collective interaction with humans and the environment

environment health

World's population is about ____ billion and increasing at a rate of about ___ million per year

7.3 billion; increasing at 75 million

Factors That Contribute to Population Growth

High birth rates
Lack of family planning resources (Half the world's couples don't use any form of family planning or contraceptives)
Lower death rates

measure of local air quality and what it means for health

air quality index

EPA uses ______I to indicate air pollution levels

AQI

Key pollutants:

Carbon monoxide (CO)
Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
Particulate matter (PM)
Ground-level ozone

An odorless, colorless gas, forms when the carbon in fossil fuels does not completely burn

CO2

binds to blood cells in place of oxygen, depriving the body of oxygen, causing headaches, fatigue, and impaired vision and judgment

CO2

s produced by the burning of sulfur-containing fuels such as coal and oil, during metal smelting, and by other industrial processes; power plants are a major source

SO2

narrows the airways, which may cause wheezing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath, particularly in people with asthma

SO2

is a reddish-brown, highly reactive gas formed when nitric oxide combines with oxygen in the atmosphere; major sources include motor vehicles and power plants.

NO2

In people with respiratory diseases such as asthma, _____ affects lung function and causes symptoms such as wheezing and shortness of breath.

NO2

can accumulate in the respiratory system, aggravate cardiovascular and lung diseases, and increase the risk of respiratory infections.

PM (particulate matter)

is formed when pollutants emitted by cars, power plants, industrial plants, and other sources react chemically in the presence of sunlight

Ground-level ozone

can irritate the respiratory system, reduce lung function, aggravate asthma, increase susceptibility to respiratory infections, and damage the lining of the lungs.

Ground- level ozone

For people with chronic ailments such as diabetes or heart failure, even relatively brief exposure to particulate air pollution increases the risk of death by nearly _____

40%

buried deposits of decayed animals and plants that are converted into carbon-rich fuels by exposure to heat and pressure over millions of years; oil, coal, and natural gas are fossil fuels

fossil fuels

hazy atmospheric conditions resulting from increased concentrations of ground-level ozone and other pollutants

smog

gas (such as carbon dioxide) or vapor that traps infrared radiation instead of allowing it to escape through the atmosphere, resulting in a warming of the earth (the greenhouse effect)

greenhouse gas

increase in the earth's atmospheric temperature when averaged across seasons and geographical regions; also called climate change

global warming

layer of ozone molecules in the upper atmosphere; screens out UV rays

ozone layer

responsible for thinning of the ozone layer

Chlorofluorocarbons

is the top energy user among nations
Per capita,_____ are the world's biggest energy consumers

china; americans

alternative fuels?

Ethanol
E85
Biodiesel

common indoor pollutants:

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)
Carbon monoxide and combustion by-products
Formaldehyde gas
Natural gas that are in homes, garages
Biological pollutants
Other things that get in the air from plants, or carried in from outside
Indoor mold
Ex. Black mold

Ideas for reducing air pollution:

Cut back on driving
Easier to do in more populated cities
Keep car tuned and well maintained
Buy energy-efficient appliances and use them only when necessary
Replace incandescent bulbs with LED and compact fluorescent bulbs
Make sure your home is well insulated
Better insulated= better health, saving money
Plant and care for trees
They keep our environment clean

a water treatment process that helps strengthen your teeth; cuts down cavities 15-40%

Fluoridation

663 million people lack safe drinking water
2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation

...

self-contained sewage disposal system, often used in rural areas, in which waste material is decomposed by bacteria

spetic sewage

a chemical used as an insulator in electrical transformers and linked to certain human cancers

polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

Americans generated about ______ tons of trash and recycled and composted about ______ tons of materials. The biggest single component of household trash by weight is ______

254 million tons; 87 million; paper products

disposal site where solid waste is buried

sanitary landfill

means that certain products can break down naturally, safely, and quickly into the raw materials of nature, then disappear back into the environment

Biodegradable

the use of waste materials as raw materials in the production of new products.

recycling

what is the fastest growing portion of our waste stream

e-waste (technology)

A lung condition that causes your lungs to inflame and lead to lung cancer

Asbestosis

______ are the chief culprit in lead poisoning of children

Lead-based paints

was widely used for fire protection and insulation in buildings until the late 1960s.

Asbestos

chemicals used to prevent the spread of diseases transmitted by insects and to maximize food production by killing insects that eat crops

pesticides

accumulation of a substance in a food chain

biomagnificaiton

chemicals that disrupt the hormone systems of organisms

Endocrine disrupting chemicals

energy transmitted in the form of rays, waves, or particles

radiation

you will have a low white blood count, can be fatal, stomach sickness, nausea, vomiting, can come on sudden

radiation sickness

use of controlled nuclear reactions to produce steam to produce electricity

nuclear power

expresses relative intensity of sounds on a scale from 0 to 120

decibel

exposure to sounds above ____decibels can cause permanent hearing loss

80-85