ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AND

THEIR CAUSES

Course: Introduction to Sustainable Engineering – ENGR 1200

Professor: Nedim Vardar
Lesson: 1.1.3
Objectives

■ State major local and global environmental issues.

■ Recognize the cause and effects of acid rain and ozone-layer depletion.
■ Write greenhouse gases.
■ State the impacts of climate change on natural resources and human
welfare.
Environmental Problems and Their Causes Pollution

■ Pollution is any discharge of material or energy into water, air, or land that
causes or may cause acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term) damage to the
natural balance or that lowers the quality of life.
■ The industrialization of society, transportation, agricultural activities and the
increasing human population have contributed to environmental pollution.
■ Many of the activities and products that make modern human life possible
are polluting the world.
Environmental Problems and Their Causes Pollution
What kinds of pollution are there?

1. Air Pollution
2. Water Pollution
3. Soil Pollution
4. Noise Pollution
5. Radioactive Pollution
6. Thermal Pollution
7. Light Pollution
Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Water Pollution

• Two types of water pollutants

exist; point source and nonpoint
source.
• Point sources are direct sources
of pollution.
• Ex. When harmful substances
are emitted directly into a body
of water.
• The Exxon Valdez oil spill best Figure : BBC (2018).

illustrates a point source water

pollution.
Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Water Pollution
■ Nonpoint sources are indirect sources of pollution.
■ An example of this type of water pollution is when fertilizer from a field is
carried into a stream by rain, in the form of run-off, which in turn effects
aquatic life.
■ The exact cause of nonpoint pollution is hard to pinpoint and therefore difficult
to control.
■ The technology exists for point sources of pollution to be monitored and
regulated.
■ Still water pollution continues at an alarming rate.
 Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Water Pollution
Algal Blooms and Eutrophication
■ Eutrophication is the process where water bodies,
such as lakes and streams, receive excess nutrients.
■ Nutrients stimulate excessive plant growth.
■ This plant growth, often called an algal bloom,
reduces the dissolved oxygen in the water when
dead plant material decomposes and can cause
other organisms to die.
■ Nutrients can come from many sources, such as
fertilizers applied to agricultural fields, golf courses, Figure: Images May Be Subject to Copyright.
and lawns, and also from sewage treatment plants.
Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Water Pollution
• The phytoplankton reduce
oxygen supplies at night through
respiration.
• When the algae eventually die,
their bodies are consumed by
bacteria, who further deplete the
oxygen supply.
• The result is massive oxygen
starvation for many animals,
including fish and invertebrates.
Figure: NASA/NOA (2015).

• In the end, the lake fills with

carcasses of dead animals and
plants.
Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Water Pollution
■ Chemical fertilizers and pesticides
are washed off farmlands into
waterways
■ Some toxins, such as the pesticide
DDT, are passed along the food
chain
■ As one organism eats another, the
toxin becomes more and more
concentrated, this is called
Biological Magnification.
■ The top carnivores in the food web
are the most at-risk and contain
the most toxin.
Figure: Cummings (2005).
Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Soil Pollution
✓Soil pollution is caused by the presence of chemicals
or other alteration in the natural soil environment.
✓Resulting in a change of the soil quality.
✓likely to affect the normal use of the soil or
endangering public health and the living environment.

Litter is waste material dumped in

public places such as streets, parks, Figure: Images May Be Subject to Copyright.

picnic areas, at bus stops and near

shops.

Figure: Images May Be Subject to Copyright.

Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Soil Pollution
■ CAUSES OF SOIL DEGRADATION
• Soil erosion/degradation is the loss of top soil erodes fertility of soil
and reduces its water-holding capacity.
• Excessive farming, construction, overgrazing, burning of grass
cover and deforestation.
• Excess salts and water (Salinization).
• Excessive use of herbicides (weed killers) and pesticides (poisons
which kill insects and other invertebrate pests).
• Solid waste.
Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Air Pollution

Air pollutant impacts

• Global warming or climate change
(greenhouse gases)
Global
• Ozone layer destruction
(uv light penetration)

• Acid rain  Regional

• US-Canada, Sweden-Germany
• Photochemical smog Local
• Los Angles
Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Air Pollution-Acid Rain
■ The burning of fossil fuels (such as coal)
and other industrial processes release
air pollutants that contain sulfur dioxide
and nitrogen dioxide.
■ When these substances react with
water vapor, they produce sulfuric acid
and nitric acid.
■ When these acids return to the surface
of the earth (with rain or snow), they kill
plants and animals in lakes and rivers
and on land.
■ This is called acid rain.
Figure: Images May Be Subject to Copyright.
Environmental Problems and Their Causes
1.1.6.3 Air Pollution-Acid Rain

Figure: Images May Be Subject to Copyright.

Figure: Images May Be Subject to Copyright.

Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Air Pollution-Ozone Depletion
■ The ozone layer forms in the upper atmosphere (stratosphere) when UV
radiation reacts with oxygen (O2) to form ozone (O3).
■ Various air pollutants, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), enter the upper
atmosphere and break down ozone molecules.
■ CFCs have been used as refrigerants, as propellants in aerosol sprays, and in the
manufacture of plastic foams.
• The ozone absorbs UV radiation
and prevents it from reaching
the surface of the earth.
• When ozone breaks down, the
ozone layer thins, allowing UV
radiation to penetrate and
reach the surface of the earth.

Figure: Images May Be Subject to Copyright.

Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Air Pollution-Ozone Depletion
These images of the ozone hole were taken by NASA
Ozone Holes between September 1981 and September 1999.
Areas of major ozone
thinning, called ozone
holes, appear regularly
over Antarctica, the
Arctic, and northern
Eurasia.
Decreases in O3 can lead to
✓skin cancers and
cataracts in humans
✓crop damage,
✓marine life damage,
and
✓damage to human-built
Figure: NASA (1999).
Figure: NASA (1999). materials.
Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Air Pollution-Ozone Depletion

Figure: Images May Be Subject to Copyright.

Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Air Pollution-Global Warming
■ The burning of fossil fuels and
forests increases CO2 in the
atmosphere.
■ Increases in CO2 cause more
heat to be trapped in the
earth's atmosphere.
■ As a result, global
temperatures are rising (global
warming).
■ Warmer temperatures raise
sea levels (by melting more
ice) and decrease agriculture Figure: Images May Be Subject to Copyright.
output (by affecting weather
patterns).
Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Air Pollution-Global Warming
Greenhouse Gases:
▪ Carbon dioxide (CO2)
▪ Methane (CH4)
▪ Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs),
▪ Nitrous oxides (N2O)
▪ Water vapor
Sources:
■ Burning fossil fuels
■ Includes burning tropical rainforests (25% of all global CO2)
■ Destruction of natural vegetation
■ Cattle
■ Rice cultivation
Global Warming

Figure: Images May Be Subject to Copyright.

Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Air Pollution

Figure: Images May Be Subject to Copyright.

Climate Analysis Indicators Tool

Figure: World Resources Institute (2018).

Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Pollution-Global Warming
Total emissions in 2013 were 9.9 GtC (36 billion metric tons of CO2)—50% is from the
industrialized nations.

Figure: Pearson Education Inc. (2017).

 Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Air Pollution-Global Warming
EFFECTS:
– Regional weather changes
– Diminishing crop yields
– Loss of biodiversity
– Human illness
– Rising sea levels
– Greenhouse gases are in high enough concentrations to cause an increase in
average world temperatures of 2C, relative to its 1990 value, by the end of
the 21st century. This would be the warmest climate experienced in the last
10,000 years.
Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Air Pollution-Global Warming

Figure: Images May Be Subject to Copyright.

Global Warming

■ Melting glaciers and ice

sheets contribute to global
sea level rise.
■ Greenland Ice Sheet in the
Arctic has been observed by
satellite since 1979.
■ Maximum surface-melt area
on the ice sheet increased on
the average by 16% from
1979-2002.

Figure : Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (2015).

Global Warming

Figure: Images May Be Subject to Copyright.

Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Air Pollution-Global Warming
Global Warming in Just 35 Seconds
■ In just 35 seconds, a new video illustrates
how drastically temperatures in each of the
world’s 191 countries have changed over the
last century.
■ Created by Antti Lipponen, a researcher at
the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the
video uses temperature anomaly data from
NASA to show that despite year-to-year
variations, communities across the globe are
experiencing significantly warmer
Figure: Images May Be Subject to Copyright. temperatures since the early 20th century.
Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Air Pollution-Global Warming

Figure: Images May Be Subject to Copyright.

 Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Air Pollution-Global Warming
■ Sierra Leone (August 2017, more than 300 dead) Hurricane Harvey, Texas. USA August 2017

Hurricane Maria, PR, September 2017

L Lima, Peru(February 2017)

Figure: Images May Be Subject to Copyright.

Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Air Pollution
Global Warming Protocols (International Agreements)
■ Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Summit (1992) : Voluntary Program of reducing greenhouse
gas emissions.
■ Kyoto, Japan Protocol (1997): The United Nations organized a conference in Kyoto,
Japan to draft an agreement to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.
– 171 countries attended.
– Mandatory emission reductions for 38 industrialized countries.
■ Paris Agreement (2015): At the Paris climate conference in December 2015, 195
countries adopted the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal.
– The agreement presents a balanced outcome with an action plan to limit
global warming 'well below' 2°C.
References
■ BBC (2018)- China's waste breakthrough (2018, April 10) Retrieved from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2860461.stm