War Water
Deforestation
Contamination
Trash World Global warming Tree
Land, a time bomb Development black book
Introduction This wonderful book was thought of, elaborated and designed by the students of the Second Language Program; English Intensive Group No. 3 in the second semester of 2011. Our book is a quick overview of the Natural Disasters ad Man-Made disasters that are faced every day by the planet's population and how these affect our ENVINRONMENT. Perhaps this group is calling out to the community to stop and think about how each one of us can help make this world a better place to live. Many thanks to Sebastian M. Moreno T. who had the patience and invested precious time to put our book together.
PROLOGUE (By J Luque Leandro)
Earth, the small blue planet, so big and so fragile, many speak of its destruction but very few accept that we are really the cause of most problems. We are the principal cause of environment degradation, every time that we ignite the car we are not aware of the damage produced to the air, the same air that we breathe, but this is not the worst; we have developed medicinal techniques to fight the effects of pollution contrary to the other living things that depend only on their natural defenses. On the other hand, we are predators that kill animals for food, planting and harvesting plants indiscriminately, many species have become extinct with our unbridled ambition of a "better life" forgetting conveniently the natural equilibrium concept and stupidly that one day we will be victims of our own invention. Einstein said “If the bee disappears from the planet, man would have only 4 years of life” he was right, the bee is the means of pollination, pollination is the source of plants propagation, the plants are agriculture base and agriculture is the most important source of life. But man thinks this is impossible. Impossible?!! Every building, every road built, all toxic products released to the environment, have stolen the home of bees, have killed them, and this condemns humanity to a terrible death… terrible but deserved, for their excessive unconsciousness and irresponsibility. The exploitation of petroleum has bled the planet, damaging support structure, its derivate products are huge sources of contamination and the fight for the control has been subject of terrible and devastating wars... and this not is the worst, the bill extends and the price that we must pay is unattainable. Religion, politics, envy, ambition, fear, insensibility ... we are a self-destructive species, our destiny is written and the ending is tragic… "Give us, Satan, eternal punishment, and fall upon us the perpetual darkness"… we deserve it.
Index Page 5 Page 7 Page 9 Page 11 Page 14 Page 16 Page 18 Page 20 Page 22 Page 24 Page 26 Page 28 FAMINE- Diana Lancheros DROUGHT- Deisy Lorena Gomez WAR- Brayam Camilo Vela Galindo TERRORISM- Daniela Nieto Tellez NUCLEAR DISASTERS- Jessica Ortiz
Page 40 Page 42
DEFORESTATION- Paula Moreno Caro WILDFIRE- Camilo Duarte Sandoval LANDSLIDE-domingo Coronado Arrieta GLOBAL WARMING- Andrea Paola Ramirez Galindo ACID RAIN- Cristian Camilo Torres Castro HAIL STORM- Jonathan Granados FLOOD- William Ariza EARTHQUAKES- Cristian Orlando Barrera VOLCANO- Sergio Andres Gonzalo Rojas TSUNAMIS- Vanessa Fajardo Piratoa TORNADOES-carolina Cuevas OIL SPILL- Angie Dayana Ortiz Rivera Page 30 Page 32 Page 34 Page 36 Page 38 BIOLOGICAL WARFARE- Juan David Vergara Ruiz INFECTION DISEASES- Willington Padilla
SOLAR FLARE- Nicolas Moreno Anzola POLLUTION - Edgar Alfonso Varco POLLUTION (contaminants into a natural environment)- Mayerly Torres HEAT WAVES- Anderson Mora Lopez ENVIRONMENT AGENCIES-froilan Villarea Barrera ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY- Diana Marcela Torres Vivas ECO-DESIGN- Sebastian Moreno Torres
Page 44 Page 46 Page 48 Page 50 Page 52 Page 54 Page 56
5 DEFORESTATION Deforestation is the continuous and the permanent destruction of woodlands, forest and all the agriculture areas. Deforestation is about killing all the trees in a specific area, for individual benefits, like money, property, and possibly status; without thinking about the consequences to others who live around the area. The problem is that the trees cannot be regrown and replanted at the rate at which they are being cut down. For this reason the forests are declining at an incredible rate. Deforestation is a problem with far reaching consequences ranging from a barren landscape to a higher Carbon woodlands and forests.
is that the native peoples in an area are put under a lot of pressure to make a living to support their families, and get jobs as loggers, often illegally so. The people are often uneducated and know nothing other than logging practices. In many countries the logging trade is the biggest foreign money-earner ,therefore, governments try to exploit the forests for all they can take, and more. Human settlement is a big problem in many areas. People who have left the city to live in the rural areas claim pieces of land as their own and slash and burn the surroundings, using wood for fuel and also selling it on roadsides ,etc.
Deforestation in one of the biggest problem in the planet, because it is the major reason of climate changes, and it is caused by human acts. Dioxide levels in the air. The essential point is that we have to pull together to stop the destruction of the world. Causes: deforestation has too many causes because it is multidimensional, the social part, the political and the economic aspects also origins in a deep way the deforestation. The forests are cultivated, cleared and burned every year by international ranchers and local farmers. Logging, farming, population expansion, growth of cities, roads and highways are a little part of the biggest list. Some of the social and economic factor
The construction of roads and highways is a big problem in wooded areas. The growth of the world´s population is also a problem because more ground has to be cleared in order to feed the ever-growing populations. As the population grows there is a need for food. People take the initiative and buy large pieces of land that they cultivate with single crops. They have to cut down trees and bush, etc. The most popular reason behind deforestation is the industrial use or fuel, the expansion of agricultural grounds includes over exploitations, cattle farming, lumber and woodland experimentation.
6 Deforestation influences water cycle transpiration to the atmosphere and it makes the climate become drier; it makes the atmosphere become less moist and reduces the water table quantity. - Deforestation lowers the soil quality and it triggers soil erosion and flooding. Deforestation has increased the sub-surface flow and it often caused unexpected flooding to the lower ground. - Deforestation has messed up the rich biodiversity on the forestlands. - Deforestation is a contributing factor to the green house effect. The trees are large carbon dioxide stores, and when the trees are burnt they release this gas. This leads too an increase in the carbon dioxide levels in the air.
Effects and example If there are no trees, the land becomes far more unstable than before. -Native people living in forest areas are pushed out of their homes and have to encroach on more of the forest. They can not go anywhere else because they only know how to survive on the plants in the forest. In this way more forest is destroyed and the cycle will probably continue until all forests are destroyed. - In the Amazon they propose to build a 960km highway called the BR-163 from Curiaba in the middle of South America to Santarem in the top right corner of Brazil. The BR-163 will allow giant grain producers in the Matto Grosso region to export their crops to Europe via Santarem far more quickly and cheaply. It is estimated that 49 000km2 of forest will be destroyed during construction.
7 WILDFIRE
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, grass fire, and wild land fire may be used to describe the same phenomenon depending on the type of vegetation being burned. A wildfire differs from other fires by its extensive size, the speed at which it can spread out from its
source, its potential to change direction unexpectedly, and its ability to jump gaps such as roads, rivers and fire breaks. Wildfires are characterized in terms of the cause of ignition, their physical properties such as speed of propagation, the combustible material present, and the effect of weather on the fire.
A Wildfire is the fire that spreads out of control on forest fuels located in the brush: Meaning greeneries and wood, affecting the ecosystem and man. The most common cause of wildfires varies throughout the world. In the United States, Canada, and northwest China, for example, lightning is the major source of ignition. In Mexico, Central America, South America, Africa, Fiji, and New Zealand, wildfires can be attributed to human activities such as animal husbandry, agriculture, and land-conversion burning. Human carelessness is a major cause of wildfires in China and in the Mediterranean Basin. Too, the source of wildfires can be traced to both lightning strikes and human activities such as machinery sparks and cast-away cigarette butts.
Effect of weather: Heat waves, droughts, cyclical climate changes such as El Ni単o, and regional weather patterns such as high-pressure ridges can increase the risk and alter the behavior of wildfires dramatically. Years of precipitation followed by warm periods can encourage more widespread fires and longer fire seasons. Since the mid 1980s, earlier snowmelt and associated warming has also been associated with an increase in length and severity of the wildfire season in the Western United States. However, one individual element does not always cause an increase in wildfire activity.
8 The effects of wildfires are: People lose their homes, animals are killed and also lose their vegetation, affects the air quality, the wind and heat. The good that wildfires do is they burn old dead trees, leaves, grass, anything that Mother Nature has not yet destroyed herself. Most fires leave a lot of animals homeless which causes these animals to come into the cities nearer the fires and create a lot of confusion not only to themselves but to the communities.
