Chapter 4
·
Human populations grew slowly until recently
·
Does environment or culture control human
population growth?
·
Technology increases carrying capacity for
humans
·
Population growth could bring benefits
·
How many of us are there?
·
Fertility varies among cultures and at different
times
·
Mortality offsets births
·
Life expectancy is rising worldwide
·
Living longer has profound social implications
·
People want children for many reasons
·
Education and income affect the desire for
children
·
Economic and social conditions change mortality
and births
·
Many countries are in a demographic transition
·
Two ways to complete the demographic transition
·
Improving women’s lives helps reduce birth rates
·
Humans have always regulated their fertility
·
Today there are many options
Human populations grew slowly until recently
Human population has grown slowly over the years until
recently and even in the past with new inventions the human population has
grown. 10,000 years ago population began to steadily grow with the invention of
agriculture and domestication of animals. Because of this invention some
believe that population reached 50 million people by 500 B.C. While the
population grew better before the invention it still only grew at a very slow
pace. It’s not till A.D. 1600 that population began to grow rapidly with the
improvement of agricultural and increased sailing, better power, and improved
health care and hygiene. With these inventions population has become an
exponential pattern of growth. When you look at how long it took population the
reach the first billion in 1804 and the fact it only took 206 years to make it
to 7 billion, what will happen if population grows at the rate it is know?
Does environment or culture control human population growth?
There have been contradicting looks at this from Thomas
Malthus who felt that human population would use all food and the recourses and
thus cause a collapse. Malthus also felt that reason population is limited in
growth or rate at times is only due to disease, famine, and etc. also to social
areas that compel people to reduce birth rate. Decades later Karl Marx had
different ideas to population growth. He felt that population changed due to
poverty, resources, pollution, and social ills. Marx felt the only way for
population growth to slow was to treat people justly.
Technology increases carrying capacity for humans
Many people that oppose Malthus have pointed to the fact
there has been no famines that were caused by lack of resources or population
size rather due to politics or economics. Food supplies have increased just
since the 1970s where world supplies provided 2,435 calories of food person per
day compared to 2010 there was enough to supply 3,130 calories a day. Poor
countries have also seen a rise in number of calories per day. Much of the
reason for vast expansion in human population can be traced to revolutions in
scientific and industrial revolutions. Technology is beneficial to people and
population, but it can be harmful to the environment. The concept is that population
size is not the main cause to environment effects but also has to do with the
way we use resources and the kinds we use.
Population growth could bring benefits
Population has created larger markets and often causes
greater success for larger scale productions. Since the vast expansion of human
population there have been many advancements in technology new materials and
many other things that have help population grow. Julian Simon believed these
ideas when he stated that humans are the “ultimate resources” (Cunningham &
Cunningham). The reason Simon felt this way was that evidence that pollution,
crime, unemployment, crowding, or many other aspect that come with large
populations has no data to support that we would worsen with population growth.
How many of us are there?
Though there have been censuses and estimates on population
in the world the number of people is not really know whether due to not want to
counted or not being done at all. The ruff number is 7 billion in 2010.
Demographics in the world are vastly different but can be cut down to two main
demographics one which poor, young, and growing and the other which is rich,
old and shrinking. The first demographic represents 80 percent of the world
population and is projected to represent of 90 percent of the growth. The
second demographic is much different due to the fact that life expectancy is
much higher but the growth rate is extremely low and population itself is
expected to decline significantly over the next century. Population numbers in
some countries especially in Africa have been devastating by AIDS causing population
and life expectancy in the areas to drop significantly. This environmental case looks at the rising population of India "India is gaining on China and within 45 years, at current growth rates, India will surpass China as the world's largest population" ("India's Population Passes 1 Billion" 2).
Fertility varies among cultures and at different times
The demographic on fertility is crude birth rate which is
the number of births in a year per thousand persons. There is also the total
fertility rate which is the number of children born to an average woman.
Another demographic is zero population growth which is when births along with
immigration are equal to deaths. Fertility rates in the world have decreased
and many countries are now below or even with replacement rate of 2.1 children
per couple. While fertility rates are declining around the world there is some
show of concern due to the fact that some countries and the world have declined
and might decline too much to where population could begin to decline by the
end of the twenty-first century.
Mortality offsets births
Like fertility rates crude death (mortality) rates are done
in number of deaths per thousand persons in a given year. Less-developed
countries where sanitation and healthcare are at minimum cause mortality rate
to rise where wealthier countries have a lower mortality rate. During the past
300 years lower rates of mortality is the main reason for rapid growth rate.
Much of this is seen when comparing the mortality rate to the fertility rate.
Life expectancy is rising worldwide
Life expectancy is the estimated age to which a human or
species will live for. Throughout history people have be able to survive long
from better medicine, sanitation, food supply, and a varying other aspects.
Even with these advancements the human body can only repair and function for so
long. Earlier in history most human’s life expectancy was 35 to 40 years old.
The world had a dramatic rise in life expectancy in the twentieth century from
about 40 all the way to 67.2 years old. Much of the reason for longer life
expectancy is caused by greater development in countries. Life expectancy when
high is often an example of a countries per capita gross national products
which also high. While per capita is something interesting and does often show
where there are examples of poverty or low per capita it doesn’t also explain
why some areas do better than others when it comes to life expectancy.
