Chapter five

Global environmental problems

By: Getasew Y. (BSc, Msc)

Learning Objective

 After the completion of this chapter, the student will be able to:

 Understanding the global context: Globalization and Environment

 Discuss sociological theories of environmental problems

 Identify environmental problems: an overview

 Identify social causes of environmental problems

 Know strategies for action: responding to environmental problems

 Describe the factors that contribute for global warming

 Enumerate the potential adverse health effects of global warming and acid rain

 List different international responses to ozone depletion

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Introduction

 Globalization and Environment

 What is Globalization?

 How it affects the Environment?

 Globalization

 The growing interdependence of the world’s economies, cultures, and populations, brought

about by cross-border trade in goods and services, technology, and flows of investment,

people, and information.

 Two aspects of globalization that have affected the environment

 The permeability of international borders

 Growth of free trade and transnational corporations.

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1. Permeability of international borders

 Environmental problems such as climate change and destruction of the

ozone layer extend far beyond their source to affect the entire planet.

For example,

 Toxic chemicals such as

 Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

 Environmental problem involving permeability of borders

(bioinvasion).

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 Cont…

 Bioinvasion: The intentional or accidental

introduction of organisms in regions where they

are not native.

 Red fire ants, known for their painful sting,

are an example of bioinvasion.

 They came from Paraguay and Brazil on

shiploads of lumber to mobile, Alabama, in

1957 and have spread throughout the southern

states.
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2. The growth of transnational corporation and free trade agreements

 World Trade Organization (WTO) and

 Free trade agreements such as

 The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and

 Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)

 Allow transnational corporations to pursue profits, expand markets, use

natural resources, and exploit cheap labor in developing countries.

 While weakening the ability of governments to protect natural resources or to

implement environmental legislation.

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 Cont…

 Transnational corporations have influenced the world’s most powerful

nations to institutionalize an international system of governance that

values

 Commercialism

 Corporate rights, and “Free” trade over the environment, human

rights, worker rights, and human health.

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Sociological theories of environmental problems

1) Structural functionalist perspective

 How changes in one aspect of the social system affect other aspects of society.

 By 2050, an estimated 1.2 billion people globally will be environmental refugees. Individuals

who have migrated because they can no longer secure a livelihood as a result of environmental

problems.

 The structural-functionalist perspective raises our awareness of latent dysfunctions.

For example,

 More than 840,000 dams worldwide provide water to irrigate farmlands and supply some of

the world’s electricity. Yet dam building has had unintended negative consequences for the

environment.

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2. Conflict perspective

 The conflict perspective focuses on how wealth, power, and the

pursuit of profit underlie many environmental problems.

 Per capita, wealthy nations consume more natural resources and

generate higher amounts of pollution and waste. Wealthy nations exploit

less developed nations for raw materials, labor, and as a market to sell

goods.

 The capitalistic pursuit of profit encourages making money from

industry regardless of the damage done to the environment.

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 Cont…

 Industries also use their power and wealth to influence politicians’

environmental and energy policies as well as the public’s beliefs about

environmental issues.

 The conflict perspective is also concerned with environmental injustice

(also known as environmental racism).

 Environmental racism: the tendency for marginalized populations and

communities to disproportionately experience adversity due to

environmental problems.
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3. Symbolic interactionist perspective

Focuses on

 How meanings, labels, and definitions learned through interaction and through the media affect

environmental problems. Large corporations and industries commonly use marketing and public

relations strategies to construct favorable meanings of their corporation or industry.

Greenwashing

 Refers to the way environmentally and socially damaging companies portray their corporate

image and products as being “environmentally friendly” or socially responsible.

 It involves manipulation of public perception to maximize profits, many corporations make

genuine and legitimate efforts to improve their operations, packaging, or overall sense of

corporate responsibility toward the environment.

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Reading assignment

 What are the seven sins of green washing

???

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 Cont…

 Pinkwashing

 The practice of using the color pink and pink ribbons and other

marketing strategies that suggest a company is helping to fight breast

cancer, even when the company may be using chemicals linked to

cancer.

