Environmental Newsletter – November 2022
International Project: Amazon Conservation Team
The Amazon Conservation Team is a non-profit organisation that is dedicated to preserving the Amazon rainforest by working hand-in-hand with the indigenous people of South America.
Problem it’s trying to solve:
The Amazon Rainforest is the largest tropical forest on the planet. It not only is home to a vast variety of biodiversity, but it also plays a critical role in regulating global climate. It stores a large amount of carbon and emits 20% of the world’s oxygen.
In addition, the Amazon plays an important role in the water cycle. The trees pull up water from the earth and then, through the process of transpiration, add that water into the atmosphere, where the moisture contributes to the formation of rain clouds, which release water back into the rainforest.
However, the rainforest is under increasing threat from large-scale farming, infrastructure and urban development, unsustainable logging, and mining.
When the trees are cut down to make room for these industries and settlements to develop, much of their stored carbon is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, which contributes to global warming.
Furthermore, the moisture that had once been contributed into the atmosphere decreases, causing rainfall decline and droughts. The moisture gathered by rainforests travels around the world, with moisture created in the Amazon ending up falling as rain as far away as Texas, USA. Deforestation causes a disruption in the rainfall of not only the Amazon, but also worldwide.
The deforestation has also affected the indigenous people who inhabit those areas. They have their land taken from them, sources of clean water polluted and are left unable to acquire basic necessities from their territories.
How it’s solving it:
The Amazon Conservation team works closely with indigenous people of South America to conserve the biodiversity of the Amazon Rainforest , as well as the culture and land of its indigenous people.
The project helps protect the forest by:
- Increasing the area of legally protected areas to shield against deforestation
- Encouraging sustainable land-use practices
- Giving communities the tools they need to look after their ecosystems
- Developing non-destructive methods of forest harvesting and subsistence agriculture
How to aid the project:
You can donate to the project.
Links
Local Project: Groenvlei Carp Project
The Groenvlei Carp Project is a project that aims to remove invasive carp from the Groenvlei lake, which is 5km away from the town of Sedgefield, in the Western Cape, one of only eight natural lakes in South Africa.
Problem it’s trying to solve:
Carp is regarded as one of the world’s top 100 worst alien species, and has been wreaking havoc in Groenvlei since it was introduced to the lake in the 1990s. It is estimated that the volume of carp in the lake stands at over 180 tonnes.
Carp uproot and disturb submerged vegetation as they search for insect larvae to eat. This leads to a decrease in water quality of the lake and stirs up phosphate-containing sediments, which contributes to algae blooms.
In addition, carp cause damage to the native fish populations, as they out-compete other fish for food and space, leading to a decrease in the population size of native fish species
How it’s solving it:
The carp are removed from the lake using various fishing and harvesting methods, such as the use of nets of varying sizes.
Between 2018 and 2019, a total of over 2800 carp were removed and disposed of. During the 2020 pandemic, the carp was given to soup kitchens in local communities where people had been suffering from the devastating economic effects of the pandemic.
This meant that the project not only rid the lake of an invasive species, but also benefited local communities.
Links:
- https://www.capenature.co.za/projects/groenvlei-carp-project
- https://www.discover-sedgefield-south-africa.com/invasive-carp.html
Current International Issue: Air Pollution
Air pollution is the contamination of the atmosphere due to the presence of substances that can negatively impact the health of living beings, or contribute to the damaging of the climate and environment.
1 Factor that contributes to Air Pollution:
Coal-burning power plants:
When coal is burned in these power plants, a number of byproducts are produced, including carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide, methane gas and ash particles.
These byproducts react differently with other elements in the atmosphere and cause a host of problems, ranging from climate change to health issues.
- Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides react with water and oxygen to form acid rain, which corrodes buildings and structures, and acidifies freshwater environments, damaging aquatic ecosystems.
- Nitrogen oxides react with heat and sunlight to form smog, which is a low-lying toxic compound. Smog serves as a lung irritant and can cause a variety of respiratory effects, particularly in young children, the elderly and people with asthma.
- Ash particles get lodged in the lungs of people who inhale them and increase the risks for pulmonary diseases such as lung cancer.
- Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change by trapping heat within the atmosphere.
How it’s affecting South Africa:
In Johannesburg, air pollution is said to have decreased life expectancy by 3.2 years, with residents complaining about the stench of rotten sulphur eggs in the air.
In Mpumalanga, a province that contains 83% of Eskom’s coal-burning power stations, Sasol’s coal-to-liquids plant located in Secunda, and the NatRef refinery in Sasolburg, was the centre of a court case against the South African government over the poor quality of air in the province.
Air pollution causes the deaths of over 2200 people in South Africa annually and thousands of cases of bronchitis and asthma in children and adults.
This is mainly due to over 85% of South Africa’s energy being produced by coal-burning power stations that release many harmful gases into the atmosphere.
How to prevent it:
While the solution to this issue does require our energy sources to shift from coal and other fossil fuels to renewable energy, there are things that you can do to reduce emissions of gases that contribute to air pollution, such as:
- Keeping your car in good condition, as this reduces the amount of emissions your car produces.
- Planting trees, as they take in carbon dioxide during the process of photosynthesis.
- Not burning your garbage, as materials such as plastic and polystyrene release toxic chemicals when burnt. Instead, dispose of your garbage via bins, making sure to recycle when possible.
Links:
– By Danielle
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