INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY

Limits of resources Non renewable: rocks, minerals & fossil fuel Renewable resources: water, plants & alternative sources of energy are often removed or polluted faster than replaced Wars over resources e.g. Invasion of Iraq over oil.

Pollution from Resource Extraction Mine waste rock and tailings, Domestic & industrial waste dumps, Sewage and waste water, Nuclear waste Air pollution, from industry & transportation Other?

Limited space Overcrowding (i) personal level: increased disease and intolerance, especially of visible ethnic minorities (ii) national level: territorial protectionism, wars e.g. Middle East, Israel vs Palestine Aesthetic considerations Maintaining the appearance of the land, Resort areas for revitalization of people.

The Role of Geological Sciences Understand the history of the earth Are environmental changes part of natural cycle or caused by people? Global warming: is it real? Study climate back through geologic time, record in ice cores, lake sediments, fossils, microfossils, pollen. Predict long term effect of people on the environment e.g. Extracting energy, water & mineral resources Study passage of heavy metals, radioactive material & organic pollutants through the geological environment

Help to solve present environmental problems Safe place to bury nuclear waste Find cleaner coal for power stations Extract heavy metals from contaminated soil. Prevent or ameliorate future environmental problems. Advise designers of waste disposal facilities or dams to prevent failure or leakage Find new mineral and energy deposits extractable with minimal environmental pollution Improve mineral processing