Understanding Environmental Pollution

Name: Understanding Environmental Pollution
Rating: 3.8 (86 reviews)

The Anatomy of Air, Water, and Soil Pollution

Created byNatasha Palesa Mothapo

Last updated 4/2017

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

Understanding the four key areas of the environment- the Biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere, and how each area is affected by pollution.
Identify the main pollutants in the air, water and soil.
Determine the fate of pollutants in the environment as a whole i.e. in the foodwebs and the impact on human health.
Explore different methods of environmental rehabilitation after pollution.
Identify steps in which pollution can be minimized.

Course content

1 section • 9 lectures • 58m total length

Introduction2:24
Explore environmental pollution types, new sources, and their impacts on water and soil. Learn remediation methods and solutions to reduce pollution within interrelated biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere.
Ecology and the Ecosystem8:22
Explore how ecosystems rely on energy flow from solar energy and the carbon and nitrogen cycles across atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. Learn how human activities disrupt these processes.
What is Environmental Pollution?2:27
Explains how environmental pollution introduces harmful substances into air, water, and soil, harming living organisms and natural processes, with waste and improper disposal as major sources.
Air Pollution10:53
Explore the sources, types, and health and climate impacts of air pollution, including primary and secondary pollutants, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, ozone, smog, and acid rain.
Water Pollution13:09
Explore how water pollution arises from point and non-point sources, introducing inorganic pollutants, nutrients, pesticides, and organic chemicals into water bodies, with impacts from eutrophication, endocrine disruptors, and disease.
Thermal Pollution3:03
Thermal pollution occurs when hot industrial water raises temperatures in water bodies, triggering thermal shock to aquatic life, enabling heat-tolerant species and parasites, and reducing oxygen availability.
Water Pollution Control5:02
Understand water pollution control through treatment, recycling, and regulatory tools like the EPA’s toxic release inventory and the emergency planning and community right to know act, while noting reporting gaps.
Soil Pollution5:43
Explore how soil pollution arises from waste, oil spills, mining, and atmospheric deposition, and how soil texture, organic matter, and organisms influence pollutant fate, degradation, transport, and groundwater risks.
Solutions7:24
Explore bioremediation with plants and microbes to remove metals and contaminants, while embracing biodiversity, renewable energy, and waste reduction to reduce pollution and protect ecosystems.

Requirements

You should be able to use a PC at beginner level.
An interest in environmental studies would be an advantage.
An interest in learning about care for the environment would be an advantage.

Description

The aim of this course is to provide you with a basic understanding of environmental pollution. The course gives insight about the structure of the environment and the different ways in which pollutants can change its composition with regards to how they enter the environment as well as their fate.

Furthermore, several phenomena that result from pollution in the 3 key areas of the environment, air, water and soil are explained in more details. These include the formation of photochemical smog and acid rain, biomagnification of chemical pollutants in the soil and water, as well as how air pollution exacerbates the greenhouse effect.

Who this course is for:

Individuals who are interested in environmental studies.
Professionals who are in the environmental care and land planning industry.
Individuals who are interested in environment-related topics.