Environmental Studies Essays

Ecological disturbance is generally regarded as the disruption of the flora, fauna, and land by external forces such as flood, drought, fire, and cyclones. Such disturbances are major factors that have the potential to transform the structure of the ecosystem and biological communities. The impacts may be adverse or beneficial for the ecosystem.

Cameron created Pandora in the movie in an interesting way so that Pandora is bigger than the earth hence showing that Pandora is more significant than the earth. The station at Pandora has been fenced to keep off Na’vi and for men to exploit the resources; the arrows in the tires of the truck show that they are attacked.

It is very common for environmental professionals in upper management to feel the pressure to pay no attention to regulation or bend the rules in regards to an obvious contravention when the solution will cost a hefty amount of cash or cause operational disruption. Such situations put the professionals’ career and reputation in jeopardy. 

In order to carry out an environmental audit, one needs an audit methodology that guides the conduct of compliance, performance as well as a financial audit in a field. The process includes compiling checklists, sampling, and deciding on the audit program. The checklist often includes major audit issues, objectives, and conclusions.

Organic compounds discharged into water contaminate the environment. Wastewater that contains phenol and its compounds is discharged from phenolic resin plants, oil refineries, and coke plants. Phenol and its compounds usually impart some problems in the taste and odor of drinking water even when taken at very small levels.

Sustainability is one of the issues which have taken the modern world by a fuss. Among the major things that have been seen as an appropriate means of ensuring that sustainability is upheld is the appropriate use of resources. With this, the world is able to impart lesser pressure on scarce world resources.

Energy is at the top-most list of mainly significant monetary, ecological and developmental concerns facing the globe at the moment. Clean, resourceful, inexpensive, as well as dependable power services, are essential for worldwide affluence. To be precise, developing countries require developing access to dependable and contemporary power services.

The threat posed to the environment through natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, poverty et al interacts with human security in a mutual and damaging manner. The aftermath of a crisis such as an earthquake is the threat of human-made crises like armed conflicts, which are accompanied by fear and declining social order.

Air pollution is one of the biggest global challenges in today’s world, especially after the industrial revolution to date. In the past decades, practices and processes bring great changes to the development of the world like transportation, facilitation of the exchange of goods and services aimed at making life better have been improvised and developed.

In households, when water is conserved, there are various advantages that the consumer can get. For instance, water conservation can save energy. This is because, for the water to be pumped from a central area into the home, energy is needed to run that machine. Techniques of water conservation can also help to save water that will be useful for future generations.

Solid waste management is a discipline that involves offering solutions to the problem of solid waste through approaches such as; control of generation, collection, processing, disposal, storage, transfer, and transportation of solid wastes, in a manner that attains the best practices of public health, environmental requirements, conservation, economics, engineering, and esthetic needs

The process causes undesirable alterations on the land leading to a permanent or temporary reduction in the capacity of the land to support the intended use. Understanding the soil peculiarities and features on the farm is critical as it facilitates the processes for determining whether poor agricultural productivity is caused by nutrient imbalance.

I realized that our institution is involved in environmental pollution that results in environmental footprints.  I always use the fridge on a daily basis which consumes a lot of power and it also has negative impacts on the environment. I realized that although the use of the fridge may not seem to be harmful to the environment, it is quite detrimental.  I also have other appliances in my room.

For example, European Commission is an international environmental agency in Australia that seeks to influence the association between the development of a country and the environment. Strategic Environmental Assessment in Australia has the main purpose of incorporating environmental considerations such as social, economic, and biophysical to the strategic decision-making thus acting as a facilitator of environment sustainability.

Nuclear wastes are considered one of the most hazardous substances on the face of the earth. The waste also referred to as radioactive waste is the liquid or gaseous waste that is generated from nuclear fuel production, nuclear power stations, decommissioning of nuclear plants, the manufacturing of weapons, and repossessing of fuel (Gaffigan, 2010).

Buildings are acknowledged as one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emission and global energy use. Green buildings are identified as an appropriate strategy for increasing environmental awareness. Environmental policies have been applied in practice and construction to reduce environmental impacts.

Overconsumption is currently becoming an increasing sustainability issue of environmental concern in Australia. All over Australia, there is increased demand for consumer goods and basic commodities due to improved living standards. The primary cause of overconsumption is overpopulation and increased living standards.

