Chapter 5

Chapter 5

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  Chapter 5 :Natural Environment Presented by : Nurul Izzah Bt Mohd Hilmi 11dpi16f1017 DPI 3A
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  Natural environment ofSouthest Asia • The environment, climate change and the management of natural resources have been taking centre stage with policy-makers and governments in Southeast Asia. It is now recognized that environmental degradation cannot continue unabated over the long term. It is already affecting countries, their economies and communities.
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  TSUNAMI • Although rare,tsunamis have the potential to cause considerable loss of life and injury as well as widespread damage to the natural and built environments. The objectives of this review were to describe the impact of tsunamis on human populations in terms of mortality, injury, and displacement and, to the extent possible, identify risk factors associated with these outcomes. This is one of five reviews on the human impact of natural disasters. • Data on the impact of tsunamis were compiled using two methods, a historical review from 1900 to mid 2009 of tsunami events from multiple databases and a systematic literature review to October 2012 of publications. Analysis included descriptive statistics and bivariate tests for associations between tsunami mortality and characteristics using STATA 11. Findings • There were 255,195 deaths (range 252,619-275,784) and 48,462 injuries (range 45,466-51,457) as a result of tsunamis from 1900 to 2009. The majority of deaths (89%) and injuries reported during this time period were attributed to a single event –the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Findings from the systematic literature review indicate that the primary cause of tsunami-related mortality is drowning, and that females, children and the elderly are at increased mortality risk. The few studies that reported on tsunami-related injury suggest that males and young adults are at increased injury-risk. Conclusions • Early warning systems may help mitigate tsunami-related loss of life.
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  POLLUTION • Pollution isthe introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change.[1] Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light. Pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies or naturally occurring contaminants. Pollution is often classed as point source or nonpoint source pollution.
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  Natural environment ofEast Asia region  NATURAL HAZARDS • A natural disaster is the effect of a naturally occurring hazard (such as an earthquake) taking place in a • populated area and resulting in severe damage to the environment and often loss of life. These types of • events have environmental, social and economic consequences. • Hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and droughts are all examples of natural hazards. Although experts • (such as meteorologists also known as ‘weatherman’) can sometimes predict them, natural disasters are often • totally unexpected. (See also fact sheet 3.5 Environment Issues - Natural Disasters for ages 12-14.) • Environmental factors and changes in the global temperature (caused by global warming, see fact sheet • 3.4 Environment Issues - Climate Change) are largely agreed to cause more natural disasters such as • earthquakes, volcanoes and flooding. Melting polar ice caps for example increase sea levels and affect the • amount of pressure being placed on the tectonic rock plates under the Earth’s crust. Increased temperatures • also cause heavier rainfall in some regions causing flooding.
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   DISEASES • Inepidemiology, environmental diseases are diseases that can be directly attributed to environmental factors (as distinct from genetic factors or infection). Apart from the true monogenic genetic disorders, environmental diseases may determine the development of disease in those genetically predisposed to a particular condition. Stress, physical and mental abuse, diet, exposure to toxins, pathogens, radiation, and chemicals found in almost all personal care products and household cleaners are possible causes of a large segment of non-hereditary disease. If a disease process is concluded to be the result of a combination of genetic and environmental factor influences, its etiological origin can be referred to as having a multifactorial pattern. • There are many different types of environmental disease including:[1] • Lifestyle disease such as cardiovascular disease, diseases caused by substance abuse such as alcoholism, and smoking-related disease • Disease caused by physical factors in the environment, such as skin cancer caused by excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation in sunlight • Disease caused by exposure to toxic or irritant chemicals in the environment such as toxic metals
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   POLLUTION • Environmentalpollution has existed for centuries but only started to be significant following the industrial revolution in the 19th century. Pollution occurs when the natural environment cannot destroy an element without creating harm or damage to itself. The elements involved are not produced by nature, and the destroying process can vary from a few days to thousands of years (that is, for instance, the case for radioactive pollutants). In other words, pollution takes place when nature does not know how to decompose an element that has been brought to it in an unnatural way. • Pollution must be taken seriously, as it has a negative effect on natural elements that are an absolute need for life to exist on earth, such as water and air. Indeed, without it, or if they were present on different quantities, animals – including humans – and plants could not survive. We can identify several types of pollution on Earth: air pollution, water pollution and soil pollution.