Pages

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

TOP 5 MOST WAYS OF ABUSING ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES (RE-POST)


i post this ways of abusing environmental resources not to give you or not for you to do
but to warn everybody of how man abuses the environmental resources

hope you like this one

TOP 5 MOST WAY OF ABUSING ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES

DYNAMITE FISHING



Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish by hooking, trapping, or gathering. By extension, the term fishing is applied to pursuing other aquatic animals such as various types of shellfish, squid, octopus, turtles, frogs, and some edible marine invertebrates. The term fishing is not usually applied to pursuing aquatic mammals such as whales, where the term "whaling" is more appropriate, or to commercial fish farming. Fishing is an ancient and worldwide practice with various techniques and traditions and it has been transformed by modern technological developments. In addition to providing food through harvesting fish, modern fishing is both a recreational and professional sport. According to FAO statistics, the total number of fishermen and fish-farmers is estimated to be 38 million. Fisheries provide direct and indirect employment to an estimated 200 million people worldwide




Blast fishing or dynamite fishing describes the practice of using dynamite, homemade bombs or other explosives to stun or kill schools of fish for easy collection. This practice can be extremely destructive to the surrounding ecosystem, as the shockwaves often destroy the underlying habitat (such as coral reefs close to a coastline) that supports the fish. The frequently improvised nature of the explosives used also means danger for the fishermen as well, with accidents and injuries.
Although outlawed, the practice remains widespread in Southeast Asia, as well as in the Aegean Sea and coastal Africa. In the Philippines, where the practice is well documented, blast fishing dates back to even before the First World War, as this activity is mentioned by Ernst Jünger in his book Storm of Steel. One 1999 report estimated that some 70,000 fishermen (12% of the nation's total number) engage in the practice today. Extensive hard-to-patrol coastlines; the lure of lucrative, easy catches; and in some cases outright apathy or corruption on the part of local officials make enforcement of blast fishing bans an ongoing challenge for authorities.
Blast fishing is a dangerous (and generally illegal) form of fishing. Home-made explosives made from artificial fertilizers mixed with kerosene is often employed. These devices explode without warning, and have been known to injure or kill the person using them, or innocent bystanders. M-80 fireworks are sometimes used as well.
Blast Fishing is sometimes called "Redneck Fishing"


TOP 4 MOST WAY OF ABUSING ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES

ILLEGAL MINING


Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually (but not always) from an ore body, vein, or (coal) seam. Materials recovered by mining include bauxite, coal, copper, gold, silver, diamonds, iron, precious metals, lead, limestone, nickel, phosphate, oil shale, rock salt, tin, uranium, and molybdenum. Any material that cannot be grown from agricultural processes, or created artificially in a laboratory or factory, is usually mined. Mining in a wider sense can also include extraction of petroleum, natural gas, and even water.


when these poisonous chemicals spoil out in rivers or any body of water,they would scatter rapidly which may harmed a thousands of people who's getting their water source in that infected area


it may also destroy marine ecosystem





TOP 3 MOST WAY OF ABUSING ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES

UNPROPER DISPOSING OF GARBAGES

One of the serious negative consequences of the People's Republic of China's rapid industrial development has been increased pollution and degradation of natural resources. A 1998 World Health Organization report on air quality in 272 cities worldwide concluded that seven of the world's 10 most polluted cities were in China. Rapid industrialisation in the Pearl River Delta has also contributed to worsening air pollution in Hong Kong.China's increasingly polluted environment is largely a result of the country's rapid development and consequently a large increase in primary energy consumption, which is almost entirely produced by burning coal. China has pursued a development model which prioritises exports-led growth (similar to many other East Asian countries), by expediting increases in manufacturing capacity, largely in the absence of any significant ecological or pollution controls to reduce polluting emissions from the nation's rapidly industrialising economy. With regard to biological resources China has developed a Biodiversity Action Plan to address protection of vulnerable species and productive habitats.Various studies estimate pollution costs the Chinese economy about 7-10% of GDP each year.Since 2002, the number of complaints to the environmental authorities has increased by 30% every year, reaching 600,000 in 2004; while the number of mass protests caused by environmental issues has grown by 29% every year. The PRC's leaders are increasingly paying attention to the country's severe environmental problems. In March 1998, the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) was officially upgraded to a ministry-level agency, reflecting the growing importance the PRC Government places on environmental protection. In recent years, the PRC has strengthened its environmental legislation and made some progress in stemming environmental deterioration. In 1999, the PRC invested more than one percent of GDP in environmental protection, a proportion that will likely increase in coming years. During the 10th 5-Year Plan, the PRC plans to reduce total emissions by 10%. Beijing in particular is investing heavily in pollution control as part of its campaign to host a successful Olympiad in 2008. Some cities have seen improvement in air quality in recent years.



un proper garbage disposal may lead to FLASH FLOODS AND WATER POLLUTION













TOP 2 MOST WAY OF ABUSING ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES

ILLEGAL LOGGING

Illegal logging is a pervasive problem, causing enormous damage to forests, to local communities and to the economies of producer countries. And since the EU is one of the largest importers of timber and forest products, the consumption of the member states continues to fuel illegal logging and related criminal activities. Yet the EU still has no legal means to halt the import of illegally sourced forest products.All the main EU institutions have recognized this problem; however, insufficient action is being taken to address this issue. This report aims to outline what we believe can and should be done to implement effective solutions that governments and other stakeholders can act on.