Living longer has profound social implications
In different countries there are differences in age dependency
ratio some have large numbers of younger people that are pre-reproductive. Others
have large reproductive populations and some have larger past reproductive
populations. With all of these countries they can have problems when it comes
to their dependency ratio. Many countries are facing problems caused by this
America is not supporting more retired workers than ever before. Niger has the
opposite problem supporting more children than workers in the work force. These
challenges are happening worldwide and much of it has to do with larger numbers
of retired or past-reproductive people in 1950 there were 130 million people of
the age of 65 there are now 540 million, and this number is only growing as
many predict that by 2150 people over 65 will represent 25 percent of the world
population.
People want children for many reasons
“Factors that increase people’s desires to have babies are
called pronatalist pressures” (Cunningham & Cunningham). People have
children for different reasons but the main two are; to ensure that they have
someone that can support them when they get old and the want of just have
children. Many societies in the world often encourage large number of children
and the use of contraception is considered taboo or not to be done. There is
also the fact that some have children just so they can have a son and will keep
having children until they have a son. In most countries with no retirement or
some forum of assistances for the elderly there tends to be greater amounts of
birth due to the fact that they will need to be supported be there children
when they get old.
Education and income affect the desire for children
Higher developed countries tend to pressure or trends to
limit the number of childbearing. Much of this is due to the fact of higher
educating and freedoms for women. Many of the changes with childbearing is
closely associated with women’s right as many women often have jobs or careers
and the prospect of raising children is not there. Much the reason for higher
education is that often in families with two providers with have more than one
with one thus there is usually an opportunity for children to go to college. In
less developed countries high education in not an opportunity or something that
will come up and women’s rights are often less not always the case but is seen
more thus another child is not that expensive as one in a higher developed
country. In America we have had different ideas of families and on their sizes
weather this was due to economics, wars, society, and etc. The births per
thousand population has stabilized more than in the past causing norms in views
that the ideal family size is one or two children compared to three or four in
the past.
Economic and social conditions change mortality and births
Mortality rates before industry and medicine breakthroughs
where always relatively high at 30 per 1000 people. With all this in mind all
countries have stages the number can vary but there about four. The first stage
is high death rates and high fertility rates which keep the population relatively
constant. The second stage is different as mortality rates drop significantly
and birth rates remain relatively high and on occasions raise causing
population to grow. Stage three sees population grow rapidly even compared to
stage two as mortality rates are often lower than ever and birth rates are
still high. Stage four is more of a stabilized country as death and birth rates
are both low and population stabilizes. The stages correspond with the stage
the country is in economically. The stage that is the hardest is the four as
much of this is due to the society at hand. America changed its view of how
large a family should be but some countries like Kenya, Yemen, Libya, and
Jordan are still in the third stage due to the fact that birth rates are not
falling yet the mortality rates are at what more developed countries that are
in the fourth stage. Because of this these countries are growing at 3 to 4
percent per year.
Many countries are in a demographic transition
Around the world there is a demographic transition in the
fact that there are many more developed nations around the world. The
transitions into the fourth stage by many nations will cause in many peoples
mind stabilization in population during the century. The main fact that
fertility rates are decreasing around the world suggests that this will happen.
There are other demographic transitions that help to stabilize population like
prosperity, social reforms, technology, and others. Another aspect that helps
less-developed countries is historical patterns of more developed countries.
Modern communications is also an important area when it comes to social change.
Two ways to complete the demographic transition
Kerala an Indian state has developed a program that provides
social benefits to everyone. There believe is that the world has enough
resources for everyone and that social injustice along with economic cause
shortages. Everything from poverty, violence, overpopulation, and many others
things are linked to not having justice. On the other hand Andra Pradesh another
Indian state took the approach of birth control rather than social justice. While
some of the strategies used by the state are different the main idea came from
China which has limited births to a couple for years. In both cases the
population growth dropped which was the main goal in not falling into a
demographic trap.
Improving women’s lives helps reduce birth rates
The history of America is a prime example of this when women
are educated and empowered and able to get jobs population growth is slowed.
Another aspect that is important is child survival for when infant and child mortality
rates are high which almost all developing countries have parents tend to have
larger families to ensure that some will live till adulthood. Much of this is
backed by the fact that birth rates have never had a substantial drop until
there is sustained drop in infant and child mortality.
Humans have always regulated their fertility
Humans have always had ways of fertility rates mainly due to
the fact that the high fertility rates in the world today and for the past two
centuries is not the norm across all of human existence. In every century there
has been evidence of birth rate or the controlling of population. Tribes in
Africa like the Kung and the San controlled population in historical times by
controlling fertility itself. They did this by having the mother of the
children breast feed the children to three or four years old. This works do to
the fact that lactation depletes body fat stores and suppresses ovulation, and
the fact that intercourse while breast feeding was considered taboo helped to
control birth rates. Of course there were other techniques used like celibacy,
folk medicines, abortion, and infanticide.
Today there are many options
With advancements in medicine there have been greater many
new ways in controlling fertility. Techniques range from not having sex when in
fertile periods, condoms, tubal ligations, vasectomies, hormone chemicals, and
abortion. With all of these and many more being study today most are changes in
the hormonal of the body with exception to device not effecting g the body
itself. There is also new vaccines being worked on that will prevent you from
getting pregnant and one that limit the sperm production to limit the chances
of fertility.
