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The Environment and Your Health HEALTH How much do you know about protecting the environment? Rate yourself by taking the Chapter 15 Health Inventory at health.glencoe.com.
Before You Read Make this Foldable to record the main ideas on the causes and effects of air pollution. Begin with a plain sheet of 81⁄2 11 paper or a sheet of notebook paper. Fold the sheet of paper from top to bottom, leaving a 2 tab at the bottom.
Fold in half from side to side.
Unfold the paper once. Cut along the center fold line of the top layer only. This makes two tabs.
Label the tabs as shown. Causes
Effects
Air Pollution
As You Read Under the appropriate tab, Take notes on the causes and effects of air pollution.
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1 Quick Write List at least five places and/or objects that you associate with the word environment. Are your associations mostly positive or negative? Why do you think this is so?
LEARN ABOUT... • the causes and ef•
fects of different types of pollution. which hazardous products may be in your home.
VOCABULARY • pollution • fossil fuel • acid rain • ozone • smog • groundwater • sewage • biodegradable • landfill • hazadous waste
How Pollution Affects Your Health Pollution and the Environment Your environment consists of all the living and nonliving things around you. The people you see, your school, and your neighborhood are all part of your local environment. Your environment also includes plants, animals, air, and water. The global environment includes forests, mountains, rivers, and the world’s populations. Everyone is a citizen of the global environment, so it is everyone’s job to take care of it. Humans often act in ways that harm the environment. Pollution, dirty or harmful substances in the environment, is the result of some of these actions. Pollution can pose a threat to your health.
Air Pollution Most air pollution comes from the burning of fossil fuels, which are the oil, coal, and natural gas used to provide energy. This energy provides heat and electricity in homes and powers factories and motor vehicles. The gases that cars release into the air, including exhaust, are called automobile emissions. Because cars are one of the most widespread sources of air pollution, car manufacturers are now required to make a certain percentage of vehicles that meet strict environmental standards. Many industries and factories must also meet emission control standards.
Each person who uses mass transit instead of driving keeps about 75 pounds of harmful emissions out of the air per year. 430
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When fossil fuels burn, they release gases into the atmosphere. The gases mix with moisture in the atmosphere to form acid rain, which is rain that is more acidic than normal. Over time, acid rain can contaminate freshwater supplies. It can also harm forests by changing the chemistry of the soil. Some gases formed by burning fossil fuels combine to produce ozone, a special form of oxygen. Ozone at ground level is a major component of smog. Smog is a yellow-brown haze that forms when sunlight reacts with air pollution. Both ozone and smog can cause many kinds of respiratory problems. In addition, people who have asthma, emphysema, or bronchitis may be affected. To help protect people from these health problems, the media and state and local agencies report the Air Quality Index regularly. See Figure 15.1.
✔ Reading Check Identify supporting details. The topic sentence of a paragraph tells the main idea. Find the supporting details for each main idea in the paragraphs on these two pages.
Although ozone is harmful at ground level, it is very helpful in the atmosphere. Miles above the earth’s surface, a protective layer of ozone shields the earth from harmful rays of the sun. In the 1970s, scientists discovered that the ozone layer was breaking down. They determined that chemicals used in homes and industries damage the ozone layer. Without its protection, people are more likely to develop skin cancer and eye damage. This is why it’s especially important to protect yourself from the sun’s rays with sunscreen and sunglasses. Many countries are working to help restore the ozone layer by banning the harmful substances that damage it. FIGURE 15.1
The Air Quality Index The Air Quality Index is a guide to how safe the air is each day. How might air quality affect the health of a community? Air Quality Index 0–50 51–100
101–150
151–200
201–300
301–500
Levels of Risk Health Concern Good Little or none People who are unusually sensitive to pollution may have some symptoms. They should consider limiting the time they spend being active outdoors. People who are sensitive to pollution and those who engage Unhealthy for sensitive groups in outdoor physical activity are likely to have symptoms. They should limit the time they spend being active outdoors. Everyone may experience health effects and should spend only limited Unhealthy time being active outdoors. Sensitive people and those who engage in physical activity should avoid being outdoors for long periods. Everyone, especially children and the elderly, may experience serious Very unhealthy health effects and therefore should limit outdoor activity. Sensitive people and those who engage in physical activity should avoid all outdoor activity. Moderate
Hazardous
Everyone should avoid all outdoor activity.
Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
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Water Pollution Pollution is also a threat to all water sources. About 40 percent of the nation’s rivers, lakes, and coastal waters are now too severely polluted to swim or fish in. Pollution is especially dangerous in drinking water supplies. The water that people drink comes from one of two sources. The first is surface water, such as lakes and rivers. The other is groundwater, or water that collects under the earth’s surface. Pollution can make water undrinkable. For example, leadcontaminated water can damage the brain, kidneys, nervous system, and red blood cells. Another source of water pollution is sewage—garbage, detergents, and other household wastes washed down drains. These waste materials can spread diseases such as hepatitis A, typhoid fever, and cholera. Oil spills and chemical waste from factories also pollute water sources and cause health risks. Wastes that have been illegally dumped into waterways are another threat to water quality. Most water pollution, however, is not due to sewage, spills, or illegal dumping. Instead, it comes from chemicals and wastes on land. Runoff—rainwater or snowmelt—runs over the land and through the ground. As it moves, it picks up pollution such as pesticides, crop fertilizers, and wastes from towns and cities. It carries these chemicals to surface water or groundwater supplies.
Solid Waste Along with air and water, land is a natural resource that is threatened by pollution. In the United States alone, each person produces an average of 4.4 pounds of garbage per day. Some of this waste is biodegradable, or easily broken down in the environment. Biodegradable material such as newspaper or your leftovers from dinner would slowly disintegrate if you left it outside, where it would be exposed to air and rain. Nonbiodegradable material, such as plastics, would not disintegrate in these conditions.
Filtration devices like the one shown here can remove some harmful substances from drinking water. What are some other ways to keep water safe?
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Much of the trash Americans produce goes into landfills, huge, specially designed pits where waste materials are dumped and buried. Landfills must be carefully sealed so that toxic chemicals do not leak out and contaminate the groundwater. This means that biodegradable materials cannot easily break down inside a landfill. Some people choose to set up a compost pile—a place where biodegradable waste can break down naturally—in their yards or in other outdoor spots. Leaves, grass, shredded newspaper, some types of food, and other items can be composted.
Biodegradable waste can be composted, or allowed to break down outdoors. After a few months it turns into a material that is good for fertilizing gardens. How does composting help the environment?
On s d n Ha h Healt
A T H R O W A W AY S O C I E T Y
Find out how much solid waste students and staff in your school produce in a day and in a year.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
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pencil or pen paper
WHAT YOU WILL DO 1. One member of the class will ask the custodial staff how many bags of trash were thrown out on the previous school day. This would include trash collected from classrooms, restrooms, and the cafeteria. 2. Send one or two representatives to the attendance office. Find out how many students and staff members were present on the previous school day.
3. Divide the number of filled trash bags by the total number of students and staff members in attendance. The result will be the average amount of trash each person produced. 4. Multiply the number of filled trash bags by the number of school days in a year. The resulting figure is an estimate of the amount of trash your school contributes to the nation’s solid wastes each year.
I N CONCLUSION 1. Brainstorm ways for students to reduce the amount of waste they produce. Prepare a list of your ideas and findings. 2. Post your list on a school bulletin board or in some other public spot.
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Hazardous Wastes Some wastes produced by modern industry fall into the special category of hazardous wastes. Hazardous wastes are human-made liquid, solid, or sludge wastes that may endanger human health or the environment. Hazardous wastes can come from a variety of sources, including detergents, paint, batteries, plastics, fabrics, pesticides, and some types of insulation. These wastes can threaten individual and community health in several ways. People who are exposed to them can experience damage to the brain, liver, and kidneys. They can also develop diseases such as cancer. Hazardous wastes that are released into the environment can damage forests and farmlands.
Until 1978 it was considered acceptable for the paint used in homes to contain lead, a hazardous substance. Why might lead-based paint still pose a health problem in some homes?
