Acid rain is usually a result of human air pollution such as emissions of sulfur and nitrogen compounds. These compounds react with those in the atmosphere causing acids to be produced and in turn causing precipitation to be acidic in nature. The negative impact of acid rain is evident in ecosystems. Acid rain changes the PH levels of rivers and lakes. Animals such as fish are very susceptible to changes in PH and therefore are unable to survive if the change is too drastic. Plankton and invertebrates are put even more at risk. Acid rain in water environments can also affect plant life. On land, acid rain damages forests in high altitudes and also lowers the fertility of soil as important nutrients and minerals are removed from it. These impacts on different aspects of the environment have a trickling down effect that negatively influence entire…
The over consumptions of material goods have overtaken society to the point where it has become a part of today’s necessity. But first of all, what is consumerism? Consumerism is the process of selling and promoting material goods which often leads people to obsessively consume vast amount of products. The concept of Consumerism however, have been negatively depicted within Bruce Dawe’s ‘Americanized’, ‘Televistas’ and a film ‘confessions of a shopaholic’ .…
Contrary to popular belief, Americans spend on average $3500.00 a year on unnecessary products such as a new iPod, a flat screen TV, a computer, clothes, dining out or a vacation. Nowadays, new products advertised on TV make the people watching it feel as if they need to buy that item. This is the problem with Americans; we buy what we don’t need just so we can say I have that! And show off to our friends. We spend money we don’t have just to be up to date with the latest fashion trends. It’s unethical what this world is coming to, what happened to the days were people watched every penny they made and only bought necessary items. Stores that have been in business for decades are being remodeled by new management in order to lour in customers.…
• Why do we consume so much anyway? o Psychological influence (advertising and peer pressure) o Planned obsolescence (engineering new products to replace “old” ones) o Structural imperatives (national obligation to consume) • Solutions to reducing solid waste? o Voluntary behavior (do the right thing) o Command and control (product bans, taxes on packaging, etc.) o Market-‐based approaches (consumer behavior) • Hazardous waste: waste that threatens human health or the environment because it is toxic (poisonous), dangerously chemically reactive, corrosive, or flammable • Who generates hazardous waste in US?…
Landfills are big contributors to the destruction of the environment. They lead to pollution of water and soil, and produce methane which is a greenhouse gas. The effects of landfills also can include animals or even people being killed, roads being damaged, and annoyances like a lot of noise, stenches, and vermin. According to Conserve Energy Future, “Recycling programs keep 70 tons of waste from being deposited into landfills every year” (No Author Given, 1). Hence, recycling plastic will decrease waste, which in turn will decrease the amount of landfill space needed. If the amount of landfill space decreases, the environment is greatly…
Acid rain may be even more damaging to forests than previously thought: Not only does acid rain wilt and destroy trees' leaves and needles, but new research shows it also leaches their life-sustaining metal nutrients from topsoil.…
Through the advancement of technology, the issue of the air surrounding the earth might have been one of the most often matters to be brought up and discussed among scientists and engineers. Acid rain is one of the more serious environmental problems and it is closely related to the air pollution. Nowadays, it has affected large part of US, Europe and Canada. People start to be concerned about acid rain since it is getting worse in the passed years. The effect of the acid rain most often leads to another bad effect. For example, the acid rain will cause the lake and streams to be acidic. Thus, it will also affect the ecosystem inside the water.…
The emphasis on material items is a serious issue and has begun to cripple our nation. Consumerism is the theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable. The idea of consumerism has started to move away from benefiting our economy to benefiting the self interest of each consumer. For too long, we've been manipulated to consume as much as we possibly can, to buy every new product launched, the top brands, and pretty much anything we could get our hands on (Tanaka). Company’s manipulative and misleading branding leads…
Most of the garbage humans produce ends up in landfills and although they have mechanisms in place to avoid contamination, it is quite possible that it will still happen because trash creates different gases and liquids such as methane, which can contaminate the underground water, soil, and air. These landfills are around the community you and your family live in and one of the short-term detriments is that it depreciates homes’ value.…
