Student presentation on Sociology of the Environment - hey, it's really a bit better than mine!

1. Environment
By Adrian Licea
Lorena Chavez
Alejandro Nunez
Khasandra Ayon

2. Why should we care?
~A lot of our environment’s resources have
been used up over the years
~We are dealing with more environmental
issues every day
Climate Change
Habitat Loss
Water Shortage

3. Deforestation
In nine years, deforestation in the Amazon
forest rose from 415,000 to 587,000 km

4. Why did this occur?
● Mainly seen as a resource for cattle
pastures, wood, and housing availability
● Employs at an international level, being a
source of agricultural needs
● The demand for food and the need to feed
the animals being sustained increases the
deforestation rates

5. Agriculture
● Approximately 80 percent of deforestation in
the world is attributed to agriculture.
● Since 1970, 232,000 square miles of
Amazon forest have been cleared for
agriculture.
● Amazon forest is being cleared at 1.5 acres
per second.

6. Brazil as a Producer of Beef
● Cattle breeding is typically seen in Brazil
because it yields huge profits as meat prices
are constantly rising.
● Currency devaluation- the devaluation of the
Brazilian real against the dollar
o Doubled the price of beef in reals
o Created an incentive for ranchers to expand pasture
areas.
http://www.mongabay.com/brazil.html#cattle

7. ● According to FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations, one in each five pounds of commercialized cattle
meat is from Brazil.
● Brazil is the second biggest exporter of cattle beef in the world.
According to the Foreign Trade Secretariat, Russia (26%), Egypt
(17%), Iran (14%), Hong Kong (9%), Chile (6%), Venezuela (5%)
and Saudi Arabia (3%) represented 80% of Brazilian cattle beef
exports.
● Dairy products import accounted for 50 times the volume exported
in 2012.
o Brazil is a major importer of dairy products in order to supply
the domestic demand.
● Brazilian products are bought mainly by Argentina and Uruguay.
http://thebrazilbusiness.com/article/the-brazilian-cattle-industry

9. The future...

10. GLOBAL WARMING
● Global warming refers to an unequivocal and continuing
rise in the average temperature of Earth's climate
system.
● Since 1971, 90% of the warming has occurred in the
oceans.
● "Global warming" is also used to refer to increases in
average temperature of the air and sea at Earth's
surface.
● Since the early 20th century, the global air and sea
surface temperature has increased about 0.8 °C (1.4 °F),
with about two-thirds of the increase occurring since
1980.
● Each of the last three decades has been successively
warmer at the Earth's surface than any preceding
decade since 1850

13. ● Climate change
o Rainforests are attributed with being the the world's
largest emitters of oxygen
● Endangered Species
○ Loss of habitats will result in endangered species as
the forest is home to half the species of plants and
animals

14. Climate Change
● About 20 percent of the worlds oxygen is
produced by the Amazon rainforest
● Forests are stripped faster than they can be
replanted, therefore, photosynthesis is
greatly reduced.
o Vegetation continuously recycles carbon dioxide into
oxygen

15. WASTE-DIFFERENT TYPES
● Waste — Electronic waste
● • Great Pacific Garbage Patch
● • Incineration
● • Litter
● • Waste disposal incidents
● • Marine debris
● • Medical waste
● • Landfill
● • Leachate
● • Toxic waste
● •Environmental impact of the coal industry
● • Exporting of hazardous waste

17. ~ Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection
of debris in the Northern Pacific Ocean
~This gyre lies in between Hawaii and
California
~ The motion of the gyre prevents
debris from escaping
~ Micro Plastics make up the majority
of garbage patches

18. ~ Plastic isn’t biodegradable, instead it breaks
down into tiny pieces known as micro plastics
~ Marine debris is very deadly to a lot of sea
creatures
Sea turtles often mistake plastic bags for
jellyfish which are their favorite food

19. POLLUTION-DIFFERENT TYPES
● Pollution — Nonpoint source pollution • Point source pollution • Light
pollution • Noise pollution • Visual pollution • Interplanetary
contamination
Water pollution — Acid rain • Environmental impact of the coal industry •
Eutrophication• Groundwater recharge • Marine pollution • Ocean dumping
• Oil spills • Thermal pollution • Urban runoff • Water crisis • Marine debris •
Microplastics • Ocean acidification • Ship pollution • Wastewater • Fish kill •
Algal bloom • Mercury in fish •Environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing
Air pollution — Atmospheric particulate matter•Environmental impact of the
coal industry • Smog • Tropospheric ozone • Indoor air quality • Volatile
organic compound •Environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing

20. Iraq War
Effects of Depleted Uranium
~ Left behind in inhabited areas
~ Birth Defects, Cancer
~ Tainted water/food supplies

21. ● 10 million barrels of oil spilled
● Water supply still contaminated today
● Destroyed aquatic ecosystems
● Temperature dropped 10 degrees due to
absence of sunlight

22. Chernobyl 1986
Cold war Disaster
-Largest uncontrolled radioactive realease
- Rapid increase in Thyroid Cancer
- Fetal Deaths
- Attributed to faulty reactor design and
inadequate staf according to the WNA.