Effects and example The Great Miramichi Fire refers to a massive forest fire (or series of fires) which devastated forests and communities throughout much of northern New Brunswick in October 1825. It ranks among the three largest forest fires ever recorded in North America. About 1/3 of the homes in Fredericton were destroyed, but the main devastation was 100 miles (160 km) to the northeast. The cause of the blaze is not known, but was likely of human origin.
9 LANDSLIDE
These phenomena are mass movements of soil or rock a slope on suddenly. The gravity of the earth is the most important cause of landslides, bus there are other aspects to consider such as: - Class of rock and soils. - Topography. - Orientation of fracture or cracks in the earth. - Amount of rain in the area.
- Seismic Activity. -Human activity (deforestation). - Erosion. These are some of the major causes of landslide. Human activity is relevant when studying the causes of landslides, deforestation caused by logging reduces the resistance of the earth. And also it is occur when rain water seeps into the mountains and these end up succumbing.
The land is the source of life, but through natural disasters or man- made disasters these can crush bigger dreams of peoples, cities and ecosystems. IMPACT Landslide can impair the functioning of infrastructure in cities, creating destruction and loss of life, economic collapse in the markets, it can destroy or bury the cultural heritage. It can destroy roads, it can cause personal injury and economic loss. Mountains may disappear. It can affect water systems, damage the ecological system, impair mobility and massive transportation, generating lack of food, increased diseases, disorderly conducts, insecurity, vandalism, panic, among other things. These are the main socio-economic impacts of a landslide.
10 PREVENTION Landslide cause great destruction, to overcome and minimize damage, efforts to control landslides have increased. One of the technologies developed using a wireless sensor network (WSN). This network is used to detect and measure the vibrations caused by landslide. And after measurements, the system indicated significant changes in ground motion. This is the main system for prevention on landslides created so far.
Effects and example Ÿ The 5
th
of September, 2010, a landslide buried 30 houses in “Bello – Antioquia” (Colombia), 124 people were killed and 50 families were relocated, this is just one of the faces of the tragedy and let the displacement result of land. Ÿ In September 2010, a landslide in “Oxaca” (México). Killed at least eight people's dead and 100 missing. Ÿ In December 2010, a landslide in “La Cruz Nariño” (Colombia). Killed at eleven people.
11 GLOBAL WARMING
Global warming refers to climate change that causes an increase in the average temperature of the lower atmosphere. It happens when greenhouse gases trap heat and light form the sun in the earth's atmosphere, which increases the temperature. Global warming can have many different causes, but it is most commonly associated with the release
of excessive amounts of greenhouse gases. The causes are split up into two groups, man-made or anthropogenic causes, and natural causes. Natural causes are causes created by nature. One natural cause is a release of methane gas from arctic tundra and wetlands. Methane is a greenhouse gas.
“Global warming can have many different causes, but it is most commonly associated with the release of excessive amounts of greenhouse gases.� Another problem is burning fossil fuels, this is one thing that causes pollution. Fossil fuels are fuels made of organic matter such as coal, or oil. The burning of garbage in landfills is another cause of global warming, this sends an enormous amount of greenhouse gasses into the air and makes global warming worse.
Warming is worse when people cut down trees. Trees and other plants collect carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a greenhouse gas.
12 One thing that is happening is warm water, caused from global warming, is harming and killing algae in the ocean. Fewer algae is a problem because there is less food for us and many animals in the sea. There are also a number of effects to the nature and atmosphere. One of the most serious effects of Global Warming that humans have to think about is the effects on the health of individuals, nations and, therefore, civilizations. The rise in temperature due to Global Warming is known to be supportive to various viral diseases like the west Nile virus and Malaria. Global Warming increases the incidence of such diseases in poorer countries where these diseases exist.
EFFECTS SHORT TERMS AND EXAMPLES Global Warming results in a drastic rise in temperature. This rise in temperature finally results in an increase in the mortality rate of people. A higher temperature causes problems to people with cardiovascular problems. Global Warming may also cause a decline in agriculture due to the rise in temperature. Global Warming also results in increased number and longer droughts. The increase in temperature also causes various damages to the transport infrastructure such a bridges Ships to face greater temperature changes. Due to this, the maintainable costs of the transport infrastructure will increase. The effects and consequences of the Global Warming are can be seen in the atmosphere, weather as well as the health of individuals. As it is
13 obvious by its name, Global Warming is a global phenomenon with a number of effects on the global level. Global warming has various effects, ranging from the effects to the atmosphere to the economic, environmental as well as the health life of human beings. Increasing global temperatures are causing a broad range of changes. Sea levels are rising due to thermal expansion of the ocean, in addition to melting of land ice. Amounts and patterns of precipitation are changing.
EFFECTS LONG TERMS One of the most important effects is the increase in extreme temperatures. The levels of evaporation will also increase due to Global Warming. Other effects of global warming, like a decreased snow level, increased temperature and other weather changes will have a effect not only on humans but also entire ecosystems. These ecosystems will change and cause many traditional inhabitants to leave their inhabitants. This may cause extinction of species. Another Global Warming consequence is the decline of the ecosystem's productivity.
Changes in temperature and precipitation patterns increase the frequency, duration, and intensity of other extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, heat waves, and tornadoes. Other effects of global warming include higher or lower agricultural yields, further glacial retreat, reduced summer stream flows, species extinctions. As a further effect of global warming, diseases like malaria are returning into areas where they have been extinguished earlier.
14 ACID RAIN
Acid rain has been caused by an intensive contamination on the atmosphere. It is for some reasons like: First, contamination is due to mixing of chemicals such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides there are in air, this mixture reacts with water, oxygen and more chemicals to produce other acidifying pollutants or harmful particles. This is usually called as acid rain. Finally, these chemicals travels long distances and are part of rain or the fog that we have on certain days also are cause of diseases and environment risks when it rains.
Furthermore, another cause of acid rain are the human activities because long time people have produced different chemicals in to the atmosphere with industries or chemical experiments, for this reason, pollution has increased and at this moment we have lost a lot of nature. Some power plants emit sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides when burning fossil fuels such as coal to produce electricity. Also, the exhaust from cars, trucks and buses emit nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide in the air. These pollutants cause acid rain.
Emissions of carbonic gas from the burning fuels, industrial processes, cars and more, cause toxic activity in the atmosphere: its result is acid rain. Wet deposition It is the combination of acidic rain, fog and snow. The acids in the air travel thousands of kilometers and can fall in lakes, rivers, trees, animals furthermore on the humans causing multiple diseases. The effects depends on several factors such as, the degree of acidity in water, the chemistry and the types of fish, trees, and other living things that depends on the water
Dry deposition Where the weather is dry, the chemicals products are incorporated in dust or smoke. Dry deposited gases and particles can be washed from these surfaces by rainstorms, leading to increased runoff. This runoff water makes the resulting mixture more acidic. About half of the acidity in the atmosphere falls back to earth through dry deposition
15 Why is acid rain harmful? First, acid rain can cause health problems in people because the mixing of chemicals such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides can cause respiratory diseases, for example, asthma, pneumonia or chronic bronchitis because this pollution creates tiny particles that enter the lungs and can even cause permanent lung damage. Second, acid rain causes damages in forest because living things absorb different nutrients and stop the growth of trees and other plants eliminating forest. Another consequence produced by acid rain is the damage to the rivers and the lakes because this increase in acidity an aluminum levels can be lethal for aquatic life.
Effects and example Finally, a long example of acid rain is in China, because this country has the biggest industrial pollution in the world. For this reason, news has presented the causes and consequences of nature disaster such as damage to buildings and objects because chemical compounds containing acid rain can cause paint to peel and stone statues begin to deteriorate. This is the biggest threat of pollution and loss many lives as animals, plants and people by acid rain.
16 HAIL STORMS Rains under 0째 Celsius.
An ice storm is when a layer of warm air is between two layers of cold air. Frozen precipitation melts while falling into the warm air layer, and then proceeds to refreeze in the cold layer above the ground. If the precipitation is partially melted, it will land on the ground as sleet. However, if the warm layer completely melts the precipitation, becomes rain, the water droplets will continue to fall, and pass through a thin layer of cold air just
Above the surface. This thin layer of air then cools the rain to a temperature under freezing (0 째C). However, the drops themselves do not freeze, a phenomenon called supercooling. When the supercooled drops strike ground below 0 째C or anything else below 0 째C (power lines, tree branches, aircraft), they instantly freeze, forming a thin film of ice, hence freezing rain.