Chapter 9
·
The atmosphere captures energy selectively
·
Evaporated water stores and redistributes heat
·
Ocean currents also redistribute heat
·
Ice cores tell us about climate history
·
What causes natural climate swings?
·
El Nino/Southern Oscillation has far-reached
effects
·
Scientific consensus is clear
·
Changes in heat waves, sea level, and storms are
expected
·
The main greenhouse gases are CO2, CH4, and N2O
·
Evidence of climate change is overwhelming
·
Controlling emissions is cheap compared to
climate change
·
Why are there disputes over climate evidence?
The atmosphere captures energy selectively
The energy from the sun is abundant and most abundant near
the equator. Not all the energy of the sun though reaches the earth surface as
one-fourth of it is reflected by clouds and other gases on the outer
atmosphere. Gases in the outer atmosphere like carbon dioxide, water vapor,
ozone, methane and others all absorb the energy to another one-fourth. This
absorbed energy heats the atmosphere. The final amount that reaches the earth’s
surface is about 50 percent with most of the energy being light and infrared
heat. When the energy reaches the surface not all of it is absorbed some items
like fresh snow, ice, and sand reflect the energy back sometimes up to 85 to 90
percent of it. Most of the energy that reaches the earth’s surface is absorbed
from items like water, asphalt, black soil, and others. The absorbed energy is
gradually reemitted as lower-quality heat energy. Reradiated energy is often
trapped in gasses like water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.
This energy captured is very important to the environment as they make the
earth’s surface temperature twenty degrees hotter. All of the abundant energy
entering and the vast amounts of energy absorbed by gases create a greenhouse
effect.
Evaporated water stores and redistributes heat
Evaporating water is the main absorber of solar energy as
one gram can absorb 580 calories of energy when transforming from liquid to
gas. The stored heat in the water vapors is called latent heat. This energy is
released at once casing lager amounts of energy enough to power hurricanes,
tornados, and many other natural events. The evaporating water is essential for
life on earth. Rain happens when moisture can evaporate in the atmosphere is
then lifted higher cooling which then condenses casing snow or rain.
Ocean currents also redistribute heat
“Warm and cold ocean currents strongly influence climate
conditions on land” (Cunningham & Cunningham). Wind pushes on the surface
of the ocean which then causes deep water wells to replace it and in turn
causes deeper ocean currents. These currents can also be different depending
upon saltiness and temperature. Gyres (ocean currents) move water north and
south distributing heat from low latitudes to high latitudes. One of the
largest currents is the Gulf Stream which is 800 times the volume of the
Amazon. This system can and by studies show that it did at one point shut down
11,000 years ago after the last ice age, cold glacial melt water surged into
the Atlantic causing an interruption in the thermohaline circulation cycle. This
kind of event could happen again if temperatures keep rising and cause the
iceberg and glacial ice to melt in Greenland and around the world.
Ice cores tell us about climate history
Whenever it snows in Greenland and Antarctica and other
areas that are constantly cold small amounts of air will be trapped by the snow
and rain that forums layers that will compress after each snow. These air
bubbles are accumulated of centuries and can be hundreds of thousands feet deep
in the ice. These icebergs are now being drilled and have extraction taken to
examine the air bubbles. These air bubbles are important do to the fact that
the air content in them will be able to tell the difference in the atmosphere
of the centuries. These bubbles have shown that concentrations of atmospheric CO2 have varied. The
bubbles also show cold or colder years since the oxygen will be lighter and the
atoms then to evaporate easily. With this information climatologists can
reconstruct temperatures which help to see temperature changes against CO2 concentrations and
other atmosphere components. CO2 concentrations have
varied from 180 to 300 ppm in the past 800,000 years. The current
concentrations in the world are 390 ppm which is one-third higher for over a
million years.
What causes natural climate swings?
Periodic 11 year changes happen when the sun’s incoming
solar energy peak which cause changes to the climate. Other changes and often
more dramatic are periodic shifts due to the earth’s orbit and tilt. These system
or changes are known as Milankovitch cycles and consist of three cycles. The first
one has “the earth’s elliptical orbit stretches and shortens in a 100,000-year
cycle” (Cunningham & Cunningham). The second one is “the earth’s axis
changes its angle of tilt in a 40,000-year cycle” (Cunningham &
Cunningham). The third is where “over a 26,000-year period, the axis wobbles” (Cunningham
& Cunningham). Volcanos can also cause climate change but only for a short
time.
El Nino/Southern Oscillation has far-reached effects
Oscillations in the ocean and atmosphere can cause changes
in the climate and while there are many the most known is the El Nino/Southern
Oscillation. This one oscillation affects a large part of the Pacific Ocean and
can affect land area greatly by droughts and monsoons. An oscillation is a core
of warm surface water that goes back and forth from Indonesia and South America.
This system has a three to five year intervals no reason for why but does it. “Indonesian
convection weakens, and westward wind and ocean currents fail. Warm surface
water surges back east across the Pacific” (Cunningham & Cunningham). This system is believed to be getting stronger
and happening more frequently much of this due to the increased temperatures
around the world. There is the believe that this change in this key oscillation
might help global warming for many feel that the oscillation is growing and it
might reduce incoming solar energy that warmers the plant due to the increased
number of clouds in the sky.
