SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY Pages 91 104 ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

SOCIAL & ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY Pages 91 - 104

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES THAT CAUSE ILL HEALTH When we misuse, damage or misunderstand the environment, people get sick, water sources dry up or get polluted, soil becomes unproductive, air is polluted, poverty increases and even weather patterns can change.

THE USE OF HARMFUL SUBSTANCES IN FOOD PRODUCTION HOW DO HARMFUL SUBSTANCES GET INTO FOOD? Harmful substances can get into the food in any of the five stages of food production: 1. Primary production: On the farm when animals are given antibiotics, growth hormones, fertilisers, pesticides. 2. Processing: Chemical substances are added to foods to make them look more attractive, last longer. These can cause allergies. 3. Packaging: Metal cans, plastic wrappings sometimes contain harmful chemicals which enter the foods. 4. Transporting: Dirty warehouses, inadequate refrigeration contribute to contamination. 5. Selling: Unhygienic display of food, inadequate refrigeration causes harmful bacteria and viruses.

IMPACT OF DEGRADATION ON SOCIETY & THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION: The environment can get unhealthy. When important parts of the environment such as soil, air and water are unhealthy they are: Unable to recover themselves Unable to meet the needs of people and the natural environment When the environment is degraded, natural hazards like fires, floods and drought affect plants, animals and people badly and become natural disasters.

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS Environmental events are dangerous events that can happen anywhere, anytime. Floods Veld & mountain fires Tropical cyclones Droughts Earthquakes Tsunamis Volcanic eruptions Avalanches Mudslides

SOIL EROSION Soil erosion happens when the fertile top layer of soil is removed and plants cannot grow. Topsoil is removed by wind, water, overstocking of animals, overcrowding by people, inappropriate farming methods, over-use of land for cultivation, mining and building operations.

POLLUTION Pollution is dumping substances or disturbances into the environment that harm living organisms. We may experience health problems caused by pollution: - wheezing coughing pneumonia shortness of breath blocked or runny nose sinusitis hayfever - - bronchitis diarrhoea malaria heart disease hypertension

RADIATION Generating electricity with nuclear power does not pollute the environment in the way that coal-burning power stations do. It is clean, efficient and powerful. South Africa has one nuclear-powered electricity generating plant, in Koeberg, in Cape Town. When natural disasters happen which lead to accidents in nuclear power plants, the consequences are terrible. High levels of radiation are released into the environment, seriously damaging all living things.

FLOODS Heavy rain and floods are part of the cycle of nature. When land is degraded the damage floods cause is severe. When plant cover has been removed, there is nothing to help the soil to absorb water and slow the speed at which water runs off the land into the rivers. Rivers fill up quickly and flood land. Floodplains are flat, open areas next to rivers where the soil is deep and fertile. People build their homes and grow crops on floodplains. These fill up and destroy their homes and crops.

FIRES Natural fires are hazards, and degradation makes the effects of the fires worse Alien tries usually burn at much hotter temperatures than fires in indigenous vegetation. The result is that natural vegetation cannot recover as well as it would if only indigenous trees, grasses and plants had burned. Plant cover is lost and soil erosion follows.

DAMAGE CAUSED BY WIND People living in overcrowded informal settlements are very vulnerable to damage and injury from the effects of wind.

LOSS OF OPEN SPACE People need open spaces for sport and recreation, places where they can see natural beauty and relax outdoors. Open spaces allow for different types of plant and animal life to live in cities. Open spaces in cities are often degraded by litter, dumping, lack of development an maintenance. When open spaces are degraded the quality of life of city communities suffer.

LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE Infrastructure: public gardens, fire stations, clinics, storm water drains, dams, roads, electricity, water supply, etc. Communities that lack infrastructure are very vulnerable to the effects of natural hazards. Floods and fires cause hardship and suffering in such communities every year. Unhappy community relationships and poor community health are also common in communities that lack infrastructure.

CLIMATE CHANGE The first decade of the 21 st century had the highest average temperatures around the world ever, especially at the south and north poles. Global warming, especially in Antarctica and the arctic, is causing climates to around the world to change. Human activities are the main cause of global warming.

HOW DO WE COMBAT GLOBAL WARMING? REDUCE: Use less: electricity, petrol, diesel & oil. REUSE: Save money and the planet by finding new ways to use old stuff. RECYCLE: Don’t throw away: plastic, paper, cans, glass, cardboard and polystyrene. Recycle them. This helps to save the planet.

COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES: o. Page 95 Activity 4 o. Page 97 Activity 5 o. Page 97 Activity 6 o. Page 98 Activity 7