SS6G9 The student will
discuss environmental issues
in Europe.
a.
Explain the major concerns of Europeans
regarding the issues such as acid rain in
Germany, air pollution in the United
Kingdom, and the nuclear disaster in
Chernobyl, Ukraine.
Student will be able to:
• Explain the impact of acid rain, air
pollution and the Chernobyl Nuclear
Disaster on the economies and population
of Europe.
• EQ: What are some
of the major
environmental issues
facing Europe today?
Great resources for
more information:
www.epa.gov
www.eea.europa.eu
Air quality in Europe:
www.airqualitynow.eu
Name: ____________________
Causes
Date: _________ Period: ______ TOC# ______
Event
(Important Facts)
Solutions?
Effects
Name: ____________________
Causes
Car __________
(_________ and particles
which are put into the
______ by various sources.
_____________
Other _______
____________
Date: _________ Period: ______ TOC# ______
Effects
Event
(Important Information)
Acid Rain
________smoke or ________
exhaust containing _______
dioxide and ________ oxides
go up into the atmosphere and
come back down to earth in
the form of harmful
precipitation (_____, ____,
etc.) ______ deposits also fall
from the ____ when there is
no precipitation.
Solutions?
____________ emission (how
much pollution can be let out
in the air)
________________-renewable
energy resource that uses the
Earth's water cycle to generate
electricity
Kills ________
Pollutes _______
Kills _________
and other plants.
Destroys
________ and
monuments.
_______ deposits
from _____ rain are
_______through the
air causing _____
rain in other
_______ in ______
Acid Rain: Caused by these…
Acid Rain: Results in this…
Important Info: Acid Rain in
Germany
• What causes acid rain?
Acid rain occurs when factories’ smoke or
vehicles’ exhaust containing sulfur dioxide and
nitrogen oxides go up into the atmosphere and
come back down to earth in the form of
harmful precipitation (rain, snow, etc.)
Dry deposits also fall from the sky when there
is no precipitation.
Event: Acid Rain in Germany
• Causes:
car emissions (gases and particles which are
put into the air by various sources)
factories,
other air pollution
• Effects:
kills animals
pollutes water, kills forests and other plants
destroys buildings and monuments.
Sulfur deposits from acid rain are carried through
the air causing acid rain in other countries in
Germans afraid of this…
Black Forest in Germany
…becoming this…
EQ: How do these major environmental issues effect the
economies and population of Europe TODAY?
• Acid Rain
 Damage to fish stocks and forests have great
economic impact to local economy and international
trade.
 Damage to buildings resulting in money having to
be spent to renovate.
Closure of many factories resulting in loss wages.
• What can be done?
European Union members have agreed to the Kyoto
Protocol, or reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses
Find alternative energy sources
Conserve resources
All of these “fixes” cost money!!
Example: Germany
• Until 1980’s, people did not believe that acid rain was
•
a problem
When people saw that forests were dying, they
started to worry (Germans love their forests)
– Almost half of trees in forest were damaged
• Pollution in Germany was actually causing acid rain in
•
•
•
other countries
Then Germans and others in Europe began pushing
for emissions laws (how much pollution can be let out
in the air)
Now Europe has very strong laws about this: very
little pollution allowed
Germans are using hydroelectricity to reduce acid rain.
Solution: Acid Rain
stronger emissions laws (how much
pollution can be let out in the air)
Hydroelectricity-renewable energy
resource that uses the Earth's water cycle to
generate electricity
Hydroelectricity: Human/Environmental
Interaction: Depending on our environment.
Name: ____________________
Causes
Date: _________ Period: ______ TOC# ______
Event
(Important Facts)
Solutions?