Scientific consensus is clear
Every area in the world has different climates thus forming
an opinion on a complex system; scientists have collaborated by sharing data
and work on what it tells to get a consensus on what is happening in the world.
Areas around the world show cooling and warming trends affecting the
environment even with some areas cooling that the evidence shows that the
climate is changing and the earth’s average temperature is warming. Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change is a collaboration of 130 countries that are studying
data around the world to see the causes and the effects that humans have caused
to the climate. In the 2007 the report issued by the organization stated that
90 percent of the change in the climate is due human activities. Other subsequent
reports have raised this number as high as 99 percent and another report by the
same organization is expected by 2013 with more evidence to back its findings.
Changes in heat waves, sea level, and storms are expected
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change with the
report also released climate scenarios for predicted emissions of greenhouse
gases. The scenarios starting from 2000 ranged from population growth, economic
growth, energy conservation, and efficiency along with the adaption of
greenhouse gas control and another that shows a lack of gases controls. The projected
temperatures where estimated for 2100. All of the scenarios estimated that it
would get hotter but at different ranges the lowest being 2 degrees to the
highest at 11 degrees these increased numbers are compared to the end of the twentieth
century. About further review in 2007 many feel that these scenarios were too conservative
manly due to the increased gas emissions and energy use all accelerated what
was projected. The organization in 2007 issued another estimate that sea levels
world rise 7-23 inches by the end of the century. Other estimates have this number
even higher than this one the thing is that higher ocean and sea levels will
cause land at sea level as many cities are around the world will be covered by
water.
The main greenhouse gases are CO2, CH4, and N2O
Preindustrial times saw a rise in concentrations and since
then have been climbing ever since. CO2
has gone up 31 percent while N2O has gone up 17 percent and the
biggest jump in percentage is CH4 at 151 percent. Of all the
concentrations carbon dioxide is the worst considering that is can be in atmosphere
for decades and even centuries not the mention the abundance in the atmosphere
already. 80 percent of the carbon dioxide in the air is due to fossil fuels. Yearly
increases of 4 billion tons are released in to the atmosphere. Methane is found
much less in the atmosphere, but it absorbs 23 times as much energy per molecule
and is accumulating in the atmosphere at twice the rate of CO2. One of the main producers
of methane is dams that have lots of dead organic materials that get submerged and
form methane. Tropical dams alone produce 3 percent of the methane gas. “Nitrous
oxide is produced mainly by chemical reactions between atmosphere N and O,
which combine in the presence of heat from internal and soil microbial activity”
(Cunningham & Cunningham).
 |
| January 1, 1970 - December 31, 1979 |
 |
| January 1, 2000 - December 31, 2009 |
Evidence of climate change is overwhelming
The temperatures around the world since the start of the twentieth
century has increased one degree, and while this doesn’t seem like much it has
melted down icebergs and ice capes which raise sea levels. The 19 hottest years
in the past 150 years have all come since the 1980s. Polar Regions are warming
faster than the rest of the world as many have heated to as much as 7 degrees
in just 50 years. Artic ice is now half the size it was just 30 years ago. By 2040
Arctic Ocean could be totally ice free. The ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula
are melting at 50 m per year. The Greenland ice is also melting and if it
felted would cause water to raise more than 20 ft. Several mountains in the
world are losing their glaciers while some have already lost them. The oceans
are absorbing 0.85 watts per m2 more than is being radiated back in
to space. While the ocean has in effect slowed the warming and we reduced our
greenhouse gas the heat stored in the ocean would take centuries to dissipate. Areas
in America can now harvest longer in the season due to the warmer conditions
than just 30 years ago. Droughts are also a more occurring thing now to, since
1970 drought in Africa have gone up 30 percent.
Controlling emissions is cheap compared to climate change
Pew trust did estimates on ecological losses by 2100. The costs
range from lost in agricultural products, biological products, and water
supplies. They also look at damage from natural causes that are at an increase
from global warming. The estimates on costs due to climate change range from 5
to 90 trillion dollars. The Stern report estimated that it would only cost 1
percent of the world GDP to reduce greenhouse gases compared to the 5 percent
that we would have to pay just to do what we do now. Many of the problems that
richer countries cause will not be felt at first by them but instead the poor
countries as global warming is a “Global” problem not a country problem. This study looks at how economists can control climate change "rules to cut climate-warming greenhouse gases to an average of 5 percent below 1990 levels" (kumars 2).
Why are there disputes over climate evidence?
There are many reasons why people don’t except climate
change is not enough information. People also fear that they would have to change
their lifestyle in order to make a difference, and people that represent the movement
as may not be liked or trusted. The fact that alternative energy are out there
but do tend to more expensive at first also turns people of even if they often
are saving money in the long term. Many areas especially in America and Canada have
lifestyles that require high levels of CO2
output and often people are not willing to give them up. Many people point to
the fact that climate has changed before so what’s the big deal; the fact that CO2 levels are 30 percent
high then a million years before this and some believe it could be 15 million
years shows that something should be done before it gets out of control.
