M7A1 Project 4: Social Construction of Environment

Social Construction of Environment
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Introduction
There has always been conflict to be addressed between man and the environment. The relationship between these two entities has led to major discussions and debates for more than three decades due to the escalation of social and environmental problems. The module notes on environmentalism and globalization of social problems reveals that IGOs and INGOs have been on the forefront to tackle this global issue. Environmental sociology involves the studying of the community and its interrelationships. Understanding the community and the environment could be the way forward in handling environmental problems that are leading to global warming and pollution in the society. This essay will study three challenges to sustainability, environmental justice and the rights of beauty habitat that are of concern to the ecological dialogue.
Sustainability
Environmental sustainability is critical in curbing the major human transformation in the environment. Challenges to sustainability will involve a discussion of five major topics (Bell, 2009).
Energy
Energy consumption compared to its production is higher and the types of energy people use are not sustainable or clean and safe. To solve this, the society needs to produce more or to use less. 54% of the energy used comes from oil and gas, 27% of energy is from coal and peat which are fossil fuels. 10% of the energy used is from renewable sources like ethanol and the other 10%, is from nuclear energy and hydroelectric power. Each of these sources of energy has their own consequences to the environment (Bell, 2009). The Gulf of Mexico in 2010 recorded water pollution that resulted from the drilling of oil. Coal is mined from the ground and it is a carbon compound that causes global warming. Coal mining caused the deaths of miners during the coal mining explosion as recorded in 2009 in Heilongjiang, China. Nuclear energy is equally very dangerous as seen by the leak caused in Fukushima, Japan in 2011.Renewable energy is a success that has not been adopted by many countries apart from Germany. Germany gets 10% of its energy from renewable sources of energy. Wind energy is also huge in Spain since it produces 14.3% of energy that is used in the country as per the data recorded in 2009. However, renewable energy imposes some environmental concerns. For example, wind turbines are noisy to the people that live close by, hydroelectric power causes the displacement of people and destruction of beautiful views that were on the water features before the generation of power. One major issue with energy is that land is needed for its production. The same land is also needed as a habitat and a source of food (Bell, 2009). The sustainability of energy requires it to be efficient and durable.
Global warming
This is another challenge to sustainability and it is happening in many countries. Prolonged drought, flooding, rising sea levels, hurricanes and decreased snow cover are signs of global climate change and each geographical region responds differently to this change (Bell, 2009). Prolonged global warming would affect rainfall patterns and weather records and the general environmental pattern will change tremendously. Global warming is happening due to carbon emissions from fossil fuels that turn to lead which causes the greenhouse effect that radiates out in space. In addition, the module notes denotes that other combustion processes by human activities add up to global warming, hence challenging environmental sustainability.
The two ozone problems
The layer of oxygen in space is made up of two bonded oxygen atoms. Three oxygen atoms form the ozone that protects life on earth from the harmful solar ultraviolet radiation (Bell, 2009). Harmful UV light causes cataracts, skin cancer, and disrupts the ecosystem functions. Combustion from human activities produces chlorofluorocarbons that deplete the ozone layer. The effects of ozone depletion have been witnessed in Punta, Chile. People from Punta have recorded a 66% increase in skin cancer cases from 1994-2001(Navarro, 2014). The banning of chlorofluorocarbons and hydro fluorocarbons as an international community has been of great impact to avoid the depletion of the ozone layer (Bell, 2009). Although, the production of ozone has been recorded to be more down than up in space. Therefore, smog that is unhealthy and unpleasant affects people and reduces crop production
Particulates and acid rain
Particulates in the air that appear like whitish smog in most cities and suburbs. The particulates lead to premature deaths among residents as shown by the study conducted in the U.S. which revealed that 160,000 Americans die prematurely due to particulates in the air and there are also increased heart attacks by the residents (Bell, 2009). Acid rain results from the emission of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the air and the rain damages plant tissues, and causes leaching on the soil. A study that was started in 1990 showed 30 years later, that coa...