Effects
Name: ____________________
Causes
_______ burning
in homes (Great
_______ of 1952)
sent _____ into
the air, mixed with
_____; creating
smog
Vehicle
_________
Date: _________ Period: ______ TOC# ______
Event
(Important Information)
Air Pollution
Related to ______ rain. Air
________ rises into the air and
returns as ______ rain in the
form of _____________ or dry
______. ______ pollution is
carried from the U.K. to other
countries by _______currents
resulting in acid rain in those
countries.
U.K. has very bad _____
pollution. Air pollution includes
_______, _________, and
________ (a mixture of
_________ and _________.
Solutions?
Local
__________
Government _________ air
quality. ________. _______
coals and using more
__________. Newer cars
produce less _______ and
people drive les
Effects
Hurts _______
through _______
rain.
Hurts
___________
Hurts _______
(burns the ______,
_______, and
_______ forcing
senior _______ and
________ to stay
indoors.
Event: Air Pollution in the U.K.
• How are acid rain and air
pollution related?
Related to acid rain. Air pollution
rises into the air and returns as
acid rain in the form of
precipitation or a “dry fall”.
Air pollution is carried from the
U.K. to other countries by air
currents resulting in acid rain in
those countries. The UK has
very bad air pollution
Air pollution includes smoke,
dust, and smog (mixture of
smoke and fog)
Event: Air Pollution in the United Kingdom
Causes:
Coal-burning in homes (Great Smog of 1952) sending
ash into the air, mixed with fog; creating smog
vehicle emissions.
Local factories
Effects:
hurts plants through acid rain
Hurts atmosphere
 Hurts humans (burns the lungs, nose and eyes
forcing senior citizens and children to stay indoors)
EQ: How do these major environmental issues effect
the economies and population of Europe TODAY?
• Air Pollution
 Respiratory disease= greater healthcare costs.
 Contribution to acid rain in the U.K .and other European
countries.
 Damage to fish stocks and forests have great economic impact
to local economy and international trade.
 Damage to buildings resulting in money having to be spent to
renovate.
 Closure of many factories resulting in loss wages.
 Money has to be spent on improving public transportation to
reduce number of vehicles on road therefore reducing
emissions.
Solutions
•Government monitors air quality
• Air quality monitoring station
– European Union is
pressuring them to improve
this
• One major goal of the EU
is to improve the
environment and protect
the earth
• Cleaner coals by using
Air Quality Monitoring Station
more electricity.
• Newer cars produce less
exhaust and people drive
less.
EQ: How do these major environmental issues effect the
economies and population of Europe TODAY?
• What can be done about air pollution?
Use of cleaner fuels, emission controls
and advanced engine technologies.
Name: ____________________
Causes
Date: _________ Period: ______ TOC# ______
Event
(Important Facts)
Solutions?
Effects
Name: ____________________
Causes
___________
government was
not careful
Date: _________ Period: ______ TOC# ______
Effects
Event
(Important Information)
Land ___________
and contamination
(Europe farmers)
Chernobyl Nuclear
Disaster
_________
reactor design
________ with
poorly trained
workers.
______ Nuclear accident
Estimates: up to
_______ will die from
________ radiation.
_________ had to be
resettled. Radiation
spread throughout other
countries by air currents.
Solutions?
Economic impact on
East and North
_______ _________:
radioactive particles stirred
up by or resulting from a
nuclear explosion and
descending through the
atmosphere
_________ issueshigh rates of
_______, birth
defects, ________
Event: Important Information: Chernobyl
(Ukraine)
• April 26, 1986 Nuclear accident
– Estimates: up to 5,000 will die due to cancer from
radiation
– 336,000 had to be resettled
– Most areas now considered safe
Chernobyl
Chernobyl after the disaster…
Whole cities had to be abandoned
due to radiation…
Before
After
Evacuation
Effects:
Red Forest
The Pripyat Fun Fair
was scheduled to begin
May 1st. The ferries
wheel remains one of
the most irradiated
parts of Pripyat since
the disaster, making it
still dangerous today.