Lesson Lesson
1
Safe disposal of hazardous wastes requires special handling. Such materials must be stored in facilities where they will not be released into the environment. Materials in your home that may require special handling include batteries, paints, bleach, drain cleaner, motor oil, antifreeze, nail polish remover, and oven cleaner. If you need to dispose of any hazardous materials in your home, do not throw them out with the regular trash. Instead, contact your local health department or environmental agency to find out how to get these materials safely into hazardous waste storage.
Review Review
Using complete sentences, answer the following questions on a sheet of paper.
Reviewing Terms and Facts 1. Vocabulary Define pollution. 2. Recall Name three fossil fuels. Explain how they are related to acid rain. 3. Vocabulary What is smog? 4. Explain How is ozone helpful in the earth’s atmosphere? 5. Identify List three sources of water pollution.
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Thinking Critically 6. Evaluate Identify the advantages and disadvantages of landfills. 7. Synthesize Explain how failure to dispose properly of hazardous wastes could cause drinking water to become contaminated.
Applying Health Skills 8. Accessing Information Exposure to pesticides and lead paint can harm health. Use reliable online and print resources to find out ways to avoid these harmful environmental conditions.
YOUR HEALTH
Lesson
2
Protecting the Environment Preventing Pollution No individual can solve all the problems that threaten the environment. Fortunately, the governments of many nations are working to fight and prevent pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for example, is an agency of the United States government that is committed to protecting the environment. Another government agency working in this area is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Labor whose job is to ensure the protection of American workers. OSHA’s responsibilities include creating and enforcing regulations to lessen hazards, such as carcinogens, in workplaces.
Quick Write List five specific ways in which you use water. Which of these activities could you do with less water than you currently use?
LEARN ABOUT...
Reducing Air Pollution
• what you can do to
When you join in the effort to reduce air pollution, you help to protect your own health as well as that of others in your community. You can reduce air pollution in a number of ways. • Carpool or take public transportation. • Ride your bike or walk to nearby activities. • Remain tobacco free. Tobacco smoke pollutes the body and the environment. • Plant trees. Green plants filter the air as they take in carbon dioxide to make food. Trees also provide shade that cools buildings and reduces the need for air conditioning.
• •
keep air and water clean. how you can reduce solid wastes. ways in which you can conserve energy and water.
VOCABULARY • Environmental Pro• • • •
tection Agency (EPA) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recycle nonrenewable resources conservation
Planting trees helps clean the air, improving your physical health. How might the beauty of trees also affect your mental health? LESSON 2: PROTECTING
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✔ Reading Check Make your own judgments. Use information from the text to evaluate how well you think your family or community manages waste.
Preventing Water Pollution Keeping drinking water free of pollution protects everyone’s physical health. Clean water does not carry the pathogens that cause disease. Clean water also supports agriculture and wildlife. Many people seek out the nation’s lakes, streams, rivers, and oceans when they want to relax. Water that’s safe for fun and recreation adds to everyone’s mental and social health. Do your part to protect or improve water quality. Use the ideas in Figure 15.2 to keep water clean and safe.
Managing Waste The solid waste people throw away ends up in landfills, causing environmental problems later. You can cut down on the amount of trash that you create by using the “Three Rs”—reduce, reuse, and recycle. Figure 15.3 on the next page explains how the Three Rs can help the environment.
FIGURE 15.2
Clean Water Many of your everyday actions can affect the environment. Which of these tips could you put to use today?
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Reduce toxic runoff by walking pets in grassy or undeveloped areas. Pick up pet wastes from sidewalks or other pavement. Use biodegradable soaps, detergents, and bleaches. These products break down more easily in the environment.
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Help protect oceans, streams, rivers, and lakes. Don’t litter. Pick up litter left by others. Dispose of chemicals properly. Follow manufacturers’ instructions for discarding toxic substances. Never dump such products down drains or sewers.
FIGURE 15.3
R EDUCE , R EUSE , R ECYCLE By reducing, reusing, and recycling, you can keep garbage out of landfills. How do you practice the Three Rs in your household?
Strategy
Definition
Tips
Reduce
Cut down on the amount of trash you throw away
Use your own baskets or cloth bags to carry groceries home. Avoid using disposable plates, cups, tableware, or napkins. Buy products that come in bulk—they use less packaging per individual item. Do not buy items with unnecessary packaging.
