Environmental aspects/impacts in general

Green Tutorial:

Environmental aspects/impacts in general

In the previous centuries human influence on the environment was of a local extent concentrated around urban communities. Today, often major regions perhaps the entire earth is affected. The main reasons are:

Constantly growing human activity
Use of many chemicals foreign to the environment
Use of increasingly larger parts of the earth

The effects of these activities are various environmental impacts:

Environmental Impacts
Global warming	The man-made global warming is attributed to the emission of gases retaining heat radiation, which would otherwise be lost from the earth into space. The gases hereby contribute to the heating of the atmosphere. The main contributor to global warming is carbon dioxide.
Stratospheric ozone depletion	The stratosphere is in the altitude of 15-40 km. Originally formation and breakdown of ozone was in balance, but the breakdown has been accelerated by man-made emissions of halocarbons, i.e. organic compounds containing chlorine or bromine. The reduction of the ozone level means a higher intensity of dangerous UV radiation in the sunlight reaching the surface of the earth.
Persistent toxicity	Persistent means highly resistant to degradation and refers to the persistency of chemical substances in the environment. These substances often accumulate in living organism increasing the risk that toxic concentrations are reached. Some of the best known of these substances are mercury, DDT and dioxins.
Consumption of non-renewable resources	The resources used in the manufacturing of products are regenerated at such a slow speed that they can be regarded as a capital, which will eventually be used up. Fossil fuels are mainly burned during use meaning that the consumption is irreversible. The use of non-renewable resources will lead to higher energy consumption for extraction and finally depletion.
Acidification	Emissions of acidifying compounds, e.g. sulphur dioxide, attack leaves and acidifies the soil.
Nutrient enrichment	Emission of nitrogenous compounds, especially ammonia and oxides of nitrogen, causes forced growth because of the fertilisation effect. The nutrient enrichment leads to altered species composition in nutrient-poor ecosystems.
Photochemical ozone formation	Emission of organic compounds that are broken down in the atmosphere results in formation of ozone. The ozone can in areas with smog-formation cause respiratory diseases.
Ecotoxicity	Toxicity towards ecosystems can be regarded as either chronic or acute. The chronic effects are included in the parameter persistent toxicity.