Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
environmental groups in North America and
Europe. It would reduce local environmental
problems and contribute to the slowing down
of global warming. For many tropical nations,
however, lumbering in the rainforest is an
important source of revenue. They resent
outside interference, and point out with
justification that their contribution to global
warming is minimal compared to that of the
industrialized nations. They question the
emphasis on the rainforest, when forestry
practices in mid to high latitudes also disrupt
natural carbon recycling. Similarly, many
nations, in which petroleum production and
export is the main income earner, resent the
imposition of measures—such as carbon
taxes—designed to help the environment, but
also likely to reduce their revenues and restrict
future development.
A major concern at the international level is
that measures aimed at preserving the
environment will impose too high a cost on
those least responsible and least able to pay. The
challenge will be to define and present the issues
in such a way that the nations involved will see
it as in their own best interests—economic,
social, political and environmental—to
introduce measures to prevent further damage
to the environment and ameliorate existing
problems. This will be no easy task, and
although the need for global cooperation to
combat global environmental problems is
widely recognized, it seems likely that the
vagaries of international politics and economics
will continue to frustrate attempts to implement
solutions.
often seen as a delaying tactic in that it was
often easier to suggest further study than to
make a positive attack on a problem. Attempts
to solve the acid rain problem in North
America were thwarted by these very tactics for
many years.
Such arguments are no longer possible now
that sufficient data are available, yet there
remains a very real need for further study of
many aspects of the earth/atmosphere system.
The roles of the various atmospheric processes
require particular attention since they are
intimately involved in all of the major problems
currently confronting the environment.
Traditionally, the study of the atmosphere was
based on the collection and analysis of
observational data. That approach is time-
consuming and costly; it is also of limited
overall accuracy because of gaps in the
meteorological network, particularly in high
latitudes and over the oceans. Modern attempts
at exploring the workings of the atmosphere are
almost exclusively dependent upon computer
models, which range in complexity from simple
1-D formats providing information on one
element in the system to highly sophisticated
models employing as many as 100 variables,
and including consideration of the oceans as
well as the atmosphere. Studies of such topics as
nuclear winter, global warming and ozone
depletion have benefited greatly from the use of
computer modelling techniques. The models are
becoming increasingly complex and
comprehensive, but a high level of
sophistication is no guarantee of perfection.
Even state-of-the-art, 3-D general circulation
models include some degree of simplification,
and certain variables—cloudiness, for
example—are very difficult to deal with
whatever the level of model employed. In short,
there is as yet no model capable of simulating
exactly the conditions and processes in the real
atmosphere. As a result, models using the same
data often generate different results (see Figure
8.2). That should not be used as an excuse to do
nothing, however. It might be tempting to wait
for the perfect model, but that may prove
FURTHER STUDY: NECESSARY OR NOT?
Current global environmental problems are
remarkably complex, and, despite an
increasingly intensive research effort, they are
even now not completely understood. That
situation must change, if solutions are to be
found. Almost all individuals and organizations
studying the problems have indicated that
further study is necessary. In the past, that was
