Environmental Engineering

Term Paper

Submitted by:
Beltran, Nikixandra T.
BS Computer Engineering

Submitted to:
Ms. Jerone Alain Alvaran
Professor

February 2015

A. Deforestation and Loss of Biodiversity

Deforestation
Deforestation can also be seen as removal of forests leading to several imbalances
ecologically and environmentally. What makes deforestation alarming is the immediate and
long-term effects it is bound to inflict if continued at the current pace. Some predictions state
that the rain forests of the world will be destroyed completely if deforestation continues at its
current pace.
Causes
1. Agricultural activities: As earlier mentioned in the overview, agricultural activities are one
of the major factors affecting deforestation. Due to overgrowing demand for food
products, huge amount of tress are fell down to grow crops and for cattle grazing.
2. Logging: Apart from this, wood-based industries like paper, matchsticks, furniture etc.
also need a substantial amount of wood supply. Wood is used as fuel both directly and
indirectly, therefore trees are chopped for supplies. Firewood and charcoal are examples
of wood being used as fuel. Some of these industries thrive on illegal woodcutting and
felling of trees.
3. Urbanization: Further on order to gain access to these forests, the construction of roads
are undertaken; here again trees are chopped to create roads. Overpopulation too
directly affects forest covers, as with the expansion of cities more land is needed to
establish housing and settlements. Therefore, forestland is reclaimed.
4. Desertification of land: Some of the other factors that lead to deforestation are also part
natural and part anthropogenic like Desertification of land. It occurs due to land abuse
making it unfit for growth of trees. Many industries in petrochemicals release their waste
into rivers, which results in soil erosion and make it unfit to grow plants and trees.
5. Mining: Oil and coal mining require considerable amount of forestland. Apart from this,
roads and highways have to be built to make way for trucks and other equipment. The
waste that comes out from mining pollutes the environment and effects the nearby
species.
Impact on the Environment/Humans/Organism
1. Climate Imbalance: Deforestation also affects the climate in more than one ways. Trees
release water vapor in the air, which is compromised on with the lack of trees. Trees also
provide the required shade that keeps the soil moist. This leads to the imbalance in the
atmospheric temperature further making conditions for the ecology difficult. Flora and
fauna across the world are accustomed to their habitat. This haphazard clearance of
forests have forced several of these animals to shift from their native environment. Due
to this, several species are finding it difficult to survive or adapt to new habitats.
2. Increase in Global Warming: Trees play a major role in controlling global warming. The
trees utilize the greenhouse gases, restoring the balance in the atmosphere. With
constant deforestation, the ratio of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased,
adding to our global warming woes.

3. Soil Erosion: Also due to the shade of trees, the soil remains moist. With the clearance
of tree cover, the soil is directly exposed to the sun, making it dry.
4. Floods: When it rains, trees absorb and store large amount of water with the help of their
roots. When they are cut down, the flow of water is disrupted and leads to floods in some
areas and droughts in other.
5. Wildlife extinction: Due to massive felling down of trees, various species of animals are
lost. They lose their habitat and forced to move to new location. Some of them are even
pushed to extinction. Our world has lost so many species of plants and animals in last
couple of decades.
Current Action taken to Prevent/Minimize the Damages

The best solution to deforestation is to curb the felling of trees, by employing a series of
rules and laws to govern it. Deforestation in the current scenario may have reduced
however, it would be too early to assume. The money-churner that forest resources can
be is tempting enough for deforestation to continue.

Clear cutting of forests must be banned. This will curb total depletion of the forest cover.
It is a practical solution and is very feasible.

Land skinned of its tree cover for urban settlements should be urged to plant trees in the
vicinity and replace the cut trees. In addition, the cutting must be replaced by planting
young trees to replace the older ones that were cut. Trees are being planted under
several initiatives every year, but they still do not match the numbers of the ones we
have already lost.

