the biodiversity. Since most of South and Latin America has Oliver Streett not been modernized, Federman Global Issues there infrastructure and road systems are lacking, so most everyone trades via waterways and planes. QuickTimeª and adecompressor TIFF (Uncompressed) Because not everyone are needed to see this picture. has their own car, the reliance on fossil fuels is significantly lower in South and Latin South and Latin America America than the rest of The Amazon Rainforest the world; wood burning is made up of seven is still the primary million square miles of energy source. land in South America Although the countries and takes up 40% of don’t use a lot of oil land. Rainforests are themselves, they are in important because they the top ten worldwide as produce around 40% of oil exporters. The only oxygen in the world and problem is when the rest half the worlds animal of the world finds new species live in the and efficient alternate Rainforests, also a large sources of energy, and number of medication the South and Latin comes from plants that countries are still trying grown in Rainforests. to export oil, there The biggest problem for economies are going to Rainforests is fail because they rely on deforestation. With an their oil exports as a increasing population large part of their rate, there needs to be economy. Their more room, so the solution is too invest governments are cutting more time and money down the Rainforests to into alternate clean build houses and urban energy, like Brazil has areas. With started to do with wind deforestation comes turbines. The massive carbon release governments need to into the atmosphere, focus more on solving losing plants to make their energy problem medicine, and hurting
Energy and the Environment
rather than keeping power. Middle East Just like most of the world, the Middle East is facing environmental issues such as biodiversity, pollution, air and water quality, and climate change. The Middle East has many rapidly growing cities, so with the increasing population, there is increasing pollution and trash. With the increasing pollution comes decreasing quality in air and in the water. With more people there is more of a need of clean water, but there isn’t enough clean water so people drink the dirty water. 24% of fish in the Middle East are in danger of extinction, mainly due to over fishing. With all of the recent pollution, over fishing, and decline in biodiversity, Middle Easterners are consuming goods at a higher rate than being produced, so goods are in short supply. It’s well known that the Middle East exports oil to most of the world, seeing that they have over half the worlds oil reserves. But the
Middle East is also consuming a lot more oil with their increasing population. Along with oil the Middle East also produces and exports nuclear energy and alternate energy sources. Because of the worlds oil addiction and the quantity of oil the Middle East has, oil exports makes up most of the Middle East’s economy. Nuclear energy is a developing alternate energy in the Middle East, but they are one of the leaders in developing it, despite all of the safety risks.
QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture.
Asia Japan has very little natural resources, so it has to import the majority of its energy. Japanese companies produced the machines that help other countries get the energy sources, so Japan is involved in
the energy market. Japan mainly uses oil, and seldom uses renewable energies, which could be a problem in the near future. China is a leader in hydropower, between 1991 ad 2001 the hydropower uses went up by 106%. The Three Gorges Dam is a large project that is expected to produce 50% of China’s electric power. The only problem is the Three Gorges Dam will destroy many little towns and villages, and will harm the Yangtze River. There will be a reservoir created that will trap waste and pollution over 400 miles long. The Chinese air quality is terrible, all of the factories emitting all of the smog is dangerous to the humans and the environment. Around 400,000 of Chinese people die prematurely each year from the bad air causing heat and lung problems. Cleaning the air will cost around 15% of the GDP per year, so the Chinese government rarely cleans the air.
QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) are needed to see thisdecompressor picture.
In India the water quality is very bad. None of the cities have proper water waste treatment facilities so sewage spills everywhere and sitting sewage in one’s house can be very hazardous to one’s health. The air quality in India causes the most deaths worldwide from air pollution. The two main causes of air pollution are cars and industrial smoke. Air pollution in peoples homes are also very deadly, around 500,000 people die per year from poor air quality in their homes due to bad ventilation. Europe Europe is an energy importer, using mostly oil. About 50% of their energy is imported and in twenty years the number is suppose to reach 70%. Oil imports in 2005 were 87%. Russia is the prime energy export to Europe. The oil usage has decline in the past few years and natural gas use has gone up. A report
predicts that in 2030 83% of natural gas will be imported compared to the 59% imported in 2005. Greenhouse gas emissions are very high, mainly due to electricity and heat production. Air pollution is still semi high with all of the coal use for heating. In Denmark there are plants that burn trash to cleanly convert it to heat energy, while reducing the need for landfills. In 2009 there were 165 nuclear reactors in use. France uses the most nuclear energy, 77% of their electricity. Many countries use nuclear power and it is still increasing because it’s a great alternate to oil. Germany is a leader in solar power. Germany has around five times more solar panels than in America. Solar energy is very clean and efficient, not harmful to the environment or people like fossil fuels.
Africa Africa is the poorest nation in the world, so they don’t have luxuries like Americans do. Since they still burn wood as their main form of energy, disforestation is a large problem. Africans need wood for energy so they continually chop down trees in the forests. The Africa governments are buying the land from the tribes to prevent further deforestation. Pollution is a large problem for all of Africa. Many dumps are located right in the city; so many people are negatively affected from it. In Nairobi a dump is located right next to a river where people bath, so many people get sick from the dumps pollution. In South Africa coal is the main form of energy so burning coal is very hazardous to the environment and the people. Its reported that 93% of Africa’s potential hydropower is still intact. Many small scale hydropower plants have been constructed recently, but many of them had to be closed down due to drought. Hydropower is a great alternate energy source
QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture.
because its energy on the spot where its needed.