Environmental Quality & Sustainability

Atmospheric Systems

1) Energy budget of the atmosphere & various heat transfers (daytime):

At night:

• no incoming solar radiation,
• outgoing longwave radiation is greater when the skies are clear (no clouds),
• heat stored in the soil may be released back into the atmosphere.
• Condensation on the ground may occur (supplying energy to the surface)

Energy budget equation:

2) Structure of the atmosphere - layers & temperature changes.

3) Climate Change:

• The Greenhouse Effect: Diagram explaining process, the causes & effects
• Global : Video
• Alternative theories for climate change: Channel 4 video (The Great Global Warming Swindle).

Resources:

Climate Change & Greenhouse Effect PP

News article (2011) Global warming impacts

Soils & Sustainability

1) What is soil.

2) Impacts of deforestation, overgrazing, irrigation on soil quality & quantity.

3) Methods of soil managment & case studies.

Resources:

Water Use & Management

1) Basic facts about water supply & statistics about our use of it.

2) Water Scarcity: Can be defined as:

• physical water scarcity: where water resource development is approaching or has exceeded unsustainable levels; it relates water availability to water demand and implies that arid areas are not necessarily water scarce.
• economic water scarcity: where water is available locally but not accessible for human, institutional or financial capital reasons.

3) Read & make notes about key issues concerned with water: Pulitzer Gateway

4) Waterfootprint.org Read through the articles on this site about freshwater consumption & scarcity

5) Follow the links & read through the following articles & make case study notes about each one.

You should include: -where, what is the problem, causes, effects, what is being done about it.

• East Africa
• Las Vegas

6) Video: Flow: Privatisation of water supplies. Make notes.

7) Asparagus production & water depletion in Peru

8) UK reliance on virtual water through imports

Tropical Rainforest Sustainability

1) Characteristics of tropical rainforests

2) Class divided into groups to research and make short fact-file about the following issues:

• rainforest plant biodiversity & inportance
• Rainforest animal biodiversity & importance
• Causes of deforestation
• Effects of deforestation

Environmental sustainability?

1) What is environmental Sustainablility?

Presentations

• causes
• consequences
• importance

Extra resources

Costa Rican pinaeapple production by MNCs