Source

Introduction

Welcome to class. Last week we learned about the influence of the physical environment on human activities as well as the influence of human activities on the physical environment.
So today, we will be considering environmental problems, causes, effects and solutions to environmental problems.

Environmental Problems

Environmental problems can be referred to as some of both artificial and natural problems affecting man and animals in their environments.

It is an indisputable fact that man has influenced his environment in a number of ways. Most of the problems occur due to nature.

TYPES OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

A number of environmental problems can be identified in most places of the world. Some of these problems are natural, and some are artificial.
Some of these problems are natural, and some are artificial.

Natural environmental problems

1.Earthquake

1. Spillage
2. Desertification
3. Pestilences
4. Erosion
5. Flood disaster
6. Tornado or storm
7. Drought

Artificial Environmental Problems:

1. Pollution
2. Sewage Disposal (Dumping)
3. Deforestation
4. Fire disaster, etc.

Some of the above environmental problems are briefly discussed below.

Earthquake: This has to do with the
vibration, sinking, and submerging of the earth's surface as a result of contraction and expansion of the earth crust due to volcanic eruption. This often results in a lot of damage to buildings, other infrastructure, and human and animal life.

Flooding: This usually occurs when water bodies extend beyond their banks. Just like earthquakes, it is a natural occurrence. It occurs as rivers overflow. Also, it is caused by too much rainfall in an area. River flooding has made many people homeless; and some have lost their lives and property.

Drought: Drought is a continuous period of dryness in weather. It occurs as a result of a prolonged lack of rainfall. When there is no rain in an environment for a very long time, drought will set in. It is a condition of rainlessness in a society. It causes famine. Plants and animals, which we depend on for our food as human beings, will die off. There will be no food to eat and water to drink to enable us to engage in other activities that sustain our life, resulting finally in our own death. Examples of countries in Africa that have experienced drought are Mali, Chad, Somalia, Ethiopia, etc.

Pollution: Pollution has to do with destroying the purity and sanctity of our environment. Pollution can be in water, air, or land.

Land Pollution: This has to do with contamination of land with poisonous waste materials. Wastes from human activities are put in the environment. This makes our surroundings dirty and dangerous to live in

Air Pollution: We experience air pollution when dangerous gaseous elements from industrial machines or smokes are released into the air. Odours from waste disposed of indiscriminately in our environment also pollute the air. This is dangerous to our health.

Water Pollution: This is the contamination of seas, rivers, and streams (water bodies). Our water is polluted when industrial and domestic wastes or toxic materials are poured or drained into the gutters, which are, in turn, washed by flood into the rivers or streams or poured directly into the water bodies, which are the sources of the water we use. Pollution is caused by man.

Erosion: Erosion is the gradual wearing or washing away of the earth's surface (soil) by water or wind. There are many types of erosion. They include water, wind, and glacial erosions.

Glacial erosion is not common in Nigeria; it occurs in cold regions, while wind erosion occurs mainly in desert regions.

Water erosion is very common in Nigeria. Water erosion is mainly caused by man as he carries out some activities in his environment. His activities of farming, road construction, timbering, etc. cause deforestation, which leads to the exposure of the land to climatic elements such as rainfall.

Gully erosion is common in Nigeria. It has rendered many people homeless and limits their activities in towns like Obosi, Alor, Agulu, Nanka of Anambra State of Nigeria.

Deforestation: Deforestation is the
clearing or destruction of existing natural vegetation (forest), leaving the land bare.
For us to provide our food, shelter and clothing, our natural vegetation is constantly distorted and altered by the following activities of man, which result in deforestation.

(i)clearing the bush and cutting down the vegetation for cultivation.
(ii)providing firewood for cooking.
(iii) construction of roads for easy
communication.
(iv) besides, to ensure adequate grazing of animals like cattle, sheep or goats, we sometimes indulge in keeping a large number of animals on a small piece of land, thereby exposing the land or soil to different weather conditions.

Tornado and Hurricane: These have to do with swirling and very fast winds that cause damage to property and loss of lives.

CAUSES OF ENVIRONMENTAL

PROBLEMS

Environmental problems are caused by a number of factors as listed below:

1. Nature: The underlying factor of the onginal soil of a particular area, e.g., earthquake.
2. Flood disasters are caused by incessant down-pour of rain, or when rivers or canals overflow their banks.
3. Desertification can be caused by deforestation, over-grazing, and bush burning.
4. Pollution can be caused by human activities such as industrialization, smokes, and indiscriminate dumping of refuse.
5. Environmental degradation can be caused by human activities such as dumping and also by the activities of rainfall through erosion.
6. Fire disasters can be caused by both unkept electronic gadgets, sparks of light, or through action of some individuals.
7. Spillage in riverine areas of our oil producing states are due to the natural flow of crude oil into the surrounding areas.

EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS ON THE SOCIETY

Environmental problems have inflicted an untold hardship to a lot of people. Some of these effects include:

1. Loss of lives and property.
2. Degradation of environment.
3. Erosions have spoilt a lot of agricultural lands and crops, leaving some farmers with little or nothing.
4. Desertification and drought have caused famine in most parts of the world. Many people have, as a result, faced serious hardship.
5. Spillage makes farming activities in oil-producing states impracticable.

SOLUTIONS TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

1. Industries should be sited far away from residential homes to avoid pollution.

2. Prevention of erosion through the
   following ways:
   (i) construction of water courses, drainages, ditches, and soak-aways.
   (ii) contour farming and terracing.
   (III) creating forest reserves to avoid human interference.
   (iv) planting some trees that will help hold soil particles together.

3. We should introduce soil management ideas and practice
   into our routine farming (by avoiding over-grazing and over-crop- ping).

4. Afforestation law and other laws that are aimed at preserving our environment should be maintained and put in practice.

5. Research should be conducted on high-yielding, drought-resistant food crops, that is, crops that can survive during drought, so as to be able to feed many and avoid the pains of food crisis (famine).

6. Farmers should be given better agricultural education to improv agricultural practices.

7. Storage facilities to encourage preservation of crops should be provided.

8. Refuse must be burnt or buried or must not be deposited into water bodies.

9. Oil spillage should be prevented

10. Good methods of disposing faeces such as water-system toilets should be used.

11. Planting trees in rows to check the
    speed of wind (wind breaking).

Homework task

1. What is an environmental problem?
2. State kinds of environmental problems.
3. What are the causes of environmental problems?
4. What are the effects of
   environmental problems to us and to our nation?
5. How could we tackle or solve environmental problems

Rules

• Your homework post should be at least 300 words.
• Post in steem kids and parents Community
• You must belong to any of these clubs, club5050 club75 and club100
• Use the hashtags 'learnwithsteem, steemexclusive, yourcountry, and your club status as part of your hashtag.
• Drop your entry link at the comment section.
  All participants who perform well will be rewarded.

Note: The homework is open for everyone