, and employs aerobic bacteria to remove organic material
What is involved in Tertiary treatment of sewage at a treatment plant?
involves a variety of procedures that can improve the quality of the water an example would be the use of created wetlands and reed beds to continue the purification process
what would be a negative impact even after tertiary treatment of sewage water?
the water released into the environment is usually high in nutrients which can lead to increased algae growth and eutrophication
Toxic sewage slug from sewage treatment can be disposed in several ways..
- soil treatment or fertiliser
- landfill
- incineration
What is a concern for the use of sewage slug for soil treatment or fertiliser?
the use of sludge to fertilise food crops requires careful treatment to ensure toxic bacteria are no longer present
To be suitable for human consumption water must be?
- free of salinity, plant and animal waste
- free of bacterial and chemical contamination
- plus free of any significant taste, odour, colour or suspended material (i.e. unpolluted).
Potable water is known as?
Unpolluted freshwater that is suitable for drinking
Environmental pollution occurs when?
substances are introduced into environments in kinds/amounts that cannot be neutralised or recycled by natural processes
Water pollution exists when?
the composition of water has been modified by the presence of substances to the extent that either it cannot be used or it is less suitable than it was in its natural state.
From a human utility point, water is polluted when contaminants make it less useful give examples
it may become unsuitable for drinking, irrigating, maintaining aquatic ecosystems or recreation
As individuals, we contribute directly to the quality of water through:
- the use of materials(detergents and pesticides)
- the production of sewage
- the production of other domestic wastes
- the physical disturbance of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems
Water Quality problems fall into 2 categories..
- microbial contamination
- chemical contamination
common pollutants in water derive from a number of sources including..
- human or animal sewage
- runoff from farmland (fertilisers)
- industrial waste (toxic chemical compounds and heavy metals)
definition of a point source of pollution related to water pollution
definite sources and discharge points, usually associated with activities/facilities, e.g. industry, sewage-treatment plant or piggery.
definition of a non-point source of pollution related to water pollution
Non-point sources of pollution can be difficult to identify and their origin difficult to prove, making control more difficult.
eg. agricultural runoff, road salt (de-icing), and acid rain
Name the types of aquatic contaminants
- microbial contamination
- nutrient enrichment
- organic matter
- toxic substances
- acidity
- sedimentation
- thermal pollution
- groundwater contamination
- marine pollution
What is eutrophication?
(the excessive growth of algae and aquatic plants due to periodic or human-induced elevation of nutrient levels
what is biomagnification?
The phenomenon of acquiring increasing levels of a substance in the bodies of higher trophic level organisms
Sediment loads in freshwater is largely the result of ?
land disturbance and subsequent erosion (agricultural lands, mining/construction sites)
Impacts of increased sedimentation
- reduce photosynthesis and the productivity of aquatic ecosystems
- may contain concentrated levels of pollutants, including sewage, oil, heavy metals, and long-lived synthetic chemical compounds
What is thermal pollution?
when industry uses water for cooling purposes then returns heated water to the source. many aquatic ecosystems are highly sensitive to minor temperature changes and can cause damage to entire food chains
sources of groundwater contamination?
- agricultural products (particularly pesticides)-leaking underground storage tanks (petrol/other hazardous substances, landfills, septic tanks)
- mining wastes
- urban runoff.
What is a significant source of marine pollutants?
ocean dumping
Most material dumped at sea now comes from?
dredging to maintain shipping and navigation channels
what is now considered a major source of marine pollution
The atmosphere
eg. 98% of the lead in ocean waters comes from the atmosphere, from car exhausts
Principal marine and coastal pollutants include..
- excess nutrients
- human pathogens
- plastic
- synthetic chemicals
- oil
- heavy metals
- radioactive material
Coastal areas are particularly prone to
elevated nutrient levels from sewage and heavy agricultural runoff in rivers
Estuaries effectively act as sediment and nutrient traps due to?
tidal cycles and slow flushing regimes
estuaries natural conditions enhance the availability of nutrients which explains their high productivity however this also makes them susceptible to
eutrophication
(rapid growth of photosynthetic macrophytes, plankton and alga)
therefore subsequent depletion of oxygen
Certain phytoplankton produce?
toxins which accumulate higher up the food
can be a major issue involved with eutrophication
the atmosphere is composed of?