I have focussed on how I can survive with little food and still maintain the needed nutrition level in case a disaster strikes. As mentioned in the reflective essay, disaster preparedness can be partially realized through readiness measures that accelerate disaster response as well as recovery and lead to timely and rapid aid.

Human beings have to satisfy three basic needs to be able to survive in this world. The human population, however, has grown to an extent that the natural resource base cannot replenish once exploited. Technology has expanded the capacity of human beings to produce commodities that are used to satisfy basic human needs.

There has been a trend towards the shrinking of urban centers in the history of America. The change in the urban cities has been marked by an era of continuity in the number of individuals in the housing units being left vacant as well as multiply numbers of city dwellers being concentrated in the suburbs where housing rates are affordable. 

According to Ellabban, Abu-Rub, and Blaabjerg (2014, p.748), renewable energy is the energy that is often collected from natural resources and is sustainably and constantly replenish. Renewable energy sources include wind, sunlight, waves, tides and geothermal heat and offer energy in the four significant areas consisting of electricity generation, transportation, water and air cooling or heating, and rural energy services.

The main role of a director of sustainable development is to create policies and activities that will ensure the organization or company complies with the laws of the country with regards to the environment. The policies created should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and also Time-Bound) and they should be able to be integrated into the public policy.

As a result of the elevated emphasis on environmental management, the use of constructed wetlands has generally expanded internationally. This provides mechanisms for managing industrial wastewater and is a counteractive measure of ensuring improvement in handling pollution cases related to both abandoned and active mines.

Australia is among the countries that have encountered the devastating effects of natural disasters. The occurrence of natural disasters has led to massive losses for the Australian economy. The major disasters include the Sydney hailstorm of 1999, the severe storms of New Castle and Hunter Valley that occurred in 2007, and the 1989 Newcastle earthquake.

When sewage waste is released to water sources, we will see hazardous substances going to get their way into the water sources, making the water is contaminated and unfit for consumption. This is going to cause harm to both human beings and other living organisms. In addition to the two cases, water pollution can be caused by farming.

At the core of sustainability is the concept of sustainable development. According to the Brundtland report to the World Commission on Environment and Development, sustainable development refers to development that meets the present generation's needs without compromising future generations' ability to meet their own needs.

Essentially, natural processes inspire constructed wetlands within the naturally occurring wetlands. According to Sahu (2014) natural wetlands bogs, swamps, marshes, and everglades are extremely productive systems that store large water volumes, offer habitats supporting different animals and plants population, recalculate nutrients, and remove contaminants from the water.

All these stakeholders need to balance ecological, social and economic concerns to promote a viable and valuable property industry for generations to come. This can promote a healthy global community where more emphasis is placed on the interdependence between the environment and economic development.

Biofuels such as ethanol can be produced from a wide range of lignocellulosic biomass like weeds, forestry and agricultural residues, waste paper, herbaceous and woody energy crops, and a significant proportion of municipal solid waste among other types of wastes (Agrimi, Pisano & Palmieri, 2012; Sarin, 2012; Wyman, 1996).

The use of cotton pickers in cotton plantations causes soil compaction, which affects the productivity of the land in the long run. Soil compaction causes a decrease in the soil penetration levels, soil moisture, soil air, and soil animals. The decrease in any of these components leads to a decrease in the productivity of that soil.

Different types of electronic wastes can be tackled by effective recycling methods; this will help tackle this problem. Inflammable wastes can be burned off and landfill wastes can be channelized in such a way so that it does not pile up and with proper treatment in place so that it resists contamination of land, pyrolysis is another method through which wastes can be eliminated.

Far from being merely academic in end and use, a study of surface sediments and the heavy metals that are trapped and collected in them is handy in providing information on changing ecology of particular environments.  Being the largest single non-point source pollutant, sediments are increasingly used to assess human impact on the aquatic environment.

It was meant to fight global warming. The goal of UNFCCC is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere to a level, which can be able to prevent anthropogenic interference, which is dangerous with the system of climate. Global warming has taken a centre stage in international environmental policy and law since the 1990s.