Chapter 13
·
The waste stream is everything we throw away
·
Open dumps release hazardous substances into the
air and water
·
Ocean dumping is mostly uncontrolled
·
Landfills receive most of our waste
·
We often export waste to countries ill-equipped
to handle it
·
Incineration produces energy from trash
·
Incinerators can produce health risks
·
Composting recycles organic waste
·
Reuse is even better than recycling
·
Reducing waste is often the cheapest option
·
Hazardous waste includes many dangerous
substances
·
Federal legislation regulates hazardous waste
·
Superfund sites are listed for federal cleanup
·
Brownfields present both liability and
opportunity
·
Hazardous waste must be processed or stored
permanently
·
Produce less waste
·
Convert to less hazardous substances
·
Store permanently
The waste stream is everything we throw away
Waste is abundant from organic, products, food, cars, and
etc. The abundance of varied waste is called Waste stream. Waste has many
things that should be there from recyclable items or hazardous items. Because there
are spray-paint cans, batteries, cleaning solutions, and many other items that
can produce PCB’s often found in the waste of almost anyone’s garbage or local
dump burning the waste is out of the question.
Open dumps release hazardous substances into the air and
water
Open dumps are a major problem in developing countries as
vermin can access it rain runs through it causing toxic materials to seep into
the ground. The fact the air can also carry the decaying fumes of materials for
miles pollution another area. One open dump that has brought much attention is “Smoky
Mountain” as it has many fires burning and the fact that it is 30 m high. Another
constant area of concern is dump of waste anywhere or the dump of oil, fuels,
and many other things simple in the ground causing it to seep into the ground. Many
water supplies are being contaminated because of these illegal dumping’s and
cause water to be undrinkable. Toxic material is also dumped into the ocean as this study
shows “Texas ranked third in the nation for toxic releases into its waterways” (Shmaefsky
).
Ocean dumping is mostly uncontrolled
Ocean dumping has been uncontrolled and the effects of this
are showing there are now estimates that 55 million lbs. of garbage are dump
into the sea. There is an estimated 330 million lbs. of fishing gear and 660 mi
of nets at sea each year. Because of these nets seals get tangled and die every
year and estimated 50,000 every year. The true is that not until recently has
there been a stop to sewage dumping in the ocean and that is only in developed countries.
Many of the items dumped into the ocean find its way to current areas due to
slowing swirling ocean currents when there these materials are often swallowed
and eaten by animals that suffocate themselves. A study of Laysan albatrosses
found that 90 percent of the dead albatross chicks contained plastic.
Landfills receive most of our waste
Landfills don’t receive all of our trash but they receive
the majority at 54 percent, while 33 percent is recycled and 13 percent is
incinerated. When you consider that in 1960 over 94 percent went to landfills
this is a big improvement. Sanitary landfill is a landfill that is required to
cover the waste every day with a layer of dirt and thought this dirt accumulates
about 20 percent of the landfill it helps to control vermin entering the waste.
All landfills are now required to have a control hazard area that holds oil,
chemical compounds, and other toxic chemicals. Even with all these regulations
and requirements landfills are the largest source for methane in the USA and
around the world landfills account for 700 million metric tons of methane. There
are some landfills about half that are collecting the material and then being
used as a fuel for electrical generation. The recovery of methane in the USA is
about 440 trillion Btu Per year which is like removing 25 million cars on the
road.
We often export waste to countries ill-equipped to handle it
Hazardous materials are shipped illegally still today and
often what happens is the material is extremely hazardous and if dumped can
cause death of serious health problems to the victims. Many ships that are not
usable or obsolete are now shipped to poor countries for dismantling these
ships often have full of toxic elements and the organic material that is found
is often simply burned on the beach to leave ashes that the tide that will take
them out to sea. The new forum of hazardous materials being shipped is
electronics like computers, TV’s, and many other items. These products are extremely
hazardous as they have lead, mercury, gallium, germanium, and many other
elements that if burned to get to the gold, silver, and copper often found in
the items is extremely toxic. While shipping this material to China is illegal
now it is not overall as much of it is now going to India, Congo, and other
areas with weak environmental regulations.
Incineration produces energy from trash
Many cities around the world are building incinerators even
if they do cost 100 million to 300 million dollars to build. The reason for
this is that many cities don’t have the available land for a landfill not to
mention that incinerators produce steam used directly for heating buildings or
generating electricity. There are over 1000 waste-to-energy incinerators in Brazil,
Japan, and Western Europe. The incinerators in USA burn 45,000 metric tons of
garbage daily. There are different approaches to the dumping often there are
people that go over the trash and make sure there is nothing toxic and then there’s
a mass burn where anything smaller than a sofa and refrigerator are burned this
form of burring is much cheaper but it produces more unburned ash and often produces
more air pollution.
Incinerators can produce health risks
An incinerator produces ash and while the garbage itself is
often reduced by 80 to 90 percent of its actual size this ash is often more
harmful. The reason the ash is more harmful is due to the fact that they are
more concentrated in fly ash which can be penetrate deep into the lungs. The
EPA found that much 80 percent of the ash from incinerator exceeded lead
limits. Thought numbers of death from this fly ash from incinerators range
greatly much of the problem could be avoided if batteries and plastics
containing chlorine were removed before incineration.
