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Negative impacts of droughts on the environment
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Human depletion of the Earth’s ozone has contributed to the flow of pollution. (Rowlands, 1991). Many materials used by humans and factories can be naturally transported by either air or water. Oftentimes the materials that should be naturally transported can begin to degrade chemically in the physical environment (Rowlands, 1991). As materials left behind as a result of the population waste deteriorate, it can then begin to affect the crops from agriculture, contaminate the drinking water, and reduce the growth of plants and trees. Degradation of materials can also cause people to migrate to new areas, in search of food and land. The Earth is surrounded by a thin layer of ozone. In this layer, it absorbs almost all of the incoming UV rays …show more content…
The droughts are due to loss of snowpack, reduced precipitation and high temperatures. The California drought has created favorable circumstances for dangerous infectious diseases such as the mosquito-borne West Nile Virus and Valley Fever. California drought also worsened and increased health issues for people with asthma and allergies, because of the smog and air pollution; heat related illnesses caused people to die from extreme high temperatures. (National Resource Defense Council, 2015). The extreme dry conditions caused by the California drought contributes to wildfires that became out-of-control, and by late century, wildfires are expected to increase by 55%. The high temperatures takes the moisture out of the air and the soil and it causes the vegetation to burn quickly and causes fires to get larger, “In past years on average between January 1 and April 18, there would be 492 fires burning 1,300 acres. During the same time period in 2014, it was 862 fires burning 2,417 acres, and in 2015, 838 fires scorching 3,534 acres.” (National Broadcast Communications, 2015). Chinook salmon is also at risk of becoming extinct due to the warm temperatures of the water. In California, it is the primary catch for ocean fisheries and it supports thousands of jobs. Flooding is also a problem during the drought. Monsoons cause flash floods in the summer, although brief, it’s extremely tense; artic storms occur in the winter and cover Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountains with snow; and atmospheric river storms is a sequence of either rain or snow that lasts for days or weeks and can produce inches to feet of rain or snow. Health impacts include contaminated water and increased population of disease-carrying insects and rodents during
The California water drought has been declared a crisis by the governor of California. 2013 was the driest year on record, and California could be running out of water. Californians should be water wise, and their use, or no use, of water will have an enormous impact on this drought. They can use the techniques published in a recent Time article called, 5 Ways to Bust California’s Drought, to reduce their water use. Landscape techniques, alternate water sources, and the personal conservation of water can reduce the use of water, and can have a positive change on this water crisis.
On the heart (center) of California is a flat area with miles and miles of farms and up to 230 different crops. The central valley agriculture is essential to the United States; it not only delivers almost half of the produce but also helps the economy by also giving more job opportunities (California Department of food and agriculture, 2014). Many families depend on the central valley agriculture to survive economically in the United States. It is a well-known fact that rain and snows in the Sierra Nevada Mountains are a very important element in the central valley. No rain in the central valley can cause many devastating issues to occur quickly. Recently in the year of 2013 California received less rainfall than years before. The small amount of water the central valley is receiving is harming not only to the land but humans and animals as well. It’s destroying the habitats of animals with forest fires caused from the dry spells occurring. The central valley is going through a drought, so much that around this time of year the central valley usually accumulates enough rain for the necessities in the valley, agriculture for example. This year, however, has been different, the central valley hasn’t received enough water and this has caused a drought in the valley. Water is an important element in this world for not only human life, but for the environment in general, a shortage of water supply can bring issues to the environment and those living in it. The central valley holds the largest percent of class one soil, not only that, the valley grows a third of all the produce being grown in the United States, that’s more than 230 crops that are being grown in the central valley. However, this drought isn’t only affecting the resident...
The another devastating abiotic stress which is considered to be highly responsible worldwide for decreasing yield and quality of crop productivity is drought (Lambers et al. 2008 ; Moghadam et al .,2011; Mohsen Pourgholam et al.,2013 ; M. Farooq et al., 2012; Abolhasani and Saeidi, 2004 ; Monjezi et al., 2013).It harms plant growth and development and reduces crop growth rate and also affects biomass accumulation. Generally, in crop plants drought severely affects the cell division and expansion, elongation of root, leaf size, proliferation of root and inhibition of shoot growth (Sharp & Davies 1989; Spollen et al.,1993;Yamaguchi et al.,2010). Furthermore ,it also badly hampers all kinds of plant functions and physiological and biochemical traits such as mineral elements, carbohydrates, free radicals, ions, hormones, lipids, and nucleic acids (HongBo et al., 2005; Yasar et al., ; Moghadam et al .,2011,Mohsen Pourgholam et al,2013) .The transportation of nutrients from the roots to the stem severely get affected by drought as the rate of transpiration is reduced and damage of active transport and membrane permeability take place (Viets, 1972; Alam, 1999; Yasar et al ). Simultaneously, due to decrease in soil moisture, problem occurs with the low distribution of absorbed nutrients by the plant roots in the soil (Alam, 1999; Yasar et al ). More importantly, drought leads to rise in generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to energy accumulation in stress condition of plants (Smirnoff 1993; Asada 2006; Waraich et al.,2011).Drought diminishes photosynthetic carbon fixation primarily through restraining the entrance of CO2 into the leaf or by reducing metabolism (Smirnoff 1993; Loggini et al., 1999; Ap...
...the El Nino air pressure. The drought also has many impacts on economic, social and environmental. Manage drought comes from daily life and the government measure.