Reuse
Find a practical use for an item you might otherwise throw away
Wash plastic food containers and use them for storage. Reuse plastic or paper bags when you go grocery shopping, or use them as trash bags. Donate good clothing that you no longer wear to charity. Use worn-out clothing as cleaning rags. When possible, have broken items repaired rather than throw them away.
Recycle
Change an item in some way so that it can be used again
Find out which items are recycled in your area, how they should be separated from other garbage, and how they are collected. When companies make new products from recycled materials, they use up less natural resources. In turn, when you buy recycled products, you are continuing to help the environment.
Many types of household waste can be recycled. These guidelines will help you prepare some common household items for recycling: • Aluminum. Rinse cans and other aluminum items, such as pie pans and food trays. Crush them to save space. • Cardboard. Flatten cardboard boxes and tie them together. • Glass. Find out which types of glass (clear, green, and brown) your recycling center accepts. Rinse bottles and jars well, and discard caps or lids. • Paper. Most types of paper and newspapers can be recycled, as long as the paper is clean, dry, and does not include any plastic components. • Plastic. Many plastic items, such as water and milk containers, soda bottles, and some plastic packaging, can be recycled. Find out which types of plastics your recycling center accepts and how to prepare them for recycling.
According to the EPA, recycling kept 57 million tons of material out of landfills and incinerators (special furnaces that burn solid wastes) in 1996.
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Conserving Energy and Water
HEALTH
Online Topic: The Three Rs For a link to more information on reducing, reusing, and recycling, go to health.glencoe.com. Activity: Using the information provided at this link, make a plan for protecting the environment by reducing, reusing, and recycling.
Many natural materials are nonrenewable resources, substances that cannot be replaced once they are used. Fossil fuels are an example of nonrenewable resources. Once a barrel of oil is burned, it is gone forever. Some natural resources are renewable. The earth’s supply of water, for example, is constantly being replenished through the water cycle. However, the amount of freshwater is limited. To protect nonrenewable resources and those in limited supply, everyone needs to practice conservation, or the saving of resources.
Guidelines for Home Conservation The actions that you and your family take in your home have an impact on the environment. Here are some ways for you to help conserve oil, natural gas, coal, and freshwater. Heating and cooling • During cold weather, wear an extra layer of clothing instead of turning up the thermostat. Keep the thermostat at about 68°F. • Seal air leaks around doors, windows, and electric sockets to prevent heat from escaping. • Keep doors and windows closed during the air-conditioning season, and keep air conditioning at about 78°F. Lighting and appliances • Replace traditional lightbulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, which use less energy and last longer. • Switch off lights when you leave a room. • Turn off televisions, radios, computers, and other appliances when they are not in use. • Choose fuel-efficient appliances.
Turning off lights when you leave a room is an easy way to conserve energy. How else can you conserve electricity in your home? 438
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Cooking • When cooking a small amount of food, use a microwave or toaster oven instead of a conventional oven. • Don’t preheat a conventional oven for longer than necessary. • Don’t open the oven door unnecessarily while cooking. Water • Wash clothes in warm or cold, not hot, water. • Accumulate a full load before washing laundry or running the dishwasher. • Fix leaky faucets. • Never let water run unnecessarily. For example, running the water while brushing your teeth uses 4.5 gallons of water per minute. • Install low-flow showerheads. • Fill plastic bottles with water, seal them, and place them in your toilet tank. They’ll keep your tank from filling completely and will save up to a gallon of water per flush.
Lesson Lesson
2
Everyone can take measures to conserve water.
Review Review
Using complete sentences, answer the following questions on a sheet of paper.
Reviewing Terms and Facts 1. Vocabulary What are the functions of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration? 2. Identify List three ways to help reduce air pollution and three ways to help prevent water pollution. 3. Vocabulary Define the term recycle. How does recycling help people manage waste? 4. Explain Why are fossil fuels considered nonrenewable resources?
Thinking Critically 5. Explain List five ways in which people waste water, energy, or other resources
each day. Why do you think people practice these behaviors? What might motivate individuals and communities to conserve? 6. Evaluate Suppose that you want to paint your room. Decide which one of the following paints you would buy, and explain your reasoning. Paint A does the job quickly and gives off fumes, and the label instructs you to wear rubber gloves. Paint B is environmentally safe, costs twice as much, and takes longer to use. Explain your decision.