400m away from the reactor:
0.623 rt/m2
Average radiation level of a
Non-contaminated area:
0.010 rt/m2
Event: Chernobyl Nuclear
Disaster in Ukraine
• Cause:
communist government was not careful
defective reactor design that was operated
with poorly trained workers.
• Effect: Nuclear accident at Chernobyl
 Land evacuation and contamination (Europe farmers, )
 Economic impact on East and North
 Heath issues- high rates of cancer, birth defects, death
 Nuclear Fallout- radioactive particles stirred up by or resulting
from a nuclear explosion and descending through the
atmosphere
Event: Important Information: Chernobyl
(Ukraine)
Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster
April 26, 1986
• spread to surrounding countries by air
currents.
• still effects people and land TODAY.
• worst in history.
Event: Important Information: Chernobyl
(Ukraine)
Chernobyl Disaster, cont.
• Most deaths were attributed to nuclear fallout which was more
than 400 times more than the amount of nuclear fallout caused
by the bomb over Hiroshima.
• Evacuation and resettlement of over 360,000 people.
• The Soviet Union tried to cover up the critical nature of the
accident. Firefighters did not know that the fire they were
fighting contained deadly amounts of radiation poison. Most of
these men died within 3 months after the accident.
Event: Important Information: Chernobyl
(Ukraine)
Chernobyl Disaster, cont.
• The residents of the city of Pripyat, where the reactor was
located, were told that the evacuation would only be
temporary. To this day there are still personal belongings in
homes in the city.
• By December, 1986, a huge concrete dome had been
constructed to entomb the reactor.
Solutions: Chernobyl Nuclear
Disaster in Ukraine
• Buried the reactor
• 25 years later:
General Map of Chernobyl Fallout
Throughout Europe
Nuclear Fallout:
EQ: How do these major environmental issues effect the
economies and population of Europe TODAY?
• Chernobyl
People don’t really know how much damage was
done.
Agriculture in other parts of Europe suffered.
Affected land useless in the Soviet Union.
Payments to victims
Loss of jobs due to closed reactors
High medical costs.
• Journal Writing: Use Thinking Map
Choose one Environmental Concern
Compose 1 paragraph that answers:
1.Where does it occur in Europe?
2.What are the causes?
3.What are the effects?
4.What is being done to solve the problem?
5.How well or poorly did the country solve the
problem?
Pay attention to: Grammar, Punctuation,
Sentence structure!
Less than 3 Complete sentences: 70%
3-5 Complete sentences: 85%
6-7 Complete sentences: 100%
1. One of the main problems affecting the
United Kingdom is…
A.Acid Rain
B.Air pollution
C.Nuclear disasters
2. One of the major problems facing Germany
is…
A.Acid Rain
B.Air Pollution
C.Nuclear disasters
3.
One of the affects of Acid rain is…
A. Sulfur deposits from acid rain are carried through the air
causing acid rain in other countries in Europe
B. wear away the waxy protective coating of leaves,
damaging them
and preventing them from being able to photosynthesize
properly.
C. All of the above
D. None of the above
4. Why were other countries concerned about the Chernobyl
disaster?
A. Chernobyl was providing power to the entire world.
B. Radioactive material from the plant fell on Europe.
C. None of the above
D. All of the above
3. One of the affects of Acid rain is…
A. Sulfur deposits from acid rain are
1. One of the main
through the air causing
problems affecting the carried
acid rain in other countries in
United Kingdom is…
Europe
B. wear away the waxy protective
A. Acid Rain
coating of leaves, damaging them
B. Air pollution
and preventing them from being
able to photosynthesize properly.
C. Nuclear disasters
C. All of the above
D. None of the above
2. One of the major
problems facing
Germany is…
A. Acid Rain
B. Air Pollution
C. Nuclear disasters
4. Why were other countries concerned
about the Chernobyl disaster?
A. Chernobyl was providing power
to the entire world.
B. Radioactive material from the
plant fell on Europe.
C. None of the above
D. All of the above