1. 4833 Basics of some Environmental Problems
cat 9/03
Frequently, presenters must deliver material of a technical nature to an audience unfamiliar with the topic or vocabulary. The material may be complex or heavy with detail. To present technical material effectively, use the following guidelines from Dale Carnegie Training®.
Consider the amount of time available and prepare to organize your material. Narrow your topic. Divide your presentation into clear segments. Follow a logical progression. Maintain your focus throughout. Close the presentation with a summary, repetition of the key steps, or a logical conclusion.
Keep your audience in mind at all times. For example, be sure data is clear and information is relevant. Keep the level of detail and vocabulary appropriate for the audience. Use visuals to support key points or steps. Keep alert to the needs of your listeners, and you will have a more receptive audience.
4833 environmental basics
11/7/2018
Copyright © Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc.

2. This Is a Huge Subject Area
Every natural system is in decline
The problems are incredibly varied in both cause and effect:
global warming: average temperature rising
toxic pollutants in air, soil, water, plants, animals
ocean systems are changing or declining
In your opening, establish the relevancy of the topic to the audience. Give a brief preview of the presentation and establish value for the listeners. Take into account your audience’s interest and expertise in the topic when choosing your vocabulary, examples, and illustrations. Focus on the importance of the topic to your audience, and you will have more attentive listeners.
4833 environmental basics
11/7/2018

3. GLOBAL WARMING diverse
On average, temperatures around the globe are rising exceptionally quickly
Main cause: production and release by humans of ``greenhouse gases’’ into atmosphere. Heat and light reflected back to earth rather than radiating out to space.
Effects are extraordinarily diverse , hard to predict, and widespread: melting of glaciers and icecaps, rise in sea levels, climate changes, habitat loss/alteration, etc.
If you have several points, steps, or key ideas use multiple slides. Determine if your audience is to understand a new idea, learn a process, or receive greater depth to a familiar concept. Back up each point with adequate explanation. As appropriate, supplement your presentation with technical support data in hard copy or on disc, , or the Internet. Develop each point adequately to communicate with your audience.
diverse
4833 environmental basics
11/7/2018

4. Global Warming: What Is Happening?
Carbon Dioxide and >5 other gases produced in large amounts /index.htm
Changes in concentration
More infrared leaving the earth’s surface is reflected back (“greenhouse effect”)
Temperatures (and sea levels) are rising
4833 environmental basics
11/7/2018

5. Causes: Why Are We Producing So Much CO2 ?
industrial:
land use change:
4833 environmental basics
11/7/2018

6. Diverse Effects of Warming Photographic Documentation: http://www
Ocean currents?
Sea levels
Frozen fresh water melts
Not-so-permafrost
Mountain habitats
Increased precipitation
Arctic region hard hit
4833 environmental basics
11/7/2018

7. Projected Impacts of Global Warming
Different models predict differently
Precipitation changes?
Extreme weather?
U.S. Western deserts become shrub or grassland?
Agricultural yields may increase in N.A.
4833 environmental basics
11/7/2018

8. Toxic Pollutants Huge variety of toxic substances
Especially worrisome when:
persist and/or travel in the environment
accumulate in fat cells or other tissues
become more concentrated upwards in food chain
mechanism not understood
highly toxic or hard to contain (e.g. water soluble)
Varied effects, often hard to verify or isolate. Fertility loss, reproductive abnormalities, cancer, liver damage, immune system compromise, other toxicities.
Suspected as a cause of biodiversity loss
4833 environmental basics
11/7/2018

9. Example: PCBs PolyChlorinated Biphenyls
Used as lubricant and coolant in electrical equipment: transformers, microscopes, etc.
long lasting, accumulates, toxic
Production in US banned 1977
Found in 500 of 1600 superfund sites
Ban on sale of polluted land ended this week
4833 environmental basics
11/7/2018

10. More hazardous materials http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html
Radioactive Waste
Pesticides
other purposefully created compounds
byproducts or inadvertently produced compounds (e.g. by release of chemicals into environment)
arsenic
mercury
lead
other elements
4833 environmental basics
11/7/2018

11. Oceanic Systems in Decline
Reef habitats 10% destroyed
Hypo-oxygenated regions, coastal water pollution
Less sunlight reaching moderate depths because of pollution and in some cases increased surface algae
Oceanic microorganisms, largest source of atmospheric oxygen, may be in decline
Fish, cetacean, and crustacean populations reduced
Changes in ocean currents (Gulf Stream!) predicted
4833 environmental basics
11/7/2018

12. EUTROPHICATION
Nutrients (primarily nitrogen, phosphorus) in form of fertilizer, organic waste etc. flow into water, raising nutrient levels.
Algae grow on/near water surface.
Live algae block sunlight to lower levels; dead algae lower oxygen concentration.
4833 environmental basics
11/7/2018

13. Info On Eutrophication
4833 environmental basics
11/7/2018

14. Some characteristics of Environmental Problems
Changes are large scale, can be hard to measure. Variability can make it hard to determine whether we are observing randomness or true change in mean. But in some cases there is widespread scientific consensus on the existence and/or cause.
Impacts can not be accurately forecast.
Problems are interrelated through cause, effect, and (more superficially?) relationships between categorizations.
Possibility of pushing a system out of an equilibrium.
Determine the best close for your audience and your presentation. Close with a summary; offer options; recommend a strategy; suggest a plan; set a goal. Keep your focus throughout your presentation, and you will more likely achieve your purpose.
4833 environmental basics
11/7/2018

15. More characteristics…
Many effects are long term
Many problems are initially imperceptible to the naked eye (without technology)
Other characteristics?
4833 environmental basics
11/7/2018

16. Long delays between cause and effect From a systems point of view, what do long delays mean for systems behavior?
4833 environmental basics
11/7/2018

17. Political Aside
When reading statements about environmental policy, ask yourself: Cui bono?
Distinguish between argumentative devices and real reasons.
Although it is possible for both sides to have legitimate grounds for their positions, it is also possible for one side to be wrong. P
4833 environmental basics
11/7/2018