Applying Health Skills 7. Accessing Information Research alternative energy sources, such as solar and wind power. Report on the advantages and disadvantages of each.
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H E A obody helps protect the environment for the money. However, that’s what Kory Johnson got—and plenty of it—when she won the Goldman Environmental Prize. Kory was studying at a friend’s house when she received the telephone call telling her that she had won the $100,000 prize. “I was shocked,” she says. “They said, ‘You can’t tell anybody.’” Kory kept the secret until the next month. That’s when she was officially honored for 10 years of environmental work. At 19, Kory was the youngest of that year’s six winners. Kory’s environmental work was inspired by a tragedy: Her 16-year-old sister Amy died of a heart defect that she developed before birth. The family discovered that Amy’s heart trouble could have been caused by the contaminated well water that her mother drank during her pregnancy. “That’s when we decided to turn something bad into something good,” says Kory.
N
Starting Young Even though she was only nine at the time, Kory recruited some of her school friends and founded Children for a Safe Environment. This nationwide movement against pollution now boasts 350 members. Kory has since spearheaded several projects with the group, and she received a presidential Environmental Youth Award for her efforts. Not everyone has been so supportive, however. A teacher once called Kory a “radical,” issuing this warning: “If you keep this up, no college is going to accept you.” Such criticism doesn’t stop Kory. While she ponders what to do with her prize money, she’s hard at work on her latest issue, environmental discrimination. This happens when industries pollute poor or minority communities, whose members don’t have the political power to fight back. Each time she tackles a new cause, she’s reminded of how it all started. “I try to hold on to the memories I have of Amy,” Kory says. “I know she would be proud of me.”
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T H
Clean Protector of the environment Kory Johnson is seeing green in more ways than one.
Breathing Easier
Living
Thanks to people like Kory Johnson, we’re making progress in our battle against pollution. • Since 1970, the United States has reduced air pollution by more than 50 million tons. • Twenty of today’s cars generate the same amount of pollution released by a single car in the mid-1960s. • Since the mid-1970s, the amount of lead in the air has been reduced by 96 percent. • Over the last 20 years, the number of days in which air pollution in the United States has been declared too high by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been reduced by 43 percent. • The number of days in which the amount of ozone in the air exceeds EPA standards has declined by 5.5 days per year over the last 20 years. Source: Foundation for Clean Air Progress
About Protecting the Environment
“There’s still so much more I want to do,” says Kory Johnson, who plans to donate $10,000 of her prize to an environmental cause.
In a small group, conduct research on a local or national environmental issue, using reliable online and print resources. Then, present your findings to the class in the form of a news broadcast. One group member should act as the “anchor,” with others delivering information as reporters in the field. For visuals, create large, easy-tounderstand informational and statistical charts, or posters featuring images that relate to the theme of the news report.
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BUILDING HEALTH SKILLS
A DVO CACY
: s S R E REDUCE, E R H T E H REUSE, RECYCLE T Model The decisions people make about what to buy affect the amounts and types of waste that are left over. One day David and a few of his friends stopped at the deli to buy something to eat. As they were waiting in line, David realized that each of them had chosen single-serving bags of chips and cans of soda. “Hey,” he said, “it’s really wasteful to buy all this stuff. All of this packaging is going to end up in the trash. Why don’t we get a 2-liter bottle and a big bag of chips to share? It’ll cost less, and we won’t have to throw out a lot of junk.”
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’S B ACH
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Practice Becky is moving, and her friend Sarita is helping her pack. By the end of the day there is a huge pile of things that Becky plans to get rid of—books, toys, clothes, and other items. “Well,” Becky says, “I’d better start packing these up for the trash. Mom says that she wants this stuff out of here.” To Sarita it seems wasteful to throw these things out. Many of the items are still in good condition. How can Sarita use her advocacy skills to persuade Becky to find a better use for her old belongings and to protect the environment?
Advocacy The skill of advocacy asks you to • take a clear stand on an issue. • persuade others to make healthy choices. • be convincing.