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Environmental Problems: An Overview

 Over the past 50 years, humans have altered ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any

other comparable period of time in history

 Energy use worldwide

 Depletion of natural resources

 Air pollution
 Light pollution

 Chemicals, carcinogens, and health problems

 Global warming and climate change

 Water pollution

 Land pollution
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Social causes of environmental problems

1. Population growth

 The world’s population is growing; in 2011 world population reached the 7 billion mark.

 Population growth places increased demands on natural resources and results in increased waste.

2. Industrialization and Economic Development

 Many of the environmental problems confronting the world are associated with industrialization and

economic development.

For example Industrialized countries,

 Consume more energy and natural resources and contribute more pollution to the environment than

poor countries.

 The relationship between level of economic development and environmental pollution is curvilinear

rather than linear.

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Fig. The Environmental Kuznets Curve

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3. Cultural values and attitudes

 It contribute to environmental problems include

 Individualism

 Consumerism

 Militarism

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Strategies for action: responding to environmental problems

1. Environmental Activism

 Religious Environmentalism:

 From a religious perspective, environmental degradation can be viewed as sacrilegious, sinful,

and an offense against God.

 Radical Environmentalism:

 The radical environmental movement is a grassroots movement of individuals and groups that

employs unconventional and often illegal means of protecting wildlife or the environment.

 They believe in what is known as deep ecology: the view that maintaining the earth’s natural

systems should take precedence over human needs, that nature has a value independent of

human existence, and that humans have no right to dominate the earth and its living inhabitants.

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 Cont…

 Eco-terrorism refers to acts of terrorism, violence or sabotage for

ecological, environmental, or animal rights causes against persons or

their property.

 Many environmentalists question whether “terrorist” is an

appropriate label and argue that the real terrorists are

corporations that plunder the earth.

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2. The role of corporations in the environmental movement

 Corporations are major contributors to environmental problems and

often fight against environmental efforts that threaten their profits.

 Rather than hope that industry voluntarily engages in eco-friendly

practices, corporate attorney.

 Robert Hinkley suggested that corporate law be changed to mandate

socially responsible behavior. He explained that corporations pursue

profit at the expense of the public good, including the environment.

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3. Environmental education

 One goal of environmental organizations and activists is to educate the

public about environmental issues and the seriousness of environmental

problems.

 Being informed about environmental issues is important because people

who have higher levels of environmental knowledge tend to engage in

higher levels of pro-environment behavior.

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 4. Green energy
 Increasing the use of green energy;

 Energy that is renewable and nonpolluting  can help alleviate environmental problems associated with

fossil fuels.

 Also known as clean energy, green energy sources include solar power, wind power, biofuel, and

hydrogen.

 Solar Energy

 Solar power involves converting sunlight to electricity through the use of photovoltaic cells.

 More than half of solar photovoltaic cells are installed in Germany; the United States has only 6 percent.

 Biofuel

 Biofuels are fuels derived from agricultural crops. Two types of biofuels are ethanol and biodiesel.

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5. Government Policies, Programs, and Regulations

 Modifications in consumer behavior:

 Small, fuel-efficient car like this one are common in Europe where, as a result of high gasoline taxes,

gas costs up to $6 a gallon.

 Policies and regulations on energy

 Taxes

 Fuel efficiency standards

 Policies on chemical safety

 International cooperation and assistance

 Sustainable economic development

 The role of institutions of higher learning and Understanding environmental problems

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Understanding Environmental Problems

The 2004 Nobel peace prize was awarded to Wangari Maathai for leading a grassroots environmental
campaign called the green belt movement, which is responsible for planting 30 million trees across
Kenya. Maathai is the first person to be awarded the Nobel peace prize for environmental work.
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Population explosion & its pressure on environment

 Finite resources

 More people, more demand, more waste

 Rapid urbanization and industrialization

 Crazy consumerism

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Reasons for crazy consumerism

 Growing materialistic tendencies among the modern man

 Easy access to markets due to faster development in transport and communication

 Effective marketing and advertising strategies

 Rising income levels in most part of the world

 Globalization and liberalization

 Rapid rise in income generation ways

 Greed to possess more and more

   Impact of Crazy Consumerism

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Global warming
Definition

 Since 1971, 90% of the warming has occurred in the oceans.

