SOCIAL SCIENCES AND BASIC CULTURE ASSIGNMENT

ENVIRONMENT PROBLEM
ISSUES

BILINGUAL PROGRAM
FACULTY OF MATHEMATICS AND NATURAL
SCIENCES
STATE UNIVERSITY OF MEDAN
2012

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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Environmental issues are a problem all humans today. Environmental
management is not wise to deliver humankind to the natural destruction.
Deforestation causes flooding everywhere, (especially) in Indonesia, not only
destroyed property sweat and blood of man, but to bring people to the natural
death that is not fair. Various old and new diseases increasingly nearly into
humans from the neighborhood polluted factory waste, household garbage wastes
and other wastes. In ancient time, a river clear as clean water sources are faithfully
serving human life today so much polluted water problems not only threaten the
life of local, but also has become the world's problems. These are new examples
of environmental pollution from physical objects. Other environmental problems
are also threatened from another direction. Social solidarity is increasingly close
to Kris solidarity. The streets are broken, hollow, wallowing, not responded to the
closeout urban discourse of social awareness.
The nature of mutual help between the nearest circles is farther from
instinct and conscience of humanity. The more days the problem is more complex.
Therefore students, as future leaders a degree candidate, expected to contribute to
public conscience knocked so friendly anymore with the culture of eco-friendly,
but prior to actively urge and motivate people, able to advance these ideals began
with environmentally friendly behavior by studying in depth and serious
environmental problems in addition to himself as a professionalism to build a
future with a special knowledge which he passes in college.
These are some list of environment issues that occurs in our daily life
1. Climate change Global warming Global dimming Fossil fuels Sea
level rise Greenhouse gas Ocean acidification Shutdown of
thermohaline circulation Environmental impact of the coal industry
Urban Heat Islands

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2. Conservation Species extinction Pollinator decline Coral bleaching

Holocene extinction Invasive species Poaching Endangered species
3. Energy Energy conservation Renewable energy Efficient energy use
Renewable energy commercialization Environmental impact of the coal
industry Environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing
4. Environmental degradation Eutrophication Habitat destruction
Invasive species
5. Environmental health Air quality Asthma Environmental impact of
the coal industry Electromagnetic fields Electromagnetic radiation and
health Indoor air quality Lead poisoning Sick Building Syndrome
Environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing
6. Genetic engineering Genetic pollution Genetically modified food
controversies
7. Intensive farming Overgrazing Irrigation Monoculture
Environmental effects of meat production Slash and burn Pesticide drift
Plasticulture
8. Land degradation Land pollution Desertification
a. Soil Soil conservation Soil erosion Soil contamination Soil
salination
9. Land use Urban sprawl Habitat fragmentation Habitat destruction
10. Nanotechnology Nanotoxicology Nanopollution
11. Nuclear issues Nuclear fallout Nuclear meltdown Nuclear power
Nuclear weapons Nuclear and radiation accidents Nuclear safety
High-level radioactive waste management

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12. Overpopulation Burial Water crisis Overpopulation in companion

animals Tragedy of the commons Gender Imbalance in Developing
Countries Sub-replacement fertility levels in developed countries
13. Ozone depletion CFC Biological effects of UV exposure
14. Pollution Environmental impact of the coal industry Nonpoint source
pollution Point source pollution Light pollution Noise pollution
Visual pollution
a. Water pollution Environmental impact of the coal industry
Acid rain Eutrophication Marine pollution Ocean dumping
Oil spills Thermal pollution Urban runoff Water crisis
Marine debris Microplastics Ocean acidification Ship pollution
Wastewater Fish kill Algal bloom Mercury in fish
Environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing
b. Air pollution Environmental impact of the coal industry
Smog Tropospheric ozone Indoor air quality Volatile organic
compound Atmospheric particulate matter Environmental impact
of hydraulic fracturing
15. Reservoirs Environmental impacts of reservoirs
16. Resource depletion Exploitation of natural resources Overdrafting
a. Consumerism Consumer capitalism Planned obsolescence
Over-consumption
b. Fishing Blast fishing Bottom trawling Cyanide fishing
Ghost nets Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing
Overfishing Shark finning Whaling
c. Logging Clearcutting Deforestation Illegal logging
d. Mining Acid mine drainage Environmental impact of
hydraulic fracturing Mountaintop removal mining Slurry
impoundments