- 78% nitrogen
- 21% oxygen
- 1% consisting of a mixture of CO2, water vapour and a range of other gases
What is one of the most significant indicators of the scale of human impact on the Earth
the changes in atmospheric properties
Changes in atmospheric chemical properties include
increases in greenhouse gas concentration, chemical pollution and decreases in ozone
Changes in atmospheric physical properties include?
- ‘enhanced’ greenhouse effect
- increasing global temperature
- increase in short wave radiation entering the atmosphere
changes in atmospheric properties has a number of potential indirect follow on effects including
- changes in world climatic patterns
- increase in weather anomalies
- changes in sea level
- carving of ice blocks
- stimulation of vegetation growth
Explain troposphere?
is adjacent to earths surface and extends to a max altitude of ~18km. In this zone is where almost all weather events occur
Air temperature does what within the troposphere layer
Air temperature drops dramatically with increasing altitude
Explain stratosphere
extends from troposphere to an altitude of ~50km above sea level. Air temp within this layer is relatively stable.
Chemical composition of the troposphere and stratosphere are similar however there is 2 important differences?
- the proportion of water vapour in Stratosphere is ~1000 times less than the troposphere.
- ozone gas (O3) is about 1000 times greater in stratosphere than in the troposphere.
Ozone gas is constantly created by the effect of?
- sunlight on oxygen in the upper atmosphere
- from lightening discharges in the lower atmosphere.
Explain the mesosphere
- it extends from the stratosphere to about 80 km above sea level.
- Temperatures decrease to a minimum of about –80° C
Explain the thermosphere
-80 km above sea level (above mesosphere) there is an abrupt change in
temperature where the thermosphere layer begins.
-extends to about 1600 km above the Earth’s surface
What is the lower part of the thermosphere called?
ionosphere
Temperature changes between atmospheric layers is important why?
to prevent much mixing of the constituents of the layers
Define weather?
- the physical conditions of earths atmosphere, day-to-day (short term) fluctuations.
- It is highly variable and hard to predict
Define climate?
- average weather
- Long-range, average pattern of quaintly and seasonal distribution of temperature, precipitation and humidity.
What is the most important influence on climate of a particular region?
latitude (eg.regions closer to equator receive more solar radiation)
the temperature difference between low and high latitudes help drive what?
general circulation of the atmosphere, transferring heat away from the equator towards the poles
What are other influences on climate besides latitude?
oceans, land-sea distribution and mountain ranges
Weather and climate are both important components of?
the abiotic environment that have significant impacts on organisms
atmospheric pollution may be defined as?
the presence of substances in the atmosphere, resulting from human activities or from natural processes
Air pollution is a term used to describe?
any unwanted chemicals or other materials that contaminate the air, resulting in the degradation of air quality
Typical air pollutants from human activities include..
- nitrogen oxides
- carbon monoxide
- sulphur dioxide
- hydrocarbons
- particulate matter.
What are primary pollutants?
all pollutants that are emitted directly into the atmosphere (eg. nitrogen oxide from human activities)
What are some common sources of primary pollutants?
- power station and industrial plants (sulphur dioxide)
- road transport (carbon monoxide, particulate matter and nitrogen oxides)
What is an example of a secondary pollutant?