 Despite the oceans' dominant role in energy storage, the term "global

warming" is refer to

 Increases in mean global temperature, which may entail not only

the extreme case of heat waves, but also subtle increases in

temperature that occur during cooler seasons.

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 Cont…

 Since the early 20th century, the global air and sea surface temperature

has increased about 0.8 °C (1.4 °F), with about 2/3 of the increase

occurring since 1980.

 Each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the

Earth’s surface than any preceding decade since 1850.

 Emissions of greenhouse gases grew 2.2% per year between 2000 and

2010, compared with 1.3% per year from 1970 to 2000.

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 Cont…

 Rapid weather change patterns the melting of arctic snow results in rise sea level, severe

draughts, floods prolonged winters and summers have shown us that global warming.

Fig. Ice melts

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Causes of global warming

 Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel burning power plants and burning gasoline for

transportation

 Methane emissions from animals, agriculture such as rice paddies, and from Arctic sea beds

 There are five gases which are mainly responsible for the greenhouse effect and global warming.

These gases are-

Highes
 Carbon dioxide (CO2) t
 Methane (CH4)

 Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)

 Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC)

 Water vapour
Least
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 Cont…

 Population Growth: With the increase in population, the needs and wants of people

increase which consequently increases deforestation, manufacturing, and industry

processes.

 Deforestation: Cutting down of trees, thus, leads to an increase in the carbon dioxide

level in the atmosphere.

 Burning of Fossils: Greenhouse gases can also be released into the atmosphere due to

the burning of fossil fuels, oil, coal, and gas.

 Electrical Appliances: Some processes of the cement manufacturing industries also

act as a cause towards the greenhouse effect.

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Effects of global worming

Direct effects Indirect effects

 Thermal extreme effect  Vector borne diseases

 (Heat waves) the skin, CNS and Circulatory  Waterborne diseases

system the most affected
 Sea-level rise
 Effect on the respiratory organs
 Agricultural productivity
 Persons with chronic diseases like asthma,
 Food shortages and malnutrition
bronchitis, cardiovascular are the most

affected  Air pollution impact: increased pollen;

 Weather instability and natural calamities concentration of pollutants;

 Cyclones, land slides, draught, flooding, etc.  Impacts to socio-economic development.

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Remedies

 3R

 Use less heat and air conditioning

 Change a light bulb

 Drive less and drive smart

 Buy energy-efficient products

 Use the "off" switch

 Plant a tree

 Get a report card from your utility company & encourage others to conserve.
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Ozone layer and its depletion
Ozone layer and its depletion

 Ozone is a molecule made of three oxygen atoms. It is blue in color and has a

strong odour.

 By shielding Earth’s surface from most of the sun’s UV light, the ozone in the

stratosphere acts like a sunscreen for Earth’s inhabitants.

 These ozone molecules form a gaseous layer in the Earth’s upper atmosphere

called stratosphere.

 This lower region of stratosphere containing relatively higher concentration of

ozone is called Ozonosphere.

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 Environmental scientists

have classified O3 into two

 Good Ozone

 Bad Ozone

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Good ozone

 Good ozone (also called Stratospheric Ozone) occurs naturally in the upper

Stratosphere.

 The stratosphere is the layer of space 6 to 30 miles above the earth's surface.

 Where does good Ozone come from?

 When UV light strikes (Oxygen) O 2 molecules, they split into two

individual O atoms.

 When one of the O atoms combine with O 2 molecule, ozone (O3) is created.

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Bad ozone

 Bad Ozone is also known as Tropospheric Ozone, or ground level ozone. This gas is

found in the troposphere, the layer that forms the immediate atmosphere.

 Where does bad ozone come from?

 Each time there is a reaction of chemicals such as those found in cars, power plants

and factory emissions, in the presence of sunlight (UV light) Bad Ozone is created.

NOx +VOC + Light & sunlight = Ozone

 Bad ozone contaminates (dirties) the air and contributes to what we typically

experience as "smog”

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Chemicals that cause ozone depletion

 Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

 Are hydrocarbons in which some or all of the hydrogen atoms are replaced by

chlorine and fluorine.

