Environmental Problems
Willamette River Ouch-Ouch Disease Water pollution & Diseases caused by It Waste Water from Households Pollution of Water Environment in Kyrgyzstan Dioxins Polythene Waste Disposal Recycling of Household Waste Recycling, and Reducing
W1:Rivers and Human Beings
Canada de Gomez Stream (Argentina)
PROBLEM:
The stream of Canada de Gomez is located in Santa Fe, Argentina. It is the only natural waterway that crosses our city. The stream's natural beauty and condition has been spoiled due to overcrowding and the creation of a public dump near the stream. Industries have dumped in toxins. There is also untreated sewage. The pollution has destroyed what was natural and it no longer provides citizens with the quality activities that the stream used to provide.
The stream impacts our city socially and economically. The citizens who live near the stream suffer periodically from overflow. In November 22nd 2000, a catastrophic flood impacted citizens near and far from the stream. The flood was caused in part by the poor hydraulic system used to manage the stream.
Our school has worked to improve the condition of the stream for the last 10 years. Although problems continue, there have been some changes related to industrial use and sewage treatment. The local community, schools, city government and local citizens have worked together to improve the condition of the stream. Projects to clean the stream have been based on observations and opinions that are designed to improve water quality. It has not been an easy task because it is a social problem as well as a water quality problem. People are divided on how best to solve the problems related to the stream. This makes it difficult for the people in power to make decisions.
SOLUTIONS:
THEMATIC PROBLEMS:
PROBLEMS:
SOLUTIONS:
FIVE ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS RELATED TO YOUR AREA OF STUDY
PROPOSE SOLUTIONS THAT ADDRESS THE FIVE PROBLEMS
Water
Garbage
W1
Rivers and Human Beings
W2
Waste Water
Management
G1
Management
of Non-Degradable Waste
G2
Recycling,
Reusing, and Reducing
Canada
de Gomez Stream
(Argentina)
(USA)
(Japan)
(Palestine)
Waste
Water Management
(Australia)
(Japan)
(Kyrgyzstan)
Plastic Waste
(Argentina)
(USA)
(Uganda)
Domestic
Waste Management
(Uganda)
(Kyrgyzstan)
(Japan)
Willamette River (USA)
all this pollution damages drinking water supplies throughout Oregon. The Willamette is a large river that reaches out through most of Northwest Oregon and "70% of Oregonians live within 20 miles of the mainstream Willamette." It is a large source of water but people cannot drink from it due to the high amount of pollution in it. People are even wary of drinking Willamette water that has been through a treatment plant.
Pollution not only affects us humans but the wildlife that drink and live in and around the waters of the Willamette River. "DDE was found in 2 out of 3 Willamette River fish at an average concentration 17 times above acceptable U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) standards". If this water is not fit for humans to drink you can only imagine what it is doing to the various wildlife that call the Willamette River basin home. Unlike humans, animals and plants are not completely aware of all the horrible things lying underneath the seemingly pristine looking surface of the river that they live off of. There are a lot of plants along the riverside that cannot survive using water off of the Willamette due to the amounts of poisons and chemicals. And the plants that do thrive off those waters are not the kind that animals are used to eating to survive. Also plants that survive become toxic as well.
Oregon is a very beautiful state that has many different areas from the snowcapped Cascade Mountains to the East Oregon desert; Oregon is a very scenic state. A large portion of Oregon's scenic beauty is the Willamette River Basin. When polluted water from the Willamette destroys wildlife and plants along its banks it destroys the pristine beauty that Oregon prides itself on. The toxic water also promotes the growth of weeds that animals cannot eat and that are very ugly, taking away from the perception of green forests and clear running water. This ruins people's view of Oregon, especially the Northwest portion of the state.
Many Oregonians use the Willamette River to fish, swim, and just basically to relax at. On a warm sunny day many people go out to the river in many parts of Oregon. Some go on their boats or Jet Ski's to have fun. Kids play and splash in the water while their parent’s cook up a fish just freshly caught from the water without fully knowing how dangerous the water is. People who are ignorant of the condition of the river, thinking that just because the water looks clean it is, are risking their health and especially the health of their children when they go out on a little getaway from home to the Willamette.
There are many government programs that are designed to help raise the number of salmon in our rivers. Salmon have long been part of the Northwest even before America stretched out westward to the Pacific Ocean. With salmon being over fished early in the 1900's and the many dams built during the depression their numbers have reduced greatly. Now with Oregonians working toward restoring the salmon population we now have to contest with the polluted waters of the Willamette. The salmon that go upstream to spawn are engulfed in all the toxins and horrid chemicals. This causes all sorts of abnormalities and defects in the fish. Then the recently hatched salmon swim down stream through the polluted water and if they survive they swim out into the Pacific Ocean just to eventually come back and swim through all the toxic water again.
In order to insure that we have a healthy environment in the future, here are ten steps we can follow:
The Willamette River’s sediments are the worst in the U. S. according to the Range Association, A Citizen’s Plan. About 87% of all Oregonians would say no toxic dumping into the river. Most people see the fish and trash all over the banks and the fish dining from pollutants in the river.
The government should make laws so if big polluters pollute any river they should pay a fine.
Rivers need to be really wet so habitats and humans can survive. If the river becomes a dumping ground for human waste, it gathers on the shore and it dries up. This will eventually make the river drier.
