MODULE 4

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

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 I-Introduction

A. Learning Objectives

At the end of the session, the students must have:

1. Discussed the impact of population growth in the environment.

2. Explained the negative effects of garbage in the environment.
3. Proposed ways on how to minimize garbage problem.
4. Identified the sources of pollutants.
5. Discussed the impact of pollutants in the environment.
6. Proposed ways on how to minimize the effects of pollution.

B. Expected Outputs:

1. Conduct community-based research (population growth of barangay)

2. Video/Film Analysis
3. Portfolio of the Tree planting Activity and herbal/botanical gardening.
4. Virtual/recorded activity of the Project Proposal

II- Serious Talk

Environmental Issues
The earth is facing an environmental crisis on a scale unprecedented in human
history. This crisis is already responsible for high levels of human suffering and, if it continues, risks
the extinction of human life on the planet.

A. Impact of Population Growth

➢ Humans have the ability to expand

into all climate zones and habitats
➢ Modern agriculture has allowed
us to produce food very efficiently and in
large quantities
➢ Death rates decreased because of
improved sanitation and healthcare
(biggest influence)
➢ Overall, the world population is
growing at a rate of about 1.7 percent; if
this rate continues, the population will double in 41 years.
When Population Outpaces Resources
1. Resource Consumption
➢ High consumption
➢ Getting worse
➢ Rate increase faster than population
growth

2. Resource Limits- Land

➢ Deforesting to acquire more arable land
➢ Would run out in next century at current yields
➢ Probably need to double yields

3. Resource Limits- Water

➢ In 1950 people used half of accessible water

➢ Are now dependent on dams
➢ Pollution loses 33% of potential water
➢ Getting close to limits
 4. Energy consumption

➢ Energy growth very high last fifty years

➢ Mostly hydrocarbon fuels
➢ Nonrenewable resource consumption and
climate change issues

5. Our ‘Commons’ are in Danger

➢ Atmospheric pollution and climate change
➢ Water pollution, including ground aquifers
➢ Deforestation and loss of oxygenation
➢ The oceans, coral reefs and their bounty
➢ National parks, wildernesses and wetlands
➢ Nonrenewable natural resource depletion
➢ Fossil fuels, mineral ores, topsoil…..

6. Biodiversity is in Danger
➢ Humanity has spawned a species extinction to rival the 5 great extinctions of 65 - 440
million years ago
➢ Recovery times from the great extinctions took 10’s of millions of years
➢ Biodiversity is essential to life on Earth and holds untold treasures for the future
➢ An ecological ethic is emerging

B. Garbage Problem
In most parts of the world, we do one of two things with our ordinary garbage: burn it or bury
it. Neither one is good for us or for the environment. Burning garbage in incinerators releases
dangerous gases and dust (particulate matter) which contribute to global warming and pollute lakes,
forests, oceans and cities half a world away from where they originated.
Cities around the world are facing great challenges due to increasing urbanization, and one of
the major challenges is the rising amount of generated waste and littering due to high demand for food
products and other essentials. Public waste bins are filling up faster than ever and inevitably many of
the bins end up overflowing before collected, causing not only cluttered streets and bad odors but also
negative health and environmental impacts.
1. Bacteria, insects and vermin thrive
from garbage
Overflowing waste bins are an ideal breeding
ground for bacteria, insects and vermin. The flies
that visit the garbage are also the same flies that
roam around your lunch buffet and drop their off
springs on your plate. By doing so, they increase
the risk of you contracting with salmonella, which
causes typhoid fever, food poisoning, enteric
fever, gastroenteritis, and other major illnesses.
2. Overflowing waste causes air pollution and respiratory diseases

