The Environment: Whose Responsibility?
Laura Smith 10th February 2001 11CHi The Environment: Whose Responsibility? It has been only in the last few decades that the global community has realized that we have the responsibility to deliver a clean and peaceful planet to our future generations. It has been only in the past few years that the global community has begun to take this realisation seriously and move from theoretical commitments to the actual implementation of corrective measures to change polluting and destructive practices and activities. As we move into a new century, and millennium, the global community is running out of time. Clearly the implementation of measures to achieve sustainable development must be increased and accelerated. This is especially the case with respect to preventing the release of toxic substances and hazardous waste generation, without which sustainable development will remain merely a dream. taken from greenpeace.org So somebody has to take responsibility for the environment and try to push for global sustainability. Who should it be? There are four main groups of people who could be held accountable for the environment : The natural assumption may be that the governments of the world have responsibility for the environment. Surely we put our trust in our governments in the hope that they will appreciate the true value of the environment and that they will deal
Name a local corporation that proclaims it has implemented green management policies.
Name a local corporation that proclaims it has implemented green management policies. Describle what it has done and critically comment whether its green management policies are appropriate. Answer: KMB, is the largest bus operator in Hong Kong. It aims to provide efficient and comfortable bus service everyday. Then, environmental protection for KMB in Hong Kong is a must to do and it has implemented various measures aimed at both improving the performance of its buses and contributing to a cleaner environment. Since 1992, KMB introduced the Euro I bus engine, and up to 2001, all new buses were equipped with the Euro II engine. After 2001, new buses were installed the environmental-friendly Euro III engine. Compared with the Euro I and Euro II engine, the Euro III engine reduced emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulates by 28% and 33% respectively. Except from the exhaust emission generated, KMB developed the Eco-Driveline system which incorporating basic mechanical change to bus design, improves efficiency, and it can reduce exhaust in a low-speed running environment. In the exhaust emission part, KMB is already put a lot of investment and working on it and having research and develop direction to solve the mechanical design problem, it is appreciate that we know a Hong Kong bus company which is not only to buy new technology from other country, but also to develop its
Contemporary issue assignment
Edexcel/BTEC HND Travel & Tourism Management Contemporary issue Individual assignment Zonova Anna TT1 Alpine Center 2008 Contents Introduction..............................................................................1 . Tourism in Maldives ...................................................................1 2. Impacts of tourism on economy, environment and social-cultural...............2 2.1Economic impacts of tourism on the Maldives............................,2 2.2 Environmental impact of tourism on the Maldives.......................4 2.3 Social-cultural impacts of tourism on the Maldives......................6 3. Suggestions for the future to protect the Maldives............................................9 4. Conclusion ........................................................................................................10 References For a tourism-based economy to sustain itself in local communities, the residents must be willing partners in the process. Their attitudes toward tourism and perceptions of its impact on community life must be continually assessed. (Allen et al. 1988) Introduction I have been approached by a tourism organisation to assist in researching the current and potential impacts of tourism development in a destination. I chose the Maldives because they have an impressive record of growth, while at the same time rapidly
The Rainforest Climate
The Rainforest Climate The rainforests are the wettest of the vegetational zones of the world. A rainfall of 100 mm in a month is considered to be dry in a rainforest. Rain usually falls in short downpours during mid-day, after which, the sun shines once again, causing all the rain to evaporate again. The temperatures in the rainforests do not vary appreciably throughout the year. For instance, on a particular site in the forest of Java, the mean temperature was found to be 24.3 degrees Celsius in February and 25.3 degrees Celsius in the month of October. On cloudy days, only negligible variations in temperature are observed. However, when the weather is sunny, temperature variations of up to 9 degrees Celsius have been recorded. The foliage can heat up to 10 degrees Celsius above atmospheric temperature. The elevated levels of atmospheric humidity lead to the formation of dew on the vegetation, and this serves to reduce the temperatures of plants . Naturally, the flora are well adapted to thrive in the hot temperatures typical of these regions. Some of the plants keep transpirational losses to a minimum by the possession of a thick, waxy cuticle or by the closure of their stomata. The thick canopy of trees only allows little sunlight through. In fact, only about 0.5% to 1% of full sunlight reaches the forest floor. Indeed, a value as low as 0.1% has been
In this essay I will be writing about problems of emissions from power stations and other pollutants, which cause problems such as photochemical smog and tropospheric ozone.
