Environmental issues in the United Kingdom

This page lists the issues that the United Kingdom currently has that are related to the environment, such as pollution and contamination.

Compendium of UK Statistics - Environment

Environmental issues are harmful effects of human activity on the biophysical environment. For the past decade, the state of the environment in the UK has significantly deteriorated both in urban and rural areas. With a population of almost 67 million, such a highly populated and technologically advanced nation grows the environmental suffers. According to the UK NEA, grazing air pollution and the forces of climate change have significantly affected the mountainous regions of the UK.[1] Due to climate change; rising seawater temperatures and exploitation of marine resources led to a serious loss of quality in UK marine ecosystems.[1] Air pollution, climate change, litter, waste, and soil contamination are all a part of the human activity that create these environmental issues in the UK.

Issues

Air Pollution
Main article: Air pollution in the United Kingdom

{{Gases that lead to air pollution include carbon, nitrogen and sulfur oxides. While some of these gases occur naturally, like carbon dioxide in the expulsion of air from the lungs, the serious polluters come from the burning of fossil fuels: coal, oil and natural gas. Poisonous gases are being released in the air through smoke released by factories and chemical industries.}}

Air pollution is known as a mixture of natural and man-made substances in the air we breathe. Some examples of natural substances that contribute to air pollution in the UK are dust and pollen while examples of man-made substances contributing to the problem are gases that come from cars and truck exhaust. Additionally, air pollution is the cause of 10% of all deaths in the United Kingdom coming only second after China with 17%,[2] this is a startling statistic considering China's population is much larger than the UK. Individuals with heart and lung disease are most affected by air pollution, but exposure has also been linked to stroke, diabetes, obesity and dementia.[2] It has been reported in multiple headlines that air pollution kills 29,000 people a year in the United Kingdom.[3] These statistics show just how dangerous and deadly air pollution is but also how much it can affect and contribute to other serious health problems amongst people.

Climate change
Main article: Climate change in the United Kingdom

According to Lord Stern of Brentford, the flooding and storms in UK in 2014 were clear signs of climate change. Author of the 2006 Stern Review said 2013–2014 weather is part of international pattern and demonstrates urgent need to cut carbon emissions.[4]

Climate change occurs when the Earth's climate system changes, resulting in new weather patterns for an extended period of time. Climate change has a profound effect on both marine and terrestrial biodiversity. In the waters of the United Kingdom, climate and ocean changes can also affect and have a major impact on threatened species by influencing the efficacy of measures designed to protect them.[5] Greenhouse gas emissions are also a known reason for some of the major advancements in global climate change over the years. Waterfront cities, which make up the majority of the United Kingdom, are reported to have a great challenge ahead of them in terms of resilience to climate change.[6] This is resulting in existing cities such as these waterfront cities to be regenerated and improved to better deal with the impacts of climate change.

Litter

Littering is the act of improperly disposing of any kind of waste material, littering in the United Kingdom is an especially significant problem. The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) revealed that its annual beach litter report has shown a rising trend in garbage on United Kingdom shores over 20 years,[7] so they conclude that there clearly isn't enough being done by the UK government in trying to decrease this problem. The latest results from Great British Beach Clean event show that plastic pieces are the most frequently found items on United Kingdom beaches, not only that but the results show that plastic accounted for over 50% of all the litter that was recorded.[7] In addition to this, litter in UK oceans have been widely affecting the marine life. Littering is such a serious concern with oceans because it destroys the habitat of the marine life and is the reason of fatal consequences for countless sea creatures. The Scottish government has acknowledged littering as a serious problem in their oceans and have begun a process to advance strategies that will work to prevent harm to the marine life and the environment.[8]

Waste

Food waste in the United Kingdom

Waste is a natural part of the life cycle; waste occurs when any organism returns substances to the environment. Humans produce an excessive amount of waste material residue that overloads the capacity of natural recycling processes. Composting is an important element in sustainable waste management for the UK and could potentially have a vital role to play in meeting the obligations of the Landfill Directive. Currently the UK landfills 27,000,000 tonnes a year of municipal solid waste with 60% turning out to be biodegradable.[9] The amount of biodegradable material in landfills will be greatly reduced by composting, with the effect that less landfill gas and leachate will be produced. Although not all biodegradable material is suitable for composting, it is a start in getting waste management under control in the UK. Damage to the environment due to poor waste management is something that can be avoided by implementing techniques through the principle of best practicable environment option (BPEO).[10] Waste minimization, re-use, recycling, and recovery techniques are all ways to reduce the need for landfill sites within this principle.[10] Recycling/reuse together with composting have become the dominant methods of waste management in the UK, accounting for 42.2% of the total MSW.[11] In 2012, 13.1 million tonnes of MSW was composted or recycled in the United Kingdom, which represented an increase of 27.3% since 2002.[11]

Soil contamination
Further information: Soil contamination § United Kingdom

Soil contamination is a part of land degradation that is caused by the presence of chemicals and this contamination is incredibly dangerous for humans. Soil contamination in the United Kingdom has been an ongoing issue in some regions and is not only recently developing, the Hg record of sediment samples taken from Diss Mere, United Kingdom show that the soil has been contaminated for the past thousand years,[12] this increases the risk of potential pollutants to enter the atmosphere.[13] Soil contamination, like littering, is caused by improper disposal of waste materials. Furthermore, there have been reports of multi-element contamination of soils and plants in parts of England that have been formerly known as mining areas,[13] which leads to compromising soil matter.

