With reference to one named disease examine the role of the physical environment in its development and spread.
With reference to one named disease examine the role of the physical environment in its development and spread. By Jasmine George Geography is 'the study of man and land and the interrelations of time and space'.1 The physical aspect of geography is the natural environment. When studying physical geography human geography will also be concerned as the two are intrinsically linked. To research the role of the physical environment in relation to the spread of one specific disease leprosy has been chosen. Leprosy is particularly interesting because 130 years after the bacillus was discovered it is still not known exactly how either of the two forms of the disease is spread. Lepromatous leprosy causes skin lesions and infections of the respiratory tract and tuberculoid leprosy principally affects the nerves resulting in loss of feeling and damage. Leprosy is a disease of an insidious nature with a slow onset. The disease is ultimately progressive and patients usually die from secondary infections however in some cases spontaneous recovery may occur. Infection can arise from prolonged and intimate contact between persons. The number of leprosy cases has decreased in recent years but there are still approximately 800,000 cases there are registered worldwide. For the main case studies, Africa, South Asia and South America will be researched as there is an estimated 730,000 cases
How should the radioactive waste from nuclear power plants be disposed of? Why has the nuclear industry failed to find an acceptable solution to the problem of nuclear waster disposal?
How should the radioactive waste from nuclear power plants be disposed of? Why has the nuclear industry failed to find an acceptable solution to the problem of nuclear waster disposal? I. INTRODUCTION Nuclear power is an important source of energy in many countries, even as the commissioning of new power reactors has slowed in recent years. More than 30 countries use nuclear power to meet approximately 16% of global energy needs, with the nuclear power component of total energy ranging from 76% in France (according to the International Atomic Energy Agency) to 1.4% in Brazil. In the U.S., approximately 20% of the electricity is generated from nuclear power.There are more than 400 nuclear power plants around the world, with more than 100 in the United States. However, additional nuclear power reactors are not currently being commissioned and have not been commissioned in the recent past. This is due to the issue of nuclear waste management that has become an increasingly major factor in the future and present use of nuclear power plants. The plants use either light water reactors or boiling water reactors and produce the greatest amounts of nuclear waste measured in curies /year. This waste is potentially hazardous to those who get exposed to it therefore it must be safely disposed of. In the US the Department of Energy (DOE) has been mandated by law to conduct research on
Climate change and its impacts.
THE SUBJECT OF THIS PROJECT OPTION #5 CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACTS In the past 10 years a great deal of scientific evidence that earth is undergoing significant climate change due to what has been called "global warming". The climate weather change is expected to result in primary environmental impacts such as changing weather patterns (increased rainfall, storms, draughts) as well as a rise in sea levels due to melting of the polar icecap. The secondary impacts will be felt by people living in the affected regions - land use patterns will change and people will have to adjust to new environmental conditions. Some regions, of course, will benefit and some will be adversely affected. The state will have to be able to analyze the situation, plan for a new future, and mobilize resources. For this project assess some of the likely impacts on Brunei Darussalam - especially the possibility of a 0.5 to 1.0 meter rise in sea levels. What can be done in Brunei Darussalam to plan for and alleviate any negative impacts? International efforts have been underway (international meetings and agreements) to try to reverse the global warming trend by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. What has been the Brunei Darussalam government's policy in this regard? Examine their involvement in the international negotiations. INTRODUCTION WHAT IS "GLOBAL
Climate Change
Climate
The Alpine Tundra Zone occurs on mountains throughout British Columbia, but especially along the Coast Mountains, in the north of the province
The Alpine Tundra Zone occurs on mountains throughout British Columbia, but especially along the Coast Mountains, in the north of the province, and in the southeast corner. It also extends beyond the borders of British Columbia to the north, east, and south. In southeastern British Columbia, alpine elevations start at about 2250 m, in the southwest at 1600 m, in the northeast at about 1500 m, and in the northwest at about 1500 to 1000 m. with limited areas of continuous vegetation cover. Soils are typically shallow and derived from weathered bedrock. Since cold retards the process of weathering, soils develop slowly in this zone. Occasional areas of permafrost also occur here. Terrain At the high altitudes typical of this zone, the terrain is often steep and rugged, with tall cliffs and rocky, snow-capped peaks. Much of the landscape is rock, ice, and snow, but some areas have stretches of flatter, gently rolling terrain, probably smoothed by glacial action. Glaciers also scoured out valleys and shaped steep cliffs and valley walls. When they melted, glaciers left a variety of special alpine landforms such as basin-like cirques. Talus slopes occur where gravity has caused frost-shattered fragments of rock to slide or fall down the slope. In alpine regions, the physical environment dictates the vegetation. Whether the terrain is gentle or extremely rough, the smallest
Flooding in Bangladesh.