Chemistry open book essay - Atmospheric pollution In this essay I will be writing about problems of emissions from power stations and other pollutants, which cause problems such as photochemical smog and tropospheric ozone. Primary pollutants are released straight into the atmosphere around us. An example of this is fuels released from power stations. Secondary pollutants are formed when primary pollutants react forming other chemicals. Examples of these are 03 and NO2. The table bellow shows the main primary and secondary pollutants produced from motor vehicles: Primary pollutants Secondary pollutants Hydrocarbons Ozone (formed by nitrogen oxides reacting with hydrocarbons in sunlight and high temperatures) Nitrogen oxides (NOX) NO2 Carbon monoxide (CO) H2O2 Partially oxidised hydrocarbons HNO3 (Ref 1) Primary pollutants are formed in the burning of fossil fuels in power stations. Many of the primary pollutants are already contained in the fuel burnt in the power stations, such as nitrogen oxides in fossil fuels. This means that when they are burnt at a high temperature such as in power stations they are released. CO2 is formed by the oxidation of carbon in coal. Nitrogen oxides are formed by the combustion by oxidation of Nitrogen in the air. (Ref 5) Photochemical smog, which can form from a mixture of ozone and other chemical substances, needs specific
The Water Use in the UK and Globally
The Water Use in the UK and Globally By Becky Wareham Introduction I will be discussing: * The trends in the demand for water both in the UK and globally, * Comparing the demands for water in more developed and less developed countries, * The supply of water in developed and less developed countries and see how this affects the amount of water used/ demand, * How the shortage of water can be addressed. The demand of Water in the UK and Globally The demand for water is increasing globally, particularly in Southern countries as they are generally MEDC. The UK is an MEDC and this causes the demand of water to be high due to technology etc. Also there is agriculture, though industry remains the major user of water in Europe. Over the past decade global water use has been climbing steadily because of increased population growth. While the global population increased by about four times between 1900 and 2000, the global water usage saw a sixfold increase. There are many ways around the globe were water is used but the three main water usages are of those uses that fall into the sectors are, Agriculture, Industrial and Domestic. This shows different countries and the percentage of water used in industry, domestic and agriculture. The three countries which use the most water for industry is Germany, Belgium and Finland and the least is Malta. Malta however uses the most
Pollution Project.
Introduction: Pollution More than 60 million gallons of oil enter the oceans every year, but it's not reported on the news. That's because this oil seeps from oil-bearing rock layers into the ocean as part of a natural process. When tankers running aground spill oil, that's news, and currently these accidents deposit about 37 million gallons of oil into the ocean every year. The largest amount of oil entering the ocean through human activity is the 363 million gallons that come from industrial waste and automobiles. When people pour their used motor oil into the ground or into a septic system, it eventually seeps into the groundwater. Coupled with industrial waste discharged into rivers, oil becomes part of the run-off from waterways that empty into the ocean. All of this oil affects ocean ecosystems. When an oil spill occurs in the ocean, the oil may spread across miles of open water and up onto beaches, littering them with tar balls. The intertidal zones-coastal areas that are the habitat for fish, birds, and other wildlife-are often the most vulnerable. Animals may perish when the oil slicks their fur or downy feathers, decreasing the surface area so they are no longer insulated from the cold water. Or the animals may ingest the oil, then become sick or unable to reproduce properly. When an oil spill occurs along a coastline, it affects the human population as well as
To what extent are cold environments fragile environments and how far does this affect their development?
To what extent are cold environments fragile environments and how far does this affect their development? Cold environments are argued to be very fragile; however some are more fragile than others. The area corresponds to the Polar Regions, Antarctica and the alpine environments. The Polar Regions include the tundra biome, the ice cap regions and the surrounding areas such as Alaska Canada and Scandinavia. Antarctica includes the southern ocean and the alpine environments are those that lie above the tree lines in temperate areas such as the Alps in Europe and parts of the Himalayas. In these areas there are three climate characteristics: Tundra, Polar and temperate montane. Tundra refers to treeless ecosystems where winters are long and cold, and summers are short and cool. Those conditions are found both in the higher latitudes (northern and southern), and also on certain mountains. High-latitude tundra is called arctic tundra or lowland tundra, and high-altitude tundra is called alpine tundra. Tundra is a very fragile biome, as the vegetation (a very important part of the biome) is very fragile. The growing season is very short due to climatic conditions, of about 50-60 days each year this therefore means that it takes a long time for plants that have been disrupted to regenerate, and some scientists reckon that it will take over 50 years for this to happen fully. The
Environmental issues and economics
Environmental issues and economics Economic growth, unemployment and a better standard of living have always been the main objectives on the agenda of economists throughout the world. The environment is and has always been the major attribution to achieving these goals as it is the source of natural resources, many amenities and as a place to dump whatever waste, whenever necessary. Up to the 1960s there had never been the awareness of problems affecting the environment's role. The population started to grow rapidly since the industrial revolution, first in the west and then in the 20th century developing countries followed. Today the world population is over 6 billion and in relation to the rate of economic growth there has been a mass of extra pressure put on the environment. There is a great list of issues, disasters and environmental problems that have been discovered during the last forty years that are on the constant agenda of the majority of economist's decisions and that are in desperate need of a solution. Some economists choose to dismiss the issue altogether, for example the USA who make up only 5% of the population, yet contribute to using 25% of the world's energy and produce 22% of the world's CO2. For them to dismiss the allegations of their contribution to damaging the environment is a very serious issue as they refuse to cease the growth of their economy
Buddhism and Buddhist teachings.
GCSE RE Coursework Question Two Buddhism '02 Tom O'Dell 0JHA Buddhist teachings don't just affect attitudes towards other people and other things, but also to other very important subjects - the environment and animals. In today's world there are few that truly respect the environment and keep it clean. Buddhists believe that the up keeping of the environment is very important and they work hard to maintain it. Their aim is to reduce all forms of pollution (even visual and noise). Although Siddhartha wanted to reduce worldly attachment - he also wanted to keep the world clean and this is what Buddhists do amongst their other practices. Ahimsa is respect for life, the belief that all animals have a soul - they call living things 'Sentients'. When the Dali Lama won the "Nobel Prize For Peace", he said: "As long as there are sentient beings about in this world, I will be there to help them" This quote started up 'Engaged Buddhism' - which is taking things one-step further and doing something about important issues as well as meditating about them. For example: if a Buddhist notices a problem with the amount of waste generated by a certain area, then they may write to the local authorities to suggest a recycling scheme; which they would then help promote. Buddhists also practise collective Karma, which is when several Buddhists get together and do something beneficial -