Composting recycles organic waste
In many cities the banning of organic material has helped to
have so much garbage. The cities instead creating a useful product through composting
this is done by having centralized composting areas. Many people are begging to
do composting around the world due to the fact that you can use it to enrich
your yard or garden. Many farmers are now even using this material to convert
it to methane through an anaerobic digester. In Germany and Switzerland there
are already 30 municipal-scale waste-to-methane plants.
Reuse is even better than recycling
While recycling is a great thing, the best thing for the
environment and for your pocket is the reusing materials. Recycling is good
because the material is not just put in a landfill with other garbage but even
recycling has its down falls when you consider the material has to be made in
to something else and is then trunked to its location where it is sold again. Reusing
an item on the other is using it as is or cleaning it up but there is little to
nothing in new emissions caused by the item.
Reducing waste is often the cheapest option
Many companies are begging to use less of the material for their
packaging soda cans have less aluminum per can and plastic bottles are thinner than
ever. Some companies also found that recycled products help them save money to
3M saved over 500 million using recycled materials. China banned plastic bag and
have people use cloth bags as a way to reduce the materials need for the
plastic bags. Another area that has brought change is the materials that can
actually breakdown like photodegradable plastics and biodegradable plastics
while these products often don’t decompose complete it is improvement from
before.
Hazardous waste includes many dangerous substances
A hazardous waste is anything that can be fatal to humans or
animals, also anything that is ignitable at flash point less than 60oC;
corrosive, or when a chemical could undergo violent chemical reactions either
by itself or when mixed with another chemical or material. When hazardous
material is recycled it is converted, stored, or otherwise disposed of. In the United
States during the 1950’s and all the way up to 1975 there was an estimated 5
billion metric tons of highly poisonous chemicals that were improperly disposed
of. With fines and laws forbidding dumping of chemicals or the abandonment of
them it has helped to make sure chemicals are disposed of properly.
Federal legislation regulates hazardous waste
There are two laws that regulate hazardous materials the
first one is The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. This laws was passed in
1976 what this did was start a comprehensive program that requires rigorous
testing from the making of the product to the shipment the user and the disposal
of the material. The second law is The Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act. This law was passed in 1980 its purpose was
for the cleanup of toxic areas and areas that could be considered toxic. The act
established a list known as the National Priority List the 1,280 site son the
list are area that need to be cleaned up and another 60 are one’s that are
awaiting for a decision. The cleanup act has already cleaned over 1,000 sites. Of
the sites already cleaned over 30 percent of them were “orphan” sites because of
this liability cannot be assessed to anyone until the person responsible is
found. This law was modified in 1984 so that people could know about companies
that manufacture these chemicals. There are 20,000 manufacturing facilities that
report on 300 different toxic materials on the Toxic Release Inventory list.
Superfund sites are listed for federal cleanup
EPA estimates that there are over 36,000 seriously
contaminated in USA, but the General Accounting Office Has a number of more
than 400,000. The National Priority list started with only 1,671 sites but as investigations
in the numerous areas that produced and dumped these materials show this number
did and might even go high then estimates even figure. The Superfund itself is
a way that people can cleanup areas that pose an imminent threat to the area. Originally
this fund was paid for by taxes (20 percent) and taxes from polluter tax (80
percent). The polluter was a tax that was issued for any company that produced
hazardous materials even if they didn’t have anything to do with the
contamination. In 1995 Congress agreed and let the tax expire. Because the
polluter tax expired all of the money now that cleans the contaminated area is paid
for by public taxes.
Brownfields present both liability and opportunity
When it comes to cleaning up an area the person responsible only
cares what his liability is along with the cost to fix it and to what degree it
has to be. “In many cities, these problems have created large areas of
contaminated properties, known as brownfields that have been abandoned or are
not being used to their potential because of real or suspected pollution” (Cunningham
& Cunningham). There are estimates that one-third of all commercial and
industrial sites have some form of pollution. Many people feel that even when
the do want to clean up the area the EPA has unobtainable or smart dictions on
who to fix the contaminated site. The EPA feels that any site no matter where
should to have children play on it and eat the dirt itself and not get sick. In
2002 strides where made upon this and the EPA established the brownfields
revitalization fund which helps businesses get started on these once contaminated
sites with “eco-industrial parks.”
Hazardous waste must be processed or stored permanently
Much of this falls upon the consumer as many people buy more
than they need and then simply throw it away when they haven’t even used it
all. Another aspect is making sure it stored in a safe location. If you do have
extra of an item give to a friend or someone who will use it. There are often organic
alternatives to the actually chemical itself which often work just as well.
Produce less waste
Manufacturing facilities can and have been modified to
reduce or eliminate waste. The 3M company reformulated and redesigned manufacturing
thus eliminating 140,000 metric tons of solid and hazardous wastes, 4 billion
liters of wastewater, and 80,000 metric tons of air pollution each year. This company
saved money by doing this to as more of the materials they use are recycled
thus using few raw materials. 10 percent of the waste in the United States that
would have gone to landfills is now being used to sell in surplus material
exchanges as a way to reuse the item, and while the same thing is happening in Europe
there percent is all the way at 34 percent.
