Please write about 2-3 pages with references to support your assignment and rese
ID: 111406 • Letter: P
Question
Please write about 2-3 pages with references to support your assignment and research.
1. Where does water come from, in order to provide for the human population? Provide scientific examples.
2. Why do water shortages occur? Provide examples.
3. What are scientific ways to prevent floods happening? Provide examples
4. What are some examples of mining, processing, and drilling methods that can degrade water or air quality?
5. How can recycling help improve the environment? Provide examples.
6. What are some of the differences between point and nonpoint pollution. Which is harder to manage?
Please provide all the answers and references thank you......
Explanation / Answer
1. Where does water come from, in order to provide for the human population? Provide scientific examples.
Ans. Our home, the planet Earth, gets its name as 'Blue Planet' because nearly three-quarters of it is covered with water. This water exists as surface water in rivers, lakes, ponds, oceans etc., below earth's surface as groundwater and as water vapor in the atmosphere. Break up of all available water in different sources-
Ultimately, all water moves through environment as water vapor, liquid water and ice in a cycle called the hydrologic cycle or water cycle. The most common source of potable water for humans is surface water, whether it is for domestic, agricultural or industrial use. The rest of the demand is met by the groundwater.
The water from these sources is harnessed and distributed by public and private agencies in different parts of the world. The civic bodies in the cities and the villages supply water to households, as an amenity among other things, through piped connections.
Ref:1. http://www.ngwa.org/Fundamentals/teachers/Pages/information-on-earth-water.aspx
2. http://www.watereducation.org/where-does-my-water-come
2. Why do water shortages occur? Provide examples.
Ans. It may seem that a whole lot of water is available on the earth. But, it is a finite source- only about 0.3 percent is usable by humans! This 'small' quantity of water is not all harnessed efficiently which causes shortage. The available water source is either polluted by industrial, agricultural, domestic untreated run-off or wasted by leaky irrigation and inefficient application systems in agriculture. This is aggravated by rising population which is drastically reducing per capita availability of water for consumption. Most of the large food producing countries- China, India, the USA, Australia etc- have reached or are close to reaching their water resource limits.
The shortage of water in an area is often referred to as drought, which is a combined result of climate and human activities in that area. Presently, it is intensified because of the mismanagement by humans. Even, the places which get heavy rainfall reel under drought because of high surface run-off owing to heavy deforestation. The felling of trees for agriculture expansion, firewood, building human settlements is causing limited recharge of groundwater aquifers. Deforestation is also causing deserts to expand in many parts of the world. Practicing agriculture not in line with the local agro-climatic conditions also seems like a water shortage. For e.g., growing water guzzling crops like sugarcane in dry parts just because of its commercial value.
According to a 2010 statistics, about 355,000 million gallons of water was withdrawn for use in the United States.
Ref: 1. https://water.usgs.gov/edu/wateruse-total.html
2. https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/water-scarcity#causes
3. What are scientific ways to prevent floods happening? Provide examples
Ans. Floods are caused by overflowing of water beyond its confines. Preventing floods is a huge challenge especially in coastal areas and along stretches of large rivers. Many other cities connected by canals also face flooding which would have been unknown to them before the construction of canal.
Many countries use advanced flood forecasting models to protect communities from the impacts of the flood. But, how to prevent the floods in the first place which cause loss of billions of dollars every year in different parts of the world?
There are various structural and non-structural solutions to prevent floods. Structural solutions include building reservoirs, dams, barriers which have their own associated problems.
Non-structural solutions are said to be enduring one which involves afforestation, earthen check dams which not only prevent flood flow but also act as barriers to increase the run-off time and percolate to the ground. Regular dredging of canals, ponds, rivers, lakes is also important to maintain their capacity to accommodate extra run-off. Cities are filled with pavements and roads which reduce the permeable area and hence, overwhelm the city drainage system quickly after a heavy rain. Sustainable drainage concept is often applied in towns and cities prone to flash flooding. This involves replacing impermeable surfaces by permeable material which allows rainwater to drain into the ground.
Another way to prevent floods is relocating and checking human settlements away from the floodplains.
Ref: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-25929644
4. What are some examples of mining, processing, and drilling methods that can degrade water or air quality?
Ans. Open pit, strip and underground mining all act as causes that degrade the water and air quality. Most of the processes involved in mineral processing consume a lot of chemicals which ultimately run into the rivers or ponds. Coal washing also causes water contamination as seen in waters around the coal mines in many paarts of the world. Smelting causes air pollution as does the sulfur released from the mining areas.
5. How can recycling help improve the environment? Provide examples.
Ans. Recycling plays an important role in conservation of the environment. It is one of the 4 R's of the sustainability- others being Reduce, Reuse and Recovery.
With increasing wealth and consumerism, people are buying and throwing more and more. This puts stress on the available resources used to meet the growing demand.
The dumping of wastes in landfills causes greenhouse gas emissions. This can be reduced by recycling the waste and also preventing the land conversion to wasteland.
Recycling leads to lesser consumption which means lesser conversion of raw materials and ultimately, conservation of the natural resources like forests.
Recycling requires much less energy compared to deriving a product from raw material. So, it also leads to lesser energy consumption.
Ref: http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/How_Does_Recycling_Affect_the_Environment
6. What are some of the differences between point and non-point pollution. Which is harder to manage?
Ans.
Point Pollution
Non-point pollution
Non-point pollution is harder to control because of the difficulty involved in identifying the sources.
http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/your-environment/water/protecting-victorias-waters/point-and-nonpoint-sources-of-water-pollution
https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/about/media/point-vs-non-point-water-pollution-what-s-difference.html
Point Pollution
Non-point pollution
Originates from a source which can be traced back and identified. It originates from many points/sources with impact over wide area; aka diffuse pollution Industrial wastes directly discharged into the rivers and other water bodies. Associated with particular land uses- agricultural run-off with pesticides and soil washed into the streams after a rainfall; or, run-off and seepage from septic tank effluents. Day-to-day run-offs from sewage treatment plants. Contaminants being carried in the run-off from parking lots, gardens, construction sites eg. Deepwater Horizon spill of 2010, Gulf of Mexico eg. Tijuana River marine debris, California