If water becomes ice, it cause dangerous rains. In the entire world (specially the countries that are located in the north and south of the Ecuador meridian), ice storms are very common. In the northern United States, the states of New York and Pennsylvania have recorded the greatest number of ice storms, followed by Ohio and North Carolina. Although ice storms can also occur in the southern United States, they are much less common due to the greater number of days with above freezing surface temperatures. In general, mid-latitude regions between
40 degrees and 50 degrees latitude are most susceptible due to the frequent mixing of warm and cold air masses in these regions. In January of 1998, the "Storm of the Century" in Canada was a freezing rain event that lasted for days, leaving four million people without electricity and costing over $5 billion in structural damage and economic loss combined. Over two dozen people died during this event, and approximately 1000 people were injured.
17 Ice-covered roads become slippery and hazardous, as the ice causes vehicles to skid out of control, which can cause devastating car crashes as well as pile-ups. Additionally, the loss of power during ice storms has indirectly caused numerous illnesses and deaths due to unintentional carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning at lower levels. CO poisoning causes symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, fatigue, and headache, but high levels can cause unconsciousness, heart failure, and death.
Effects and example In December 25, 2010, freezing rain fell on Moscow and vicinity. The glaze ice accumulation caused a number of accidents and power outages, of which the most serious was damage caused to two power lines feeding Domodedovo Airport, causing a complete blackout of the airport and express railway that connected it to the city. Here, the food from the farms and other sites were destroyed and the people from this country had a violent famine and caused a reduction on the country´s economy.
18 FLOOD Flood is an overflow of a huge amount of water onto the normally dry land. Flooding occurs when the overflowing water submerges land and causes deluge. It is a cruel and violent expression of water. Floods are often deadly, damaging and devastating. They kill lots of people, damage houses and crops, and cause extensive destruction. In broader terms, floods are of two types: Natural floods and Catastrophic floods. Natural floods are the floods that are caused naturally by the overflow of the huge volume of water, from rivers, lakes, oceans, or by heavy rains or downpours, hurricanes, cyclones, or tsunamis, etc. Natural floods could be riverine floods. Estuarine floods are caused by a
combination of sea tidal surges and storm-force winds. Coastal floods are caused by cyclones, hurricanes and tsunamis. These are one of the most common natural disasters. Heavy rainfalls are one of the major causes of floods. The level of water in rivers or lakes rises due to heavy rainfalls. When the level of water rises above the rive banks or dams, the water starts overflowing, which causes floods. The overflow to areas adjacent to rivers, lakes or dams, causing flooding or floods. The flood water causes chaos and great destruction in the areas where it flows. Floods occur more in the regions that get heavy rainfalls. Floods are also caused due to heavy snow melting.
Over flows of huge volume of waters causes floods, this can be damaging and devastating and are caused by different situations depending on the location. Generally, floods occur more in the low-lying areas or the areas below the sea level. One of the main reasons is that rivers flow slowly in these areas. The volume of water increases in the low lying areas. When the level of water rises in these regions, it causes floods. Floods also occur more in the coastal regions. Floods, in the coastal regions, are caused due to high tides, storms, cyclones, hurricanes, or tsunamis.
When the level of water rises above the sea level, it causes floods in coastal areas or coastal lowlands. There are also several human causes of floods. Deforestation is one of the major causes of floods. Trees are being cleared fast from large areas. As result, soil is easily eroded, and the eroded soil gets settled at the bottom of rivers and seas, which raises the level of water in rivers and seas, which consequently causes floods.
19 Floods make an enormous impact on the environment and society. Floods destroy drainage systems in cities, causing raw sewage to spill out into bodies of water. Also, in cases of severe floods, buildings can be significantly damaged and even destroyed. This can lead to catastrophic effects on the environment as many toxic materials such as paint, pesticide and gasoline can be released into the rivers, lakes, bays, and ocean, killing maritime life. Floods may also cause millions of dollars worth of damage to a city, both evicting people from their homes and ruining businesses. Floods cause significant amounts of erosion to coasts, leading to more frequent flooding if not repaired.
Effects and example The rains have flooded the country's main rivers, and mudslides have devastated the worst-affected regions in the south-east. Millions of dollars in damage have been caused by the downpour in the central coffee-producing area of the country. Officials in five provinces Cauca, Nari単o, Valle, Cundinamarca and the capital Bogota have called for a maximum state of alert. Colombia's Prevention of Disasters office has issued a red alert for communities near the San Jorge river, 410km north-east of the capital.
20 EARTHQUAKES
The surface of the Earth is in continuous slow motion. This is due to the tectonic plates -- the motion of immense rigid plates at the surface of the Earth in response to flow of rock within the Earth. The plates cover the entire surface of the globe. Since they are all moving they rub against each other in some places, sink beneath each other in others, or spread apart from each other. At such places the motion is not smooth--the plates are stuck together at the edges but the rest of each plate is continuing to move, so the rocks along the edges are distorted
P-Waves Primary Waves (P-Waves) are identical in character to sound waves. They are high frequency, short-wavelength, longitudinal waves which can pass through both solids and liquids. The ground is forced to move forwards and backwards as it is compressed and decompressed. This produces relatively small displacements of the ground. P Waves can be reflected and refracted, and under certain circumstances can change into S-Waves.
Earthquakes are caused by faulting,a sudden lateral or vertical movement of rock along a rupture surface. S-Waves
L-Waves
Secondary Waves (S-Waves) travel more slowly than P-Waves and arrive at any given point after the P-Waves. Like P-Waves they are high frequency, short-wavelength waves, but instead of being longitudinal they are transverse. They move in all directions away from their source, at speeds which depend upon the density of the rocks through which they are moving. They cannot move through liquids. On the surface of the Earth, S-Waves are responsible for the sideways displacement of walls and fences, leaving them 'S' shaped.
Surface Waves (L-Waves) are low frequency transverse vibrations with a long wavelength. They are created close to the epicenter and can only travel through the outer part of the crust. They are responsible for the majority of the building damage caused by earthquakes. This is because L Waves have a motion similar to that of waves in the sea. The ground is made to move in a circular motion, causing it to rise and fall as visible waves move across the ground.
21 Most earthquake-related deaths are caused by the collapse of structures and the construction practices play a tremendous role in the death toll of an earthquake. In southern Italy in 1909 more than 100,000 people perished in an earthquake that struck the region. Almost half of the people living in the region of Messina were killed due to the easily collapsible structures that dominated the villages of the region. A larger earthquake that struck San Francisco three years earlier had killed fewer people (about 700) because building construction practices were different type (predominantly wood). -Devastating fires. -Landslides -Flash floods. -Tsunamis -Seiche
Effects and example Survival rates in the San Francisco earthquake was about 98%, that in the Messina earthquake was between 33% and 45%) (Zebrowski, 1997). Building practices can make all the difference in earthquakes, even a moderate rupture beneath a city with structures unprepared for shaking can produce tens of thousands of casualties. Although probably the most important, direct shaking effects are not the only hazard associated with earthquakes, other effects such as landslides, liquefaction, and tsunamis have also played important part in destruction produced by earthquakes. -Deformed ground surface. -Damage to manmade structures. -Damage to towns and cities. -Loss of human and animal life.
22 VOLCANOS
A volcano is a rupture, in a planet's surface crust, which allows hot magma, volcanic ash and gases to escape from below the surface. The most common perception of a volcano is of a conical mountain, (because after it erupts numerous times, a cone is created), spewing lava and poisonous gases from a crater at its summit, but the causes of volcanoes are much more complicated. The structure and behavior of volcanoes depends on a number of factors
A volcano is a rupture, in a planet's surface crust, which allows hot magma, volcanic ash and gases to escape from below the surface. The most common perception of a volcano is of a conical mountain, (because after it erupts numerous times, a cone is created), spewing lava and poisonous gases from a crater at its summit, but the causes of volcanoes are much more complicated. The structure and behavior of volcanoes depends on a number of factors
Volcano is a vent through which magma and dissolved gases are discharged. Since the magma is always building up pressure and the earth is always spinning, it sometimes causes a crack in the earth. The two sides of the crack may shift. (This is called plate tectonics, known to be the cause of volcanic eruptions). The magma will burst through the crack. If this crack is in the ocean, an island can be created. When there is an eruption in a volcano, the place where pressure builds up and where the magma is called the magma chamber.
