2 - Consequences of our resource use

Chapters 16 and 17

Essential Questions:

Chapter 16: Watch THIS video

What are the major components of municipal solid waste?
What are the environmental and societal consequences of our resource use?
How do we move to a zero waste society?
What are the consequences of producing hazardous waste?
What are the regulations and legislation regarding hazardous waste?

Chapter 17 Not covered in class. Read chapter 17 and watch THIS video
What are the major risks to human health in poor countries? in wealthy countries?
What are the historically important human diseases?
What are the emerging infectious diseases?
What are the major types of harmful chemicals and their effects on human health?
How do we determine the concentrations of chemicals that harm organisms?
How do we assess risk?

Vocabulary (chapter 16)

The waste stream
Extraction - disposal, Throw-way society, Planned and Perceived obsolescence, closed and open loop recycling, reduce/reuse/recycling/compost

MSW - Municipal Solid waste
% composition of most abundant kinds, recycling trends, landfills incineration

Hazardous waste,
Sources/examples, brownfields, love canal,

Laws
RCRA
CERCLA (superfund, npl)

systemic changes
Life cycle analysis, zero waste, cradle to grave, waste/source reduction, integrated waste management

Vocabulary (chapter 17)
Types of risk
physical (natural disasters, accidents)
Biological (plague, malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, mad cow, bird flu, West Nile
Toxic chemicals (neurotoxins, allergens, carcinogens, teratogens, endocrine disruptors)
Factors that contribute to toxic effects
exposure, solubility, bioaccumulation, biomagnification, persistence
How do we study risk?
Dose response studies (LD-50, ED-50, TP-50, acute and chronic studies) threshold
Retrospective studies
Prospective Studies

Laws
Stockholm Convention
REACH
Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976

Managing risk
Quantitative risk analysis
perceived risk
actual risk
risk acceptance
risk management
Precautionary Principal
Innocent until proven guilty