Apply/Assess Become an advocate for the global environment. As a class, brainstorm a list of places in your homes where you could reduce, reuse, or recycle resources or energy. Individually, sketch each of these places on a separate sheet of paper. Under each illustration, list specific measures for your family to follow. For example, under your illustration of the kitchen sink, you might write: “Don’t leave water running while doing the dishes—use a dishpan instead.” Bind your pages into a book, and show the book to the members of your household. Use your advocacy skills to encourage them to take care of the environment. After you’ve shown your book to everyone, leave it out at home as a reminder to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
Self - Check • Have I sketched
•
•
all the places in my home where I can help to protect the environment? Did I use my advocacy skills to make the members of my household aware of how to reduce, reuse, and recycle? Are the suggestions in my book realistic and practical?
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CHAPTER
ASSESSMENT
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9. Manmade liquid, solid, or sludge wastes that may endanger human health or the environment are known as .
After You Read
Lesson 2
Use your completed Foldable to review the information on causes and effects of air pollution.
Reviewing Vocabulary and Concepts On a sheet of paper, write the numbers 1–9. After each number, write the term from the list that best completes each sentence.
[
• landfills • biodegradable • acid rain • sewage • runoff
• groundwater • fossil fuels • hazardous wastes • ozone
]
Lesson 1 1. The burning of causes most air pollution. 2. When gases mix with moisture in the atmosphere, the result is . 3. , a special form of oxygen, is a major component of smog. 4. Drinking water comes from either surface water or . 5. includes garbage, detergents, and other household wastes washed down drains. 6. Pollution from pesticides and fertilizers can be carried to the water supply by . 7. materials are easily broken down in the environment. 8. Solid wastes are commonly deposited in huge, specially designed pits known as .
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On a sheet of paper, write the numbers 10–14. After each number, write the letter of the answer that best completes each statement. 10. Green plants filter the air as they take in a. ozone. b. oxygen. c. smog. d. carbon dioxide. 11. Using plastic containers to store food instead of discarding them is an example of a. reducing. b. reusing. c. recycling. d. renewing. 12. All of the following items can be recycled, except a. paper with plastic components. b. glass bottles. c. cardboard boxes. d. aluminum cans. 13. Each of the following is an example of a nonrenewable resource, except a. natural gas. b. coal. c. water. d. oil. 14. To conserve energy, replace traditional light bulbs with ones that are a. incandescent. b. fluorescent. c. ultraviolet. d. infrared.
YOUR HEALTH
Thinking Critically Using complete sentences, answer the following questions on a sheet of paper. 15. Relate Could the destruction of forests in another part of the world affect the environment where you live? Explain. 16. Explain How can conserving energy help keep the environment clean? 17. Apply Think of a product that is available in disposable and reusable forms. Develop a list of reasons to persuade people to use the reusable version of this product. 18. Analyze Why is everyone responsible for protecting the environment?
Standardized
Career Corner Public Health Specialist Would you like to help people stay healthy and safe in their environment? If so, consider a career as a public health specialist. These professionals plan ways to help protect and improve the health of a community. To work in this field you’ll need a four-year college degree in public health. You’ll also need excellent communication skills. Find out more about this and other health careers by clicking on Career Corner at health.glencoe.com.
Test Practice 1. Which phrase or sentence from the passage represents an opinion?
Read the paragraphs below and then answer the questions. Garbage. It smells bad, it looks terrible, and there is too much of it. Many of you might not want to think about this problem. Reconsider this type of thinking and give your attention to building a recycling center here in Dutton. What is in the garbage that we toss out every day? It includes paper, glass, metal, plastic, rubber, food waste, and yard waste. More than 60 percent of this trash can be recycled. This would help conserve resources such as trees, water, and energy. Recycling would improve the pollution problem caused by the mountains of garbage that are accumulating in our landfills. Our valuable land would not have to be given up to create more landfills. Do something good for the earth and for the town by supporting recycling.
TH05_C2.glencoe.com/quiz
Many of you might not want to think about this problem. It includes paper, glass, metal, plastic, rubber, food waste, and yard waste. This would help conserve resources such as trees, water, and energy. Our valuable land would not have to be given up to create more landfills. 2. The last sentence of the passage appeals to the reader’s sense of humor. responsibility. justice. anger. 3. Write an editorial urging people to support an issue that is important to you.
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