Introduction

• How do humans affect the environment?
  • Consume valuable natural resources
    • water
    • fossil fuels
    • biomass
    • oxygen
  • Reduce and alter the natural habitat
    • forests
    • prairies
    • wet lands
    • waterways
  • Add waste products
    • air pollution
    • land pollution
    • water pollution
• Problems facing municipalities
  • Disposal of solid waste
  • Disposal of wastewater
  • Supply of drinking water
  • Control of air pollution
  • Public awareness
• Problems facing industry
  • Reduce pollution
  • Conserve natural resources
  • Retain competitive pricing
• Good examples that affect the environment and our lives
  • Water quality has substantially improved since the 1970s
    • Industries have reduced water pollution
    • Municipalities have reduced water pollution

      The Great Lake's water quality has markedly improved since a low point in the 1970s

      The water quality of many streams has improved

  • Hazardous waste has been managed better since the 1980s
  • Solid waste has been managed better since the mid-1990s
  • Air pollution is being reduced due to recent federal regulations
  • Others?
• Bad examples
  • Non-point source pollution continues to be a problem
    • Water pollution from agriculture has not been reduced substantially
    • Water pollution from surface runoff of streets, parking lots, etc. has not been reduced
  • The Mississippi River is still polluted with chemicals, sewage, and silt---Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) would be saddened at the thought
  • Habitat has been destroyed and is continuing to be destroyed
    • Illinois has no natural prairie left
    • Our nation's forests are a fraction of their pre-European invasion levels
    • Internationally, tropical rain forests are being destroyed at alarming rates
  • Others?

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