05 enviroment

Environment

Why the problem of the Environment has become so important

For a long time people were only interested in the process of economic development and environment with all its problems was neglected. In the 21st century new and serious environmental problems are affecting populations around the globe: climate change, the loss of the ozone layer, pollution, desertification, deforestation, dwindling biological diversity and the creation and subsequent dumping of hazardous waste and chemicals.

Pollution has greatly damaged our planet and continues to do so. There are different kinds of pollutants. Each comes from different sources. It is essential to identify the source of pollution to be able to eliminate it.

The identification of environmental aspects is an important step towards recognizing their impacts on our planet.

Industrialization leads to the economic development and the environment begins to suffer.

The Biggest Cities of the world and their situation and problems

The urban population has increased in the last century . The population density of the cities and their current car centred organization make the air pollution one of the central problems.

Polluted air can lead to health problems, it can affect the lungs, heart and circulatory system, nervous and immune systems. Some substances are also known as carcinogens. Pollution can also affect our cultural heritage, e.g. historical monuments, and the natural environment, which leads to acidification of water systems, and to damaged plants and forests.

The industry sector in the European capitals has decreased its emissions due to the relocation to other areas. The modernization made the industry a less important source of pollution.

Air transportation is another source of local pollution that is growing steadily as the number of flights is increasing.

The urban heat is a phenomenon related to the cities . City environment is 2,5° to 6 ° warmer due to changes on the surface, the human being created heat discharge and traffic and air pollution. This warming can be desirable in winter as it lowers the heating need.

But the consumption is far lower than the energy used for cooling during the summer (use of air condition machines is growing steadily in Europe).

Sorts of environmental problems

The urban air pollution has generally decreased. However, it is still an important problem for the health of the city inhabitants. The transportation is the most important source of air pollutants. And as the city population is growing the transportation sector will need a total redevelopment.

We should give priority to the public transportation, walking and cycling instead of going by car.

Other environmental problems:

The increasing temperature is the cause of Global Warming. As we burn fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, we release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It causes the higher temperature. Rising temperatures raises sea levels which then causes melting of glaciers . This reduces supplies of fresh water as worldwide flooding occurs along the coastlines. The salt water then reaches inland. Along with flooding many of the worlds endangered species become extinct as rising temperatures change their habitat. Diseases such as malaria start to become more widespread as the weather expands the range of the insects. The deforestation causes more heat gets trapped in the atmosphere. As a result of the rising temperature, the dry lands turn into deserts.