Water and Environment science Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Water and Environment science - Research Paper Example the inhabitants of the Portland city since it supplies them with sufficient amounts of fish like the Chinook, Sockeye and the Chun Salmon, wild animals as well as natural sceneries. The bird species are found on the river banks and they include the bald eagles and the great blue herons (Sethajintanin, et al., 114). Willamette River has undergone a tremendous change in the last two hundred years which is characterized by various human activities like the building of dams, dykes, and dredging. There are various sources of pollution in the Willamette River which include the sanitary discharge from the cities of Corvallis and Portland whose combined storm as well as the sanitary sewer release untreated sewage in to the river during the rainy season. Oil and fuel spills are common in the river because of the boating activity common in the river. Sediment erosion is common in the area where flood carries pollutants from upstream areas in to the river thus causing pollution of the river. Household wastes like solvents soaps as well as the household chemicals that are washed down from the roofs and eventually drain into the river (Poor & Jeffrey, 772). The Willamette River is now considered cleaner than it was in the late 1920’s and in the 1930’s when the river was in a much polluted state that a fish placed in it could die immediately. An authority known as the State Sanitary Authority which was later changed into the Department of Environment Quality. This Authority was responsible for overseeing the cleaning up of the River. In 1968, a major clean up was done which involved the identification of all major waste discharges were controlled thus making the river much safer (Rojas-Burke, 134). From the results of the data collected from the river it is clear that the temperatures were high during the three testing scenarios because of the times in which the samples were taken. High temperatures affect the functioning of the aquatic life since their bodies function

Environmental Problems and Solutions Case Study

Environmental Problems and Solutions - Case Study Example Whenever more energy has been trapped than needed, it effect can increase the climate of the earth. There are certain reasons because of which these gases trap more energy than needed. Nature has kept the atmosphere in such a balance that any meddling in its route or cycle may harm the entire cycle. The present atmosphere of our planet is according to needs of human body. But time and again man has meddled with this cycle. The excessive use of explosives either during the war or on testing basis is the basic reason for the increase in global atmosphere. The explosives used in the wars carry dangerously poisonous and hot gases that mix with the greenhouse gases 2and result in the trap of more heat than needed. Similarly, the factories emit poisonous gases. Here the developed countries like USA and EU are the greater contributors, because they have more factories than the rest of the world. The underdeveloped countries are also adding to this global warming because the vehicles used are normally so deplorably in a bad condition that they emit many times more poisonous smoke than the normal order. These haphazard practices of human beings are resulting in certain damages to the natural cycle of life. The global temperature has been changed rapidly. ... The ecosystem of our planet is also getting becoming chaotic, because of the human folly. This folly creates a vicious circle, where each problem exacerbates other problems which feedbacks into each other. A recent research of population trends, climate change, increasing pollution and emerging diseases found that 40 percent of deaths in the world could be attributed to environmental factors. Actually the ecosystem3 has been set in such a way that every species depends on the other. If one gets disturbed or destroyed, the other will definitely suffer. Sometimes even the entire species are wiped out because of certain human irregularities and indiscipline. The ozone layer is also getting damaged day by day. The destruction of ozone layer is also increasing the UV-radiation, that combined with higher ocean temperature, cause the reduction in carbon dioxide trapping mechanism of the oceanic phytoplankton biomass ,which adds to global warming process. When the warming reaches a certain level, it releases huge amounts of greenhouse gasses trapped in the permafrost. This enhances the global warming, and the polar destruction of ozone, and so on. Global warming also results in the rise of sea level. The general scientific law that liquid expands on heating is quite applicable to the rise in sea level. When the seawater gets warm, its level rises 4resulting in irreparable loss and damage to the land. Many islands disappear completely. Millions dollars worth property and business is obliterated in a few seconds. History is witness to the fact that more people have died by the after effects of the natural catastrophe than the catastrophe itself. Floods and