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17. Toxins Chlorofluorocarbons DDT Endocrine disruptors Dioxin

Toxic heavy metals Environmental impact of the coal industry
Herbicides Pesticides Toxic waste PCB Bioaccumulation
Biomagnification Environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing
18. Waste Electronic waste Litter Waste disposal incidents Marine
debris Medical waste Landfill Leachate Environmental impact of the
coal industry Incineration Great Pacific Garbage Patch Exporting of
hazardous waste Environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing

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CHAPTER II
DISCUSSION
Since 1980 an environmental problem is increasingly widespread and
complex. It is associated with increasing the earth's atmosphere as a result of
uncontrolled greenhouse effect for the earth. Global warming in the late 20th
century has led to:
1. Increase in temperature,
2. Climate Change in particular rainfall,
3. Increased storm intensity and quality, and
4. The temperature rise is not certain
5. The situation is causing most of the world often a disaster. Such as the
acid rain and damage agricultural land, forests and other biota. At the
almost same experts find holes in the ozone layer around the Antarctic.
The hole is bigger from year to year, so the ultra violet rays that are
harmful to living beings on earth is slowly growing number of (large
amounts) layer enter the atmosphere.
In Industry itself for example, there are some positive and negative impact
such as for the positive impact are When the factory built, many people get job.
Industry Development become better, for example with the research and
development in Transportation Industry, electronics and engineers. Development
of plants as a main material (cotton, for textil industry, sangon wood for meubel
industry and housing, pine for paper industry and pulps).Creating recycle
machine, so that the rubbish from the environmental can be decreased.
Then in Agriculture the positive impact are able to
1. Increase the new variety and superior
2. Increase the product of agriculture
3. Known and modern agricultural equipment utility
4. Known pest medicines fertilizing system
5. Pest eradication with aero plane in agriculture area.
But such as said before, beside there are positive impact, there are negative
impact too for environment such as :

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1.

Farmland, livestock and forestry plantations increasingly narrow

because it is built a lot of housing.

2. Damage to the natural environment is due to the construction of

industry and factories.
3. Erosion is due to uncontrolled deforestation or illegal logging.
4. To complement the primary and secondary needs of humans to exploit
nature.
5. Spraying pesticide impact to other living beings due to exposure to
toxic durable spread in the food chain to the ecosystem so that it can
affect the food chain of living beings that eat it.
6. Air pollution caused by forest fires which generate and

CO2

and

CO.
7. Water pollution from industrial is waste disposal.
8. Air pollution from car fumes and industrial vehicles fume.
9. Excess fertilization will cause pollution of the soil.
10.Soil pollution from the smell of trash and household industry.
Then, Ever since the damage done to the environment came to the fore as
one of the modern worlds most urgent problems, discussions concerning who
causes it and whose task it is to solve it have been frequent. Both are questions
about responsibility, backward-looking and forward-looking responsibility. This
kind of discussion has become even more prevalent during the last years when the
alarms of climate change have become more recurrent. With the knowledge we
have today about the causes of environmental problems2 and the fact that citizens
in many industrialized societies are well informed about their own role in
contributing to the problems, individuals appear to have some responsibility.
People choose to behave in ways that contribute to the problems or to their
solutions. Hence, as individuals we are taken to be morally responsible for
environmental problems. s Michele Micheletti
asserts, everyday choices and acts by individuals play an important role for the
future of political, social, and economic life. In short, every person is part of
global responsibility taking.

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Whit Gibbon(2006) said that there are ten list of environment problem
now. They are

1. Apathy. Dean Croshaw, a graduate student from the University of New

Orleans, offered what I rank as the number one environmental problem. A
clear indicator of our foremost problem is that world leaders seldom
acknowledge, let alone propose solutions to, environmental problems. For
those leaders around the world chosen by a democratic election process,
that apathy is condoned and mimicked by the people who elect them.

10. Invasive plants and animals. The problems resulting from fire ants,
Burmese pythons in the Everglades, and many more regional
environmental problems have a human origin related to the introduction of
exotic species.

