Environmental issues across Asia

1
Environmental issues across Asia

• Georgia Performance Standard
• SS7G10 a and b

2
Enduring Understanding

• The student will understand that humans, their
  society, and the environment affect each other.

3
Georgia Performance Standards

• SS7G10 The student will discuss environmental
  issues across Southern and Eastern Asia.
• a. Describe the causes and effects of pollution
  on the Yangtze and Ganges Rivers.
• b. Describe the causes and effects of air
  pollution and flooding in India and China.

4
India-water pollution

• Causes of Ganges River pollution
• Waste from factories (industrial waste)
• Chemicals from fertilizers (run-off)
• Sewage (Human Waste) and Garbage
• Cremated remains of humans (some people cannot
  afford cremation, and put the whole body in the
  river)
• Effects of Ganges River pollution
• Shortage of clean water for drinking, cooking,
  and bathing
• High rates of water-born diseases
• Changing religious practices (Hinduism)

5
(No Transcript)
6
China-water pollution

• Causes of pollution on the Yangtze River
• Waste from factories (industrial waste)
• Chemicals from fertilizers (run-off)
• Sewage
• Effects of Pollution on the Yangtze River
• Plant and animal species are disappearing (the
  endangered Yangtze River Dolphin)
• People are getting sick from drinking the water
  and from eating contaminated fish

7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
(No Transcript)
11
Beijing A worker clears rubbish from canal.
Reports suggest that as many as 300 million
Chinese people - nearly one in every four - drink
dirty water
12
Air pollution in India and China

• The biggest general cause of air pollution in
  both India and China is overpopulation.
  Specifically, more people mean more cars, and
  more factories and power plants (most of which
  run on coal) to produce goods and electricity
• According to the World Bank- 12 of the15 most
  polluted cities in the world are found here (8 in
  China and 4 in India)
• The 2008 Olympics in China were even affected.
  Many countries would not sent their athletes to
  compete for fear that they would get sick

13
Effects of air pollution in India and China

1. More than 500,000 deaths each year (this is the
   highest in the world)
2. Increase in respiratory and heart diseases
3. Lower GDP (because workers are in the hospital
   and not working, less goods are being made, so
   less goods can be sold)
4. Changing weather here in North America (particles
   found in Chinese/Indian air are being found in
   California)
5. The Taj Mahal is turning yellow!

14
More problems because Chinas overpopulation
15
(No Transcript)
16
(No Transcript)
17
Asian Brown Cloud

• Brown haze that has many effects on the places it
  travels above
• Causes
• Toxic waste from factories
• Motor vehicles emissions
• Improper cooking fuels (cooking everyday indoors
  using wood or animal dung)
• forest fires
• Effects
• Alters monsoon patterns (the winds bring rain too
  early or too late-affects farming)
• Affects overall climate (reduces rainfall and
  increases temperatures)
• Reduces photosynthesis (affects oxygen levels)
• Increases human respiratory problems

18
A satellite image showing a haze of pollution
over part of China caused by the country's
reliance on coal.
19
Flooding in India and China

• Monsoons are essential for farming, but can cause
  heavy flooding. This can cause death, destruction
  of houses and crops, and water-born disease
• Yellow River (Chinas Sorrow) killed 2 million
  in 1887 and 4 million in 1931 when it flooded
• Deforestation and draining wetlands also cause
  rivers to flood more easily

20
(No Transcript)
21
What are they doing to fix it??

1. Government getting involved (passed the Ganges
   Action Plan and created Environmental agencies)
2. Building new and improved sewage and water
   treatment plants to make the rivers cleaner
3. Building sanitary landfills to keep garbage away
   from the rivers
4. Chinese govt. built Three Gorges Dam to stop
   flooding and create clean electricity
5. Closing factories temporarily
6. Slow population growth (1 baby policy in China)
7. Trying to stop deforestation

22
Ticket Out The Door

• If you were in charge of an environmental
  organization in India OR China, how would you try
  to solve your nations environmental problems?
  Choose 1 problem in 1 country and address how YOU
  would fix it.
• Write 1 paragraph (at least 5 sentences)
  explaining your answer.
• Your topic sentence should be If I were in
  charge of the environment in ________, I would