An eruption begins when pressure on a magma chamber forces magma up through the conduit and out the volcano's vents. When the magma chamber has been completely filled, the type of eruption partly depends on the amount of gases and silica in the magma. The amount of silica determines how sticky (level of viscosity) the magma is and water provides the explosive potential of steam.
23
These effects of volcanic eruptions are mostly the result of certain hazards. Volcanoes provide different hazards during an eruption. Each hazard poses different risks affecting different areas. The most threatening hazards include: Volcanic ashes, Lahars, Debris avalanches, landslides, Tsunamis, blast, lava, Gas etc.
Effects and example Various notorious eruptions of volcanoes in the past have taken place, such as Mount PelĂŠe, and the Nevado del RuĂz which demonstrated the devastating impact of volcanic activity on nearby landscapes and communities. Many people were killed and injured. A large number of people had to abandon their homes and land forever. Even the whole world's climate was changed for a while as a result of the eruption!
24 TSUNAMIS In recent years we have seen many catastrophes and disasters around the world caused by tsunamis, but do we know what they are? What are the main causes of such devastating disaster? That impact it has on the planet? Through this article we will understand and expand our knowledge about this phenomenon that has considerably harmed many people around the world. The phenomenon we call tsunami is a wave or series of waves that occur in a body of water in the ocean, generated primarily by earthquakes occurring below or grows from the sea floor. Volcanic eruptions, landslides, meteorites, landslides and coastal groundwater also may be responsible for this phenomenon.
At sea, the length between wave crest and the next can be about 100 km and a height of few tens of centimeters. These waves can't be appreciated in the air or on board ships. Deepwater these waves can reach speeds over 800 km per hour. The waves that reach the shores of a lake or ocean are often mistaken for waves caused by the tsunamis. Such waves are generated by offshore winds there, and waves are quite small compared to the waves of a tsunami. As the waves travel in Address to the shallower waters of the coast, it slows down and increases its height when it reaches the coast can grow to several feet tall. Usually the first wave approaching the coast is not the biggest and the danger of a tsunami can last for many hours after the first wave.
A tsunami is a wave or a group of waves that occur in the water when they are pushed by a force that makes these waves move vertically. As has been mentioned earlier, tsunamis are mainly earthquakes quasar. Very rarely are caused by volcanic eruptions, submarine landslide and meteor impacts in the ocean. Earthquakes can be caused by volcanic activity, but in most cases are associated with the movement of tectonic plates, these plates lithospheric have 70 to 250 kilometers thick and cover the entire surface of the planet, contain the continents and the sea floor and are in relative motion between them at speeds of several centimeters per year. The
Section where two plates are in contact is called border or edge of plates and the way in which one plate moves relative to the other determines the type of edge. These movements between tectonic plates can lead to strong earthquakes that cause tsunamis. While it is true that a tectonic plate movement can generate a tsunami, not all earthquakes generate it. To form a tsunami the fault where the earthquake occurs must be below or near the ocean and must create a vertical movement of the sea floor over a large
25 Area. The shallow focus earthquakes are responsible for the most destructive tsunamis. Within the generation mechanism of this phenomenon is taken into account the amount of vertical movement of the sea floor, the area and the energy with which it is transferred from Earth's crust to ocean water. Given the potential threat of a tsunami, people and goods more elements are constituted as vulnerable and damaged. The effects vary depending on the relationship that occurs between factors such as poor organization, lack of knowledge on the subject, topographic features, adjacent to the coast, type of infrastructure, quality of construction materials, building height, among others. The effects of this phenomenon are characterized by the loss in human and animal life, destruction of infrastructure and a strong impact on the environment.
Effects and example The information found on tsunamis dominant tales of suffering deaths and physical destruction of infrastructure, but man is not the only one who has suffered the effects. Also, ecosystems and many species were affected. Experience from previous tsunamis and other major floods suggests that the environmental damage they inflict is linked with the invasion of ground water by salt water and the disappearance of the beaches or its appearance elsewhere. Tsunamis can make small, low islands inhabitable. Vegetation in large stretches of lowland can be hurt substantially as mangroves and grasses that resist salt water take the place of other species. For rare animals with specific reproduction sites, such as sea turtles, the effects of tsunamis could spell extinction.
26 TORNADOES Tornadoes are a vertical funnel of rapidly spinning air. How are tornadoes created? The twisters are born at thunderstorms and are often accompanied by hail, this needs warm, moist air (Golf the Mexican Gulf), and cool, dry air (Canada) –the location of these kinds air generates the most tornadoes in The United States. When these two kinds of air meet, they create a change in Wind direction and an increment in wind speed. Giant, persistent thunderstorms called supercells spawn the most destructive tornadoes.
The winds of the tornadoes may top 400 kilometers an hour, and can make pathway a 1.6 kilometers wide and 80 kilometers long. Tornadoes move at speeds of about 16 to 32 kilometers per hour. Safety tips: · In house * Prepare for tornadoes by gathering emergency supplies including food, water, medications, batteries, flashlights, important documents, road maps, and a full tank of gasoline.
“Tornadoes are a rapidly moving spinning air that is very dangerous, because they have great strength, they can destroy large areas.” Ÿ When a tornado approaches, anyone in it is
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Ÿ
Ÿ Ÿ
path should take shelter indoors —preferably in a basement or an interior first-floor room or hallway. Avoid windows and seek additional protection by getting underneath large, solid pieces of furniture. Avoid automobiles and mobile homes, which provide almost not protection form tornadoes. In schools develop a severe weather action plan and have frequent drills
* Everyone has to have a designated shelter of protection from tornadoes. * Those responsible for activating the plan should monitor weather information. * If the school´s alarm system relies on electricity, have a compressed air horn or megaphone to activate the alarm in case of power failure. * make special provisions for disabled students. * make sure someone turn off electricity and gas.
27 Tornadoes have a great destructive power, that is the danger, this affects the population, because these drag all they encounter. The tornado winds can go to a speed 400 kilometers/hour, moreover the incredible power of suction and the change of pressure atmospheric than can exploit buildings. Effect of a tornado on buildings 1. The devastating effect because of the speed of objects that become projectiles. 2. The collapse of the parts of building. 3. The explosion occurs because of the change of pressure.
Effects and example Despite of devastating effects, in 1986, a tornado occurred in China, where 13 children ended up in the air and were transported 19 km away and deposited unharmed in an area of ​dunes and maturates. The children there were safe.
28 OIL SPILLS
Oil spills could produced by accident in the oil extraction process in the sea or on the surface of the earth through oil-bearing platforms; in its transportation through oil ships. Also it could be caused intentionally during a war for terrorist crime. 13% of strikes occur from accidents suffered by large container ships of oil, by the negligence of the authorities and inadequacy of fuel oil transportation companies.
The ecological disaster that the gulf of Mexico is living because the spill itself is a result of the collapse of the platform that was under construction in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20 a fire broke out on the boat also resulted in human losses on Thursday November 22 finally beginning to sink oil spill of crude oil at a rate of 750 thousand liters per day (according to British Petroleum) and about 4 million gallons
An Oil spill is a big oil spot on the sea, that it is very extensive layer with a very slim thickness. It pollutes the soil and the water; it can kill animals and plants, but if these are not killed, they will be injured, sick or disabled. The worrisome effect is that oil spills will cause carcigenous agents in the food chain. Per day according to an environmental organization. The causes are still being researched, at this level only probable cause is talked about, then we can cite: The geographical conditions, as it was thought, drilling from the surface of the sea 1500 meters down on the seabed, the internal currents were unpredictable due to high pressures. Previous studies were deficient or inaccurate. Also, human error, and insufficient security measures.
An oil spill involves a series of gradual changes in physical-chemical properties which are attributed to the weathering process, which includes: evaporation, dissolution, dispersion, oxidation, emulsification, sedimentation and biodegradation. A spill or discharge of oil primarily affects two elements of the environment, these are; abiotic elements (soil, landforms, geomorphology, etc.). Biotic (flora and fauna).
29 SOIL Contaminated soil by the presence of oil remains there. This depends on soil type which is a product of its composition and texture as the soil characteristics as the oil will adhere or penetrate with more or less force and, therefore, more or less time that it will remain in the environment, in sandy soils, the oil penetrates faster, in greater numbers and deeper, in clay soils or rock; oil does not penetrate easily in small quantities and shallow and therefore it can be removed by washing it quickly in clay beaches of the jungle; in soils with high organic matter content of the oil adheres strongly to particles and plant debris so that it remains in the environment longer, for example, in soils of mangroves and marshes.
