Mother Earth has its limits; Increasing of human population and pollution

Žiga Ogorelec

Study: Biology

Slovenia

World population is higher than ever since the beginning of the enumeration and is still increasing and with this, also pollution and the influence on the environment:

1)if we don’t do anything:

2)if we reduce our pollution for example for 20%:

Problem: also if we reduce our pollution, with increasing number of people there would be in total more pollution. And further on, there would also be an increase in demand of food, water and living space.

What is the 21st century disaster? What will happen?

Maybe there won’t be any sudden change! But many disasters have already occuredand some will even increase: in general we face hunger, diseases and an over load of pollution in the environment

The risk of an epidemic spread is omnipresent as well as risk of negative effects of

global warming. We can not predict where and when they may happen, but probably they will affect more crowded areas.

History: for thousands of years our population was regulated mostly with food availability (nature way), diseases and also wars

We don’t have natural predator, with farming we changed food limits, with enchroachment in habitats of other living organisms we are spreding our living space limitations.

Our number is increasing – where are the limits?

When energy is transferred from one to the next trophic level, typically only 10% of energy is used to build new biomass

Due to this mechanism there are less primary consumers than primary producers, less secondary consumers than primary consumers etc.

Humans are on top of food chain! big energy consumption

Example: if we eat shark, this means a lot of thropical levels : phytoplanktonzooplankton small fish bigger fish tuns sharks

(1kg of shark ≈ 1oooookg of phytoplankton!)

What can happen?

Humans have damaged nature over a log period of time but nature is powerful and always finds a way to heal itself. At one poing it will start regulating our number (disease, global warming or other disasters). We can chose – wait for the consequence or ACT

Main problem in third world and border countries: families have too many children no money may misuse children for working; no school education hunger and disease.

Also in countries where food and education is available:

quantity can decrease the quality of life!

Governments should support small families, up to 2 children. That wouldn’t only establish our number, but also bring many benefits:

Minimizing the consumption of water, energy and fuel

less industry, transport, CO2 emission and other pollution

enough food and living space

smaller families with better life

Why algae?

Availability of essential nutrients

Fast growth

Space saving

Usage as biofuel

Why less meat and more plants? Ecological pyramid - 90% or more of energy is lost when moving to next thropic level.

( 100g meat ≈ 1kg of plants (with the same nutritional value))

A lot of plants are planted just for feeding animals with reduction of meat-eating we can also reduce the surface of growingfields less pesticides, less cuting trees for forming farms, more space for endangered species, etc.

Biologicaly, humans are omnivores:

- People consume too much animal products (meat, eggs, milkproducts etc.).

- Aftereffects are: overweight, diabetes, vein and cardiac diseases, etc. Many animal proteins and fats aren’t so healty as plants.

There are many ways how to reduce our bad influence on environment. Examples:

Changing people habits (electricity usage, fuel and water consumption, procesing chemicals, driving with car,…)

Improving techniques in seperation and recyclating of waste products

Using biodiesel from algae, using gass from wastewater treatment plant

Alternative electric generators (wind power plants, hydroeletric plants, solar panels,…)

Passive buildings (good insolation, sun collectors,…) + grass (or other plants) on roofs increasing green surfaces positive effect of plants (O2 release, absorbtion of CO2 and pollutats) - important especially for bigger cities

A possible option: Water treatment

Water treatment is one of most important acts to protect nature from pollution. But building wastewater in every small city and village is expensive. The solution for it is phytoremediaton

How does it work? (see shema)

In the first pond there is sedimentation of solid/suspended solids

In the second pond there are plants important for phytoremediation. With their roots associate many microorganisms (forming biofilm). Plants and microorganisms together remove rest of pollutants with different processes (bioaccumulation, biotransformation, etc.)

Why ponds with plants?

Many smaller urban areas don’t have any wastewater treatment

Unexpensive to build ponds and plant plants

Effective in water treatment

Public awareness campaign is an important factor when we want to make changes. But in today’s world, for real changes money issue is a matter of concern.

1: Limitation of our number:

Governments should financially and with other benefits support small families (free health insurance, school, etc.). Families with more than 2 children should pay this things with their own money. (These laws should of course be valid only for new families and not for families which already have more than 2 children )

This also shouldn’t be valid for; countries that have negative population growth and tribes which live in natural way.

Gynecological examination and contraception should be free

2: More plants and algae, less meat

Grants and lower taxes for farms with vegetable, fruit, higher taxes for farms with animals.

Hunting smaller fish instead of tunas, sharks, dolphins etc.

3: Pollution reduction and remediation; building small ponds with plants Because they are not expensive, they could be build in urban areas where

there are no wastewater treatment plants. Once built, there is no additonal work, natural processes remove pollutants from water.

Once or twice a year there should be made control and measurements. If needed there could be excavation of polluted clay that was formed

during sedimentation process. It can be transported and treated in bigger waste treatment plants.

Plants are also bioindicators – if there would be mass pollution, plants would die (bioaccumulation of pollutants in plants). In this case, people would see that something is wrong and could act. It is also much easier to replace plants in pond then remediate polluted environment.

With limitation of our number growth and with reducing of our effect on environment we can coexist with nature without harming each other.

Because we don't think about future generations, they will never forget us. (HenrikTikkanen)