Issues faced by env

ironment
First of all weather and cli
mate are the not same thing
What is climate change?
• a change in global or regional climate patterns, in p
articular a change apparent from the mid to late 20
th century onwards and attributed largely to the inc
reased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produc
ed by the use of fossil fuels.
 Climate change

• Climate change is a global issue

• Over the past 4.5 billion years, it has shifted consta
ntly due to volcanic emissions, tectonic plate move
ments, changes in solar radiation, and several other
factors
• One of the most serious impacts of climate change i
s how it will affect water resources around the worl
d
• Climate change also threatens the health of our chil
dren and grandchildren through increased disease,
freshwater shortages, worsened smog and more
Causes of climate change
• Most climate scientists agree the main cause of the
current global warming trend is human expansion o
f the "greenhouse effect"1 — warming that results
when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Ear
th toward space.
Solutions
• The first challenge is eliminating the burning of coal
, oil and, eventually, natural gas.
• Stop Cutting Down Trees—Every year, 33 million ac
res of forests are cut down.
• The easiest way to cut back on greenhouse gas emi
ssions is simply to buy less stuff.when purchasing es
sentials, such as groceries, buying in bulk can reduc
e the amount of packaging—plastic wrapping, card
board boxes and other unnecessary materials. Som
etimes buying more means consuming less
Evidence of climate c
hange comes from diff
erent sources
Global warming
• Global warming is the rise of the average temperature of the Eart
h’s climate system
• The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gas
es such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.
• Consequences include.
• 1 More frequent and severe weather (, storms, heat waves, wild fi
res, droughts, heavy rainfall, floods, heavy snowfall)
• 2. Higher death rates (especially children, the eldery and low inco
me communities)
• 3. Dirtier air
• 4. Rising of sea level
• 5 Changing precipitation
• 6. Expansion of deserts in the subtropics
• 7. Retreat of glaciers, permafrost and sea ice
• 8. Ocean acidification
• 9. Higher wildlife extinction rates
Solutions
• 1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
• Use Less Heat and Air Conditioning
• Replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescen
t light (CFL) bulbs.
• Set your water heater at a lower tempreture to sav
e energy
• Plant trees
• Save electricity and reduce global warming by turni
ng off lights when you leave a room, and using only
as much light as you need.
Acid rain
• Acid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation
that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevate
d levels of hydrogen ions (low pH).
• It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic anima
ls and infrastructure.
• Acid rain is caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide an
d nitrogen oxide, which react with the water molec
ules in the atmosphere to produce acids.
• The principal cause of acid rain is sulfur and nitroge
n compounds from human sources, such as electrici
ty generation, factories, and motor vehicles
• Soil biology and chemistry can be seriously damaged b
y acid rain. Some microbes are unable to tolerate chan
ges to low pH and are killed
• High altitude forests are especially vulnerable as they
are often surrounded by clouds and fog which are mor
e acidic than rain.

Acid rain can

have severe
effects on
vegetation. A
forest in the
Black Triangle in
Europe.
• Effects of acid rain on statues
Solutions
• Cleaning up Exhaust Pipes and Smokestacks.NOx e
missions from automobile fossil fuel combustions a
re mitigated upon by use of catalytic converters.
• Use of limestone or lime, a process called liming, is
a practice that people can do to repair the damage
caused by acid rain to lakes, rivers and brooks. Addi
ng lime into acidic surface waters balances the acidi
ty.
 Ozone layer depletion

What is Ozone Depletion?

• Ozone layer depletion, is simply the wearing out (redu

ction) of the amount of ozone in the stratosphere. Unli
ke pollution, which has many types and causes, Ozone
depletion has been pinned down to one major human
activity
• The ozone layer sits in the lower region of the stratosph
ere from about 20-30 kilometers above the surface of t
he earth. The thickness of the ozone layer is about 3 to
5 mm,
• The ozone layer forms a thick layer in stratosphere, enci
rcling the earth, that has large amount of ozone in it
• An essential property of ozone molecule is its ability to
block solar radiations of wavelengths less than 290 nan
ometers from reaching Earth’s surface. In this process, i
t also absorbs ultraviolet radiations that are dangerous f
or most living beings. UV radiation could injure or kill lif
e on Earth
 Causes
1.Damage to human health
If the ozone layer is depleted, it means humans will be overly
exposed to strong UV light. Overexposure to strong UV light causes
skin cancer, cataracts, sunburns,
2.Devastation to environment
Many crops species are vulnerable to strong UV light and
overexposure may well lead to minimal growth, photosynthesis and
flowering
3. Effect on animals
In domesticated animals, too much Ultraviolet radiation could also
lead to skin and eye cancer.
 Solutions
• Pesticides are great chemicals to rid your farm of pests and
weeds, but they contribute enormously to ozone layer depl
etion.
• The easiest technique to minimize ozone depletion is to limi
t the number of vehicles on the road. These vehicles emit a
lot of greenhouse gases that eventually form smog, a cataly
st in the depletion of ozone layer.
• Use natural and environmentally friendly cleaning products
to arrest this situation.
Thankyou