Environment

Environment
Prof. Samuel Perrino Martínez. SEK Les Alpes.
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Topics
 How is the climate influencing the world?
- Population
- Landscape
- Energy
- Economy
 How is vegetation influencing the world?
- Environmental issues
- Direct benefits
 How is water influencing the world?
 The specific case of Spain
- Climate
- Vegetation
- Water Prof. Samuel Perrino Martínez. SEK Les Alpes.
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Climate influence in the world
 Population
 Landscape
 Energy
 Economy
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Climate influence. Population
 ¿What kind of climates were avoided
by the Human?
 So… ¿Where would be more
population based on climate factors?
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¿Are you able to see the influence of the climate in the world population?
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Climate influence. Landscape
 The climate influences in the landscape because of…
- Crops (South, North of Spain)
- Animals
- Houses
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Where are these pictures from?
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Where ?
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Where are these pictures from?
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Climate influence. Energy
 Some renewable energies are
dependent on the climate:
- Wind energy
- Hydroelectric
- Solar energy
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Eolic
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Hydroelectric
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Solar energy
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Climate influence. Economy
 ¿Which sector is extremely
dependent of the climate?
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Tourism and climate
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And of course …
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Influence of vegetation
 Environmental issues
 Direct benefits
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Influence of vegetation. Environmental
issues
 ¿Why are the plants influencing in
the health of the people?
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issues
 Plants make the soils richer with
humus
 Moreover, plants ¿reduce or
increase? the erosion in the rivers.
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issues
 Trees create shadows (vital for many
animals)
 They have a direct impact in the
wildlife (ex. Koalas in Galicia)
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Influence of vegetation. Benefits for the
humans.
 ¿What is the main benefit for the
humans?
- Spain is an important power
regarding food market
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Importance of vegetation. Benefits
 Moreover, vegetation is relevant for
some natural resources such as:
- Wood
- Cork
- Paper
- Resin
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Importance of vegetation. Benefits.
 Touristic importance from the XX
century due to the creation of a
network of National Parks
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Grand Canyon and Yellowstone
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Influence of water
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The water
 ¿Which percentage of the Earth is not
under the water?
 ¿Do you know which percentage of
the water is fresh water?
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Benefits
 Agriculture
 Industry (chemical products)
 Human necessities (drink and wash)
 Can you guess which percentage is
used for each need (agriculture,
industry…)?
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The specific case of Spain
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The specific case of Spain. Different
climates
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The specific case of Spain. Different
vegetation
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Pollution and environment
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Different ways of pollution
 Air pollution
 Water pollution
 Vegetation pollution
 The climate change
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Air pollution
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Air pollution
 Acid rain
 Ozone layer destruction
 Carbon emissions
 Smoke pollution
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Air pollution
 Pollution: Expulsion of harmful
particles to the Atmosphere, causing
a problem in the environment.
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Air pollution. Acid rain
 It is produced by the mixture of
sulphide and nitrogen with the vapor
in clouds:
 Consequences:
- Lost of leafs (trees)
- Skin problems and illness as cancer
- Lost in the soil fertility
- Decrease in the trees growth
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Air pollution. Acid rain.
 Location
- A Coruña, León and Teruel
 Solution:
- Modernization of the Power Stations
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Air pollution. Ozone layer destruction
 The ozone creates a layer which
protect us from negative sun
radiations (ultraviolet)
 Some products as sprays or foams
produce dangerous gases, which
weaken the ozone layer (more
ultraviolet rays enter in the
atmosphere)
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Air pollution. Ozone layer destruction.
 In some parts of the planet the ozone
layer was completely disappeared
(Ozone layer hole)
 There is an important international
concern about this issue, with several
meetings after 80ies, with the aim of
reducing the gas emissions
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Air pollution. Greenhouse effect
 “Greenhouse effect”
 Some gases as methane or carbon
create a “greenhouse effect”, making
warmer the temperature of the Earth.