2. Human overpopulation. Most of the students ranked unchecked human

population growth, which leads to overconsumption and associated world
poverty, as their top culprit of environmental problems. Virtually every
problem from 3 through 10 can be traced back to our simply having too
many people for the resources available. Until political and religious
leaders have the courage to realistically address the issue of birth control
on a global scale, most of our environmental problems will worsen before
they get better.

3. Habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation. The loss of natural

habitats because of human development and deforestation is viewed by
most as the major cause of the decline in biodiversity nationally and
globally. Many species are on an inexorable path toward extinction
because their native habitats are gone or despoiled.

4. Water quality and quantity. Sewage from cities, unregulated releases

from industrial and agricultural sites, and dumping of wastes in the oceans
collectively exacerbate the worldwide problem of water pollution. Overuse
of groundwater in many coastal regions leading to saltwater intrusion is a

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looming specter. Water wars are now a reality in the western states and
even in the wetter Southeast, as evidenced in the court cases involving
Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.

5. Threat of disease. Bird flu, West Nile virus, and mad cow disease are
examples of how we could be affected overnight by unseen enemies, all a
consequence of human overcrowding, overconsumption, and invasive
species.

6. Unsustainable agriculture. The human world is dependent on food

production, yet agricultural siltation, pesticide runoffs, and loss of natural
habitats are constant threats to a healthy environment.

7. Air pollution. Uncontrolled releases by industry and the excessive use of

fossil fuels have led to acid rain, dissolution of the ozone layer, smog, and
the general elimination of "clean air."

8. Pollution of marine habitats. The oceans are huge, but overharvesting

and the degradation of marine environments are proceeding at a steady rate
around the world, including a commercially extinct codfish industry and
disappearing coral reefs along our own coasts.

9. Global climate change. Although "global warming" receives a lot of

press, University of Georgia graduate student Brian Todd pointed out that
"the global climate for the past 4 billion years has been one marked by
change and relative instability. The problem we face today is the crippled
ability of many ecosystems to appropriately respond to climate change as
they have for the past 65 million years because we have already
compromised the environment in other ways."

10. Invasive plants and animals. The problems resulting from fire ants,
Burmese pythons in the Everglades, and many more regional
environmental problems have a human origin related to the introduction of
exotic species.

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Some examples and issues concerning the environment that has been
described above is an illustration that the development that the development of
technology that is social change and cultural circumstances have a significant
direct guidance of the state of the environment, where humans cannot control
these developments on the surrounding environment as a place of residence.
Humans create and find the technology with the intention that his life easier,
practical, efficient, and did not experience any difficulties. However, it is not
uncommon that the science and earned technology which raises serious problems
for the life of mankind and the environment.
The farmers may be greatly assisted by advances in technology such as
tractors, sprayer watering, and various type pesticides powerful enough to
eradicate pests. Yet another filled the excessive use of pesticides is also a threat to
the survival of an ecosystem. Therefore, social progress and cultural development
(the development and application of science and technology) do not always bring
positive impact on the lives of human civilization. Although not all of the
discovery and development of science and technology's negative impact, but for
humans who in civilization need to have control and the awareness that what is
done and done on the surface of the earth, sooner or later will have an impact on
the surrounding environmental. The description and the following identification
are positive and the negative impact of the development of human civilization on
the environment.
In Industry itself for example, there are some positive and negative impact
such as for the positive impact are When the factory built, many people get job.
Industry Development become better, for example with the research and
development in Transportation Industry, electronics and engineers. Development
of plants as a main material (cotton, for textil industry, sangon wood for meubel
industry and housing, pine for paper industry and pulps).Creating recycle
machine, so that the rubbish from the environmental can be decreased.
Then in Agriculture the positive impact are able to
1. Increase the new variety and superior
2. Increase the product of agriculture
3. Known and modern agricultural equipment utility

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4. Known pest medicines fertilizing system

5. Pest eradication with aero plane in agriculture area.
But such as said before, beside there are positive impact, there are negative
impact too for environment such as :
1.

Farmland, livestock and forestry plantations increasingly narrow

because it is built a lot of housing.

