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Natural Hazards and Physical Environments

            Firstly the definition of a natural hazard is "those elements of the physical environment, harmful to man and caused by forces extraneous to him" (Burton et al 1978, cited by www.oas.org). These can include hazards ranging from droughts to floods, from earthquakes to volcanoes. This essay will examine whether these natural hazards are caused by the physical environment (out of our control) or whether they are caused by society's decisions. The physical environment is a clear reason why natural hazards take place. With earthquakes as an example, major pressure releases at plate boundary fault lines caused by plate movement. As this happens deep within the mantle it can be argued that this is out of our control and therefore caused by the physical environment as nothing we can do could prevent it, especially as the plate movement is caused by convection currents. Plate movement is also the cause for the natural hazard-volcanoes where destructive and constructive plate boundaries cause eruptions which kill many and cause vast destruction. The physical environment is also seen as a cause of natural hazards in relation to floods. For example physical factors that can increase flood severity include the gradient e.g. steep slopes, type of rock e.g. impermeable, hard rock and primarily excessive or intensive rain over a short time. All of which were not decided by society and are the physical environment and its natural processes. .
             However, there is mounting evidence that new human technologies and decisions by society are causing changes to the physical environment resulting in natural hazards. One of these new technologies is fracking which is the process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at a high pressure in order to fracture shale rocks to release natural gas inside (BBC, 2013). It is controversial due to the disposal of the wastewater into wells underground, as pumping water into faults will increase pressure which will be released as an earthquake.


Essays Related to Natural Hazards and Physical Environments

1. Environmental Justice and Canadian Minorities

... of environmental protection by environmental justice activists, over the years many people worldwide still live in unsafe and unhealthy environments. I would like to explore this aspect of Environmental Justice because it would help further investigate factors that affect the poor and racial minorities and find out whether the Environmental Justice activists are actually making an impact on the development of society as ... are going to be discussed later on in the paper. The unjust environmental practices predominantly impact the poor and those composed mainly of ethnic, social, and rac...

  • Word Count: 2435
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. Global implications of climate change

... Implications on the Human Population Though there is some scepticism that climate change is a result of human actions, it is unlikely to be a natural event. Some dismiss the phenomenon known as "global warming" as a hoax, and claim that yuppies driving SUVs could not possibly change the overall temperature of the earth. In a sense, this misguided notion is true- ... diseases that rely on animals or water as vehicles. Climate change would change our ecology with respect to biodiversity, nutrient cycle, physical relocation, internal defence systems, and transmission dynamics within microbe...

  • Word Count: 3241
  • Approx Pages: 13
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

3. A Problem in Land-Use Planning Related to Urban Development

... has happened to other areas can happen with this project. The area that is being looked at is very similar to physical geography, geological setting, climate and existing patterns of the land use to the Brampton- Etobicoke region of southern Ontario. In October of 1954, Etobicoke Creek ... American Rivers Organization, "Poor land-use decisions have put more people at risk by allowing development in harm's way and by eliminating the natural flood control functions of wetlands and floodplains."" When people are not safe it poses an obvious dilemma. Alternative Solutions As discussed in the...

  • Word Count: 3096
  • Approx Pages: 12
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Child Abuse

... Economics, step-parents are one hundred times more likely to abuse their children than are biological parents (Grapes 92). He writes that, "according to Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection, step parents have little evolutionary interest in ensuring the safety of a child who does not share and will not perpetrate their genetic make-up- (92). This is causing more stress ... of success not only in school, but also on the job for both parents and children. Unstable "families- are much more dangerous environments because children often witness fights of infidelity and jealousy. In add...

  • Word Count: 3608
  • Approx Pages: 14
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5. Health of Ancient South American Peoples

... exhibit higher numbers of porotic hyperostosis as well as a mixed diet of maize and marine resources yield higher frequencies of porotic hyperostosis, the prime "indicator of the bodies' attempt to overcome childhood anemia." Deafness Deafness, a result of occupational hazards is visible in exotoses of the external auditory canal, this has only been observed ... in the healing stage perimortem. Observations of fractures are prime indicators of trauma. Sex differentiations in physical trauma prevalence and survival are evident in pre-Columbian South America. Women and children exhibited ...

  • Word Count: 2085
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

6. "Technology, it's what's for Dinner-

... because of potential health hazards. Additionally, the run-off of from excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers can poison water supplies and cause harm to the environment (Whitman). Growing GM foods such as Bt corn, which harms insect predators and parasitoids but is considered ... For some crops, it is not cost-effective to remove weeds by physical means such as tilling, so farmers will often spray large quantities of different herbicides to destroy weeds, a time-consuming and expensive process, that requires care so that the herbicide doesn't harm ... ; the chemicals can leach int...

  • Word Count: 3593
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7. Ethylene Gas: Helpful Friend Or Deadly Foe?

... industry, it is estimated that losses directly related to Ethylene gas run into the billions of dollars annually (Internet Source #4.) Removing Ethylene gas from storage and shipping environments slows spoilage, which thus reduces loss from Ethylene damage and increases profit from sales. Some Ethylene producers are: apples, apricots, atemoya, avocados, bananas, cantaloupe, cherimoya, figs, guava, honeydew, kiwifruit, mamey sapote ... at home. But occasionally we may see the harmful effects of Ethylene gas. Not everything benefits from Ethylene and because it is a natural ripening gas it ...

  • Word Count: 854
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

8. Our Life Today

... the five-day workweek. We all have thirty minutes for lunch law. To avoid different health problems we can enjoy orthopedic chairs, keyboards and some other of professional equipment, smoke-free environments. New technology has raised productivity growth and it has also improved the quality of jobs in organizations with high performance work systems. Computerized offices provide us with economy of time ... about high building in which you can't open windows to take some fresh air. It's proved that lack of natural light and good air circulations affects our mood. People become drowsy, bore...

  • Word Count: 4257
  • Approx Pages: 17
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Little Secretaries

... the five-day workweek. We all have thirty minutes for lunch law. To avoid different health problems we can enjoy orthopedic chairs, keyboards and some other of professional equipment, smoke-free environments. New technology has raised productivity growth and it has also improved the quality of jobs in organizations with high performance work systems. Computerized offices provide us with economy of time ... about high building in which you can't open windows to take some fresh air. It's proved that lack of natural light and good air circulations affects our mood. People become drowsy, bore...

  • Word Count: 4257
  • Approx Pages: 17
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

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