Loss of Biodiversity
Biodiversity, short for biological diversity, is the term used to describe the variety of life
found on Earth and all of the natural processes. This includes ecosystem, genetic and cultural
diversity, and the connections between these and all species.
Biodiversity also refers to the genetic differences within species - such as the differences
between varieties of crops or breeds of livestock. It also refers to the diversity of ecosystems,
such as those that occur in prairies, forests, wetlands, lakes, rivers, and agricultural landscapes.
In each ecosystem, living creatures form a community, interacting with one another and with the
air, water, and soil.
Causes
1. Alteration and loss of the habitats: The transformation of the natural areas determines
not only the loss of the vegetable species, but also a decrease in the animal species
associated to them. Refer to Alteration and loss of the habitats.
2. Introduction of exotic species and genetically modified organisms: Species originating
from a particular area, introduced into new natural environments can lead to different
forms of imbalance in the ecological equilibrium. Refer to, Introduction of exotic species
and genetically modified organisms.

3. Pollution: Human activity influences the natural environment producing negative, direct
or indirect, effects that alter the flow of energy, the chemical and physical constitution of
the environment and abundance of the species;
4. Climate change: For example, heating of the Earths surface affects biodiversity because
it endangers all the species that adapted to the cold due to the latitude (the Polar
species) or the altitude (mountain species).
5. Overexploitation of resources: When the activities connected with capturing and
harvesting (hunting, fishing, farming) a renewable natural resource in a particular area is
excessively intense, the resource itself may become exhausted, as for example, is the
case of sardines, herrings, cod, tuna and many other species that man captures without
leaving enough time for the organisms to reproduce.
Impact on the Environment/Humans/Organism
1. Food Security Biological diversity is used by many rural communities directly as an
insurance and coping mechanism to increase flexibility and spread or reduce risk in the
face of increasing uncertainty, shocks, and surprises. The availability of this biological
safety net has increased the security and resilience of some local communities to
external economic and ecological perturbations, shocks, or surprises.
2. Health Human health, particularly risk of exposure to many infectious diseases, may
depend on the maintenance of biodiversity in natural ecosystems. On the one hand, a
greater diversity of wildlife species might be expected to sustain a greater diversity of
pathogens that can infect humans.
3. Energy Security Women and children in rural poor communities are the ones most
affected by wood fuel scarcity. They must walk long distances searching for firewood and
therefore have less time for tending crops and school.
4. Provision of Clean Water The continued loss of cloud forests and the destruction of
watersheds reduce the quality and availability of water supplied to household use and
agriculture. The availability of clean drinking water is a concern in dozens of the worlds
largest cities.
Current Action taken to Prevent/Minimize the Damages
With small daily actions, also we can do something important to preserve/minimize biodiversity.
Here is some advice:

Do not buy animals and rare plants or objects produced with tortoise shells, ivory, exotic
feathers, shark teeth, fur, coral and shells: often their indiscriminate catching threatens
the entire ecosystem where they live.

Avoid killing organisms with no reason: sport fishing is not better than hunting!

Do not deteriorate the environment: a wood full of rubbish kills many more human beings
than you can imagine.

Try to avoid all any energy waste: do not forget that using energy means producing
carbon dioxide that has an impact on climate change and therefore on the survival of
many organisms.
Move preferably on foot, by bike and public transport: In this way, you will contribute to a
cleaner air and will have the opportunity and time to observe better the living beings that
live close to you.

When its possible favor recycled products: dont forget that trees are cut down to
produce paper!

Do not feed wild animals as you could alter the delicate balance of the food chain and
involuntarily cause their death. Surely its exciting looking at a fish as its eating bread
gut from your hands but these animals will never find this type of food in nature as it
swells them and often causes mortal diseases.

Always remember that in every natural environment where you might be, from forest to
sea, we are always guests and as such, we should respect all life forms, including those,
which seem most insignificant: for this reason, do not collect flowers that are surely nicer
in a meadow than in a vase in your house waiting to die!

Plan your day on biodiversity: in this way, you will have the chance to admire different
species and learn to recognize them.

Try to communicate to everyone close to you respect and love for nature but also
everything you have learnt on this issue: we love more easily, what we know and it is
easier to protect what we love!

