1. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 2 Pollution is “any substance that is added to air, water, soil or food that threatens the health, survival or activities of humans and/or other organisms.” It could be in the form of matter or energy, e.g. nitrates which cause algal blooms or an increase in temperature which will cause a decrease in the dissolved oxygen in bodies of water. 5.1 NATURE OF POLLUTION

2. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 3 Point source pollution

3. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 4 Point source pollution Point source pollution (as seen above) comes from a single, identifiable source e.g. a smokestack, drain pipe or car exhaust. For these reasons it is generally easier to manage this type of pollution as its impact is more localized and legal action and responsibility can be more easily assigned. However because point sources may be scattered and extremely numerous (tailpipes of millions of cars) it is a difficult task to manage.

4. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 5 Non-point source pollution

5. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 6 Non-point source pollution Non-point source pollution (see above) on the other hand comes from dispersed and not easily identified sources, e.g. run-off from farm land. This is much harder to identify and therefore to manage and to assign responsibility

6. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 7 The Era of Fossil Fuels Fossil fuels: petroleum, natural gas and coal (organic) Currently 90% of current US energy from from fossil fuels Expected oil production peak: 2020-2030 Consumption currently increasing Projected world oil production will be exhausted by 2100 Produces significant and diverse pollution problems o Greenhouse gasses o Gaseous Sulfur and nitrogen oxides o Land-based disturbances

7. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 8 What Is Crude Oil? Crude Oil is a liquid mixture of thousands of organic chemicals found underground. It is the result of organic matter decaying over thousands of years; hence the name fossil fuel Crude oil is found all over the world and varies tremendously in its density, sulfur, and metals content

8. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 9

9. 11 THE REFINERY

10. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 12 Proven world oil reserves in 1998.

11. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 13 Coal World’s most abundant fossil fuel, but dirtiest! Coal provides 25% of world’s commercial energy; 22% of US energy Dangerous to mine, harms land, water and air – causes smog, acid rain and global warming. Burning coal releases thousands of time more radioactive particles per unit of energy than a nuclear power plant!

12. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 14 Fig 17.9 World coal reserves in 1999.

13. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 15 Pollution Health Impacts – More than 131 million Americans live in areas where smog pollution makes their air unsafe to breathe, and every year over 45,000 lives are cut short by air pollution. – The National Academy of Sciences estimates that every year 60,000 children may be born at a significantly increased risk of neurological defects primarily due to mothers eating mercury- contaminated fish.

14. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 16 Pollution Oil Spills –31,000 galloons of spilled into waterways every day –Between 1973 and 1993 there were 200,000 oil spills in U.S. waters, spilling more than 230 million gallons of oil.

15. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 17 Pollution Land Destruction –Mountaintop removal in West Virginia –Tens of thousands of coalbed methane wells in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming

16. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 18 Pollution Global Warming –With only 4 percent of the world's population, we produce 25 percent of the carbon dioxide pollution –Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projects that the Earth's average surface temperature will increase between 2.5 and 10.4°F (1.4 to 5.8°C) between 1990 and 2100 if no major efforts are undertaken to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases (the "business-as-usual" scenario).

17. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 19 © 2003 and Sons Publishers Total energy consumption for the United States, 1950-1999.

18. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 20 “This [U.S. oil] is an industry that probably has larger tax incentives relative to its size than any other industry in the country.” Statement of Hon. Donald C. Lubick, former Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, U.S. Department of Treasury

19. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 21 Taxes for 1 gal of gasoline in U.S. dollars equivalent for selected countries, 1995.

20. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 23 Historical Research and Development Dollars $66 Billion $26 Billion $8 Billion $12 Billion

21. 21 Standard Power Plant 21

22. 22 Nuclear Power Plant 22

23. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 25 5.2 DETECTION OF POLLUTION Direct measurement is performed by monitoring the level of the pollutant itself, e.g. nitrates in a lake or temperature levels in a lake or stream. An indirect method would monitor the effects of the pollutants on other factors, e.g. –dissolved oxygen, B.O.D., presence or absence of indicator species (see 5.2.3)

24. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 26 Some direct measurements might include: measuring temperature in several locations along the length of a river, or at different times during the year with thermometers as an indication of thermal pollution. Take baseline measurements and then monitor in a systematic manner to determine changes. measuring nitrate levels/ammonia levels/chloride levels as an indication of nutrient overload. Use the same process as above measuring TSS (Total Suspended Solids) or TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) as an indication of material entering the lake or stream. (see next slide)

25. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 27 TSS (Total Suspended Solids) or TDS (Total Dissolved Solids)

26. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 28 BOD BOD is the measure of the amount of dissolved oxygen that is used by aerobic bacteria to break down the organic matter in a specific volume of water. Therefore the greater the amount of organic matter (sewage, agricultural run-off, fertilizer etc.) in the body of water, the higher the BOD will be. The less organic matter, the lower the BOD. It is not uncommon for the BOD of incoming water to a sewage treatment plant to be in the range of 120. After treatment the BOD of the same water is around 5.

27. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 29 The standard technique for measuring the BOD of body of water is the 5-Day BOD test or BOD5. This is done by measuring the DO (dissolved oxygen) on day 1 and and again on day 5 while keeping the samples at 200C in the dark during that time. This ensures that only respiration is going on and not photosynthesis.

28. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 32 BOD Level BOD Level (in ppm) Water Quality 1 - 2 Very Good There will not be much organic waste present in the water supply. 3 - 5Fair: Moderately Clean 6 - 9 Poor: Somewhat Polluted Usually indicates organic matter is present and bacteria are decomposing this waste. 100 or greater Very Poor: Very Polluted Contains organic waste.

29. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 31 Factors Controlling BOD and DO A major source for DO comes from the atmosphere When the surface of the water is disturbed as in rapids or water falls, then a greater the amount of oxygen will become dissolved in it. Temperature is a major factor. An increase in temperature à a decrease in DO. i.e the colder the water the greater the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the water. Low DO from man-made source of heating bodies of water (effluent from nuclear power plants used to cool the reactors) BOD is affected by respiration or lack of respiration by microorganisms and by the increase in organic matter (plant and animal) and organic waste and sewage. Organic effluent can be treated by pumping it with large volumes of air.

30. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 33 Indirect measurement Indirect measurement involves the monitoring and measurement of organisms in the ecosystem and more specifically indicator species or index species. These are species that by virtue of their abundance or absence will indicate the level of pollution in that ecosystem.

31. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 34 Some important indicators are: fish bottom fauna algae bacteria

32. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 35 Stonefly Adult

33. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 36 Sludge Worm

34. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 37 Comparison of diatoms to blue-green algae provides similar information Measuring the coliform levels can also indicate the presence of sewage dumping in the ecosystem.

35. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 38 Diatoms

36. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 39 Fecal Coliform

37. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 40 Blue-green algae

38. IB Environmental Systems and Societies © by Lorne J. Young, published by TEACHINGpoint 41 Overall the diversity of the whole system is often the best indicator while a general rule to follow is that presence is better evidence than absence.