 They are used in coolants for refrigerators and air conditioners and in cleaning

solvents.

 They were also used as a propellant in spray cans of everyday products such as

deodorants, insecticides, and paint.

 Their use is now restricted because they destroy ozone molecules in the

stratosphere.
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 Cont…

 At the Earth’s surface, CFCs are chemically stable.

 They do not combine with other chemicals or break down into other

substances.

 But, CFC molecules break apart high in the stratosphere, where

UV radiation is absorbed.

 Once CFC molecules break apart, parts of the CFC molecules destroy

the protective ozone.

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 Cont…

 Each CFC molecule contains from one to four chlorine atoms, and scientists have

estimated that a single chlorine atom in the CFC structure can destroy 100,000 ozone

molecule.

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 Ultraviolet light hits a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) molecule, such
as CFCl3, breaking off a chlorine atom and leaving CFCl 2.
Sun
Once free, the chlorine atom is off to
attack another ozone molecule and begin
UV radiation
the cycle again.

The chlorine atom attacks an ozone A free oxygen atom pulls the oxygen
(O3) molecule, pulling an oxygen atom off the chlorine monoxide
atom off it and leaving an oxygen molecule to form O2.
molecule (O2).

Summary of Reactions
The chlorine atom and the
CCl3F + UV  Cl + CCl2F
oxygen atom join to form a
Cl + O3  ClO + O2 Repeated many times Sunday, April 27, 2025
chlorine monoxide molecule
ClO+O  Cl + O2 (ClO).
The ozone hole

 In 1985, studies by scientists working in Antarctica revealed that the

ozone layer above the South Pole had thinned by 50 to 98 percent.

 The ozone hole is a thinning of stratospheric ozone that occurs over the

poles during the spring.

 After the results were published, NASA scientists reviewed data that had

been sent to Earth by the Nimbus 7 weather satellite. They were able to

see the first signs of ozone thinning in the data from 1979.

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 Cont…

 Although the concentration of ozone fluctuated during the year, the data

showed a growing hole.

 Ozone levels over the Arctic have decreased as well. In March 1997, ozone

levels over part of Canada were 45 percent below normal.

 Following the discovery, scientists and governments worldwide began

working together with chemical companies to develop ways to prevent the

ozone hole from growing.

 As a result, ozone in the stratosphere is no longer decreasing.

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 Cont…

 Ozone hole

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Effects of ozone thinning on humans

 As the amount of ozone in the stratosphere decreases, more UV light is

able to pass through the atmosphere and reach Earth’s surface.

 UV light is dangerous to living things because it damages DNA, the

genetic material that contains the information that determines inherited

characteristics.

 Exposure to UV light makes the body more susceptible to skin cancer,

and may cause other damaging effects to the human body.

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Effects of ozone thinning on animals and plants

 High levels of UV light can kill phytoplankton that live near the surface of he ocean.

 The loss of phytoplankton could disrupt ocean food chains and reduce fish harvests.

 In addition, a reduction in the number of phytoplankton would cause an increase in the

amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

 Scientists believe that increased UV light could be a factor contributing to the decline in

amphibians, such as toads and salamanders.

 Increased UV radiation could reduce the survival of amphibian eggs or harm various life

stages.

 UV light can damage plants by interfering with photosynthesis..

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 Cont…

There are two regions in which the ozone layer has depleted.

 In the mid-latitude, for example, over Australia, ozone layer is

thinned.

This has led to an increase in the UV radiation reaching the earth.

It is estimated that about 5-9% thickness of the ozone layer has

decreased, increasing the risk of humans to overexposure to UV

radiation owing to outdoor lifestyle.

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 Cont…

 In atmospheric regions over Antarctica, ozone layer

 Is significantly thinned, especially in spring season. This has led to the

formation of what is called ‘ozone hole’.

 Ozone holes refer to the regions of severely reduced ozone layers.

 Usually ozone holes’ form over the Poles during the onset of spring

seasons.

 One of the largest such hole appears annually over Antarctica between

September and November.