Ozone is a secondary pollutant, formed in the air as a result of chemical reactions
Nitric oxide is an..
odourless, colourless gas produced during high temperature burning of fuel
What causes nitrogen dioxide
once nitrous oxide is mixed with oxygen it forms nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
What is nitrogen dioxide?
nitrogen dioxide is a strong oxidizing agent that reacts in the air to form corrosive nitric acid, as well as toxic organic nitrates
Nitrogen dioxide plays a major role in..
atmospheric reactions that produce ground-level ozone or photochemical smog
What is carbon monoxide?
it is a colourless, odourless, poisonous gas produced when fuels containing carbon (fossil fuels) are burned where there is too little oxygen
What happens to carbon monoxide when there is presence of an adequate supply of oxygen
it oxidised to carbon dioxide (CO2)
What is the major source of atmospheric carbon monoxide?
road transport
What is sulphur dioxide?
- it is a colourless, non-flammable gas with a strong odour.
- It reacts on the surface of a variety of airborne solid particles
- is soluble in water
- can be oxidised within airborne water droplets.
What are the most common sources of sulphur dioxide?
- fossil fuel combustion
- smelting
- manufacture of sulphuric acid
- conversion of wood pulp to paper
- incineration of wastes
- production of elemental sulphur
What is the single largest human source of sulphur dioxide accounting for 50% of annual global emissions.
Coal burning
What is the most common natural source of sulphur dioxide?
volcanoes
What are volatile organic compounds?
- VOCs are organic chemicals that easily vaporize at room temperature.
- have no colour, smell, or taste, and include a very wide range of substances
What are some substance that are volatile organic compounds?
- hydrocarbons
- halocarbons
- oxygenates
Hydrocarbon volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are usually grouped into the groups?
- methane
- other non-methane VOCs
Methane is an important component of?
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
What is particulate matter?
a complex mixture of organic and inorganic substances, present in the atmosphere as both liquids and solids.
What are primary particulates?
Primary particulates a mixture of organic and inorganic substances (liquids and solids) which are emitted directly to the atmosphere
What are secondary particulates?
secondary particulates are a mixture of organic and inorganic substances (liquids and solids) formed by reactions involving other pollutants.
What are the most significant human-made primary sources of emitted particulate matter.
- road transport (25%)
- non-combustion processes (24%)
- industrial combustion plants and processes (17%)
- commercial and residential combustion (16%)
- public power generation (15%)
Natural sources of particulate matter include?
volcanoes and dust storms
Acid deposition is?
any combination of airborne dry acidic particles and precipitation that falls to earth in forms of rain, snow, mist and fog
What are the two main sources of acid deposition?
- natural emissions
- anthropogenic emission
What are natural causes of acid deposition?
- volcano emissions
- lightning
- microbial processes
What are anthropogenic causes of acid deposition?
- industrial emissions
- human-made air pollution
when atmospheric pollutants such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides mix with water vapor they convert to
sulphuric and nitric acids
making acidic rain
When acid rain occurs this is what form of acid deposition?
wet deposition
When acids are first transformed chemically into gases and salts before falling back to earth this second method of acid deposition is called?
dry deposition
Acidification can be classified in two forms?
- Episodic acidification
- Chronic acidification
What is episodic acidification?
is characterized by short intense acidic events (eg. winter snowmelt and heavy rains can deliver large loads of acid in short period of time)
What is chronic acidification?
when ecosystems are exposed to excessive, long-term acid deposition they lose their ability to neutralize acidifying events (eg. chronic surface water acidity)
What are the impacts of acid deposition?
- Nutrient depletion
- Aluminium toxicity (release of aluminium from the soil due to increased acid deposition)
- Nitrogen saturation
- Eutrophication (nutrient enrichment)
What are other air pollutants besides the main five?
- radon (radioactive gas formed during the radioactive decay)
- lead
- toxic chemicals (pesticides and by-products from manufacturing)
What is the greenhouse effect?
The natural warming of the Earth by the heat trapped due to the presence of certain heat-absorbing atmospheric gases.
Is a critical natural process and without it earth could not support life.
one-third of the solar energy that reaches the top of the Earth’s atmosphere is reflected back to space what happens to the remaining two-thirds?
