Transcript Slide 1
Environmental Problems Global Warming Acid Rain Erosion Desertification GLOBAL WARMING What is the greenhouse effect? Natural phenomenon that controls the balance of heat within the earth's atmosphere The process whereby the natural layer of gases in our atmosphere trap a small percentage of the sun's radiation reflected from the earth's surface What is global warming? The worldwide warming of the atmosphere GLOBAL WARMING What causes global warming? Increases in the amount of carbon dioxide and other gases What problems are caused by global warming? Sea levels will rise Flooding Acid Rain What caused acid rain? Burning of fossil fuels What problems are caused by acid rain? Kills aquatic life Kills vegetation Can erode buildings and monuments Soil erosion What caused soil erosion? Wind Water Preventing soil erosion Avoiding overgrazing and the over-use of crop lands Encouraging biological diversity by planting several different types of plants together Conservation of wetlands Soil erosion The importance of plants Plants slow down water as it flows over the land and this allows much of the rain to soak into the ground Plants break the impact of a raindrop before Slow down the flow of the water and their roots bind the soil Desertification What is desertification? Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas. What causes desertification? It is caused primarily by human activities and climatic variations. How does desertification occur? It occurs because dryland ecosystems, which cover over one third of the world's land area, are extremely vulnerable to over-exploitation and inappropriate land use. How many people are affected by desertification? Over 250 million people are directly affected by desertification. Sources : www.botany.uwc.ac.za www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk Prepared by : Görkem Kiliçaslan Gökhan Gediz