B. Climate Change, Ozone Depletion, Nuclear War

Climate Change
Climate change is a long-term shift in weather conditions identified by changes in
temperature, precipitation, winds, and other indicators. Climate change can involve both
changes in average conditions and changes in variability, including, for example, extreme
events.
Causes

Natural Causes

The Earths climate can be affected by natural factors that are external to the climate
system, such as changes in volcanic activity, solar output, and the Earth's orbit around the Sun.
Of these, the two factors relevant on timescales of contemporary climate change are changes in
volcanic activity and changes in solar radiation. In terms of the Earths energy balance, these
factors primarily influence the amount of incoming energy.
Volcanic eruptions are episodic and have relatively short-term effects on climate.
Changes in solar irradiance have contributed to climate trends over the past century but since
the Industrial Revolution, the effect of additions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere has
been about ten times that of changes in the Suns output.

Human Causes

Climate change can also be caused by human activities, such as the burning of fossil
fuels and the conversion of land for forestry and agriculture. Since the beginning of the Industrial
Revolution, these human influences on the climate system have increased substantially. In
addition to other environmental impacts, these activities change the land surface and emit
various substances to the atmosphere.
These in turn can influence both the amount of incoming energy and the amount of
outgoing energy and can have both warming and cooling effects on the climate. The dominant
product of fossil fuel combustion is carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. The overall effect of
human activities since the Industrial Revolution has been a warming effect, driven primarily by
emissions of carbon dioxide and enhanced by emissions of other greenhouse gases.
The build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has led to an enhancement of the
natural greenhouse effect. It is this human-induced enhancement of the greenhouse effect that
is of concern because ongoing emissions of greenhouse gases have the potential to warm the
planet to levels that have never been experienced in the history of human civilization. Such
climate change could have far-reaching and/or unpredictable environmental, social, and
economic consequences.
Impact on the Environment/Humans/Organism
1. Higher Temperature Heat-trapping gases emitted by power plants, automobiles,
deforestation and other sources are warming up the planet. In fact, the five hottest years
on record have all occurred since 1997 and the 10 hottest since 1990, including the
warmest years on record 2005 and 2010.
High temperatures are to blame for an increase in heat-related deaths and illness, rising
seas, increased storm intensity, and many of the other dangerous consequences of
climate change. The planets oceans are also warming, which is causing dangerous
consequences such as stronger storms, coral bleaching and rising seas.
2. Wildlife at Risk Rising temperatures are changing weather and vegetation patterns
across the globe, forcing animal species to migrate to new, cooler areas in order to
survive.
The rapid nature of climate change is likely to exceed the ability of many species to migrate
or adjust. Experts predict that one-fourth of Earths species will be headed for extinction by
2050 if the warming trend continues at its current rate.
Many species are already feeling the heat:

In 1999, the death of the last Golden Toad in Central America marked the first
documented species extinction driven by climate change.
Due to melting ice in the Arctic, polar bears may be gone from the planet in as little
as 100 years.
In the tropics, increased sea temperatures are causing more coral reefs to bleach,
as the heat kills colorful algae that are necessary to coral health and survival.
Several U.S. states may even lose their official birds as they head for cooler climates
including the Baltimore oriole of Maryland, black-capped chickadee of
Massachusetts, and the American goldfinch of Iowa.

3. Changing Landscapes As plant communities try to adjust to the changing climate by

moving toward cooler areas, the animals that depend on them will be forced to move.
Development and other barriers may block the migration of both plants and animals.
Some species and communities such as polar bears and alpine meadows may be left
without any remaining viable habitat, putting much of our treasured wildlife at risk.
4.

Heat-Related Illness and Disease As temperatures rise, so do the risks of heat-related

illness and even death for the most vulnerable human populations. In addition to heatrelated illness, climate change may increase the spread of infectious diseases, mainly
because warmer temperatures allow disease-carrying insects, animals and microbes to
survive in areas where they were once thwarted by cold weather.
Diseases and pests that were once limited to the tropics such as mosquitoes that
carry malaria may find hospitable conditions in new areas that were once too cold to
support them.

5. Economic Loss and Damage Climate change is affecting businesses and economies
at home and around the world. If action is not taken to curb global carbon emissions,
climate change could cost between 5 and 20 percent of the annual global gross
domestic product, according to a British government report. In comparison, it would take
1 percent of GDP to lessen the most damaging effects of climate change, the report
says.
Current Action taken to Prevent/Minimize the Damages
All of us in our daily lives contribute our bit to this change in the climate. Give these points a
good, serious thought:

Electricity is the main source of power in urban areas. All our gadgets run on electricity
generated mainly from thermal power plants. These thermal power plants are run on
fossil fuels (mostly coal) and are responsible for the emission of huge amounts of
greenhouse gases and other pollutants.

