Environmental Environment: Principles Of Environmental Risk Management

Element 1: Principles of Environmental Risk Management.

Learning Outcomes.

The intended learning outcomes are that candidates will be able to:

1.0: Explain the earth 's natural cycles and how the principles of sustainability are being adopted.

2.0: Explain the reasons for managing environmental risk

3.0: Explain the principles of environmental hazard identification, risk assessment, and risk control.

Hours of tuition and private study:

9 hours of tuition.

1.0 - Introduction.

This section will look into the earth 's natural cycles and how the principles of sustainability are being adopted. We will look into the Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus and hydrological cycles.

1.1 - Global, Regional and Local Environmental Effects.

Conversely, pollutants in the stratosphere can be very long lasting, examples include the products of major volcanic eruptions.

1.2 - Natural Emissions to the Air.

Most pollutants are emitted both by natural as well as by anthropogenic (human activity) sources. Natural sources are not influenced by humans or by human-induced activities. Volcanoes are a good example of this type of source and can emit large amounts of sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide. Natural emissions far exceed those made by humans.

Many emissions are biogenic, for example, produced by living organisms, but these emissions are very often influenced by man 's activities. Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a greenhouse gas that is for a large part emitted during nitrification and de-nitrification processes (the conversion of ammonium to nitrate and of nitrate to N2O and ammonium respectively), which take place in the soil. The largest N2O emissions are observed where nitrogen-containing fertiliser is applied in

The Greenhouse Effect.

Risk assessment and risk management techniques allow us to identify hazards that we face and to set priorities, and form a key factor in public health and environmental management decision making. Earlier, we looked at the definition of a hazard as the property of a substance, or activity, to cause harm.

illustrating global warming

Figure 2. Illustrating Global Warming.

Natural Cycles: The Carbon Cycle.

Gaseous carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is converted into organic compounds by the process of photosynthesis in plants. The carbon is then stored in the biomass of the plants during their life. Herbivores obtain organic carbon compounds by eating plants and carnivores obtain organic carbon by eating herbivores. When the plants or animals die, the dead organic matter is consumed by decomposer organisms, which return carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

the carbon cycle

Figure 3. The Carbon Cycle.

Carbon moves from the atmosphere to plants:

In the atmosphere, carbon is attached to oxygen in a gas called carbon dioxide (CO2). Through the process of photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is pulled from the air to produce food made from carbon for plant growth.

Carbon moves from plants to