The remaining two-thirds are absorbed by the earths surface and by the atmosphere
The greenhouse gases involved in the greenhouse effect are
- water vapour (H2O)
- carbon dioxide (CO2)
- methane (CH4)
- nitrous oxide (N2O)
a number of synthetic gases produced by humans have been released into the atmosphere and act as green house gases these include..
- chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
- perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
- trifluoromethyl sulphur pentafluoride (SF5CF3)
What observations became known as the keeling curve?
Charles keeling observed an annual cycle of CO2 concentrations decreasing in the summer and rising in the winter reflecting the growth activity of plants.
-also the observed concentrations from 1959 (~326ppmv) to 2000 (~369 ppmv)
What are the recent climate trends observed?
- strong evidence that warming has led to changes in temperature extremes
- precipitation has increased in high latitudes and some mid-latitudes are becoming drier
- snow cover and Arctic sea ice cover are declining
- glaciers and Greenland ice sheet are getting smaller
- sea-level rises of about 1.7 mm per year during 1900-1990 and has increased 3 mm per year since 1993
The annual average artic sea ice has decreased over the period 1971 to 2009 at with a rate in the range of?
3.5 to 4.1% per decade
What does the IPCC 5th Assessment Report suggests is a possible average sea level rise?
0.6 to 1.0m average sea level rise by 2100
Other observed recent changes in biological systems include
- populations shift their ranges (poleward movement)
- earlier phenology (blooming, leafing) and longer growing season for plants.
- mismatching of ecological processes (e.g. migratory birds and availability of caterpillars/insects etc)
- increased occurrence of pest invasion.
- changes in the frequency and intensity of bushfires
The most significant greenhouse gases contributing to atmospheric warming are?
- water vapour (H2O)
- carbon dioxide (CO2)
- methane (CH4)
- nitrous oxide (N2O)
What is The Global Warming Potential (GWP)?
GWP essentially provides a simple measure of the relative radiative effects of different greenhouse gases.
CO2 is absorbed and emitted naturally as part of the carbon cycle through
- animal and plant respiration
- volcanic eruptions
- ocean-atmosphere exchange
The current CO2 level is higher than it has been in at least…
800,000 years.
Carbon dioxide may stay in the atmosphere anywhere from
50 to thousands of years
Methane (CH4) is produced through both?
natural (such as wetlands) and human activities (agricultural/pastoral activities, fossil fuel extraction and transport).
Methane molecules stay in the atmosphere about?
12 years.
Methane traps about twenty times more heat than?
the same amount of carbon dioxide
What farming practices are a major contributor to increases in atmospheric nitrous oxide?
Farming practises that add extra nitrogen to the soil through application of fertilizer
Concentrations of Nitrous oxide have risen approximately what percentage since the start of the Industrial Revolution
19%
Nitrous oxide remains in the atmosphere about..
114 years
Nitrous oxide traps how much more heat than the same amount of carbon dioxide?
310 times more heat
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) are often used in..
- coolants
- foaming agents
- fire extinguishers
- solvents
- pesticides
- aerosol propellants
hydrocarbons have a long atmospheric lifetime and can affect the climate for?
many decades or centuries
What is the most abundant greenhouse gas?
Water vapour
At a global scale water vapour is controlled by..
temperature, which influences overall rates of evaporation and precipitation
Global surface temperature change for the end of the 21st century is likely to exceed?
1.5°C
Australian temperatures are projected to continue to increase by
0.6 to 1.5°C by 2030
The high-emissions scenario assumes
a continuation into the future of the global CO2 emissions growth seen over the past decade
the low-emissions scenario assumes
a significant reduction in global emissions over the coming decades
What are the human health impacts of climate change?
illness and death from
- extreme climate events (heat waves, fires)
- increase in food and waterborne diseases
- reduction of food and water resources
The IPCC (2013) reports that climate change has already:
- altered the distribution of some infectious water-borne diseases (cholera and cryptosporidiosis)
- altered the distribution of some vector-borne infectious diseases (mosquito vectors)
- altered the seasonal distribution of some allergenic pollen species
- increased heatwave-related deaths
how would climate change cause future security and stability problems?