Cars, buses, and trucks are the principal ways by which goods and people are
transported in most of our cities. These are run mainly on petrol or diesel, both fossil
fuels.

We generate large quantities of waste in the form of plastics that remain in the
environment for many years and cause damage.

We use a huge quantity of paper in our work at schools and in offices. Have we ever
thought about the number of trees that we use in a day?

Timber is used in large quantities for construction of houses, which means that large
areas of forest have to be cut down.

A growing population has meant more and more mouths to feed. Because the land area
available for agriculture is limited (and in fact, is actually shrinking as a result of
ecological degradation!), high-yielding varieties of crop are being grown to increase the
agricultural output from a given area of land.

However, such high-yielding varieties of crops require large quantities of fertilizers; and
more fertilizer means more emissions of nitrous oxide, both from the field into which it is
put and the fertilizer industry that makes it. Pollution also results from the run-off of
fertilizer into water bodies.

Ozone Depletion
Ozone layer is a deep layer in earths atmosphere that contain ozone which is a naturally
occurring molecule containing three oxygen atoms. These ozone molecules form a gaseous
layer in the Earths upper atmosphere called stratosphere. This lower region of stratosphere
containing relatively higher concentration of ozone is called Ozonosphere.
The ozonosphere is found 15-35 km (9 to 22 miles) above the surface of the earth. The
average concentration of ozone in the atmosphere is around 0.6 parts per million. The thickness
of the ozone layer differs as per season and geography. The highest concentrations of ozone
occur at altitudes from 26 to 28 km (16 to 17 miles) in the tropics and from 12 to 20 km (7 to 12
miles) towards the poles.
Causes

Natural causes of depletion of ozone layer:

Ozone layer has been found to be affected by certain natural phenomena such as
Sunspots and stratospheric winds. However, this has been found to cause not more than 1-2%
depletion of the ozone layer and the effects are also thought to be only temporary. It is also
believed that the major volcanic eruptions (mainly El Chichon in 1983 and and Mt. Pinatubo in
1991) has also contributed towards ozone depletion.

Man-made causes of depletion of ozone layer:

The main cause for the depletion of ozone is determined as excessive release of
chlorine and bromine from man-made compounds such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). CFCs
(chlorofluorocarbons), halons, CH3CCl3 (Methyl chloroform), CCl4 (Carbon tetrachloride),
HCFCs (hydro-chlorofluorocarbons), hydrobromofluorocarbons and methyl bromide are found to
have direct impact on the depletion of the ozone layer. These are categorized as ozonedepleting substances (ODS).
Chlorofluorocarbons are released into the atmosphere due to:

Cleaning Agents
Coolants in refrigerators
Packing material
Air conditioning
Aerosol spray cans etc.

Impact on the Environment/Humans/Organism

Harm to human health:

More skin cancers, sunburns and premature aging of the skin.

More cataracts, blindness and other eye diseases: UV radiation can damage several
parts of the eye, including the lens, cornea, retina and conjunctiva.
Cataracts (a clouding of the lens) are the major cause of blindness in the world. A
sustained 10% thinning of the ozone layer is expected to result in almost two million new
cases of cataracts per year, globally (Environment Canada, 1993).
Weakening of the human immune system (immunosuppression). Early findings suggest
that too much UV radiation can suppress the human immune system, which may play a
role in the development of skin cancer.

Adverse Impacts on Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Ecosystems:

Several of the world's major crop species are particularly vulnerable to increased UV,
resulting in reduced growth, photosynthesis and flowering. These species include wheat,
rice, barley, oats, corn, soybeans, peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower, broccoli and
carrots.
The effect of ozone depletion on the Canadian agricultural sector could be significant.
Only a few commercially important trees have been tested for UV (UV-B) sensitivity, but
early results suggest that plant growth, especially in seedlings, is harmed by more
intense UV radiation.

Damage to Marine Life:

In particular, plankton (tiny organisms in the surface layer of oceans) are threatened by
increased UV radiation. Plankton are the first vital step in aquatic food chains.
Decreases in plankton could disrupt the fresh and saltwater food chains, and lead to a
species shift in Canadian waters.
Loss of biodiversity in our oceans, rivers and lakes could reduce fish yields for
commercial and sport fisheries.