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Remedies

 Desist from using pesticides

 Pesticides are great chemicals to rid your farm of pests and weeds, but they contribute

enormously to ozone layer depletion.

 The surefire solution to get rid of pests and weeds is to apply natural methods.

 Just weed your farm manually and use alternative eco-friendly chemicals to alleviate pests.

 Discourage driving of private vehicles

 The easiest technique to minimize ozone depletion is to limit the number of vehicles on the

road.

 These vehicles emit a lot of greenhouse gases that eventually form smog, a catalyst in the

depletion of ozone layer. Sunday, April 27, 2025

 Cont…

 Utilize environmentally friendly cleaning products

 Most household cleaning products are loaded with harsh chemicals that find way to the atmosphere,

eventually contributing to degradation of the ozone layer.

 Use natural and environmentally friendly cleaning products to arrest this situation.

 Prohibit the use of harmful nitrous oxide

 The Montreal Protocol formed in 1989 helped a lot in the limitation of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

 However, the protocol never covered nitrous oxide, which is a known harmful chemical that can

destroy the ozone layer.

 Nitrous oxide is still in use today.

 Governments must take action now and outlaw nitrous oxide use to reduce the rate of ozone depletion.

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Acid Rain
Acid Rain

 Acid rain is caused by the burning of fossil fuels

 Burning oil, gas and coal in power stations releases Sulphur Dioxide (SO 2) into

the atmosphere

 Burning oil and petrol in motor vehicles puts nitrogen oxides (NO X) into the

atmosphere

 These gases mix with water droplets in the atmosphere creating weak solutions of

nitric and sulphuric acids

 When precipitation occurs these solutions fall as acid rain

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Acid rain formation

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Environmental effect of Acid Rain

1. Damage to aquatic life and plants

 Increases the acidity levels of rivers, lakes and seas. This can kill

aquatic life.

 Acid rain increases the acidity levels of soils. This can kill vegetation

 Has been found to destroy the roots and leaves of forests in Germany

and Scandinavia have been destroyed as the result of acid rain

emissions from the UK

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 Cont…

2. Deterioration of buildings and monuments

 Can erode buildings and monuments (particularly if they are made

from limestone)

3. Mobilization of toxic metal

It also cause leaching of heavy metals: Hg, Cd in to drinking water

and results in Bio accumulation

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 Cont…

4. Visibility reduction

 Particulates in the atmosphere reduce the visibility due to scattering and

absorption of light.

 The dust particles of 2000/cm3 can obscure a mountain at 75 km; while a

concentration of NO2 of 20 ppm would probably reduce the visibility to 1

km.

 NO2 causes the sky to appear brownish in color in addition to reducing

visibility.
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 Cont…

 A relationship between the concentration of the particulate in the

atmosphere, and the visibility can be developed as follows

Where:

 Lv- Visibility, K- scattering area ratio, C- particulate

concentration, ρ- Particle density, and r- particle radius

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Example

 Consider oil droplets 0.6μm diameter suspended in air and exposed to day time radiation .The

density of the particle is 0.9 gm/cm3.

a) What is the concentration of the particle in μg/m3 for a visibility of 1.5 km , If the k

value is 4.0

b) What is the concentration of suspended particulates in the density of 2.5 gm/cm3 and an

effective diameter of 1.0μm, if k is 2.0 and visibility is reduced to 8 km?

Solution

A. 234 ug/m3

B. 406 ug/m3
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Remedies

 In the area of transportation, NOx needs to be removed from motor

vehicles exhaust

 Understand acid deposition’s causes and effects

 Clean up smokestacks and exhaust pipes

 Use alternative energy sources

 Restore a damaged environment

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Thank
You
!!!
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Quiz (7%)

1) _____________arose from the fact that some communities or human groups are unduly

subjected to higher levels of environmental risk than other segments of society. (2pts)

2) How can ozone be both good and bad? (3pts)

3) _________refers to the way environmentally and socially damaging companies portray their

corporate image and products as being “environmentally friendly” or socially responsible.

(2pts)

A) Green Washing

B) Pink Washing

C) Latent Dysfunction

D) Eco-terrorism
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