Effects and example FLORA AND FAUNA AFFECTION Direct mortality due to suffocation, dirt and suffocation, poisoning through direct contact with oil, absorption of toxic fractions of the water column (e.g. algae). The toxicity of oil increases with the concentration of unsaturated aromatic compounds and low boil. The larval and juvenile life forms are usually more sensitive, indirect mortality due to death of food resources or habitat destruction, incorporation of sublethal quantities of petroleum fractions in the tissues of the body (e.g., ingestion), which potentially decreases tolerance to other stresses (e.g., predation and disease), reduction or destruction of food or commercial value of fisheries, due to the degeneration of taste by the absorption of hydrocarbons, incorporation of potentially carcinogenic or mutagenic in the food chain.
30 FAMINE
The history shows that the Famine's causes are many. Within them we find: as first causes, natural disasters, pests, over populated areas that are unable to feed masses of people, poor quality of health facilities, the governments that have poor management of resources. In the case of Third world countries, the over population is a famine's cause too; in some countries culture and religion say that If people have more children, people will be blessed.
But actually the principal cause of the global Famine is the process of "free market" restructuring of the global economy that began in the 1980s. Is poverty and chronic undernourishment a condition we have seen for a long of time? The recent hikes in food prices have contributed to exacerbating and aggravating the food crisis. The food price increases are hitting the impoverished populations, which barely have the means to survive.
The fundamental menace of famine is expressed in the Biblical reference to the “four horsemen of the apocalypse�: meaning famine, pestilence a disease's cause, war and death. Famine has had an important role in the societies. It is responsible for wars and conflicts in different world's places, such as: Haiti, Bangladesh (in this place about 20,000 textile workers marches and demonstrations, their nonconformity with the soaring food prices and demand higher wages. Food price increases, but, the worker's salary does not. This is a total inequality, that is caused by governments and politicians and laws. They have to change these aspects so that this world's cancer is not a danger and mortal for the people in disadvantage and with little money. Development of a better economy and in consequence generation of more jobs for people are aspects that are necessary to be considered by every citizen of the world.
In extreme cases famine is a synonym of death. All situations of disvantage, for people in starvation are contributing in a very real sense to "eliminating the poor" through "starvation death". In the words of Henry Kissinger: "Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control the people." Another case, is how is it possible that a person with an entry of money of less than half of a minimum salary in Colombia in this time? They do not consider people under poverty conditions, and the national government does nothing to help them and improve their quality of life.
31 This is a sad reality. Thousands of children and also adults die to the cause of starvation and there upon famine. The world with the help of its generous people, conscientious and willing to make the countries in poverty situations a better place to live have to stop this big cancer. In the following paragraph we expose the main consequences of famine. It has seen in the past and the present. Also, to show an example of famine, we can talk about the Somalian population in East African that are living this disaster presently, it has declared as by The United Nations using scientific criteria of death and malnutrition rates.
Effects and example The principal famine's menaces are pestilence a disease's cause, war and death. Also consequences, physical, psychological, social, and economic. Children fail to grow and cannot learn in school and both adults and children experience weight loss, lack of energy, and decreased work ability. Similarly, psychological impacts resulting from fear and uncertainty about having enough to eat or to feed one's family; and socially, migration is a common occurrence during periods of famine. For example Somalia, was struck in the summer of 2011 by one of the worst droughts in 60 years. In this place where a relentless war has depleted the country's food supplies over decades, the drought hit with a particularly devastating impact. Tens of thousands of Somalis have died of malnutrition-related causes; three million Somalis are in urgent need of aid and more than 10 million are at risk. But they did not wait. Tens of thousands, possibly even hundreds of thousands, fled to Kenya and Ethiopia for help.
32 DROUGHT
Droughts are terrible disasters caused by the lack of water mainly, also caused by the human, as an effect of the growth of industries. Due to this reason, the environmental disasters grows every day, and it is higher in less developed countries such as some countries of the African continent which have suffered much because of droughts. A dry spell is usually more than 14 days without precipitation, whereas a severe drought may last for years.
There are many types of droughts like: Meteorological, Hydrological, Agricultural and Socioeconomic. In the meteorological drought changes in the weather are the cause. The agricultural drought caused by the lack rainfall, the ground converts in a dry ground and that affects to the crops. Hydrological drought also is caused by the lack of rainfall, that hurts the hydrologic storage systems and this converts in a social problem. Socioeconomic drought is caused when the rainfalls are insufficient and the supply goes down.
“Drought is a dry period, caused by the absence of rainfall, the effects of this are of economic, environmental and social types; Africa is affected by this type of environmental disaster.� Droughts are caused by lack of rain over a long period of time. If rain does occur it usually is not enough for the ground to absorb before it is evaporated again. Plants and animals need water to survive, so if there is not enough water they will eventually die from thirst and dehydration. Water is one of the main ingredients in the food chain. Most droughts tend to occur during summer, as the weather is hot and water
Is quickly evaporated. Droughts can last for years in most extreme cases. These types of droughts effect the outback properties and can devastate crops and livestock. Also, many crops are effected.
33 Drought produces many effects of economical, environmental and social kind. The economic effects are reflected on the price of the food, also in the water supply, range fires and wildland fires, damages on the ecosystem. Unemployment from production declines, loss to the recreational and the tourism industry, loss of hydroelectric power and loss of navigability of rivers and canals. The environmental effects are: increased desertification, damage to animal species, reduction and degradation of fish and wildlife habitat, lack of feed and drinking water, disease, increased predation, loss of wildlife in some areas and too many in others , increased stress to endangered species, damage to plant species, increased number and severity of fires, wind and water erosion of soils. The social effects are: loss of human life from food shortages, heat, suicides, violence, mental and physical stress, water user conflicts, social unrest, and political problem.
Effects and example Africa A few months ago the world found out that in Africa a drought caused that for almost 11 months these communities were without a drop of rain, the water fonts dried, the supplying was made through trucks to all community, is very common this situation types. Because of the lack of grass many difficult situations like illness and malnutrition have begun. In 1972 part of Africa was in one of the worst droughts ever to hit earth. To the South of the Sahara Desert lies the marginal zone, better none as the Sahel. This area has been the home to nomads and settling agriculturalists for many hundreds of years. From 1968 the rain
34 WAR
War, as a state of organized, armed and often prolonged conflict carried on by humans, it has existed for thousands of years. From conflicts between primitive tribes until the greatest wars such as the World War I and II. War has had a lesser impact on the environment, but, with the pass of time, and considering that military technology has developed even more, these consequences have been growing considerably.
This occur because war needs many resources, it changes the structure of both: the zone where the conflict is performed as important resource zones, and every weapon used in war (specially in 19th and 20th centuries), have a fatal effect over environment. We can talk of three general causes that affect the environment by war. These are:
“War is a state of organized, armed and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties.” Over-exploitation of resources: war requires of many kind of resources such as soldiers, food, transport, military equipment, energy sources… all to support the conflict and win the war, but resources are obtained finally from the environment and with the proportion and long duration of wars is making a much more negatively damaged environment. Direct effects produced by weapons: Developing of military technology has been a disadvantage for environment, because it has a great destruction power, due to the fact to this type of weapons have decided destine of war, therefore, of many people, but no only it destroys humans, also it affects all around their
impact side, in temporal or permanent form. Changes over the earth´s surface: Humans have changed their environment along the time, but, war accelerates the rate of change, to search an advantage in war, because it is a force that boost towards victory, but at the expense of nature. Obviously, war has impact over environment, many impacts, but we can consider in contrast of the principal causes their principal effects, Being these:
35 On the resources: Impact produced by mining, forest and agricultural activities that normally have affected environment, grows these impacts. We can observe this phenomenon in decreasing of jungle and wood zones, moreover, contamination produced by mining… although it is “normal” for humans. On the territory: In this case, weapons and humans produce effects over the environment, modifying territory through military and civil buildings, that finally they are not the principal and direct cause of this deteriorative state. “Weapons of mass destruction” are the principal and direct cause. For example The Atomic Bomb”
Effects and example launched on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, killed and injured a great amount of people and destroyed buildings, but it affected to a greater degree the environment, because the water and the ground were altered for thousands of years due radiation. Over nature members: We as members of the environment, we can regard ourselves as victims together with other species, because war reduces human population considerably. And addition, the types of weapons as radioactive and biological arms have induced illnesses and mutations on humans, animals, plants and other elements of our surroundings… serious and permanent damage.
