The pesticide can also get into streams and rivers and be taken in by the tiny plants and animals there. These are then eaten in large quantities by small fish, which are eaten in large quantities by larger fish and even larger animals such as otters or birds of prey may eat these. Each time the concentration level of the pesticide tends to build up as it goes up the food chain. At the top of the food chain the "top carnivore" may accumulate such a high level of pesticide that it either kills them, or, what often happens, kills their young when they feed them so the top carnivores fail to breed successfully.
This has happened in many parts of the country, especially when pesticides were being used in large amounts without realising the consequences. Many areas lost most of their otters and birds of prey mainly due to pesticides.
Deforestation
The human population is growing all the time and its impact on the environment is increasing.
All our activities have an impact:
- Drastic changes to the ecosystem, e.g. deforestation (cutting down trees in order to use the land or the wood), draining marshes, mining, damming and redirecting rivers and flooding land.
- The growth of cities. So needing more land for building, and also generating more pollution, e.g. from traffic.
- Industry needs more and more raw materials. Processing and transporting raw materials and finished goods generates pollution.
- Agriculture. Our intensive farming methods require the use of chemicals such as inorganic fertilisers and pesticides. Genetic engineering will have an impact that we don’t yet understand.
Deforestation leads to:
- The loss of animals, insects, birds, etc. that live in the forests.
- Soil erosion. The tree roots hold the soil together. The soil will also quickly lose its fertility once the trees are removed.
- Reduction in oxygen levels. Over one third of the world’s oxygen supply comes from the trees of the rain forest.
- The nutrient cycle is broken because there are no rotting leaves to fall from the trees.
- Changes in climate. Without trees there will be a decrease in evapotranspiration and therefore of water vapour in the air. This will reduce rainfall and may mean that the Amazon basin turns into desert.
- Greenhouse effect. As the trees are burnt, this releases carbon, thus contributing to the greenhouse effect and global warming.
Recycling
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Most of our rubbish goes into giant holes in the ground called landfill sites. One of the worst types of rubbish is babies nappies which do not rot down easily. It has been said that a nappy could outlive the baby. We are running out of room for this and that is why the government is so keen for us to recycle as much as possible . Landfill sites cannot be built on easily as the organic matter that they contain rots down to produce methane, which is flammable and can be explosive.
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Two days’ issues of the Sun newspaper piled on top of each other would go higher than the top of Everest. Why don’t more people use loo paper made from recycled Sun newspaper?! Cutting down trees to make this paper can increase the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which will contribute to the Greenhouse effect. Removing trees can also lead to soil erosion.
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All the drink cans thrown away each year would reach further than the Moon if they were put end to end. They are now thinner than they used to be so they take less metal, but large amounts of energy is needed to extract the metals from their ores. It takes four tonnes of bauxite to make one tonne of aluminium. The mining itself damages the landscape and destroys habitats. It makes great sense to recycle aluminium.
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Plastics come from crude oil, which is a non-renewable fossil fuel. One day there will be none left. When it is thrown away it does not rot down, but remains in the soil. One of the worst offenders is all that packaging. Try to do without all those carrier bags. Plastic drink bottles can now be turned into fleeces and garden furniture. But what about all that energy for the recycling and the transportation of the products.
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It takes a lot of energy to make new glass. Every tonne of crushed waste glass used saves the equivalent of 135 litres of oil.
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Recycling organic matter or composting means that you can put essential nutrients back into the soil to help plants grow.
Research
Releases of substances suspected to cause environmental effects are identified through use pattern surveys and selected chemical release inventories.
Environmental monitoring studies are conducted to determine to environmental fate and effects of those substances.
Measures for reducing or eliminating releases, or mitigating the impacts of releases are developed, and may include promotion of pollution prevention practices, or the implementation of codes of practice for toxic chemicals management and/or recommendations for regulation development.
The Air & Toxics Issues Section has four major program areas:
Composting
In nature, organic wastes are broken down through a combination of biological and chemical processes. Biological agents like worms, insects, fungi, bacteria and other micro-organisms "chew up" the materials, which are further transformed by oxidation (exposure to air), reduction and hydrolysis (exposure to water).