Chapter 2: Addressing Environmental Problems, Part One Michelle Vanderwist 7th period AP Enviro
Objective One:List and briefly describe the five components of solving environmental problems
Scientific Assessment Gathering information through observations and experiments to form a model, which is a formal statement that describes the situation.
Risk Analysis Analyze potential consequences of intervention, including adverse effects.
Public Education Explain the problem, present all alternatives for action, and reveal probable cost and results of each choice.
Political Action Public selects an action, but during political process there are differences of opinion. VS.
Follow-Through Results of any action should be carefully monitored; make sure problem is being addressed AND judge/improve initial evaluation and model.
Objective Two:Given a simple problem, write a hypothesis and design an experiment to test the hypothesis, using the procedure and terminology of the scientific method
Recognize Question, Develop Hypothesis Scientific method never “proves” anything—only disproves other hypotheses, which leaves the plausible ones
Design/Perform Experiment Analyze data to reach a conclusion.: • Theory = explanation of hypotheses, • Principles= highest level of confidence, • Law= principle of great basic importance.
Share New Knowledge Publish information to share findings with others
Inductive Vs. Deductive Reasoning Inductive: Specific information General Conclusions Deductive: General conclusions Specific information
Objective Three Explain how Risk Assessment helps determine adverse health effects ? =
Probabilities of risk are always calculated as fractions; certain risk = 1, certain not to occur= 0. Example: Smoking = 0.0036 risk of cancer 1 pack/day (High Risk)
Step 1&2 - Hazard Identification & Dose-Response Assessment What is the relationship between a substance, the amount, and the seriousness of effect?
How much? How often? How long? Step 3: Exposure Assessment
Use data from steps 2 and 3 to determine probability Step 4: Risk Characterization
Objective Four:Describe how a dose-response curve is used in determining the health effects of environmental pollutants.
Dose and Response: • Dose=amt that enters the body of an exposed organism • Response=type and amt of damage caused by exposure
Lethal Dose….LD50 Dose that is lethal to 50% of a population of test organisms
Effective Dose….ED50 Dose that causes 50% of a population of test organisms to exhibit whatever response is under study
Threshold Level Dose with no measurable response
Objective Five:Briefly describe the history of the pollution problems in Lake Washington of the 1950’s and how they were resolved
The Problem: • Metropolitan expansion = 75.7 million gallons/day of treated sewage dumped into Lake Washington = LARGE amout of Oscillitoria cyanobacterium (blue-green algae) • Gold Cup yacht races brought awareness
Eutrophication : Nutrient enrichment of freshwater lakes, undesirable because bacteria multiply and deplete oxygen, other organisms die
The Plan: Edmondson’s Three Steps Comprehensive regional planning, elimination of sewage discharge into lake, and research about key nutrients causing bacteria growth
The Lake Today: Edmondson was correct; lake returned to normal within a few years. Today it is clearer than ever before.
Objective Six:Relate Garrett Hardin’s description of the Tragedy of the Commons in medieval Europe to the global commons today
Medieval Europe: Inhabitants of village shared pastureland for grazing, users destroyed commons they depended upon by overgrazing…
Outcomes: • private ownership of land so that individual protects it • government authority and rules to manage • resources and protect…otherwise: DESERTIFICATION
Global Commons • Parts of our modern-day environment, like in medieval Europe, available to everyone but over which no individual has responsibility (atmosphere, fresh water, forests, wildlife, fish, etc). • Tragedy of OUR global commons: Increased environmental stress because susceptible to overuse without ownership.
How We Can Fix This We need legal and economic policies, no quick fixes, need strong sense of stewardship: shared responsibility for sustainable care of our planet. Cooperation and commitment at international level
Essay Question: Explain how to follow the steps of analyzing risk and the importance this step plays in the process of addressing environmental problems.
Response: First, you must identify a hazard and determine if a certain substance causes increased probability of adverse health effects. Then, though a dose-response curve and careful observation and experimentation, you must determine the relationship between the dose, or amount of exposure, and the result, or effect upon health. Then you need to question how much, how often, and how long humans face exposure to the hazardous substance. Where people live in relation to the material or point of emission is also taken into account, and the concentration in the environment is determined. Finally, putting all of the information you have gathered together, you can begin to draw conclusions with the combined data and come up with an approximate probability of a certain consequence occurring due to exposure to that certain substance. This step, risk analysis, is important in addressing environmental problems because it can also be used to determine possible outcomes of different courses of action, which can impact the final decision in the solution to a problem. By looking at both the possible positive and possible negative consequences of a potential action, we can make a more educated decision about whether or not to take action on a particular problem, as well as which action we should take.
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