2. Damage to the natural environment is due to the construction of

industry and factories.
3. Erosion is due to uncontrolled deforestation or illegal logging.
4. To complement the primary and secondary needs of humans to exploit
nature.
5. Spraying pesticide impact to other living beings due to exposure to
toxic durable spread in the food chain to the ecosystem so that it can
affect the food chain of living beings that eat it.
6. Air pollution caused by forest fires which generate and

CO2

and

CO.
7. Water pollution from industrial is waste disposal.
8. Air pollution from car fumes and industrial vehicles fume.
9. Excess fertilization will cause pollution of the soil.
10.Soil pollution from the smell of trash and household industry.
Then, Ever since the damage done to the environment came to the fore as
one of the modern worlds most urgent problems, discussions concerning who
causes it and whose task it is to solve it have been frequent. Both are questions
about responsibility, backward-looking and forward-looking responsibility. This
kind of discussion has become even more prevalent during the last years when the
alarms of climate change have become more recurrent. With the knowledge we
have today about the causes of environmental problems2 and the fact that citizens
in many industrialized societies are well informed about their own role in
contributing to the problems, individuals appear to have some responsibility.
People choose to behave in ways that contribute to the problems or to their
solutions. Hence, as individuals we are taken to be morally responsible for
environmental problems. Michele Micheletti asserts, everyday choices and acts
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by individuals play an important role for the future of political, social, and
economic life. In short, every person is part of global responsibility taking.
hese insights should be used in our discussion of individual moral
responsibility for environmental problems like climate change. A common
assumption is that we are responsible to the extent we causally contributed to a
problem. This notion has previously led to the view that because my actions are so
marginal, I am not at all responsible for the aggregate environmental problem,
e.g., air pollution, the problem of waste, or climate change. This, I believe, is not
correct. However, replacing the idea that individuals are exempted from
responsibility for environmental problems with a notion of full individual
responsibility is too hasty. I will argue that the extent to which individuals should
be held responsible for environmental problems needs to be placed in context.
More specically, I will argue that an individual should not necessarily be held
responsible in the backward looking sense. This means that she should not be
blamed for, e.g., performing the less environmentally friendly action instead of the
more environmentally friendly action, when she lacked reasonable alternatives or
the cost of choosing the right action was too high. The individuals choice to act in
a certain way should be considered in her socio-economic, political, and cultural
context.

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CHAPTER III
CONCLUSION
From The discussion, we know that there are so many problems in
environment. It is not only global warming which The issue of globalization (the
process leading to one world or globally) ultimately lead to significant changes in
the economy, politics (democracy), and culture for the community such States.
Another example, in the fields of politics, that by fall or collapse of social
communists in the Soviet Union and is characterized by the free himself (the
desire for independence) states in the Soviet Union socialist Russia (USSR),
which then led to the destruction of the State, known as super power country in
the Asia Europe but there are over pupulation, ozone depletion and another too.
1. Critic
individuals are not appropriate targets of blame when acting in
environmentally destructive ways unless they have reasonable alternatives. Today,
many individuals lack such options or do not have the resources to do the
environmentally friendly thing. Here are just a few general or structural obstacles
to individuals in modern societies that make unreasonably difcult to act in
environmentally friendly ways.
1. The infrastructure in many societies encourages people to drive
instead of using publictransport or bicycles. Individuals need to
drive to the supermarket, to work and to school. If they do not need
to drive, it is often easier and/or less expensive to drive than to take
the train.
2. It is assumed in many industries that people need to meet face to
face, hence extensive business traveling.
3. He information about the origin and energy cost of producing
certain consumer goods,e.g., food, is often inadequate.
4. Government information is sometimes unclear, or even conicting.
Food products that are encouraged for health reasons are
sometimes discouraged from an environmental perspective.

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5. Climate-smart food is often substantially more expensive than

regular food.
2. Suggestion
`
People should be smart to choose or buy some product whether it is
good for environment or not because hen making choices about what to
buy, and the individual consumer is often seen as not only responsible for
herself, but directly responsible for the world.

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REFERENCE
Fahlquist,J.N.,(2008),Moral

Responsibility

for

Environmental

Problems

Individual or Institutional,stockholm:Springer
Garvey,J.,(2008),The ethics of climate change. Right and wrong in a warming
world,London: Continuum.
Tim Dosen,(2010), Ilmu Sosial dan Budaya Dasar,Universitas Negeri Medan
Wikipedia.http//:wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Environment_Issues

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