Flooding in Bangladesh. Formal Name: People's Republic of Bangladesh. Capital: Dhaka. Size: Total 144,000 square kilometres, land area 133,910 square kilometres. Topography: Broad deltaic plain. Chittagong Hills in southeast, Low Hills in northeast and modest-elevation highlands in north and northwest. Climate: Subtropical monsoon climate, wide seasonal variations in rainfall, moderately warm temperatures, high humidity. Climate generally uniform throughout entire country. Subject to severe natural disasters, such as floods, tropical cyclones, tornadoes, and tidal bores. Population: Officially given at 109,963,551 in July 1988. Bangladesh is trapped between two sets of floods: one caused by tidal surges and a rising sea level, and the other by rivers. > Silt, deposited at the mouth of the Ganges and Brahmaputra, has formed a large delta. This eventually created many flat islands. They attracted large numbers of farmers for rice growing. Further deposition of silt blocks the main channels and increases the flood risk by raising the beds of the rivers. Flooding is most likely to occur in late summer following the seasonal monsoon rains. > Water is pushed northwards by tropical cyclones up the Bay of Bengal. Silt deposits cause the Bay of Bengal to become narrower and the sea shallower. The water builds up to form a storm surge. The total height of the water can reach 8
Global Warming.
Benjamin D. Berkowitz Professor Venne PHY 106A 25 November 2002 Global Warming The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) defines global warming as "a rise in the average temperature of the earth's climate due to a buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere" (NRDC website). Arguments are made that the main cause of global warming is this "greenhouse effect". The greenhouse effect is the rise in temperature that the Earth experiences because certain gases in the atmosphere, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane, trap energy (heat) from the sun. Without the presence of these gases, heat would escape back into space and the Earth's average temperature would be about sixty degrees cooler than it is now. Having a natural level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is beneficial to the planet, as they slow the process of heat loss into space. However, when the level of pollution increases the amount of gases in our atmosphere, the heat on the planet gets trapped and thus the world becomes hotter. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with other groups and organizations, maintain that the responsibility for global warming and all of its consequences rests mostly on the shoulders of human beings. The EPA claims that the majority of the warming of the planet that has taken place over the last fifty years is attributable to human
Global Warming
Global Warming Worst Contributors to Global Warming: The worst contributor to Global warming is the United States although it only makes up only 4% of the world population it produces 25% of the Carbon dioxide pollution from burning fossil fuels. The United States emits more carbon dioxide pollutent then China, India and Japan combined. Seeing as the US is the largest contributor the problem they should take a role in fixing the problem before hand, but the US is founded upon commerce so you do not see the dirastic changes being done that should be. The technology to cut down on these emsisions already exists, ways to have cars run cleaner and burn less gas, there are ways of generating electricity by non-harmful sources, like hydro-dams, all we need to do is put them to use. Right now Coal burning power planets produce the most Carbon dioxide emsission in the U.S. releasing 2.5 billion tons a year, the second worse is automoblie exhause which accounts for 1.5 billion tons of Carbon dioxide annualy. Our atmosphere is like a blanket, as pollution is released by power plants, automobiles, and others the blanket thickens trapping heat more easily. Over the past 50 years the average global temperature has been increaseing at an overly fast pace, Scientist agree unless we compensahate for our polution the U.S. will be faced with a 3-9 degree higher temperature by the end of the
Global Warming.
Global Warming is also known as the Greenhouse effect. This is because it works in the same way, the sunrays goes through the glass of a green house but is unable to get out, so the suns heat is trapped. As is the same but with the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) when it is trapped to between the Ozone Layer and the Earth. Energy from the sun drives the earth's weather and climate, and heats the earth's surface. Atmospheric greenhouse gases like water vapour, carbon dioxide, and other gases trap some of the outgoing energy, retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse. Global warming may be the most devastating environmental problem human beings have created, and the toughest to solve. For starters, our society is largely powered by the fossil fuels that cause global warming. Without this natural "greenhouse effect," temperatures would be much lower than they are now, and life as known today would not be possible. Instead, thanks to greenhouse gases, the earth's average temperature is a more than 60°F. However; problems may arise when of greenhouse gases increases. Carbon Dioxide is not in the Earth's atmosphere at high levels only 0.03% of the air is CO2. However it is a very important gas for the plants to be able to photosynthesis in order for the plant to grow. With out the use of Carbon Dioxide there would be no plant life or animal life on the Earth. Until
Global warming.
Global warming The phenomenon described as global warming has been well studied and documented by researchers throughout the world for several years. It is a phenomenon that has the potential to destroy our planet and all life on it. This essay will briefly define global warming, provide evidence of global warming, outline the main causes of global warming and discuss both the known and potential impacts of global warming on the planet earth. Comments are also made concerning actions being taken as well as others that need to be taken to protect our planet from the potential catastrophic consequences of continued global warming. For thousands of years the earth has gone through many changes in climate. In the last decade however, the earth has experienced notable increases in temperature, resulting in rising sea levels, changes in precipitation as well as other climate changes. The earth has not experienced such dramatic climate changes before in it's history as it has in the last one hundred years. Some of these climatic changes have been blamed on global warming. What is this phenomenon referred to as global warming? Global warming is the term used to describe a moderate increase in the earth's temperature as a result of human activities. Examples include, the burning of fossil fuels and the production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which build up greenhouse gases