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References
  1. Smith, Brett (8 June 2015). "United Kingdom: Environmental Issues, Policies and Clean Technology". AZoCleantech.com.
  2. Russell-Jones, Robin (14 June 2017). "Air pollution in the UK: better ways to solve the problem". BMJ. 357: j2713. doi:10.1136/bmj.j2713. PMID 28615170.
  3. Hawkes, N. (22 May 2015). "Air pollution in UK: the public health problem that won't go away". BMJ. 350 (may22 1): h2757. doi:10.1136/bmj.h2757. PMID 26001592.
  4. Urquhart, Conal (13 February 2014). "Flooding and storms in UK are clear signs of climate change, says Lord Stern". The Guardian.
  5. Jones, Miranda C.; Dye, Stephen R.; Fernandes, Jose A.; Frölicher, Thomas L.; Pinnegar, John K.; Warren, Rachel; Cheung, William W. L.; Hiddink, Jan Geert (22 January 2013). "Predicting the Impact of Climate Change on Threatened Species in UK Waters". PLoS ONE. 8 (1): e54216. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...854216J. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0054216. PMC 3551960. PMID 23349829.
  6. http://www.oecd.org/economy/surveys/UK-Overview-2015.pdf%5B%5D%5B%5D
  7. "Marine Conservation Society Beachwatch Big Weekend 2010 - Executive Summary" (PDF).
  8. Hastings, Emily; Potts, Tavis (November 2013). "Marine litter: Progress in developing an integrated policy approach in Scotland". Marine Policy. 42: 49–55. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2013.01.024.
  9. "Processes and Plant for Waste Composting and other Aerobic Treatment" (PDF).
  10. Read, Adam; Phillips, Paul; Robinson, Guy (1998). "Professional Opinions on the Evolving Nature of the Municipal Solid Waste Management Industry in the UK". Geography. 83 (4): 331–345. JSTOR 40573107.
  11. "UK Waste Management: Growing old or Growing Clean?". 5 June 2013.
  12. Yang, Handong (July 2010). "Historical mercury contamination in sediments and catchment soils of Diss Mere, UK". Environmental Pollution. 158 (7): 2504–2510. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2010.03.015. PMID 20392552.
  13. Li, Xiangdong; Thornton, Iain (January 1993). "Multi-element contamination of soils and plants in old mining areas, U.K.". Applied Geochemistry. 8: 51–56. Bibcode:1993ApGC....8...51L. doi:10.1016/S0883-2927(09)80010-3.

Further reading
  • Agar, J. (25 March 2015). "'Future Forecast--Changeable and Probably Getting Worse': The UK Government's Early Response to Anthropogenic Climate Change". Twentieth Century British History. 26 (4): 602–628. doi:10.1093/tcbh/hwv008.
  • Blowers, Andrew (September 1987). "Transition or Transformation? – Environmental Policy Under Thatcher". Public Administration. 65 (3): 277–294. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9299.1987.tb00662.x.
  • Carter, Neil (30 June 2016). "Party Politicization Of The Environment In Britain". Party Politics. 12 (6): 747–767. doi:10.1177/1354068806068599.
  • Clapp, B.W. (1994). An Environmental History of Britain since the Industrial Revolution.
  • Ditt, Karl; Rafferty, Jane (12 September 2008). "Nature Conservation in England and Germany 1900–70: Forerunner of Environmental Protection?". Contemporary European History. 5 (1): 1–28. doi:10.1017/S0960777300003623.
  • Haq, Gary; Paul, Alistair (2011). Environmentalism since 1945. London.
  • McCormick, John (1991). British Politics and the Environment.
  • Sheail, John (2002). An Environmental History of Twentieth-Century Britain. Basingstoke.
  • Sims, Paul David (2016). The development of environmental politics in inter-war and post-war Britain (Report). Queen Mary University of London.
  • Simmons, I.G. (2001). An Environmental History of Great Britain: From 10,000 Years Ago to the Present. Edinburgh.
  • Sutton, Philip W. (2000). Explaining Environmentalism: In Search of a New Social Movement. Aldershot.


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