Convert to less hazardous substances
Many processes have been made to eliminate or less harmful. The
first one is physical treatments charcoal, resin filters, distillation, and
ceramic, glass, and cement containers isolate the chemical. Another way is
incineration as it breaks down the item often to 90 present of the originally
size, but heat must reach at least 2,0000F for the materials to be completely
destroyed. Chemical processing can transform materials into a nontoxic form. Among
the things that can do these are: neutralization, removal of metals, halogens,
and oxidation. One company developed a process called PCBx, this takes the
chemical and uses chlorine to section molecules as PCBs and replace with ions
that render the compounds less toxic.
Store permanently
Not all chemicals can be burned, changed, or eliminated. For
these chemicals they are stored in permanent retrievable storage sites the
chemical itself is stored in waste storage containers. The sites themselves are
slat mines or bedrock caverns these areas are out of the way underground and
often and easily retrieved if needed. Secure landfills are also a solution and
most popular as they are the most secure considering the new technologies. The bottom is compacted clay that surrounds the pit and
the fact that it is impermeable to ground water and can safely contain waste
make it the best solution. Then a layer of gravel is put down fallowed by
drainpipes if any sewage seeps through the polyethylene liner and the sand on
top. These areas are then filled with chemicals and once at full capacity are then
covered with clay and top soil.
Chapter 14
·
Large cities are expanding rapidly
·
Immigration is driven by push and pull factors
·
Congestion, pollution, and water shortages
plague many cities
·
Many cities lack sufficient housing
·
Transportation is crucial in city development
·
We can make our cities more livable
·
New urbanism incorporates smart growth
·
Can development be sustainable?
·
Our definitions of resources shape how we use
them
·
Ecological economics incorporates principles of
ecology
·
Scarcity can lead to innovation
·
Communal property resources area classic problem
in economics
·
International trade can stimulate growth but
externalize costs
·
Socially responsible development can help people
and protect their environment
Large cities are expanding rapidly
As we know population is growing but the areas that are
growing the most are cities. In 1900 there were 13 cities with populations of 1
million or more with England at the top with 6.6 million. Of the cities not in Europe
or America only two and they were Tokyo and Peking (Beijing). In 2007 there are
now 300 cities with more than 1 million in population. The cities with the
highest population have changed as none of the 13 largest cities are in Europe and
only two are in America. Estimate that by 2025 there will be 93 cities with
populations 5 million and of those cities three-fourth of them will be in
developing countries. China has 100 cities with a million or more and with
plans to build 400 new urban centers that will hold 500,000 people that number
will go up.
Immigration is driven by push and pull factors
People migrate to cities for a variety of reasons. Cities often
offer more in jobs even jobs with specialization that rural can offer due to
the size and the demand for a product. There is better housing, entertainment,
and social venues that small town can’t offer. Often people move to cities for
prestige and power as it is often easier from cities than towns. Governments
also treat urban with more favor rather than rural areas due to population
differences. A good example of this government power is Lima in Peru where only
20 percent of the country population lives but has 50 percent of the national
wealth. It also has 60 percent of manufacturing, 65 percent retail trade, 73
percent industrial wages, and 90 percent of the banking. These kinds of figures
are also present in other developing countries.
Congestion, pollution, and water shortages plague many
cities
Super cities in developing countries as extremely crowded
and get worst with each passing year. The cities often have are unbearable due
to noise, congestion, and confusion. The pollution in these cities is begging
to become a problem to as many of them have more cars. In Beijing cars have
doubled to 4 million in just 5 years. The cities with worst air pollution 16 of
the 20 worst are in China and estimates of premature deaths caused by this pollution
are as high as 400,000 each year. Many of these cities in developing countries don’t
have or don’t have an adequate sewer system. The surface water in China is also
contaminated by pollution as one estimate has 70 percent unsuitable for human
consumption. Many of the cities also face the problem of severe water shortages
and the United Nations estimates that 1.1 billion don’t have safe drinking
water.
Many cities lack sufficient housing
United Nations estimates that over 1 billion people live in
crowded, unsanitary slums areas that often surround developing country cities. There
is an estimated 100 million people that have no home. In India there are about
half a million people that have to sleep on streets, sidewalks, and other areas
because they have no were else. Many developing countries have areas can slums
the places are generally legal but offer little in actual area and are often extremely
unsanitary many of the areas are extremely dangerous to live in due to the
crime and the way the houses are made.
Transportation is crucial in city development
Most cities when first built where around ports so to have a
way for transportation this has change with the car. Most cities in America were
organized around transportation corridors. Freeway construction which began in America
in 1950s and allowed people to move further from the city in to the country and
caused sprawl which is were more area is used for less people thus wasting
resources. This urban sprawl consumes some 500,000 acres of farmland. It is
estimated that U.S. drivers spend an average of 443 hours behind the wheel per
year. Traffic congestion is estimated to cost the United States 78 billion dollars
per year. In most European urban areas good and effective transportation have
allowed it to keep the historical city centers and remain relatively compact without
having a freeway system.
We can make our cities more livable
Smart growth is a new way at building cities. This option of
building a city makes effective use of land resources and existing
infrastructure by encouraging in-fill development this helps to avoid cities have
now of duplication of services and ineffective and inefficient land use. It also
attempts to provide many forms of transportation. With smart growth it looks to
preserve local culture and the unique aspects of an area. Smart growth protects
environmental quality and tries to reduce traffic, and the farmlands in the
surrounding area along with the wetlands, and open spaces. Many cities in America
are using these options on already large cities to help with congestion and
pollution. This study looks at smart growth
and discuss it in depth to it formation to its vast expansion "Much of the world’s human population lives in urban areas" (Shmaefsky ).