Environmental institutions must take into account the link between the economic and social issues and the problems facing the environment. Through the assistance of different international regimes as well as other law bodies a balance is created between pillars of sustainable development that include, social, economic, and environmental matters.

When the Self-Other- System (SOS) model is considered, one gets the impression that environmental ethics should provide a sketch of how humans should act or live. For example, one would expect that environmental ethics would have the answers to what kind of systems people should be setting for purposes of environmental decision-making.

Although man appreciates his environment, he does a lot of harm to it. That is to say, in the 21st century, the environment faces a lot of problems. There are a lot of environmental issues such as climate change, environmental pollution, intensive farming, ozone depletion, overpopulation, and resource depletion just to mention but a few.

While sustainability among cities has been endorsed as an indispensable goal globally within various policy contexts, important questions regarding the level at which various cities and the local governments are capable of addressing sustainability challenges have often remained unanswered.

Nepal is a country in the Middle East with mountains and plains alike. The country experiences both hot and cold climate. The tropical temperatures in the low-lying plains provide an ideal habitat for breeding mosquitoes. Nepal does not face many problems from mosquitoes as it is with most tropical countries.

The global society today’s increasingly places much emphasis on the need for increased environmental conservation and preservation needs. In this regard, as Tartaglia (2013) argued, there is a relationship between environmental standards and quality and the human society living conditions. In this case, the argument, as supported by Human Kinetics Organization (2010), affirmed on the dependent nature of human beings on the environment.

The relationship is evaluated in terms of two different perspectives. In the first one, different ways in which tourism contributes to climate change are examined. On the other hand, the different ways in which climate change affects tourism as a whole are examined as well. The point is to demonstrate the dual nature of the relationship between tourism and climate change.

Procedures for controlling this waste should be put in place to manage the environment. A good waste management policy ensures that there is control over the generation of waste, storage, removal, and recycling. These processes are essential in waste management.

According to JUUCE (2014), the possibility of a massive environmental disaster is the largest issue facing the world at present. This includes China where there has been a huge shift of population into cities and where industry creates massive demand for energy. This is combined with a boom in consumerism and together these things are a threat to natural resources.

The system has very few components that are readily available. These include plastics and other non-metal materials. The Reverse Osmosis plant can handle a range of flow rates from a few up to 750,000 L/day. The plant is also energy efficient, meaning that its energy consumption is very low. Reverse Osmosis can eliminate other chemicals in the water apart from salts.

The changes in the climate are caused by the rise in the level of greenhouse gas; because of human activities, such as - agriculture, deforestation, and burning fossil fuels. There is now a comprehensive belief that global warming of more than 2° Celsius over the pre-industrial state would be harmful and should be averted. 

Marine situations are at present encountering exceptional weights from a scope of normal. Marine chiefs and approach producers are looking for methods for better dealing with the causes and outcomes of the natural change process adrift. Marine zones and particularly seaside situations are exceptionally troublesome spots to oversee.

There have been carbon dioxide that has overtime created a global concern, while there have been major challenges faced by the global population increase. On the verge to lower the amount of carbon dioxide released to the ambient that all the wastewater treatment plants must employ the use of anaerobic digester, which does encourage re-use of the waste materials to generate gas used for energy.

The economic viabilities of contemporary day mining are significantly reliant on careful planning and the management of the mines. The declining trend in the average grade and quality of minerals, the increasing cost of mining, and the environmental consideration will often ensure that the situation will be the same and the foreseeable future.

A flood is a natural calamity that is very disastrous in nature and often causes damage to property and infrastructure and loss of life leading to economic loss. The municipality of Harry Gwala in the province of KwaZulu-Natal is one area that is prone to floods. An effective early warning system will reduce the adverse effects of floods.

In the last decade, the United Arab Emirates has mainly focused on industrialization to expand its economy. As a result, energy demand has increased placing the country as one of the highest energy consumers in the world. With the increased environmental concerns on the effects of fossil fuels, the UAE has turned to renewable sources of energy.

Hence, the transport of oil from these countries and offshore drilling platforms has made oil spills prevalent in our seas. If this dependence on foreign oil is not stopped or even minimized, the traffic of oil tankers in our seas will increase, the incidence of oil spills will intensify, and our seawater will become too polluted.