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Eighty-plus years after the abandonment of Wallaroo Mines (Kadina, South Australia), mosses remain the only vegetation at some spots of the site's grounds Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife. It is defined as any change or disturbance to the environment perceived to be deleterious or undesirable.[1] Environmental degradation is one of the Ten Threats officially cautioned by the High Level Threat Panel of the United Nations. The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction defines environmental degradation as The reduction of the capacity of the environment to meet social and ecological objectives, and needs.[2] Environmental degradation is of many types. When natural habitats are destroyed or natural resources are depleted, environment is degraded. This article may be confusing or unclear to readers. Please help us clarify the article; suggestions may be found on the talk page. (May 2012) Environmental Change and Human Health, a special section of World Resources 1998-99 in this report describes how preventable illnesses and premature deaths are still occurring in very large numbers. If vast improvements are made in human health, millions of people will be living longer, healthier lives than ever before. In these poorest regions of the world an estimated 11 million children, or about one in five, will not live to see their fifth birthday, primarily because of environment-related diseases. Child mortality is larger than the combined populations of Norway and Switzerland, and mostly due to malaria, acute respiratory infections or diarrhea illnesses that are largely preventable.
Contents
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1 Water deterioration o 1.1 Climate change and temperature o 1.2 Climate change and precipitation o 1.3 Population growth o 1.4 Agriculture o 1.5 Water management 2 See also 3 References 4 External links
Transpiration from plants can be affected by a rise in atmospheric CO2, which can decrease their use of water, but can also raise their use of water from possible increases of leaf area. Temperature increase can decrease the length of the snow season in the winter and increase the intensity of snowmelt in warmer seasons, leading to peak runoff of snowmelt earlier in the season, affecting soil moisture, flood and drought risks, and storage capacities depending on the area.[6] Warmer winter temperatures cause a decrease in snowpack, which can result in diminished water resources during the summer. This is especially important at mid-latitudes and in mountain regions that depend on glacial runoff to replenish their river systems and groundwater supplies, making these areas increasingly vulnerable to water shortages over time; an increase in temperature will initially result in a rapid rise in water melting from glaciers in the summer, followed by a retreat in glaciers and a decrease in the melt and consequently the water supply every year as the size of these glaciers get smaller and smaller.[3] Thermal expansion of water and increased melting of oceanic glaciers from an increase in temperature gives way to a rise in sea level, which can affect the fresh water supply of coastal areas as well; as river mouths and deltas with higher salinity get pushed further inland, an intrusion of saltwater results in an increase of salinity in reservoirs and aquifers.[5] Sea-level rise may also consequently be caused by a depletion of groundwater,[7] as climate change can affect the hydrologic cycle in a number of ways. Uneven distributions of increased temperatures and increased precipitation around the globe results in water surpluses and deficits,[6] but a global decrease in groundwater suggests a rise in sea level, even after meltwater and thermal expansion were accounted for,[7] which can provide a positive feedback to the problems sea-level rise causes to fresh-water supply. A rise in air temperature results in a rise in water temperature, which is also very significant in water degradation, as the water would become more susceptible to bacterial growth. An increase in water temperature can also affect ecosystems greatly because of a species sensitivity to temperature, and also by inducing changes in a body of waters self-purification system from decreased amounts of dissolved oxygen in the water due to rises in temperature.[3]
receiving more precipitation are also expected to receive this increase during their winter and actually become drier during their summer,[6] creating even more of a variation of precipitation distribution. Naturally, the distribution of precipitation across the planet is very uneven, causing constant variations in water availability in respective locations. Changes in precipitation affect the timing and magnitude of floods and droughts, shift runoff processes, and alter groundwater recharge rates. Vegetation patterns and growth rates will be directly affected by shifts in precipitation amount and distribution, which will in turn affect agriculture as well as natural ecosystems. Decreased precipitation will deprive areas of water, causing water tables to fall and reservoirs and wetlands, rivers, and lakes to empty,[6] and possibly an increase in evaporation and evapotranspiration, depending on the accompanied rise in temperature.[5] Groundwater reserves will be depleted, and the remaining water has a greater chance of being of poor quality from saline or contaminants on the land surface.[3]
[edit] Agriculture
Agriculture is dependent on available soil moisture, which is directly affected by climate dynamics, with precipitation being the input in this system and various processes being the output, such as evapotranspiration, surface runoff, drainage, and percolation into groundwater. Changes in climate, especially the changes in precipitation and evapotranspiration predicted by climate models, will directly affect soil moisture, surface runoff, and groundwater recharge.
