Humans+and+Environmental+Interaction

Human and Environmental Interaction by Hee Jae

__Pollution __

[[image:Air.pollution_1.jpg width="329" height="223" align="right" caption="http://hernadi-key.blogspot.com/2008_12_01_archive.html"]]
Currently, Europe is bending over backwards to seek victory in its battle against air pollution. However, a significant proportion of Europe's urban population still live in cities where EU air quality limits are regularly exceeded. As a result, thousands of people are dying premature deaths. Unfortunately, statistics do not show any signs of optimism either. According to the European Commission, recent research revealed that air pollution is responsible for 310,000 premature deaths in Europe each year and reduces life expectancy by an average of almost nine months across the European Union. The situation is the worst in Benelux area, Northern Italy, and new member states such as Poland and Hungary. It is quite evident that if necessary measures are not taken to effectively address the issue of air pollution, Europe will be headed towards even more dire health consequences.

Causes of Pollution
As much as it is probably the most crucial and severe environmental issue in Europe, researchers and scientists are continuously seeking for ways to mitigate the air pollution. So far, they have narrowed down the three main pollutants that make up for the major part of the pollution in Europe: fine particulate matter (PM), ground-level ozone (O3) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2). The production of these substances can mainly be attributed to:
 * burning of fossil fuels in electricity generation, transport, industry and households
 * industrial processes and solvent use, for example in chemical and mineral industries
 * waste treatment

Particulate Matter & Ground-Level Ozone and Their Effects
Two pollutants, fine particle matter and ground-level ozone, are now generally recognized as the most significant in terms of health impacts. Long-term exposure can lead to a variety of health effects, ranging from minor irritation of the respiratory system to premature death. Particulate matter, which refers to a variety of tiny particles from sources such as vehicle exhausts and domestic stoves, affect the lungs.

According to the latest EEA data, since 1997, up to 50 percent of Europe's urban population may have been exposed to concentrations of particulate matter above the EU limit set to protect human health. As much as 61 percent of the urban population may have been exposed to levels of ozone that exceed the EU target. The EEA has noted that while emissions of these two key air pollutants have dropped since 1997, measured concentrations in the air we breathe have remained largely the same. As yet, we don't know why there has not been a drop in ambient concentrations but it could be a combination of several factors: increased temperatures caused by climate change could be affecting air quality; perhaps we are on the receiving end of pollution from other continents or natural emissions of ozone forming substances released from trees, for example.

Nitrogen and its Effects
Nitrogen oxides are produced as a result of road traffic and other fossil fuel combustion processes. They are also precursors for a number of harmful secondary air pollutants, such as ozone, nitric acid, and nitrates, which contribute to increased respirable particle levels in the atmosphere. Excess nitrogen in the air contributes mainly to acidification and eutrophication in the environment.
 * **Acidification** are acid depositions (e.g. acid rain) that are caused by emissions of nitrogen compounds and sulfur, which react with the air to produce acid. It has harmful effects on aquatic animals, and the overall ecosystem by decreasing the ability of many marine organisms to build their shells and skeletal structure.
 * **Eutrophication** is a process whereby bodies of water receive excess nutrients that stimulate excessive plant growth (algae, algae, and nuisance plants weeds). Enhanced plant growth depletes dissolved oxygen in the water when dead plant material decomposes and can cause other organisms to die. Nutrients can come from many sources, such as fertilizers applied to agricultural fields, deposition of nitrogen from the atmosphere, and erosion of soil containing nutrients.

__Lack of Biodiversity __

The Current Situation
Europe is currently witnessing a steady loss of biodiversity, with profound consequences for the natural world and for human well-being. The main causes are changes in natural habitats. Although Europe has set a target for halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010, recent EEA assessments show that without significant additional policy efforts, it is unlikely that the target will be reached.



Why Does it Matter?
Biodiversity is essential to ecosystem services (the services that nature supplies): climate regulation, water and air, soil fertility, and the production of food, fuel, fibre and medicines. It is crucial that we preserve and protect the environment and all species, for biodiversity is the basis of many industrial processes and the production of new medicines.

The Triggers
In Europe, human activity has shaped biodiversity ever since the spread of agriculture over 5000 years ago. The agricultural and industrial revolutions led to dramatic and accelerating changes in land use, intensification of agriculture, urbanization and land abandonment. Due to intensive agricultural production systems, construction, quarrying, over-exploitation of forests, oceans, rivers, lakes and soils, alien species invasions, pollution and — increasingly — global climate change, the lack of biodiversity in Europe has exacerbated greatly. This in turn has resulted in the collapse of many practices (e.g. traditional agricultural methods) that helped to maintain biodiversity-rich landscapes. In addition, European lifestyles rely heavily on the import of resources and goods from all over the world, often encouraging unsustainable exploitation of natural resources. This leads to loss of biodiversity which in turn damages the natural capital resources on which social and economic development is based.

[[image:090304091331.jpg align="right" caption="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060621162755.htm"]]The Ramifications of Human Activities on Biodiversity

 * Approximately 40-85 percent of habitats and 40-70 percent of species of European interest have an unfavorable conservation status. Grasslands and wetlands across Europe are especially at risk.
 * Overexploitation of marine fisheries remains a threat to marine ecosystems, with some 45 % of assessed European stocks falling outside safe biological limits.
 * 30 percent of Europe's amphibians and 45 percent of its reptiles are threatened according to the internationally recognized IUCN categories. The Southern parts of Europe contain the highest proportion of threatened amphibians and reptiles because a great many species are native only to this region.
 * Invasive alien species remain a threat, increasingly so in marine systems.
 * Intense over-exploitation of forests is triggering the migration of different birds to regions outside of Europe.

=Sources=

"Corruptible Inspectors and Air Pollution in Europe." //All Academic Inc. (Abstract Management, Conference Management and Research Search Engine)//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2009. .

"Air Pollution." //GreenFacts - Facts on Health and the Environment//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2009. .

"Alarming lack of forest protection in Europe." //The World Revolution//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2009. .

"Biodiversity trends in Europe: development and testing of a species trend indicator for evaluating progress towards the 2010 target." //National Center for Biotechnology Information//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2009. .

"Preserving Europe's biodiversity - Euros du Village." //Euros du Village//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2009. .

"The status of Marine Biodiversity in Europe." //Iason Web Site//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2009. .