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Air pollution. Carbon pollution
 These gases were created by:
- Transports
- Conditioning air / Heating systems
- Industry / Fires
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Air pollution. Greenhouse effect
 The raise of the temperature creates
problems such as:
- Melting ice in the Poles --- Sea level
raise
- Higher dryness
- Habitat destruction (problems for many
species)
- In the specific case of Spain,
greenhouse effect can modify the
climate (from Mediterranean to sub-
dessertic climate)
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Solutions to the air pollution: Protocol of
Kyoto
 In 1990, some countries sign the
Kyoto Protocol, in order to reduce
15% of the carbon emissions in 15
years.
 Result --- Raise in some cases of
152%
 Problems: Some countries did not
sign the agreement (USA), others did
not comply with the requirements
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Solution to the air pollution
 Solutions
- Promote renewable energies
- Stricter laws regarding pollution
- Higher awareness by the big powers
(USA, Russia, China) and the people.
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Pollution in Europe
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Water problems
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The overexploitation of the water
resources
 Spain has important problems of water in
some areas (Mediterranean coast and some
parts of the center)
 Some activities are risky for the water
resources:
- Golf course irrigation
- Higher demand due to tourism
- Fruit crops demand plenty of water
(important in Valencia or Murcia)
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The overexploitation of water. Solutions
 There are several possibilities to save
water in Spain with:
- Drop by drop crops
- Re-use of the waters
- Reparation of the leaks (in Spain 30%
of the water in the agriculture is lost
due to the leaks)
- Specific environmental programs to
protect some areas
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Water pollution
- Oil spill: Important environmental disasters
(Prestige)
- Dirty waste waters
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Prestige pictures
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Water pollution. Solutions
 Water treatment plants (Esp:
Depuradoras)
 More controls about water quality
 Plans to recover the worst areas
 Strict laws in order to avoid pollution
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Vegetation problems
Deforestation and pollution
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Vegetation problems: Pollution
 Pollution
- Fertilizers (Read text)
- Solution: Alternative ways such as
organic agriculture
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Deforestation
 Spain has an important problem regarding
caused fires because of:
- Arsonist (Esp: Pirómanos)
- Tourist oversights
- Economic interest (urban and agrarian)
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Caused fires
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Solutions to the deforestation
 Prevention of fires
- Laws and institutions to fight against fires (for
instance, avoiding new constructions in burned areas).
- Recruitment of staff in seasons with a special risk of
fire (summer) This is quite polemic, can you imagine
why?
- Firewalls (Esp: Cortafuegos)
- Buy new hydroplanes
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Climate change issues
 Climate change is an important issue in last years
 Basically, it means climate is changing with higher temperatures
 In the specific case of Spain, climate change can create new conditions in the
country
- Desertification
- Extreme weather
- Risk for the animals
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Climate change consequences in Spain.
Desertification
 6% of Spain is in a desertification
process, and 20% is in a high risk
 This is a common risk in
Mediterranean countries
 Desertification also brings new
problems apart of the lack of water
(new illness as malaria)
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Climate change consequences. Hail and
electric storms
 Hail and electric storms are produced
more often with climate change
 Hail is very negative for the crops
and even for the machines or
different objects
 It is common during summer
 Electric storms can damage the
supply of energy
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Climate change consequences. Heat/Cold
wave
 In Spain, they were called “Siberian
Cold Wave” or “Sub-Saharan Heat
wave”
 The country is not well prepared for
these problems(especially regarding
low temperatures)
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Risk for the animals
 The change in the habitats can produce a change
in the “behavior” of the animals regarding:
- Movements (Storks)
- Mating (Some animals are shy)
- Food (a small change in the temperature affects
the insects)
… that is why, it was created a “Catalogue of
Endangered Species” with the aim of reduce the risks
for these species (Brown bear or Iberian Lynx)
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The endemic star of Doñana. The Iberian
lynx
 There are just 300 Lynx (15 live in the Toledo
mountains and the rest live in Doñana), and
it is one of the most endangered species in
the world
 Lynx are solitary animals, and they are very
shy for mating (if someone is close, they are
not able to reproduce)
 It is the only mammal specialized in rabbits
(80 – 90% of the diet), although it is able to
hunt small deer or ducks
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Lynx
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So cute….
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