New urbanism incorporates smart growth
A group of architects and urban planners are attempting to
redesign metropolitan areas to make them more appealing, efficient, and
livable. Vauban, Germany; Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; Leichester,
England; and Neerlands, the Netherlands, all have a long history and are
innovative urban planning areas. Principles for designs include that limit city
size 30,000 to 50,000. Determine in advance where shopping and services will be
or are. Encourage walking or low greenhouse effect vehicles. Promote more
diverse, flexible housing. Make the city itself more self-sustainable. Equip buildings
with “green roofs” or roof top gardens. Plan cluster housing or open zoning as
it will help the preserve at least half of the natural areas like farmland and
other open areas. Preserve urban habitat.
Can development be sustainable?
The security and living standards of the world are linked
with the poorest peoples and to the environmental protection. Development means
improving people’s lives. Sustainability means living on earth’s renewable resources
without damaging the ecological processes that support us. Many look to
sustainable development as the answer and while many have different opinions on
weather is it even possible. Many feel that there is no way because of the
number of people on earth and that no matter what the resources will be
consumed. Other say that there are enough and that if we share and live
modestly it will work out.
Our definitions of resources shape how we use them
Classical economics is where populations grow then a
scarcity of resources as classical economics feel there is a fixed amount thus
this causes population to fall again. Marginal costs are where an item can fluctuate
at different times due to demand and supply. Steady-state economy this philosophy
counters that of classical economics in the area of boom –and-bust cycles by
stating that economics can achieve equilibrium of resources use and production.
Neoclassical economics expand on the idea of resources to include labor,
knowledge, and capital. Many economists look at the GNP as a telling tell of
how well a country is doing. Other don’t consider it a good local telling of
the actual country as GNP take in to fact the money companies overseas are
doing. They then will look at the GDP which is only the local economy. Natural resource
economics treat natural resources as important waste sinks as well as raw
materials.
Ecological economics incorporates principles of ecology
Ecological economics applies ecological system functions and
recycling to the definition of resources. Ecological functions are absorbing,
purifying wastewater, processing air pollution, providing clean water, carrying
out photosynthesis, and creating soil. All of these function are free in a
sense but when there not there we suffer so what ecological economists do is
try and is place a “value” one what certain things do for everyday life. Nonrenewable
resources are minerals, fossil fuels, and also ground water with all of these
resources they recharge extremely slow. Renewable resources on the other hand
recharge at very fast rate resources include fresh water, living organisms,
air, and food resources. Nonrenewable resources can be extended as many have
like gold, silver, and other items are now mixed with others to either limit
that actual gold amount and extended the life of the material by incorporating it
with a material strong than itself.
Scarcity can lead to innovation
Warnings of depletion in nonrenewable resources would result
in a catastrophe, misery, and social decay. Models have been done so this
happening in the future but will it? Many economists content that it won’t do
to the human initiative and technology that come. In the 1972 a book on a
variety of scenarios calculated upon different resource depletion, growing
population, pollution, and industrial output all this data formed the opinion
that a collapse would happen in the future. Many don’t look at this viably as
it underestimates technology. In 1992 another group published an updated scenarios
that take many things into consideration like technology among other things and
it showed that population would begin to stabilize sometime in this century.
Communal property resources area classic problem in
economics
Clean air, fish in the ocean, clean water, wildlife, and
open space are natural amenities which many people take advantage of or overuse
and there is nobody it clearly able to control this from happening. Resources are
destroyed and degraded often for self-interest reasons. An open access system
is where there are no rules that manage resource use. The command resource management
systems has a number of features (1) is community members people now other
people. (2) The resources are clearly defined and have a boundary. (3) The
group of the community has a size that is set. (4) The resources is scarce
forcing members to be interdependent upon each other. (5) The people affected
by a rule have a say it before it is a rule. (6) The resources are monitored to
ensure it is evenly distributed. (7) Conflict resolution mechanisms reduce
discord. (8) Incentives to keep moral high and discipline to ensure rules are
followed.
International trade can stimulate growth but externalize
costs
Trade relations is distribution of wealth which helps stimulates
economics in that country and yours. Comparative advantages are where someone
can produce the same product but sell it cheaper. These advantages can range
from a variety of things weather a company in U.S. has to have regulations on
pollution while a country in China doesn’t have those so the product is able to
be sold cheaper. At the time of the purchase of the item it seems that you go a
good deal but the damage done to the environment if often much more than the difference
that you paid for the item. Many people are begging to protest against the
World Trade Organization because of this among other things like exporting,
externalizing of the environment, and social costs of production.
Socially responsible development can help people and protect
their environment
World Bank is a very influential institution to developing
countries as the influence of financing and policies is great that any other
institution in the world. This bank loans 16 billion dollars in money every year
to developing projects. This bank was formed after world war two to help Europe
and Japan after the war. In the 1950s it shifted it goals to developing countries.
Many of the banks loans have not paid off main due to research of an area of
lack of knowledge. This was caused many to question the World Bank and some
have create programs like micro-lending unlike World Bank these are aimed at
small-scale, widespread development, and their results have been very
promising.
Works
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