Animals:

In domestic animals, UV overexposure may cause eye and skin cancers. Species of
marine animals in their developmental stage (e.g. young fish, shrimp larvae and crab
larvae) have been threatened in recent years by the increased UV radiation under the
Antarctic ozone hole.

Materials:

Wood, plastic, rubber, fabrics and many construction materials are degraded by UV
radiation.
The economic impact of replacing and/or protecting materials could be significant.

Current Action taken to Prevent/Minimize the Damages

Limit Private Vehicle Driving A very easy way to control ozone depletion would be to
limit or reduce the amount of driving as vehicular emissions eventually result in smog,
which is a culprit in the deterioration of the ozone layer. Carpooling, taking public
transport, walking, using a bicycle would limit the usage of individual transportation. It
would be a great option to switch to cars/vehicles that have a hybrid or electric zeroemission engine.

Use Eco-Friendly Household Cleaning Products Usage of eco-friendly and natural

cleaning products for household chores is a great way to prevent ozone depletion. This
is because many of these cleaning agents contain toxic chemicals that interfere with the
ozone layer. A lot of supermarkets and health stores sell cleaning products that are toxicfree and made out of natural ingredients.

Avoid Using Pesticides Pesticides may be an easy solution for getting rid of weed, but
are harmful for the ozone layer. The best solution for this would be to try using natural
remedies, rather than heading out for pesticides. You can perhaps try to weed manually
or mow your garden consistently to avoid weed-growth.

Developing Stringent Regulations for Rocket Launches The world is progressing in

scientific discoveries rapidly. Many rocket launches are happening the world over without
consideration of the fact that it can damage the ozone layer if it is not regulated soon.

Nuclear War
A war in which countries fight with nuclear weapons. A nuclear war has never happened,
but because nuclear weapons are extremely powerful and could cause destruction throughout
the world, the possibility of nuclear war has had a great effect on international politics.
Causes

Terrorist Weapon at Ground Level This weapon would be large and heavy, certainly
not the often discussed suitcase bomb, so is Iikely to be transported in a van or small
truck, with threatened detonation either in the street or the parking garage of a building.

Impact on the Environment/Humans/Organism

Environment The production of nuclear weapons has polluted vast amounts of soil and
water at hundreds of nuclear weapons facilities all over the world. Many of the
substances released, including plutonium, uranium, strontium, cesium, benzene,
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury and cyanide, are carcinogenic and/or
mutagenic and remain hazardous for thousands, some for hundreds of thousands, of
years.

Economic The massive and simultaneous destruction of economic and human

resources would result in an inability to provide immediate and sufficient human and
material aid to damaged areas. Most damage to cities from large weapons comes from
the explosive blast. The blast drives air away from the site of the explosion, producing
sudden changes in the air pressure (called Static Overpressure) that can crush objects,
and high winds (called Dynamic Pressure) that can move them suddenly or knock them
down.

Electromagnetic Signal Propagation Nuclear effects on electromagnetic signal

propagation, which affects command, control, communications, computers, and
intelligence, are of concern to countries expected to use nuclear weapons, particularly
those which intend to explode a weapon at great altitudes or those which expect to have
to defend against such a nuclear attack.

Current Action taken to Prevent/Minimize the Damages

Stopping all testing of nuclear weapons, stopping the production of bomb materials,
having open inspections of all nuclear power plants and facilities, and establishing a
credible global security system is needed to insure that the elimination of nuclear
weapons becomes a lasting part of the world. In addition, the hundreds of tons of
plutonium and thousands of tons of highly enriched uranium that these bombs use as
their explosive power need to be disposed of. One mechanism is to use a special
nuclear power reactor that will consume this fuel, transforming it in the process to a form
of uranium that cannot be used for weapons-as well as producing electric power at the
same time.

Biological and chemical weapons should be treated in a similar vein. Their status as
outlawed methods of warfare should be renewed and their elimination from the planet
dealt with as quickly as possible. However, even with these threats to human well-being
removed from the planet, a more lasting solution to genocide, war and armed conflict is
needed.

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