Introduction: An essay exploring and outlining the benefits and effects of rubbish in a consumer society, a brief description of my essay and its contents…
Why do people buy things they do not need? Whether it is the newest piece of technology, or even a pill that promises weight loss in a short period of time, even though they never saw an overwhelming need for them in the past, these newfound distractions seem to creep their way into their thoughts, making them think they have to own it. Either way these wastes of money are not new distractions, in fact they were bred first in the 18th century, “While spurred by the new colonial commodity trade, Stearns argues that a new commercial marketing apparatus that stretched consumer wants and needs truly underwrote modern consumerism,” (Stearns, 74). Stearns goes on to say that windowed displays and advertisements converted trivial…
Do you know that most homes in the US contain more TVs than they do people? People have been buying more and more things than they need to over consume for decades because of the current ideology that consumerism can help them reach the level of satisfaction they want. In the article “Spent” the writer Mr. Amitai Etzioni discusses the current view of the American society on consumerism. Mr. Etzioni explains that consumerism is becoming like a culture in the American society and is the one of the causes of the current economic problem. He describes that the current issue of consumerism has misguided the American society to believe that the things you own tell who you are. Moreover, he states that life was…
Consumerism is the center of American culture. Americans tend to confuse their wants with their needs. With new advances in technology, as well as the help of advertisers, people are provided with easy access to new products that seem essential to their everyday life, even though they have survived this long without them. People cannot live without food, clothing, and shelter. But realistically, according to people's different lifestyles, more than food, clothing, and shelter are needed. Most people need to work to survive. Unless a job is either in their own home, or within walking distance, a means of transportation is needed. Whether it be a vehicle, money for a taxi-cab, or a token for a ride on the subway, money must be spent in order to reach the place of work. For a student, paper, pens, and possibly a computer are a necessity. In order to complete school assignments, these tools are sometimes even required. Schooling is required for many types of jobs, which provide money, which is without a doubt essential in life. Food, clothing, and shelter are not the only things needed to survive. The problem begins when people with a larger disposable income take it too far. A car is definitely needed, but the fastest car in the most attractive color is not. Needs begin getting confused with…
Landfills are growing at an exponential rate in the United States; this is a big concern for many people. Many years ago people just threw their garbage in dumps and forgot about it. Then it started to become a problem as the dumps got fuller and just kept growing. People have to put their garbage somewhere; they produce over 4 pounds of garbage everyday per person, that’s about 250 million tons for the country (EPA.gov). The population is growing at a very quick rate also. Some people try to reduce their refuse and waste, but it is very difficult when just about everything we use has some form of waste, and it’s been going up to all time highs. Packaging alone makes up a third of all waste. America has over 3000 landfills that are in use and about 10000 that have been closed (EPA.gov). A vast amount of different ideas and problems come along with landfills and there are many ways to stop them from growing. The pollution associated with landfills is a problem, as well as the massive size of them, and solutions need to be found to stop them from growing.…
As a country, Americans love to shop. Whether in malls, grocery stores, on the Internet, or elsewhere, the culture of buying is deeply ingrained in American culture. Fueled largely by advertising and the current credit system, America’s consumer culture is depleting our planet’s finite natural resources and polluting our environment. Consumerism has instilled in Americans an artificial, ongoing, and insatiable desire for mass-produced and marketed products, and the money with which to buy them, with little regard to their actual usefulness or necessity. This constant desire to acquire more possessions is poisoning the planet, as it can never be sated and thus results in the never-ending exploitation of the Earth’s natural resources, and the resulting pollution. America’s consumer culture is not only wrecking havoc on the Earth, but by virtue of constantly making shoppers think they need new products they had no prior desire to own, is also creating a citizenry of perpetually dissatisfied and discontent consumers.…