36 TERRORISIM Desire of power and political interests In the 21th century humanity is the victim of all sorts of evils, but, this article makes reference to one of the most terrible because it is not caused by nature, instead it is caused by man himself. Terrorism by definition is the use of force or violence against persons or property for the purpose of intimidation, but, why to say all humanity is affected by terrorism if we could think that only a few nations have these kinds of Issues
Otherwise, if we look beyond we can note that we as the human race are the victims because behind of this phenomenon is hiding one of the worse causes of damage to the environment, nature and earth as our ecosystem. Certainly we are not the only species on the earth, but, when we talk about terrorism we never think about it, so it is time to change that.
The worst effect of war and Terrorism is not people dying; the worst effect will be felt by those that haven't been born yet. Terrorism is caused by desire of power and political interests and that is why terrorism is extremely bound with massive production of destruction arms. through history war and terrorism only bring dead, desolation and forced displacement, this words are familiar in the context of our country likewise drugs traffic due the fact that it is finance mutually. Terrorism affects the environment through destruction of big forestall zones which then are reduced to unproductive deserts that don't serve for reforestation even agriculture. Well, Governments do not take actions because it is more important being part of the war that trying to stop it.
Of course I am talking about terrorism which is not the same as ecoterrorism, there is a big difference between these two terms. Ecoterrorism consists in doing vandalism acts to protect the earth, in a way it is a form to protest against big corporations who destroy the environment around their, whit acts such as fire, short kidnapping this doctrine represent a dark side of environmentalism. On the contrary of terrorism, ecoterrorism have something good in some cases like Sea Shepherd who chase whale ships
37 In the world there exists many terrorist groups who have spread their beliefs with horrible acts as is the case of Al-Qaida with the 9/11 explosions and destruction of important sites in the United States or ETA in Spain or not to go so far, here in Colombia the FARC. These groups have something in common: they believe that war is the only way to be listened and they do not think about the rest of people that live in the different countries. Consequences · Destruction of fauna and flora · Toxic contamination of the habitats · Extinción of endemic species. Physical destruction of wildlife and hábitats due to increased human pressurecaused by mass movements of people fleeing the
Effects IRAK and example th IIn November 6 of 2002, the ONU Organization of Nations United declared the International day to prevent exploitation of the environment in war. Birdlife International is an organization that studied the effects of war and terrorism in the environment, so In 2003 Birdlife send a report about the situation in Iraq where the 80% of the territory is desert, and it have 42 important areas for wildlife specifically birds, but after war and terrorism acts 16 species are endangered because its habitats has been destroyed and the animals have been killed for eat or just in the attacks. About desert Mechanical crushing of vehicles on it, can be damaging for decades. Concluding people killing people, but they are killing us, too.
38 NUCLEAR DISASTERS Caused primarily by human greed quest for energy... All the environment disaster events that human race causing, the nuclear disasters have the horrible distinction of being listed as potential harm. The radiation associated with nuclear disasters is the principal team of health risk in the immediate, short, medium and long term, and not just in the generation affected, also, in the next generations of descendants of the firs contaminated.
All the environment disaster events that human race causing, the nuclear disasters have the horrible distinction of being listed as potential harm. The radiation associated with nuclear disasters is the principal team of health risk in the immediate, short, medium and long term, and not just in the generation affected, also, in the next generations of descendants of the firs contaminated.
The nuclear disaster not only affects the country in which it occurs, it affects everyone in the world, and we have not changed that, no one is listening. In generally, the nuclear disasters begin with the implantation of factories, plants or power stations to provide energy to a country, state, place, or in the most dangerous case, for do war experiments or armament. In total, around the world there exist near thirty one countries that have at least, one nuclear reactor, already it is to obtain energy or for defending the territory (like they affirm). The most named are: United States of America that approximately have one hundred and four (104) centrals in the country, then France and Japan with at least fifty five (55) centrals, Russia, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Ukraine, and other that have four (4) to twenty (20).
Including our beautiful country, Colombia, has a little reactor, just for pedagogical experiments and awareness about the energy that produce. For now the eyes of the world are situated in the countries that in opened voice proclaim they experiments to 'be protected of war ', like South Korea, China, Taiwan and Pakistan. Inside those, already exist the horrible histories about the disaster that in few minutes destroyed lives of many people, like is the case of Chernobyl Disaster, Three Mile Island, Fukushima (more recently), and others that to the moment leave fatalities victims and posterior victims of induced cancer.
39 The best known are Chernobyl Disaster, which happened at 1:23 AM on April 25 of 1985, in the Soviet Union (which is now Ukraine), about thirty people were killed immediately, and near of 4000 of cancer patients that lived the disaster immediately. The health impacts of Chernobyl will never be fully know, it is estimated that about three million people still living in high risk of radioactive contamination areas, and others thousand, pass sporadically at the less affected area of Chernobyl. Recent studies reveal that almost of children that suffering of cancer in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, are by the high levels of radiation presents day by day in the cities, schools, and parks. Most of the deformations and genetic effects are still investigate.
Effects and example lNow the most recently disaster is Fukushima Daiichi, really this did not begin by the human hand, really, it is following of 2011 TĹ?hoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March of 2011, since Chernobyl, similar accident did not happened, and even more by the fact that Japan do not brings to the world a sincerely status and the cleaner of radiation in the area. Many people still speculate about the true magnitude of the tragedy and the consequences for their lives, health and environment of the country and the world at this time. The economical consequences to the global economy did no wait, and the anti-nuclear protest is growing day by day, because like is know for everyone in this world, the radiation do not kill all at the same time, in many occasions is progressive.
40 BIOLOGICAL WARFARE Its application has many advantages for those who want to destroy, but, for the affected ones is hell.
Weapons are easy and cheap to produce and can be used to selectively target humans, animals, or plants. The costs of conventional weapons ($2000), nuclear armaments ($800), and chemical agents ($600) would far outstrip the bargain-basement price of biological weapons ($1) to produce 50% casualties per square kilometer (1969 dollars).
Likewise, these agents can be easily procured from the environment, universities, biological supply houses, and clinical specimens. Furthermore, biological warfare agents are typically invisible in aerosol clouds and may not be detected until humans become ill. Panic would result as medical capabilities are quickly overwhelmed.
Also known as germ warfare — is the deliberate use of disease-causing biological agents such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, or biological toxins, to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war While the use of the biological weapons has few disadvantages, in fact specifically, the disadvantages are disadvantages to using biological warfare agents as weapons include hazards to the user, their dependence on optimal weather conditions to result in effective dispersal, and their possible inactivation by solar irradiation and other climatic conditions. Biological Warfare attacks would most likely occur late at night or early in the morning when agents would be less likely to undergo inactivation by ultraviolet radiation. At these times, atmospheric temperature inversions would allow an agent cloud to travel at low altitude to cover its target.
41 Biological agents contain either living organisms or their derivatives, such as toxins, which cause disease or death. Living organisms can multiply within the living targets to produce their effects, while toxins cannot reproduce themselves. Toxins are generally more lethal, and act relatively quickly causing incapacitation or death within minutes or hours. Living organisms (microbial pathogens), require incubation periods of 24 hours to 6 weeks between infection and appearance of symptoms. This incubation period places limits on their battlefield utility, but means that biological weapons can continue to have a significant impact many weeks after the initial attack (eg by causing a long-term pandemic). Likewise, this
delayed incubation period may mean that a biological attack can be completed before those on the ground have realized that it has occurred, or even take place entirely covertly, the effects being confused with a natural outbreak of disease.
Effects and example
Spray devices supplied by Ft. Detrick, sprayed serratia marcescens across the San Francisco Bay Area while the ship plied Bay waters. Supposedly a non-pathogenic microorganism, twelve mostly elderly victims die.
Potential Viral agents include smallpox, yellow fever, equine encephalitis and influenza, which may be genetically modified to increase their effectiveness. Bacterial agents such as anthrax, meloidosis, pneumonic plague and glanders have incubation periods of between one and five days and are usually fatal without swift treatment. Toxins include botulinum toxin, which produces an acute muscular paralysis resulting in death of animals or humans; ricin, derived from castor bean plants whose lethality is that of nerve gasses, and mycotoxins which produce nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, skin irritation and potential fatalities. To illustrate this, see what happened in the 1950's, when army biological weapons research begins at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC). Vials of anthrax are transferred from Ft. Detrick to Plum Island. This information is contained in a now declassified report, "Biological Warfare Operations," Research and Development Annual Technical Progress Report, Department of the Army, 1951.