Impacts that could lead to future conflict.
- Rising temperatures
- sea-level rise
- changes in rainfall
- food insecurity
- spread of infectious diseases
- population displacement
- ethnic, economic, and political tensions
the ozone layer is comprised of a naturally occurring stratospheric gas which is
Ozone (O3)
What is the function of Ozone (O3)
Ozone in the stratosphere absorb ultra violet (UV) radiation and acts as a screen from damaging radiation.
Stratospheric ozone is responsible for keeping what amount of harmful UV from reaching Earths surface
~95%
ozone is continually being destroyed and created naturally through…
the chemical reactions with other atmospheric elements
the natural rate of ozone depletion has been accelerated by
the anthropogenic (human induced) release of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and bromine-based chemicals which act to destroy ozone in the stratosphere
The major causes of Ozone depletion in the stratosphere are?
- CFCs from aerosols used in agriculture, industry and domestic situations
- bromine oxides (methyl bromide fumigant)
- methyl chloroform (cleaning solvent and propellant in correction fluid, other aerosols)
- halons and HBFCs used in fire extinguishers
- nitrogen oxides from aircraft emissions
The environmental impacts of a depletion of the ozone layer include predictions of:
- increase in UV radiation lead to an increase of skin cancer, cataracts and retina damage, reduction of vaccine effectiveness for measles and tuberculosis.
- effects on the immune systems of animals/humans causing a greater susceptibility to infectious diseases.
- damage to plants, a reduction in agricultural and forestry
- adverse effects on aquatic phytoplankton
- increases in damaging acid deposition in the troposphere
What was an early precursor of the modern environmental movement that developed in the 1960s
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring
before the 19th century, environmental ideas started to form into philosophy and strands of though began to emerge including
- environmental concern driven by religious faith
- ‘conservative’ environmentalism
What is ‘conservative’ environmentalism
The term conservative is used in the proper political sense, meaning concern for tradition, stability and continuity.
Conservative environmentalism began as social critics railed against the industrial landscape wanting to conserve the countryside/nature.
What is romantic transcendentalists?
the growth in interest in the environment was symbiotic with the romantic movement in the arts and philosophy. It introduced the concept that natural ecosystems have intrinsic worth, free of their value to people and a ‘biotic right’ to be protected.
by late 19th century environmental movements began to make significant contributions to…
government policies on a global scale
ecocentrism is a brand of environmentalism that involved the notion
that people were regarded as part of nature, thus their health depended upon the health and welfare of their surrounding ecosystems.
nature conservationists (‘shallow ecologists’ or ‘light greens’) are less radical environmentalists and seek
for better management of the relationship between people and the environment and seek to modify industrial production and its inherent exploitation of the environment in order for it to become more sustainable
What type of environmentalist tend to accept techno-centric discourse and argue for technological fixes to environmental problems)
nature conservationists
what are the key ideas included in deep ecology
- the need for individuals to develop a sense of unity with nature
- inherent complexity in social and natural systems, and the need to consider the effect actions will have on ecosystems
- the importance of preserving biodiversity, as opposed to just preserving individual plants and animals
- biotic rights, or biospherical egalitarianism.
What is biotic rights or biosperhical egalitarianism
This is the principle that other creatures have inherent rights and value apart from any relationship with people
Explain Social ecology
The social ecology argument is that the exercise of power of one person over another leads to the exercise of human power over nature
This way of thinking is derived from anarchism, the idea that people can and should live without government and that we should live in self-governing communities reducing power and exploitation of people and nature.
Explain Liberal environmentalism
-A part of the light green spectrum are those who do not want major change to economic and political systems, but believe that there is a need for some reforms, such as environmental protection legislation.
-Have no intention to change the underlying social, economic and political
fundamentals, but rather have acknowledgement that restraint must be exercised in the use of natural resources.