In areas with decreasing precipitation as predicted by the climate models, soil moisture may be substantially reduced.[6] With this in mind, agriculture in most areas needs irrigation already, which depletes fresh water supplies both by the physical use of the water and the degradation agriculture causes to the water. Irrigation increases salt and nutrient content in areas that wouldnt normally be affected, and damages streams and rivers from damming and removal of water. Fertilizer enters both human and livestock waste streams that eventually enter groundwater, while nitrogen, phosphorus, and other chemicals from fertilizer can acidify both soils and water. Certain agricultural demands may increase more than others with an increasingly wealthier global population, and meat is one commodity expected to double global food demand by 2050,[10] which directly affects the global supply of fresh water. Cows need water to drink, more if the temperature is high and humidity is low, and more if the production system the cow is in is extensive, since finding food takes more effort. Water is needed in processing of the meat, and also in the production of feed for the livestock. Manure can contaminate bodies of freshwater, and slaughterhouses, depending on how well they are managed, contribute waste such as blood, fat, hair, and other bodily contents to supplies of fresh water.[13] The transfer of water from agricultural to urban and suburban use raises concerns about agricultural sustainability, rural socioeconomic decline, food security, an increased carbon footprint from imported food, and decreased foreign trade balance.[9] The depletion of fresh water, as applied to more specific and populated areas, increases fresh water scarcity among the population and also makes populations susceptible to economic, social, and political conflict in a number of ways; rising sea levels forces migration from coastal areas to other areas farther inland, pushing populations closer together breaching borders and other geographical patterns, and agricultural surpluses and deficits from the availability of water induce trade problems and economies of certain areas.[8] CLimate change is an important cause of involuntary migration and forced displacement[14]
Environmental issue Ecological collapse Ecologically sustainable development Exploitation of natural resources High Level Threat Panel of the United Nations Ten Threats identified by the United Nations United Nations Decade on Biodiversity United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) World Resources Institute (WRI)
[edit] References
1. ^ Johnson, D.L., S.H. Ambrose, T.J. Bassett, M.L. Bowen, D.E. Crummey, J.S. Isaacson, D.N. Johnson, P. Lamb, M. Saul, and A.E. Winter-Nelson. 1997. Meanings of environmental terms. Journal of Environmental Quality 26: 581-589. 2. ^ "ISDR : Terminology". The International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. 2004-03-31. http://www.unisdr.org/eng/library/lib-terminology-eng%20home.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-09. 3. ^ a b c d e f g h Water. Climate Institute. Web. Retrieved 2011-11-03. 4. ^ a b c d Young, Gordon J., James Dooge, and John C. Rodda. Global Water Resource Issues. Cambridge UP, 2004. 5. ^ a b c Frederick, Kenneth D., and David C. Major. Climate Change and Water Resources. Climatic Change 37.1 (1997): p 7-23. 6. ^ a b c d e f g Ragab, Ragab, and Christel Prudhomme. Soil and Water: Climate Change and Water Resources Management in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions: Prospective Challenges for the 21st Century. Biosystems Engineering 81.1 (2002): p 3-34. 7. ^ a b Konikow, Leonard F. Contribution of Global Groundwater Depletion since 1990 to Sealevel Rise. Geophysical Research Letters 38.17 (2011). 8. ^ a b Raleigh, Clionadh, and Henrik Urdal. Climate Change, Environmental Degradation, and Armed Conflict. Political Geography 26.6 (2007): 674-94. 9. ^ a b c MacDonald, Glen M. Water, Climate Change, and Sustainability in the Southwest. PNAS 107.50 (2010): p 56-62. 10. ^ a b Tilman, David, Joseph Fargione, Brian Wolff, Carla DAntonio, Andrew Dobson, Robert Howarth, David Scindler, William Schlesinger, Danielle Simberloff, and Deborah Swackhamer. Forecasting Agriculturally Driven Global Environmental Change. Science 292.5515 (2011): p 281-84. 11. ^ Wallach, Bret. Understanding the Cultural Landscape. New York; Guilford, 2005. 12. ^ [1]. Powell, Fannetta. Environmental Degradation and Human Disease. Lecture. SlideBoom. 2009. Web. Retrieved 2011-11-14. 13. ^ [2]. Environmental Implications of the Global Demand for Red Meat. Web. Retrieved 201111-14. 14. ^ Bogumil Terminski, Environmentally-Induced Displacement. Theoretical Frameworks and Current Challenges http://www.cedem.ulg.ac.be/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/EnvironmentallyInduced-Displacement-Terminski-1.pdf
Ecology of Increasing Disease Population growth and environmental degradation Annals of the Association of American Geographers Environmental Change in the Kalahari: Integrated Land Degradation Studies for Nonequilibrium Dryland Environments Public Daily Brief Threat: Environmental Degradation Focus: Environmental degradation is contributing to health threats worldwide Environmental Degradation of Materials in Nuclear Systems-Water Reactors Herndon and Gibbon Lieutenants United States Navy The First North American Explorers of the Amazon Valley, by Historian Normand E. Klare. Actual Reports from the explorers are compared with present Amazon Basin conditions. Environmental Degradation Index by Jha & Murthy (for 174 countries)
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The main causes of environmental degradation are as follow; 1 Industrialization 2 Agricultural development 3 population growth 4 poverty 5 urbanization 6 Deforestation 7 transport development 8 market failure