Environmental Issues on Global Health

Environmental Issues on Global Health

Seven Environmental Issues

Complete the following chart by identifying seven environmental issues that affect global health. In the second column, describe in complete sentences how the issue affects global health.

Environmental issue How does the issue affect global health?

Over Population The "increasing birth rate of 250,000 per day" (Donatelle, 2010), the world does not have enough natural resources to sustain our needs for future years. The basic needs of food, water and shelter are being depleted quicker than we can restore them. Our oceans are being fished at 250 percent per year depleting one of our food sources. Forests are being cut down to provide shelter; the soil beneath the trees is being lost for production of food needed to sustain our bodies with fruits and vegetables that could be planted in this soil. With the population increasing in drought ridden areas of the world, there are more diseases being discovered and the cures are being discovered at a slower rate. This is allowing people to live longer lives increasing our population of diseased personnel, while new generations are still being born into these disease affected areas. Fresh water is needed to sustain our bodies and for growing vegetation. With factories and the runoff from fertilizer that farmers are using, our natural resource of water is being contaminated causing less fresh water for consumption.

Air Pollution Air pollution is caused by many components that are manmade or environmentally produced. Manmade pollutants are sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. These 3 pollutants come from the use of gas products causing heart and, lung disease, along with adding greenhouse gases to earth's atmosphere. "The earth's temperature has been heating up 1.2 to 1.4 degrees since 1900" (Donatelle, 2010). If this continues to increase, these can cause potential world flooding or extreme drought conditions, decreasing our ability to produce the needed oxygen for breathing. Environmentally produced air pollutants are those that are caused from volcano eruptions, fires, dust storms and plant produced pollen. When trees burn this eliminates their ability to produce oxygen for cleaner air, and produces ash and smoke that pollutes our air we breathe. Dust storms pick up small particles of dirt, pollen and disease causing particles spreading them to other areas of the world, spreading diseases throughout our world.

Water Contamination

Fresh water is needed to sustain our bodies, grow vegetation, and supply our animals, both on land an in the ocean an area to thrive in and reproduce for future generations. With factories dumping chemicals into our water supplies and the runoff from fertilized land into our streams, the natural resource of water is being contaminated, causing less fresh water for consumption. Chemical contaminants are used in cleaning clothes, painting equipment, and household cleaners that also go into our water sources. Fresh water sources are being depleted with hazardous materials causing deadly diseases to the human and the animal population. This will cause diseases to spread throughout the world without the proper decontamination systems to provide fresh water for drinking and watering of vegetation, and providing a place for animals to survive.

Acid Deposition and

Acid Rain Acid deposition comes from coal-fired power plants, oil refineries, and smelt mills. The fumes from the factories mix with "oxygen and sunlight and become sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which is a precursor to sulfuric acid and nitric acids" (Donatelle, 2010). The particles are carried in the wind and when combined