Explain Environmental stewardship
Conservative or religious groups that believe that humans are obviously the superior species, but there is a philosophical or moral obligation on humans to manage and conserve the environment
Explain Bioregionalism
- The romantic form of bioregionalism is a variation of the idea that people are part of a natural system that we connect with a place rather than changing for our convenience.
- This is based on the idea that we should try to align our political and administrative boundaries to reflect the bio-region
Explain Ecosocialism
the key assumption in ecosocialism is that the exploitation of nature is driven by the internal dynamic of capitalism, in which competition leads to degradation
- The solution is to change the economic system, so that the means of production are collectively owned
Explain Ecofeminism
-the key assumption is that the major driver of exploitation is the system of male domination of all facets of life.
-ecofeminists draw
parallels between male domination of women and human domination of the environment
over recent decades three forms of political organistaion and strategies have been adopted by environmentalists to bring their concerns to the attention of governments, the public etc. and ‘set the agenda’ for environmental politics what are they?
- the establishment of broad-based protest movements or networks
- the establishment of small, highly organised pressure groups
- standing candidates in elections, either as individuals or as members of green political parties.
In many industrialised societies, a contributing factor in the development of an ‘environmental ethic’ was
the deterioration of living conditions in cities due to rapid population increases, which occurred as a result of rural-to-urban migration
In the 19th and early 20th century the primary manifestation of the emerging environmental awareness was..
- the establishment of a range of natural history clubs and societies
- attempts to protect endangered species from hunting
- moves to preserve rural areas including areas of wilderness
Manifestos from the emerging environmental awareness led to
establishment of the world’s first national parks
- Yellowstone (1872)
- the Royal National Park in Sydney (1879)
- Banff National Park in Canada (1885)
- Tongariro National Park in New Zealand (1894)
the growth in environmental awareness during the 1960s actually had its roots in the 1950s as people became increasingly alarmed at..
the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere.
The anti-nuclear movement effectively provided the basis for
an organised environmental movement then following issues of concern were added to the ‘environmental agenda’
The growth in environmental awareness and advances in scientific knowledge about the impact of human activities upon the environment, coincided with two interrelated developments which were
- rising levels of affluence in the 1960s were leading people to question the need for ever increasing levels of material wealth
- the development of a broad political counter-culture allied to the emergence of the ‘new left’ in politics (associated with issues such as Vietnam war, civil rights, liberation of women)
he system and underpinning beliefs of industrialism were challenged in the 1960s due to various problems becoming evident which included
- pollution
- habitat destruction
- overpopulation
the earliest protest movements that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s were
anti-nuclear movements in Western Europe and North America. Which protested against the use of nuclear weapons and the dangers in the manufacture, testing and storage of nuclear weapons.
In the 1970s and the 1980s small highly organised pressure groups began to play an increasingly important role in raising public awareness and placing environmental issues firmly on the political agenda one of the most famous and successful pressure groups was
Greenpeace formed in 1971
Greenpeace tactfully use non-violent forms of protest including
- The Quaker’s tactic of bearing witness (passive resistance)
- tactic of using the media to ensure the world could ‘witness’ events
Greenpeace has protested against
- Whaling
- dumping of toxic waste into the air, rivers and the sea
- the fur industry
- the use of drift nets in the pacific
From the late 1970s business group also wishing to set political agenda used media to exaggerate claims to try and influence public and the government what ideas were they pushing
business groups started to fund various ‘think tanks’, pushing the ideas of
- the importance of economic freedom and development
- trawling for ‘alternative science’ on issues such as the enhanced greenhouse effect
Adherents of deep ecology, social ecology and other sub-groups tend to be
anti-materialist, anti-industrialist and anti-establishment
propose a shift to a less materialist society, with a greater emphasis upon personal self-development, and a decentralisation of power
Papadakis (1993) writes of the ‘culture of environmentalism’ emerging, which represents both
the regular (ordinary) incorporation of environmental issues by established institutions and the irregular (extraordinary) transformation of these institutions’
Papadakis (1993) is suggesting that environmentalism
has become part of the political and administrative mainstream
The first Green party was formed in New Zealand in 1972 called the
Values Party
The values party called for.
