Wk 4 Environmental Plagiarism Free Assignment with proper Web resources, other c

Question

Wk 4 Environmental Plagiarism Free Assignment with proper Web resources, other credible references.

Type: Individual Project

Unit: Environmental Hazards and Human Health

Pollutants can harm ecosystem function and may also harm human health.

You will write an APA-style research paper about pollutants, their impacts, and mitigation of harmful effects. Include the following:

Select 1 example of an environmental pollutant from the following list:

Acid precipitation/ Acid rain

Smog

DDT pesticide use

Eutrophication

Answer the following questions about the pollution problem that you chose:Describe the pollutant chosen and the source of the pollutants. Include both natural and human sources, as applicable.

Is this a point-source pollutant or nonpoint-source pollutant? Explain.

What are the harmful impacts of the pollution?

Describe impacts to both humans and to ecosystem structure and function.

What steps are in place to eliminate the pollutant or to mitigate harm from the pollutant?

Describe examples of laws or regulations that apply to the pollution and its sources.

Also, describe educational programs, technology, or other initiatives that are used to help control the pollution.

Have the programs, best management practices, or regulations been effective in resolving harm from the pollutant?

Give examples of progress, or explain with examples what more could be done.

Explanation / Answer

I select eutrophication. Eutrophication usually occurs due to excess nutrients in the lakes which lead to abundant growth of phytoplankton and plants in the lake. It occurs due to the dump of phosphate based fertilisers, sewage and detergents into the lake.

Sources:

sources of eutrophication include domestic sewage, industrial wastes and storm drainage, agricultural activities, forest management, and rural dwellings. Agriculture is a major contributor to nitrate pollution of freshwater; up of half of the nitrogen applied to crops is lost to groundwater. The loss of nitrate from agricultural land is largely caused by erosion. The other main source of agricultural eutrophication is livestock farming.

Non point source:

There are multiple sources for eutrophication. Its not from a single source. So its a non point source of pollution. Non-point source water pollution affects a water body from sources such as polluted runoff from agricultural areas draining into a river, or wind-borne debris blowing out to sea.

Harmful impacts:

Main impact of eutrophication is on the aquatic life. Eutrophication can have serious, long-term effects. The most notable effect of eutrophication is algal blooms. When a bloom occurs, the stream, river, lake or ocean becomes covered with algae, which is usually bright green. In addition to looking pretty ugly, it also blocks light from reaching the water. This prevents the aquatic plants from photosynthesizing, a process which provides oxygen in the water to animals that need it, like fish and crabs. It causes the oxygen to become hypoxic in the lake leading to form a dead zone.

Impacts on humans and ecology:

The aquatic life will get disturbed. It causes serious threat to the fishes, crabs, prawns and other aquatic animals dwelling in that lake or tank.

Humans who eat those fish or prawns will get affected by the pollutant indirectly. So its always advisable to have the sea food or fresh water fish and crabs.

Even if this water is running into another lake or river will have an impact in that water as well.

Preventive measures:

Since eutrophication has major hand with human activities we have to follow some measures to stop or to reduce it.

Some measures like phosphorous removal in targeted lakes, remove the sediment entirely, thus both taking away the internal source of phosphorous and deepening the lake.Other technique is to prevent the recycling of nutrients or to accelerate the outflow of nutrients have included sealing lake bottoms with polyethylene sheeting, selectively discharging hypolimnetic water in water supply reservoirs, or diluting with water from an oligotrophic sources.

Laws and reregulations:

Create fiscal and economic incentives to encourage nutrient reducing actions using taxes and fees, subsidies, or environmental markets.

Capitalize on environmental synergies when designing comprehensive policies to address eutrophication. Many policies and activities associated with reducing nutrient pollution have synergies with other environmental problems such as climate change, smog, and acid rain. Policies selected and implemented should seek to maximize environmental benefits

Awareness programs:

Implement research and monitoring programs to characterize the effects of eutrophication, collect water quality data, and inform adaptive management strategies. Information is a key element in the development of robust strategies to reduce eutrophication.

Raise awareness of eutrophication. Eutrophication and its effects are not well understood by the public or policymakers. Public awareness campaigns, school environmental education programs, and targeted outreach and technical assistance are all important components of raising the profile of eutrophication within communities and building a foundation and support for effective actions to reduce nutrient losses and eutrophication.

Implement regulations to mitigate nutrient losses, such as standards, technology requirements, or pollution caps for various sectors

Establish strong, engaged, and coordinated institutions to address eutrophication. Effective institutions to implement and enforce policies are important to the success of any eutrophication strategy, especially where multiple jurisdictions are involved.

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