42 INFECTIOUS DISEASES The term infectivity describes the ability of an organism to enter, survive and multiply in the host, while the infectiousness of a disease indicates the comparative ease with which the disease is transmitted to other hosts. An infection is not synonymous with an infectious disease, as some infections do not cause illness in a host. Transmission of pathogen can occur in various ways including physical contact, contaminated food, body fluids, objects, airborne
Inhalation, or through vector organisms. Infectious diseases that are especially infective are sometimes called contagious and can be easily transmitted by contact with an sick person or their secretions. Infectious diseases with more specialized routes of infection, such as vector transmission or sexual transmission, are usually regarded as contagious but do not require medical quarantine of victims.
Infectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise communities clinically, resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism. Causes: Infectious diseases can be caused by: Bacteria. These one-cell organisms are responsible for illnesses such as strep throat, urinary tract infections and tuberculosis. Viruses. Even smaller than bacteria, viruses cause a multitude of diseases — ranging from the common cold to AIDS. Fungi. Many skin diseases, such as ringworm or athlete's foot, are caused
by fungi. Other types of fungi can infect your lungs or nervous system. Parasites. Malaria is caused by a tiny parasite that is transmitted by a mosquito bite. Other parasites may be transmitted to humans from animal feces. Direct contact: An easy way to catch most infectious diseases is by coming in contact with a person or animal who has one. Three ways infectious diseases can be spread through direct contact are:
43
Person to person. Animal to person Mother to unborn child. Infectious diseases kill more people worldwide than any other single cause. Among the most common diseases transmitted by vectors are: Malaria, viral Encephalitis, Chagas disease, Lyme disease and African sleeping sickness.
Effects and example (MALARIA)
Malaria, which predominantly occurs in tropical areas, is a potentially life-threatening disease caused by infection with Plasmodium protozoa transmitted by an infective female Anopheles mosquito vector. Individuals with malaria may present with fever and a wide range of symptoms.
44 SOLAR FLARE
Definition:
Prevention:
Solar flares are huge explosions that occur in
In itself there is nothing we humans can do to
the photosphere of the sun, generating large
prevent solar flares occurrances, although, at
amounts of electromagnetic radiation. These
present the best efforts of researchers are focused
explosions are spontaneously, therefore, they
in order to predict when they will happen in order
can not be predicted.
to prevent the possible consequences.
Solar flares are one of the few environmental problems is not the fault of humans.
Consequences: The major consequences of solar flares are
Cause:
causing interference with comunnications of the
Specific causes of solar flares are not yet known
earth as electromagnetic radiation explosions
with certainty, there are hypotheses that say that
that release interfere in the operation of power
these eruptions are consequences the life cycle of
grids and satellites of the earth.
the sun.
Since solar flares are highly charged radiation can affect spacecraft and astronauts.
45 Theories: Besides this, there are radical and fatalistic theories that say that in 2012 there will be a solar flare so powerful that will destroy all communication systems of the world leaving us in a kind of cave which will bring violence among people and be the beginning of the end of the world. Of course, this does not cease to be only a myth and belief and that historically a solar flare so strong has not eliminated the communication system of the planet.
Effects and example Latest solar flare: The last solar flare was detected by NASA on August 9, 2011 in the morning. It is one of the strongest solar flares in recent years that scientists say that it will have consequences on the planet, but, they warned that there are possibilities of the occurrence of more solar flares.
46 POLLUTION
Pollution is when the external agents have some influence in the ecosystem, and they cause the alteration in the same. These agents can be: energy like sound, heat and light; chemical substances or genes. When I talk about alteration, we refer to a negative alteration produced by human activities. Pollution is divided according to the source of procedence: The point sources are easy to identify and isolate; and nonpoint sources are difficult to identify and scatter.
Factories, most industry, plastics and more things that help.Pollution is the biggest problem in the planet, it had its first appearance in England, with the coal-burning in London, due to the fact that it causes atmospheric pollution in that moment, with the Industrial Revolution, the pollution of the air increase and it affected humanity, but thanks to people that concerned about pollution and their environmental movements help the world and at the same time Humanity, and this is very important.
“pollution is something that is affecting humanity, is when the external agents have some influence in the ecosystem and they cause alterations in the same, but unfortunately mankind will not believe that, and they affect pollution too, please save your world�. The causes of pollution causes are easy to identify: humanity produces pollutants in everything they make, for example: construction, combustion, mining, agriculture and as a matter of fact warfare is increasingly significant to the pollution. Actually, we have more facts that influence the growth of pollution, these are: vehicles, chemical plants, refineries, petrochemical plants, nuclear waste disposal, incinerators, metal productions
The causes of pollution causes are easy to identify: humanity produces pollutants in everything they make, for example: construction, combustion, mining, agriculture and as a matter of fact warfare is increasingly significant to the pollution. Actually, we have more facts that influence the growth of pollution, these are: vehicles, chemical plants, refineries, petrochemical plants, nuclear waste disposal, incinerators, metal productions awareness in the caring and saving of the environment.
47 Inside of the many examples of pollution, we found the pollution in the air, water, ligth, among others, that affect the environment. But we do not consider other types as: Visual pollution and Acustic pollution. Visual pollution is the motorway billboards, scarred landforms for example Time Square in New York. On the other hand, we have Acustic pollution, which encompasses roadways noise, and industrial noise as high-intensity sonars; for example Carrera 10 in Bogotรก. To conclude, pollution can be seen in different ways and it does not affect just the humanity, but, also the enviorement and we have to pay attention to this problem and fix it.
Effects and example Pollution causes three effects. In the firts place, we have the human health effects; the second, we have the enviromentel effects,and last we have is the ozone layer effects. The human health is affected in breathing and the circulatory system, moreover, it generates throat inflammation, chest pain and congestion. The effects in the environment are: Biomagnifications, emissions of carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases, invasive species, nitrogen oxides, smog and haze, soil can be infertile and unsuitable for plants and finally sulphur dioxide that cause acid rain and among other. The Ozone layer is affected by the gases produced by humanity and animals, destroyed the layer and allowing the entry of UV rays.
48 POLLUTION Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem like physical systems or living organisms. There are three main types if pollution: The air pollution, the water pollution and the land pollution.
Air pollution is mainly caused by the energy and heat generation, burning of solid waste, industrial processes and the gases emitted by transportation. Agriculture also pollutes the air through contemporary practices such as clear felling and burning of natural vegetation as well as spraying of pesticides and herbicides.
The six major types of pollutants are carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, particulates, sulfur dioxide, and photochemical oxidants. Water pollution is given by the introduction of waste chemical, physical, or biological material in freshwater or saltwater and affect the organisms living in it.
Pollution is caused by man's carelessness with the environment mainly. The main pollution sources are solid, liquid or gaseous waste from factories and human communities. The Land pollution is the degradation of the Earth's land surface through misuse of the soil by poor agricultural practices, mineral exploitation, industrial waste dumping, and indiscriminate disposal of urban wastes. It includes visible waste and litter as well as pollution of the soil itself.
Pollution can also be the consequence of a natural disaster or by accidents with coastal oil rigs, refineries or nuclear power plants, which means huge environmental damage proportions. There is also the case of noise pollution whose main source is the motor vehicle, producing about ninety percent of all unwanted noise worldwide.
49 The effects of pollution on the ecosystem are the holes in the ozone layer, acid rain, global warming and acidification of the oceans. Another consequence is invasive species that compete with native species and reducing biodiversity. Invasive plants can contribute debris and biomolecules that can alter the soil and become infertile and affect the chemical compositions of an environment. Air pollution causes respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in humans, as well as sore throats, chest pain and nasal congestion. Water pollution causes approximately 14 000 deaths per day, mostly due to contamination of drinking water by untreated sewage in developing countries.
Effects and example · ·
·
The wreck of the Amoco Cadiz oil tanker off the coast of Brittany in 1978. The Bhopal disaster occurred on the night of December 2–3, 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. The most recent oil spill occurred on April 20, 2010 when there was an explosion and fire at the oil rig Deepwater Horizon which sank on April 22, 2010 causing an oil spill unchecked in the Gulf of Mexico that is causing extensive damage and slow repair complex.
50 HEAT WAVES
It is considered a heat wave as a significant warming of the air or an invasion of very warm air over a large area, which usually lasts several days (if is more than three days). The temperatures reached during a heat wave are within the maximum extreme. However, it also depends on what area of the planet you are talking about, because it not is the same comparing an area of Africa with an American.