One of the outcomes of overflowing garbage is air pollution, which causes various respiratory
diseases and other adverse health effects as contaminants are absorbed from lungs into other parts of
the body. The toxic substances in air contaminated by waste include carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and
methane.
 3. Garbage contaminates surface waters, which affects all ecosystems
Garbage and liquid waste that end up in water bodies negatively change the chemical
composition of the water. Technically, this type of pollution is called water pollution. It affects all
ecosystems existing in the water, including fish and other animals that drink the polluted water.
Hazardous household waste items such as batteries, computer equipment and leftover paints can be
particularly dangerous for surface waters.
4. Direct handling of overflowing waste exposes for health risks
For waste collection staff the risks of picking up and handling overflowing garbage include
infections, chronic diseases and accidents. Direct contact with waste can result in skin and blood
infections through infected wounds, various illnesses resulting from the bites of animals feeding on
the waste, and intestinal infections transmitted by flies feeding on the waste. Picking up overflowing
garbage is also risky due to sharp objects, needles and potentially hazardous waste.
5. Inefficient waste control is bad for municipal wellbeing
Besides causing all sorts of health and environmental issues, overflowing garbage is a public
nuisance and eyesore. Everyone wants to live and visit places that are fresh, clean and healthy. A
smelly city with poor sanitation and trash all over the place does not attract people or tourists, let alone
investments. Cities keep losing money, and they also miss out on the revenue and job opportunities
coming from proper waste control and recycling.

C. Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These harmful
materials are called pollutants. Pollutants can be natural, such as volcanic ash. They can also be created
by human activity, such as trash or runoff produced by factories. Pollutants damage the quality of air,
water, and land.
Pollution is a global problem. Although urban areas are usually more polluted than the
countryside, pollution can spread to remote places where no people live. For example, pesticides and
other chemicals have been found in the Antarctic ice sheet. In the middle of the northern Pacific Ocean,
a huge collection of microscopic plastic particles forms what is known as the Great Pacific Garbage
Patch.
The three major types of pollution are air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution.
1. Air Pollution
➢ Sometimes, air pollution is visible. A
person can see dark smoke pour from the
exhaust pipes of large trucks or factories, for
example. More often, however, air pollution
is invisible.
➢ Polluted air can be dangerous, even if the
pollutants are invisible. It can make
people’s eyes burn and make them have [Link]
difficulty breathing. It can also increase the
risk of lung cancer.
➢ Natural disasters can also cause air pollution to increase quickly.
When volcanoes erupt, they eject volcanic ash and gases into the atmosphere.
➢ Volcanic gases, such as sulfur dioxide, can kill nearby residents and make
the soil infertile for years.
➢ Most air pollution is not natural, however. It comes from burning fossil fuels—coal, oil,
and natural gas. When gasoline is burned to power cars and trucks, it produces carbon
monoxide, a colorless, odorless gas. The gas is harmful in high concentrations, or
amounts. City traffic produces highly concentrated carbon monoxide.
 ➢ Cars and factories produce other common pollutants,
including nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and hydrocarbons.
These chemicals react with sunlight to produce smog, a
thick fog or haze of air pollution. The smog is so thick in
Linfen, China, that people can seldom see the sun. Smog
can be brown or grayish blue, depending on which
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pollutants are in it.
➢ Greenhouse gases are another source of air pollution. Greenhouse gases such as carbon
dioxide and methane occur naturally in the atmosphere. In fact, they are necessary for
life on Earth. They absorb sunlight reflected from Earth, preventing it from escaping
into space. By trapping heat in the atmosphere, they keep Earth warm enough for people
to live. This is called the greenhouse effect.
2. Water Pollution
Water is essential for survival, and as such it sits at the heart of many of the greatest
challenges facing humanity.
➢ Some polluted water looks muddy, smells bad, and has garbage floating in it. Some
polluted water looks clean, but is filled with harmful chemicals you can’t see or smell.
➢ Polluted water is unsafe for drinking and
swimming. Some people who drink
polluted water are exposed to hazardous
chemicals that may m ake them sick years
later. Others consume bacteria and
other tiny aquatic organisms
that cause disease.
➢ Sometimes, polluted water harms people
indirectly. They get sick because the fish
that live in polluted [Link] water are unsafe to eat.
They have too many pollutants in their flesh.
➢ There are some natural sources of water pollution. Oil and natural gas, for example, can
leak into oceans and lakes from natural underground sources. These sites are
called petroleum seeps.
➢ Human activity also contributes to water pollution. Chemicals and oils from factories
are sometimes dumped or seep into waterways. These chemicals are called runoff.
Chemicals in runoff can create a toxic environment for aquatic life.
➢ Mining and drilling can also contribute to water pollution. Acid mine drainage (AMD)
is a major contributor to pollution of rivers and streams near coal mines. Acid helps
miners remove coal from the surrounding rocks. The acid is washed into streams and
rivers, where it reacts with rocks and sand. It releases chemical sulfur from the rocks
and sand, creating a river rich in sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid is toxic to plants, fish, and
other aquatic organisms.
➢ Oil spills are another source of water pollution. he spill produced large plumes of oil
under the sea and an oil slick on the surface as
large as 24,000 square kilometers (9,100 square
miles).
➢ Sewage that has not been properly treated
is a common source of water pollution. Many
cities around the world have poor sewage
systems and sewage treatment plants.
[Link] ➢ A major source of water pollution is
fertilizer used in agriculture. Fertilizer is
material added to soil to make plants grow larger and faster. Fertilizers usually contain
large amounts of the elements nitrogen and phosphorus, which help plants grow.
 Rainwater washes fertilizer into streams and lakes. There, the nitrogen and phosphorus
cause cyanobacteria to form harmful algal blooms.
➢ Garbage also fouls the ocean. Many plastic bottles and other pieces of trash are thrown
overboard from boats. The wind blows trash out to sea. Ocean currents carry plastics
and other floating trash to certain places on the globe, where it cannot escape. The
largest of these areas, called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, is in a remote part of the
Pacific Ocean.
3. Land Pollution
Land pollution is a result of dumping garbage, waste, and other toxins making
the land contaminated or polluted. The source of land pollution comes from the human element such
as littering, and waste that is washed ashore from boats, oil rigs, and sewage outlets.
Many of the same pollutants that foul the water also harm the land. Mining sometimes leaves
the soil contaminated with dangerous chemicals.
Causes of Land Pollution
There are various causes which contribute to this pollution. The various substances that spill
on the land cause land pollution. Similarly, these substances have different sources of origin. The most
common ones are:
➢ Garbage
This is one of the most common causes of land pollution. Tonnes of garbage is produced by
common households annually. When such massive amount gets generated, the ways to dispose of it
falls short.
Therefore, all this garbage gets dumped onto land. This land of disposal is referred to as a landfill. It is
basically a wastage of free land which also gives birth to new problems. For instance, these landfills release
toxic gases that harm living beings as well as the ozone layer.
➢ Factories
Factories contribute largely to land pollution.
They produce toxic waste products and chemical
which prove very damaging to land.
Furthermore, these factories dump off their
waste in lands and water bodies. While some
countries have stringent laws against this, some do
not. This increases land pollution.
➢ Farming
We know farming is very important for every
person. They fulfill our food demands. However,
irresponsible farming becomes very harmful
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sometimes.
Clearing of forests for land area in order to
farm makes way for land pollution. Moreover, the insecticides and fertilizers sprayed on crops also
damage the land.
➢ Mining
It is yet another activity that contributes to land pollution. In order to obtain coal and minerals,
we dig holes into the land. This results in land erosion.
Similarly, it also produces harmful gases and toxins which results in contaminated land as well as
the air.

D. Climate Change
Global warming is a term used for the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature
of the Earth's climate system and its related effects. Scientists are more than 95% certain that nearly
all of global warming is caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and
other human-caused emissions.

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Within the earth's atmosphere, accumulating greenhouse gases like water vapor, carbon
dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone are the gases within the atmosphere that absorb and emit
heat radiation. Increasing or decreasing amounts of greenhouse gases within the atmosphere act to
either hold in or release more of the heat from the sun.
Our atmosphere is getting hotter, more turbulent, and more unpredictable because of the
“boiling and churning” effect caused by the heat-trapping greenhouse gases within the upper layers of
our atmosphere. With each increase of carbon, methane, or other greenhouse gas levels in the
atmosphere, our local weather and global climate is further agitated, heated, and “boiled.”

