Environmental Pollution

Lecture 2

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 Humans are massively changing the Earth
1) Up to one half of Earths land surface has been transformed by human
action
2) CO2 concentration in the atmosphere has increased by 30% since the
beginning of Industrial Revolution
3) More than half of all accessible surface fresh water is put to use by humanity
4) About one-quarter of the bird species on Earth have been driven to
extinction
5) Large percentage of major marine fisheries are being exploited, over-
exploited, or depleted
All this trace to a single cause, the growing scale of the human
population. The rates, scales, kinds, and combinations of changes
occurring now are fundamentally different from those at any other time in
history; we are changing Earth more rapidly than we are understanding it
 Natures Services

Trees and vegetation stabilize the soil preventing it from eroding during
rainstorms, and being carried into streams/rivers as a pollutant
 Natures Services
Roots of grasses and trees hold the soil in which they grow, preventing it
from eroding and running off into streams during rainstorms
Undeveloped land acts as a home to wildlife and also provides timber,
recreation and aesthetic value, and has the advantage of being cooler
than cleared land
Aquatic plants and microorganisms purify polluted water carried into the
Wetlands with runoff
They trap eroded soil, preventing it from running into streams and lakes
Provide flood protection by serving as a sink during heavy rains
 Natures Services

Rooted vegetation absorbs rain water and also slows the rain falling
through its foliage down into the soil > lessening the risk of flooding
during heavy rains
Replenishes groundwater
 Natures Services provided by Urban Trees

Not only rural, but city trees too provide valuable services
1) Trees provide shade and cooling to the urban buildings they shelter
2) They have aesthetic value
3) Trees trap air pollutants: They trap gaseous pollutants by the stomata in their
leaves; sticky or hairy leaves also filter particulates from air
In Washington, DC trees lost to cutting would have removed about over
160000 kg of major air pollutants including carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide,
and ozone. This lost capacity costs the city about $1 million a year in
additional air pollution abatement expenses. And because cut trees were not
there to trap storm water, there was a 34% increase in storm water runoff. It
costs Washington, DC about $226 million per year to process the additional
runoff
 Other Natures Services

1) Vegetation and trees absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, while
releasing the oxygen necessary to our lives
2) The atmospheres stratospheric-ozone layer protects us from the suns
strongest ultraviolet radiation
3) Worms and other organisms, and vegetation enhance the fertility of soils
that we need for agriculture
4) Healthy ecosystems provide insects, birds, and other animals that pollinate
plants - including crop plants
5) Natural systems provide seafood, wild game, forage, wood, biomass fuels,
and natural fibers: They degrade organic wastes, both naturally produced
and human-produced waste
 Other Natures Services

Think about biodiversity, the fantastic variety of species of animals,

plants, and microorganisms in our world
1) Among these species are the insects and worms, bacteria, and fungi that
degrade natural wastes and the wastes we discard - the sewage, garbage,
and other organic wastes and pollutants >> These waste-degrading
creatures could live without us, but we cannot live without them

Humans, through habitat destruction, disruption and pollution, are

destroying species at a rate perhaps 100 times faster than the natural
rate of extinction
 In Brief, services provided by Nature
Timber, food, clean air

Climate, No flooding, Erosion control

Health, recreation and tourism

Soil formation, water cycling

 Human impacts on the environment

Deforestation
Caused by demand for wood products; need for
space; farmland; housing; and
roads
Habitat Fragmentation
 Environmental costs
Forested areas effectively reduce erosion
road building in forests increases erosion
loss of soil & nutrients to erosion reduces
productivity
Forested areas modify climate
Forests provide habitat for many species
 Pollution

When Harmful Substances Contaminate the Environment it is Called Pollution

Pollution refers to the very bad condition of environment in terms of quantity and
quality

Types of Pollution

Air Pollution
Water Pollution
Noise Pollution
Land Pollution
Radio Active Pollution
 Pollution
When Pollution is Obvious ?

Pollutants
Just like a weed: a plant out of place
Any substance, mostly synthetic and industrial chemicals
Intensity

Why does Pollution Happen ?

Pollution happens because no process is 100% efficient

 Why does Pollution happen?

Pollution happens because no process is 100% efficient

Consider our body---
It cannot use 100% of the food we eat.. For example, fiber in food is
not broken down in the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract and excreted with
feces as solid waste
Enzymes in gut break down other foods to molecules that can cross
the GI wall into bloodstream.. Blood carries these nutrient molecules
to organs --- Again organs cannot use 100% of the nutrient values,
and a portion is excreted in urine as chemical waste
 What Substances Pollute

Almost any chemical, any substance, any material, whether

generated by human beings or nature can pollute
How an organic chemical differs from an inorganic chemical, an
organic pollutant from an inorganic one
Organic chemicals even those difficult to degrade can be destroyed
when conditions are right
However, inorganic substances although they can be converted into
other compounds are not destroyed
 What Substances Pollute
Natural Pollutants
Human-generated pollutants are the main concern, but natural chemicals
pollute too
For example when a volcano erupts, spewing out huge quantities of ash,
chlorine, sulfur dioxide, and other chemicals
Other natural chemicals may become pollutants too, but sometimes because
man-made conditions allow them to build up to dangerous levels
The radioactive chemical radon is produced from the radioactive uranium
naturally found in rocks and soil around the world -- Only small
concentrations of radon are found in outside air -- However, radon can seep
up and into our constructed buildings from underlying soil and rocks --
Radon is associated with human lung cancer
 What Substances Pollute

Natural Pollutants
Arsenic is also a natural chemical -- Until recently it was not a problem to
people in Bangladesh and India
However, millions of wells were drilled to provide clean drinking water to
Bangladeshis and Indians, freeing them from having to drink badly
contaminated surface water -- Unfortunately, arsenic in the rock and soil
dissolves into the well water -- The result is a massive ongoing poisoning
event in which millions suffer from arsenic poisoning
 Pollutant Sources

I am, therefore I pollute. That applies to any process

Motor vehicles including cars, buses, airplanes, ships, and off-road
vehicles. Chemical and petroleum refineries. Manufacturing facilities.
Commercial operations such as dry cleaners, bakeries, and garages
Plants that generate electric power by burning coal, oil, or natural gas
Agricultural operations growing crops or raising animals
Food processing operations
Mining operations
Construction operations
 Pollutant Sources

Military operations
Forestry operations
Construction and road building
Consumer product use
Municipal operations including drinking-water and wastewater
treatment, and road maintenance
All activities occurring in commercial and municipal buildings, and in
private dwellings
As the population grows, consumption per individual grows
 Inorganic Chemicals
An inorganic chemical usually does not contain carbon although a few
do, such as sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and sodium carbonate
(washing soda)
An inorganic chemical can be an elemental chemical such as elemental iron,
or elemental mercury or tin
Many inorganic chemicals are found in nature such as the salts in the
ocean, minerals in the soil, the calcium carbonate skeleton made by a coral
As is the case for many organic chemicals, many inorganic chemicals can
also be made synthetically
Simpler inorganic chemicals can be manipulated to make more complicated
ones

However, the total number of inorganic chemicals is much smaller than the
number of organic chemicals
 Organic Chemicals

An organic chemical contains the element carbon

Organic chemicals contain other elements, frequently hydrogen
If the chemical contains only carbon and hydrogen it is called a
hydrocarbon
But organic chemicals also often contain oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur,
and other elements
If a carbon atom is bonded to a metal, the chemical is an
organometallic; e.g. tetraethyl lead