The causes and consequences of heat waves affecting the planet and how they affect the daily lives of people and, in general, living things (plants and animals). CAUSES The winds tend to push the hot deserts and dry warm air toward colder areas normally during a heat wave. If a warm air mass traveling over a large body of water is likely to collect the water vapor with a temperature reduction, but the humidity is much higher. Heat waves can also come from air originating over tropical waters penetrating deep into the middle latitudes most the warming of the earth's surface, as often occurs in the eastern United States and southeastern Canada.
51 EFFECT The consequences of the heat wave are alterations in the health, mortality, power outages, wildfires, psychological and sociological problems and damage to infrastructure and equipment. In addition, the long-term effects are that they will be more frequent with the increasing the temperature of the planet reaching the melting of glaciers, of glaciers and, consequently, flooding areas that are closer to the sea, losing 50% of surface land.
Effects and example EXAMPLES Ÿ Nearly 35,000 people died in the European
heat wave of 2003. Much of the heat was concentrated in France, where nearly 15,000 people died. In Portugal, the temperatures reached as high as 48 °C (118 °F) in the south. Ÿ A record-breaking heat wave hit Southwestern
Asia in late July and early August 2011, with temperatures in Iraq exceeding 120 °F (49 °C),[42] and an "asphalt-melting, earthparching, brain-scrambling heat of midsummer" in Tbilisi, Georgia.[43] The Iraqis were further challenged by pressure to fast during Ramadan, despite heat of 124 °F (51 °C) in Bagdad and 126 °F (52 °C) in Diwaniya on 4 August.
52 ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCIES
The Earth systems are under threat. Global warming, freshwater depletion, biodiversity reduction, hole in the ozone layer, are all examples of such threats. Even though much of what is happening in the world today does not show, we are totally dependent on the natural environment. One has to ask oneself what can be done to stop this development? How serious is it really? And what is it actually possible to do to change the direction?
Each and every one of us must take a degree of responsibility for the threat under which we now live. We are the consumer and it is to satisfy our insatiable appetites that many of these things occur. Of course, some of us do try to live a lifestyle that pays heed to the environment, but, often thanks to the marketing men, too many take the easy way and help exacerbate an already critical situation.
Change in the Earth's climate and its adverse effects is a common concern of humankind. The Earth is facing an environmental crisis on a unprecedented scale in human history. This environmental crisis is already responsible for high levels of human suffering. If the crisis continues to develop at its current rate, the ultimate result will be the extinction of human life on the planet. Human activities have been substantially increasing the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, that these increases enhance the natural greenhouse effect, and that this will result on average in an additional warming of the Earth's surface and atmosphere and may adversely affect natural ecosystems and humankind.
Mass action and a new society based on cooperation rather than profit are ultimately the only real ways to stop the environmental crisis. The environmental crisis was generated by capitalism and the State, and can only be dealt with by challenging the power of these forces. We believe that only mass organizing and mass grassroots action, as opposed to elections and lobbying, are effective methods of struggle.
53 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm Conference) This was an international conference convened under United Nations auspices held in Stockholm, Sweden from June 5-16, 1972. It was the UN's first major conference on international environmental issues, and marked a turning point in the development of international environmental politics. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The UNFCCC is an international environmental treaty with the goal of achieving the "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system." The treaty has protocols that would set mandatory emission limits. The principal update is the Kyoto Protocol.
Effects and example WWF (World Wildlife Fund) WWF came into existence on 29 April 1961, when a small group of passionate and committed individuals signed a declaration that came to be known as the Morges Manifesto. This apparently simple act laid the foundations for one what has grown into the world's largest independent conservation organization. Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organisation that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY Humanity is responsible for the deterioration of the environment, their actions reflect their lack of conscience and the damage is something that has gotten out of our hands. In 1984 the United Nations with the World Commission on Environment and Development proposed establishing a global agenda for change with the stong conviction that it is possible to build a better future. In 1987, it published a report called "Our Common Future." An urgent call in the sense that it is time to make decisions in order to secure the resources to support this generation and those following.
From this event is created a new term: "sustainable development" a development that protects human progress towards the future. The Commission defined "sustainable development" as one that ensures the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The politics, economics and globalization are the main components of sustainable development but the entire weight rests on the care and management of natural resources for the future. This is known as environmental sustainability.
Sustainable development ensures the needs of the present without compromising the possibilities of the future; the key is an environmental sustainability. But sustainable development has great enemies: the governments, poverty and especially the indiscriminate exploitation of environmental resources. On the one hand, the proposal of recovery and environmental conservation and natural resources is strong in countries with ecological culture and, on the other hand, industrialized countries are opposed. This clearly shows the strong disagreement between material interests and conservation awareness..
Exist hunting, logging, population increase, the wear of nonrenewable resources and many other factors that kill the environment without giving it time to recover. In these conditions it is very difficult to talk about environmental sustainability without referring to the commitment that governments must assume with the creation of policies for control the business and standards to restrict the exploitation of natural resources.
55 The global population growth requires the intervention of the leaders in the creation and enforcement of policies. This is essential to properly distribute available resources among the growing child population while is created a conservationist culture for the future with the objective of better management of resources and a real reduction of the poverty indices. The children are a considerable unprotected population and a topic to which governments pay little attention, primarily at the time of decision making. Being the inheritors of the planet the policy makers must consider their needs as priority in the laws, policies, programs, and especially in the allocation of resources.
Effects and example Agriculture is a very influential factor in the intention of preserving the environment, this practice is one of the largest agents and soil depletion is closely linked to population growth, it is increasingly necessary to take new land to meet food demand, in addition to the human population includes livestock of different types and these in turn are another factor exhaustion this is added to the management of agricultural crops that release toxic wastes into the environment and pollute the air and water sources. It takes much time to reach a sustainable environment but this will not happen if not generated a real commitment on the part of humanity, will be impossible without adopting a real sense of responsibility, especially if account is taken that recover the environment is almost impossible and the only alternative is to care and manage it wisely so we still have.
56 ECO DESING
Ecodesign, and equivalent expressions such as green design, sustainable design and responsible design, refers to the methodology applied to design a product and its manufacturing process geared toward the prevention or reduction of the environmental impact of products and processes. Eco-design practices are distinguished by specific criteria incorporate and integrate the remaining environmental variables used in studies assessing the performance of the product and process throughout its life cycle (production,distribution, use, recycling and final disposal) .
Ecodesign, and equivalent expressions such as green design, sustainable design and responsible design, refers to the methodology applied to design a product and its manufacturing process geared toward the prevention or reduction of the environmental impact of products and processes. Eco-design practices are distinguished by specific criteria incorporate and integrate the remaining environmental variables used in studies assessing the performance of the product and process throughout its life cycle (production,distribution, use, recycling and final disposal) .
Design for Environment (DfE) or Ecodesign uses life cycle thinking to develop and assess different design options. To develop truly sustainable products, you must be able to assess which design solution is environmentally preferable. Often the environmental load is related to simple indicators such as material mass, energy use, and transport volume. Once you have identified your 'hotspots' you can subsequently develop product specific guidelines and evaluate different alternatives. Objectives of the Ecodesign The goal of ecodesign is twofold. It's about reducing the environmental impact of product during its life cycle, ensuring turn a profit for stakeholders and end users. Why implement the Ecodesign? The factors for the implementation of ecodesign in the definition phase of product design and can be of different kinds:
External motivators Meet current and future legislation Responding to market and customer demand Improve company image Get a competitive advantage that ahead of the competition internal motivators Increase product quality Improve production process Get a cost reduction Increase the power of innovation of the company Ecodesign methodologies Ecodesign projects require organizational vision where all project stakeholders to collaborate and perform their work simultaneously.
57 THROUGH ecodesign of time to become aware of a transformer of the environmental damage they cause all the production processes of different industries, is also a provider of operational tools to achieve real change, a factor conducive to the design of change awareness because you are looking for mainly two things one to extend the product life cycle so that there are fewer resudios or the second is to address the root of environmental problems generated in the process of waste produccidos objects, this is achieved by strategies of reuse and recycling of materials and objects.
Effects and example in the world there are many eco-design strategies which have been organized in relation to product life cycle: Ÿ Developing new concepts Ÿ Reduction of material consumption and Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ
diversity Selection of materials with less environmental impact Reducing the environmental impact of production processes Optimization of the distribution Reducing the environmental impact associated with the use Increased life Optimization of waste management
Esperanza MartĂnez Rojas Universidad Nacional de Colombia Foreign Languages Department Second Language Program 2011