23. Agent Orange
80million Liters Dropped
-Polluted water supplies
-Birth Defects
-Continues effects today
-5million acres affected
-Inhabitants heavily afflicted

24. Napalm
● Used in Vietnam and Tokyo
● Death by burn or asphixiation.
● Destroys Vegetation

25. Keystone XL Pipeline

26. What is the Keystone XL Pipeline?
Keystone XL Pipeline is an oil pipeline that runs through the US
and Canada. More specifically it runs from Alberta, Canada to
refineries in Nebraska, Illinois, and Texas and also carries light
crude oil from Montana to N. Dakota.
● The pipeline is highly controversial as it faces criticism from
environmentalists and congress because of the pipeline's
impact on Nebraska's Sand Hills region.

27. Criticisms of Keystone XL Pipeline
-risk of spills alone pipeline path and could potentially mess up a
highly sensitive region of Nebraska’s Sand Hills
-12-17% higher greenhouse gas emissions from the extraction of oil
sands
-Also pipeline spills would pollute air, water, supplies, and harm
birds & wildlife
-Ogallala Aquifer, one of the largest reserves of fresh water in the
world provides drinking water for 2 million people and supports
$20 billion in agriculture. A leak would ruin drinking water and
also devestate Midwestern US economy.

28. California Drought
● California is facing one of the driest years ever
recorded since rainfall has been recorded in 1849.
● Obama has recognized the drought in California as a
problem.
Possible reasons for the drought?
● Man-made climate increases make California hotter
today than it has been in the past.

30. The drought is already
affecting snow covered
areas, greatly decreasing
the total amount of snowfall
and snow that covers the
floor in places like Lake
Tahoe.
Places like Yosemite
National Park are actually
offering horseback riding
and hikes to those who visit
(when normally at this time
of year, Yosemite attracts
skiers).

31. Who cares?
● Lack of water may cause an increase in the prices of
food
● Increased forest fires
● Conflict over available water
● Possible water rations, or increased water cost

32. Solutions to Environmental Problems
● Creating a clean energy future
Our demand for oil in our oil dependent
economy threatens the environment and
other countries have already been making
progress in being green.

33. Cleaner, better cars
● Electric cars provide a affordable monthly price for
transportation.

34. ENERGY USE-ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
● Energy — Energy conservation •
Efficient energy use • Environmental
impact of the coal industry •
Environmental impact of the energy
industry • Environmental impact of
hydraulic fracturing • Renewable
energy • Renewable energy
commercialization •

35. Elio, Ultra High Mileage Vehicle
● Newer better cars reduce the amount of gas we
consume, saving you money at the pump and reducing
our dependency on oil.
● 84 Miles per gallon
● Only $6,800 new
● Made in the USA

36. Hemp
● Hemp vs. Marijuana
● Hemp is the variety of the cannabis plant that secretes low-grade
THC in negligible amounts of less than 0.3%.
● Marijuana is rich in THC, with content ranging from 2 to 20%
● THC, short for tetrahydrocannabinol, is a chemical compound
found in the cannabis plant.
o In low doses, the compound causes some pain reduction,
may reduce aggression, can stimulate appetite, and may
help reduce nausea.
o Higher doses may cause the “high” associated with
marijuana, leading to altered perception of time and space,
and fatigue.
http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-thc.htm

37. Environmental Benefits of Hemp
● Fuel
o One acre of hemp yields 1,000 gallons or 3,785 liters of fuel.
● Compared to Cotton
○ 1 acre of hemp will produce as much as 2-3 acres of cotton
○ Hemp replaces cotton as a raw material in the manufacturing of
paper and cloth
● Paper
○ One acre of hemp (grown in a single season) yields as much
paper as up to 4 acres of trees.

38. Hemp
● Low Maintenance
o The high amount of pesticides and herbicides used on cotton
amount to 50% of the world’s usage, as against none in the
case of hemp.
● Switching to hemp paper could reduce deforestation significantly.
For every 4 acres of trees that are required annually to make
paper, only an acre of hemp would be required.
○ Hemp paper can be recycled up to 7 or 8 times), much less is
needed.
○ In comparison, paper from wood pulp can only be recycled
around 3 times

39. ● Hemp can actually clean up toxins from the
ground.
o This process is called phyto-remediation.
o A good example of this is when hemp was used to
help clean up the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site to
remove radioactive elements from the ground.
o Phyto-remediation can be used to remove nuclear
elements, and to clean up metals, pesticides,
solvents, crude oil, and other toxins from landfills.
Hemp breaks down pollutants and stabilizes metal
contaminants by acting as a filter.
http://hempbenefits.org/environmental-benefits-of-hemp/