E. Ecosystem Degradation
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of
resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction
of wildlife; and pollution.
Causes of Ecosystem Degradation

➢ Pollution
Pollution is one of the main causes of ecosystem destruction. Pollution can deplete resources
and drive away local animal populations. Significant sources of pollution include trash, carbon
emissions, oil spills and pesticides.
➢ Climate Change
Climate change continues to play a significant role in the destruction of the ecosystem. Global
warming has led to increased temperatures, sea levels and ocean acidity that disrupt an ecosystem's
natural balance.
➢ Land Clearing
As human populations increase, so does the need to develop more land. Many ecosystems are
destroyed in order to clear land for housing developments and roads, agricultural uses and raising
livestock.
 ➢ Resource Exploitation
Many ecosystems are rich in natural resources like nutrient-rich soil, water, trees and fossil
fuels. Excessive efforts to extract these resources like mining, logging and oil drilling contribute to
ecosystem destruction.
➢ Population Decline
An ecosystem's animals are vital sources of food and population control. Many animal
populations are declining due to overfishing and hunting. Animals are often hunted for their
valuable skins, plumage, horns and meat.

F. Biodiversity Loss
Biodiversity, the diversity of life on Earth, is essential to the healthy functioning of ecosystems.
Habitat loss and overexploitation, driven by our rapid population growth, are the primary causes of
biodiversity loss which is now happening up to ten thousand times faster than for millions of years
before.

III- Check Your Understanding

1. Performance Task.
Community-Based Research. You are tasked to conduct a research on the population growth of
your Barangay for the past ten years. Make a graphic representation of the population growth
and make an analysis of it. (Rubrics will be used as basis in giving your scores).

2. Video Film Analysis

➢ Watch a video on the different environmental issues and its impact to the
environment. Links will be downloaded in the google classroom as well as the
guide questions for your analysis.
➢ You will be graded using a Rubric

3. Portfolio on Tree Growing activity and herbal/botanical gardening

➢ Make your own herbal/botanical garden at home/in your own backyard.
➢ Document everything starting from the preparation of the garden until the last
day of submission. The same will be done if you will do your tree growing
activity.
➢ Organize in a portfolio the contents (pictures should be arranged from day 1 to
end with caption.
➢ Submit in hard copy or send via google classroom.

4. Project Proposal /Environmental Advocacy.

➢ Make a simple project proposal addressing pollution problem in your barangay
➢ You may opt to present the proposal virtually or have it digitally recorded and
submit it via google classroom or email add.
➢ Rubrics will be used in rating the proposal

IV- The Finish Line

General Directions: Discuss in paragraph form your ideas about each question. Write your
answers on the space provided.
 1. Name any one greenhouse gas and its possible source of production on a large scale. What are
the harmful effects of it?
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2. It is a common practice to plant trees and shrubs near the boundary walls of buildings. What
purpose do they serve?
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3. How can slash and burn agriculture become environment friendly?
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4. Use of lead-free petrol or diesel is recommended to reduce the pollutants emitted by
automobiles. What role does lead play?
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Lecture Wrapper
What do I already know about this topic?
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How do I feel about this topic?
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How does this topic relate to something I already know?
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What questions do I have already about this topic?
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V- Additional Readings & References

Online materials:
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Powerpoint presentation downloadable in Google Classroom

Books:

Tayo, G.T, Gascon, C.N, Maglambayan, V.B, Novicio, L.P, Viril, V.M. 2004. Fundamentals
of Environmental Science. Trinitas Publishing Inc.

Doria, B.D, Tangonan, L.F, Ruadap, M.V. 2019. General Education Environmental Science.
Jimczyville Publications.

Cunningham, W.P & Cunningham, M.A. 2009. Principles of Environmental Science: Inquiry
and Applications. McGraw-Hill Company, Inc.

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