- a steady-state population and economy
- decentralisation of government
- human centred technology
- soft energy technology
- values such as co-operation, nurturing and peacemaking.
The formulation and implementation of environmental policy, as with all public policy in democracies, is often described as a cycle of activities around four main stages
- identification of the problem (recognition)
- identification of specific causes and solution options (formulation)
- implementation of policy
- evaluation and monitoring (control).
define the phrase institutional arrangements
The term relates to the set of formal and informal arrangements between institutions that allows them to better
- communicate, share information
- work together and establish understandings and agreements
the term institutional is interpreted to mean..
any organised body or group
The term arrangements is interpreted very broadly to include
Formal arrangements
- committees and meetings
- legal contracts
- non-legal agreements
- hierarchies of responsibility and delegation
Informal arrangements
-colleagues in workplace networks processing communication and information sharing
networks that act as ‘glue’ to keep formal arrangements working
In relation to global environmental issues the first international treaty was in
1924
The International Agreement for the Creation at Paris of the International Office for Dealing with Contagious Diseases of Animals
what was the purpose of the International Office for Dealing with Contagious Diseases of Animals
Its purpose was to keep track of the movement of infected and diseased animals between countries because of the clear economic and health risks to international trade in livestock
The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling treaty that set up the International Whaling Commission was established in what year
1946
What does the international Whaling Commission oversee?
the global management of whales by signatory countries
Among the early international institutions established by the development of international treaties were
- International Committee for the Red Cross (1963)
- International Telegraphic Union (1865)
- Universal Postal Union (1874)
- League of Nations (1919)
- International Labour Organisation (1944)
- United Nations (1946).
The League of Nations was established to
implement an agreement (called The Covenant) among member nations to better deal with the aftermath of World War I.
The Covenant created by the League of Nations recongised the need for
- military disarmament
- guarantee the political independence of member nations against aggression
- set up the Permanent Court of International Justice to provide for arbitration and conciliation against international laws.
- support for international cooperation and humanitarian enterprises
The League of Nations provided the institutional and legal foundations for…
the United Nations following the Second World War
The UN, like the league of Nations, has a Charter that outlines its purposes which includes
- to maintain international peace and security
- to develop friendly relations among nations
- to cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights
- to be a centre for harmonising the actions of nations
The UN officially came into existence on..
24 Oct 1945
The United Nations Charter is signed by representatives of how many countries?
50
The process of developing an international treaty or convention is primarily the work of
foreign policy and international law experts
and is managed through a UN body
the negotiation process of international treaty making is complex because..
- tensions between countries protecting their self-interest (national sovereignty)
- and working collectively towards a common or global interest
In any treaty negotiation process the countries of the UN are unofficially divided into three interest groups..
- the developed world (about 30 countries from the Organisation for Economic and Cultural Development – OECD)
- the developing and underdeveloped world (130 member nations known as G77)
- an unaligned group of nations (about 118 countries forming the Non-Aligned Movement – NAM) Which represents over 55% of the worlds population
The formal steps for developing international treaties through the UN system are
- The formation of a working group and one or more preparatory committees
- Meetings are arranged and UN members meet over several years to negotiate the details.
- A final draft is tabled at a UN Conference for signature
- Once adopted by the UN Conference, the treaty is open for signature by nations.
- The ongoing implementation of the treaty is managed through the Convention of the Parties (CoP)
- International treaties, once ratified, have legally binding requirements on the signatory Parties
The 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment & Development (UNCED) ‘Earth Summit’ objectives were
- strengthen international cooperation
- develop international environmental law
- review the UN’s role in dealing with the environment and identifying ways of improving it.
The key outcomes of the UNICED Conference can be grouped under the following three headings
- Global declaration and plan of action (The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development)
- International treaties and conventions (The Framework Convention on Climate Change)
- Institutional arrangements (The Commission on Sustainable Development)