Actually, though Mainland China is primarily responsible for the increase in illegal logging which we have seen in recent years. For example, Global Timber, a UK-based non profit, makes the following estimates for the proportion of exported timber from each listed country to China that is sourced from illegal logging:
Brazil: 80%
Burma: >90%
Cambodia: 100%
Cameroon: 80%
Congo (Brazzaville): 90%
Equatorial Guinea: 90%
Gabon: 80%
Indonesia (timber): 90%
Indonesia (pulp and paper): 90%
Malaysia: 50%
Papua New Guinea: 90%
Russia (timber): 60%
Russia (pulp and paper): 10%
Solomon Islands: 90%
Of course, US and EU demand for imported furniture and paper products from China contributes to much of this activity






To date, approximately 80 per cent of the Earth's forests have been cut down. The remaining 20 per cent are concentrated in the Amazon Basin, South-East Asia, Central Africa and the Russian Federation. Although there is debate on whether any type of logging is good, legal logging endeavours to be sustainable and limited. Companies logging legally operate with a license, pay the government of the producer-country their rightful export taxes and are obliged to plant a tree for every tree they log. Illegal logging on the other hand is unsustainable and in most cases companies, whether national or not, log over their allowed quota, process logs without a licence and export wood without paying export duties.
The trade in illegally logged timber robs governments of an estimated £1 billion a year and is a major problem in timber-producing countries such as India, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea



Extensive floods in Indonesia during early 2002 have killed hundreds of people, destroyed thousands of homes, damaged thousands of hectares of rice paddy fields, and inundated Indonesian insurance companies with flood-related claims. Rampant deforestation, much of it from illegal logging, has destroyed forests that stabilize soils and regulate river flow, causing record floods and landslides.In just 50 years, Indonesia's total forest cover fell from 162 million hectares to 98 million. Roads and development fragment over half of the remaining forests. More than 16 million people depend on fresh water from Indonesia's 15 largest watersheds, which between 1985 and 1997 lost at least 20 percent of their forest cover. Loggers have cleared almost all the biologically diverse lowland tropical forests off Sulawesi, and if current trends continue, such forests will be gone from Sumatra in 2005 and Kalimantan by 2010.




TOP MOST WAY OF ABUSING ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES

AIR POLLUTING



This is one of the biggest problem in the world








Air pollution is a mixture of solid particles and gases in the air. Car emissions, chemicals from factories, dust, pollen and mold spores may be suspended as particles. Ozone , a gas, is a major part of air pollution in cities. When ozone forms air pollution, it's also called smog.
Some air pollutants are poisonous. Inhaling them can increase the chance you'll have health problems. People with heart or lung disease, older adults and children are at greater risk from air pollution. Air pollution isn't just outside – the air inside buildings can also be polluted and affect your health.



Worldwide air pollution is responsible for large numbers of deaths and cases of respiratory diseases. While major stationary sources are often identified with air pollution, the greatest sources of emissions is actually mobile sources, mainly automobiles. Gases such as carbon dioxide. which contribute to global warming, have recently gained recognition as pollutants by some scientists.



The World Health Organitation states that 4.6 million people die each year from causes directly attributable to air pollution. Many of these mortalities are attributable to indoor and outdoor pollution. Worldwide more deaths per year are linked to air pollution than to aotomobile accidents. Published in 2005 suggests that 310,000 Europeans die from air pollution annually. Direct causes of air pollution related deaths include aggravated asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, lung and heart diseases, and respiratory allergies. TheUS EPA estimates that a proposed set of changes in diesel engine technology (Tier 2) could result in 12,000 fewer premature mortalities, 15,000 fewer heart attacks, 6,000 fewer emergency room visits by children with asthma, and 8,900 fewer respiratory-related hospital admissions each year in the United States.
The worst short term civilian pollution crisis in India was the 1984 Bhopal Disaster. Leaked industrial vapors from the Union Carbide factory, belonging to Union Carbide, In formed over in c., U.S.A., killed more than 2,000 people outright and injured anywhere from 150,000 to 600,000 others, some 6,000 of whom would later die from their injuries. The United Kingdom suffered its worst air pollution event when the December 4th Great Smog of 1952London. In six days more than 4,000 died, and 8,000 more died within the following months. An accidental leak of anthrax spores from a biological warfare laboratory in the former USSR1979 near Sverdlovsk is believed to have been the cause of hundreds of civilian deaths. The worst single incident of air pollution to occur in the United States of America occurred in Donora, Pennsylvania in late October, 1948, when 20 people died and over 7,000 were injured.
The health effects caused by air pollutants may range from subtle biochemical and physiological changes to difficulty in breathing, wheezing, coughing and aggravation of existing respiratory and cardiac conditions. These effects can result in increased medication use, increased doctor or emergency room visits, more hospital admissions and premature death. The human health effects of poor air quality are far reaching, but principally affect the body's respiratory system and the cardiovascular system. Individual reactions to air pollutants depend on the type of pollutant a person is exposed to, the degree of exposure, the individual's health status and genetics. People who exercise outdoors, for example, on hot, smoggy days increase their exposure to pollutants in the air.