You have to have good wetlands to have a good habitat. The bacteria and fungus need to have a healthy ecosystem to survive.
People that live in the Willamette Valley go swimming in a river that is full of trash and pollutants. Fisherman are at even more risk of kidney problems and other health concerns. People can get diseases and or cancer from eating the fish.
The salmon is a big part of our culture and our environment. They are on the endanger species list. If we do not act to restore their natural habitat, future generations run the risk of not seeing these fish in their natural habitat.
Most of the streams in the Willamette Valley are polluted from runoff. Most runoff comes from rain washing pollutants off the street, freeways, roofs, and from lawns. The city’s can improve pollutant runoffs by screening drainage systems.
By knowing the source of the pollutants and the knowing the types of pollutants in the river.
About 25 years ago the federal clean water act set clear and reasonable goals for all of the rivers throughout the Untied States. The rivers should be safe for swimming, drinking from and be able to eat fish from. Salmon and steelhead should run free from pollutants.
Even though some businesses and a part of the population reject the proposal for making the Willamette River a better and less polluted place, you should help if you believe that the Willamette River can improve for the better. It’s our responsibility as individuals to make Willamette a better and cleaner river.
PROBLEMS:
SOLUTIONS:
PROBLEMS:
SOLUTIONS:
FIVE ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS RELATED TO YOUR AREA OF STUDY
PROPOSE SOLUTIONS THAT ADDRESS THE FIVE PROBLEMS
P.A.I.R. (Environmental Integrated and Regional Project)
I ) The constant worry in time for the conservation of our environment and our life quality was the trigger for our investigations through local projects and paper recycling of plastic wastes of different origins.
II) PAIR is a global project of development support which allows us to integraate Ecology with Economy and giving Economical value to the waste through its recycling.
Due to that it is raw material at a low price. Plastics are recycled as posts, chairs, benches, walls, furniture, strips, lamps posts, etc., and we made contact whit an industry which designs a movable prototype for this task in order to have an idea of how much plastic a person or an ordinary family throws away (4 people) we did a daily and weekly cotrol, through the classification of different kinds of plastic.
III)
IV)
V)
Solutions
Causes:
The causes of poor Domestic Waste management in Uganda include:
Lack of dumping sites where to deposit the solid waste. This is because the issue of waste management is new in the country. It wasn't considered to be a problem before.
Ignorance of the masses about the need to dispose of these wastes well and how to dispose of them (the wastes) off. There is lack of enough literacy program on Waste management which leaves most of the people backward on waste management. This is because of poor or no sensitization of the masses by the government and other organizations of Uganda.
Inefficient collection methods which is mainly due to lack of funds to provide the necessary machinery. In Uganda, machinery like the trucks that carry the waste from the various areas have poor covering systems such that even the waste goes on leaking on the road while being transported, and even there are few places with proper garbage containers or at times the containers are over flooded when there are rain showers.
Poor government attitude towards waste management. From a citizen's point of view, it is realize that very little money from the government is directed towards waste management, with most of it going towards industrialization. This leads to poor purchase of collecting equipment.
Another cause is the poverty that exists in Uganda. This undoubtedly leads to masses buying cheap non bio-degradable containers which are not easy to dispose off, and also substitutes like paper bags are not easily available to the rural poor areas.
Also the low expense of these solid wastes especially polythene bags which are very cheap as compared to other containers makes them very common, which makes their proper disposal very difficult.
Lack of trained manpower/personnel to deal with garbage collecting machinery and to ensure the proper disposal of the solid waste for example door to door collectors in most advanced countries.
Lack of recycling facilitates in most parts of the country for instance most of the polythene bags used are not recycled by the manufacturing industries.
there is no voluntary work. People don't work together as a community for the betterment fo the environment. Voluntary organizations such as scouts put little emphasis in such activities.
Mis-allocation of funds and even embezzlement of the little funds allocated for such work.
Solutions:
There should be proper sensitisation of the masses about the need for proper disposal of Domestic Waste. Educational projects where the masses are educated about the need of proper Domestic Waste disposal should be set up. (This will deal with the problem of the ignorance of the masses).
Setting up adequate waste handling and disposal facilities and a proper disposal location with proper management. This will save people from carelessly disposing the waste.
Government should restructure the budget such that it includes funds for proper Domestic Waste management.
Government should purchase incinerators (these are devices used to burn the non-biodegradable polythene and domestic waste with minimum production of fumes.)
Government should set up favourable conditions to encourage investors to set up recycling industries to deal with the problem of the non biodegradable materials; for example by not taxing them (the investors.)
Government should set up laws to protect and govern enviromental standards and should establish organisations to monitor the observation of these laws.
Local councils should participate in mobilising the masses for clean up weeks. This involves members of the community working together to keep their environment clean.
There should also be re-use of organic wastes They can be used as soil fertilisers and for use in processing bio-gas. Food wastes can be used for feeding animals like pigs.
People should also be encouraged to reuse the non biodegradable materials for other purposes e.g. tyre remains being used as foot wear, margarine tins being used as kerosene lamps and so on.
Government should clearly define and allocate dumping grounds for proper disposal of the Domestic Wastes.
FIVE ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS RELATED TO YOUR AREA OF STUDY
PROPOSE SOLUTIONS THAT ADDRESS THE FIVE PROBLEMS