Allergens in the air also affect pollution, as carbon dioxide levels cause plants to produce more pollen (Climate Change, 2007). Smoke pollution from wildfires worsens the air quality and is harmful to breathe in. Wildfire smoke contains ozone-forming pollutants, particulates, and air toxics (California’s drought, 2015). The drought increases dry, hot, and windy weather, which intensifies the severity of wildfires. According to the CDC, the drought also increases the risk of catching fungal infections, or valley fever (Live Science Staff, 2012).
The drought in California is in its fifth year of one of the state’s worst droughts in the past century (USA Today 2014). This drought has led to many drastic environmental issues, such as wildfires, plant and animal’s survival, and other problems (Climate Education 2013). The shortage of California’s water supply has effected many nature reserves. Which disturbs their ways of living. By this drought going on California people see lands are being dried out, crops drying out, animals not having enough water to survive during this drought season (National Drought Mitigation Center 2016). The impact the drought has on California is a large one. But while the drought is still going on in California. Foundations and organizations find the time to help those animals and other species in California and other states that show support and build better environments for
Drought is no stranger to the state of California especially is the southern part of the state. California has been a technological creation since the first American settlers starting migrating from the east. It naturally has a semi-arid climate. It was inevitable that prolonged severe drought would occur in such a climatic region from time to time. California has depended on redirecting natural waterways and investing an incredible amount of money into pumping water to Southern California. This is not only a California debacle but a global one as well. According to the World health Organization, 1 billion people do not have access to clean, piped water. A world Resources Institute analysis adds that 2.3 billion people, 41% of Earth’s population, live in water-stressed areas, a number expected to climb to 3.5 billion by 2025. To make matters worse, global population is rising by 80 million a year, and with it the demand for new sources of fresh water (7 pg. 1). Water affects everyone and everything including the economies of both developing and industrialized nations. “The current situation has heightened the need for reliable sources of water, especially in these type of times when there is rationing across the state, “said Paul Shoenberger, assistant general manager with the West Basin Municipal Water District in Carson and chair of a desalination subcommittee for the Association of California Water Agencies. “ Desalination is more available and isn’t linked to rain or snow pack.” The only methods to increase water supply beyond what is available from the hydrological cycle are desalination and water reuse (8).
The drought in California has seriously impacted California in a negative way and will continue to impact California negatively if it continues. Drought in California has always played a huge part in California’s geography and without action to help prevent the affects of long lasting droughts California will continue to suffer severe negative effects, which can lead to serious negative impact on the rest of the country as well.
. Some cities, like San Francisco, had already been conserving water, which means it wasn’t much of a change for them. Other cities, like Beverly Hills, will be facing consequences if they don’t make the effort to save water. Water regulators are now able to fine people up to $500 if they take long showers, use a non-shutoff nozzle hose to wash their cars and sidewalk. After making changes like that, the state decided to focus on the smaller issues. For example, if you go to a restaurant, servers can’t bring you water unless you request. As you can see, many changes have been in made in the state of California to minimize the drought. There is a clear problem that California’s drought was caused at first by nature with “La Niña” but only
There are different beliefs as to the probable causes of the California drought. The two primary theories are that the drought was either caused by climate change or climate variability. Alan Stahler, a columnist, followed a group of scientists who discovered the true cause of the drought, “The recent multi-year drought was caused not by global warming, but by the sea surface temperature pattern – itself caused by natural variability” (Stahler par. 14).Regardless of the cause of drought, the drought itself has many negative effects on the people of California. Many individuals will suffer due to the drought, but one of the most affected will be farmers. Katharine Mieszkowski, a senior reporter for Reveal, reports the effects of the drought
... middle of paper ... ... Retrieved May 22, 2014 from http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/toxic-waste-overview/ Onishi, N. & Wollan, M. (2014, January 17). Severe drought grows worse in California. The New York Times.
Obviously, farmers are feeling the effect first hand. Many fields of crops are dry because farmers are being forced to bring in reserve water as a substitute of the runoff they normally take from snowcaps.
During El Niño?s in the Pacific Northwest, the amount of precipitation greatly decreases, the winter temperatures get milder, and winter has below-average precipitation. Some economical and environmental impacts are that erosion is increasing due to severe storm surges, concerns that property built on low-lying areas or on top of unstable bluffs possibly be flooded or threatened by landslides due to regional climate changes, and various salmon species potentially endangered. In California, during El Nino?s they get extreme precipitation and snowfalls. Economical and environmental impacts are heavy precipitation, damage from debris flows or mudslides, and floods from the rain. El Nino seasons in Peru bring so much rainfall that there is now a lake made from the rain, compared to the desert it once was. Several economical and environmental impacts from El Nino include massive floods or mudslides, and since Peru lives in a cold-water zone, it carries many fish that are caught and sold commercially, but during El Nino, a layer of warm water covers the nutrient-rich east coast waters, abruptly stopping the upwelling and the nutrients fail to come up.
For the previous 200 years, the industrial revolution’s discovery of fossil fuels reigned supreme. (Benefits of Recycling, History of Alternative Energy) Newly developed factories continued their steady streams of production and our society started becoming larger consumers. To meet the increasing demand, more product had to be made, and this resulted in more waste being emitted into the atmosphere. These gases built up until they caused the ozone layer to thicken to the point where it started trapping the h...
Efforts to improve the standard of living for humans--through the control of nature and the development of new products--have also resulted in the pollution, or contamination, of the environment. Much of the world's air, water, and land is now partially poisoned by chemical wastes. Some places have become uninhabitable. This pollution exposes people all around the globe to new risks from disease. Many species of plants and animals have become endangered or are now extinct. As a result of these developments, governments have passed laws to limit or reverse the threat of environmental pollution.