Environmental Hazards in Australia

Introduction to Australia
Australia is ranked the sixth largest country in the World and one of the most appealing tourist attractions. The country consists of over ten thousand beautiful beaches as the island is surrounded by both the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Australia produces over ninety-percent of the World's precious opals, exports the most beef throughout the World, and is well known for a unique mammal: the kangaroo. (2006, Tourism).

According to the 2001 Census conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia has a population of 18,972,350 residents. The population increased by 1,079,927 from 1996 and is projected to be 20,713,653 in 2006. (2001, Census). For being one of the largest countries in the World, Australia has one of the lowest increases of populous as it us ranked the third least populated country in the World. (2006, Australia). This fact is surprising as Australia is close in size to the United States. The United States is the third largest country with a projected population of 300,324,026 in the year 2006. (2006, U.S. Census).

Environmental Hazards
Environmental safety programs and personal effort is fundamental and a key factor in maintaining a clean and healthy Earth for future generations. The World pollutes the environment in various ways which include water, air, and land pollution. The water we drink and bathe in, the air we breathe to live, and the food we grow to eat and survive are at risk of contamination due to hazardous and non-hazardous wastes.

Driving vehicles that consume gasoline increases the rate of air pollution because carbon dioxide, a harmful gas, is emitted from their exhaust pipes and released into our environment. The harmful gas negatively affects the Earth's ozone layer and causes nature to suffer. Littering is an unnecessary habit usually committed intentionally because people who do not want trash near them. Littering causes our environment to look bad; who wants to see leftover food packaging along the side of our highways? Littering is also dangerous to wildlife and plant life, because certain spoiled foods may severely harm or kill animals as well as plants. Not recycling glass, plastic, newspapers, paper, packaging materials, and other products increases the amount of waste dumped into our landfills. Certain products are able to be recycled and reused but in order to do so; people can't throw them away in the normal trash. People often dispose of hazardous waste in regular trash without realizing how badly they are harming the environment. Old batteries, freon, nail polish remover, oil, paint, and many other household products are hazardous chemicals that should be disposed of in a special way. Often most communities and countries offer special dates where residents can dispose of these items responsibly and safely.

Australia and Solid Waste
The Australian Government recognizes the adverse environmental impact due to non-hazardous and hazardous solid wastes. Jurisdictions throughout Australia have adopted and enforce the following system of managing all types of wastes:

Avoidance
This action is defined as reducing the amount of waste generated by businesses, industries, households, and the Government. "Avoidance, the highest priority, encourages the community to reduce the amount of waste it generates and to be more efficient in its use of resources. This is a key factor in many waste management strategies. The aim is to make automatic disposal simpler by reducing the amount of waste generated in the first place and reducing the presence of dangerous substances in products. Waste avoidance is closely linked with improving manufacturing methods and influencing consumers to demand greener products and less packaging." (2006, Statistics).

Resource Recovery
This action is defined as reusing products, recycling, energy recovery, and efficiently recovering resources. "Resource recovery aims to maximize options for reuse, reprocessing, recycling and energy recovery to encourage the efficient use of recovered resources while supporting the principles of improved environmental outcomes and ecologically sustainable development. Resource recovery can also embrace new and emerging technologies." (2006, Statistics).

Disposal
This action is defined as disposing solid waste in a responsible manner. "Disposal aims to manage disposal in an environmentally responsible manner. It includes waste treatment to reduce hazard or nuisance waste preferably at the site of generation." (2006, Statistics).

This approach to safely protecting our environment from solid waste proves to be effective. Avoiding and reducing the amount of waste produced by residents in Australia, results in a decrease of the amount of waste being disposed of in landfills. The Australian Government attempts to inform its residents about environmental threats in order to create awareness. Each person can make a difference by driving less, recycling products, and disposing of specific items in a responsible manner.

Biodiversity
Biodiversity is a very important aspect to the security of nature and wildlife well being. "Biodiversity is the foundation of healthy and functioning ecosystems. Rich soils, clean air and water, and abundant forests, as well as the myriad of species nature supports are essential for stable and thriving societies." (2006, Biodiversity). The beginning of the twenty-first century brought fear to scientists regarding our planet's wildlife population. It has been estimated between one-fourth and one-half of the earth's species could be gone before the year 2050. This predicament means that within the next forty-four years, our planet could be facing a biodiversity crisis never before experienced in history.

"When six billion people farm, hunt, build, and travel, there isn't much room left for wildlife on our little planet." (2006, Wildlife). The world's growing population means more space is needed, more natural resources have to be used, and we pollute the soil, water, and air. Since we are not taking care of the environment around us, we are contributing to its eventual destruction unless we do everything we can to stop the process now. Some scientists believe we are presently in the sixth major extinction of life on Earth as we know it.

Biodiversity and Australia
The continent of Australia supports more than 7% of the world's total species of animals, plants and micro-organisms. This is more than twice the number that is found in North America and Europe together. Therefore, as you can see, Australia has a definite accountability to the world to protect its animal and plant life. About 80% of Australia's plant and animal life are only found here and nowhere else in the world. This includes seven families of mammals, four species of birds, and twelve flowering plants. Australia has more flowering plants found only here than in any other area around the world.

Since Europeans traveled to Australia over 200 years ago, there have been many changes to its environment. The number one change is due to population growth. This has caused deforestation which reduces the amount of habitat available for plants and animals. Deforestation is caused by the removal of trees without replanting new ones, land clearing for agricultural purposes, mining, urban development, and wildfires. "The main causes of extinction for any species of life, whether animal or plants are: destruction of habitat, introduction of alien species, overexploitation, and chains of extinction." (2006, Wildlife).
Unfortunately, 90% of the wheat belt, which is located in New South Wales, has been cleared of all native vegetation. This, of course, has resulted in less food available and less living areas available for wildlife in Australia. Plant life is instantly destroyed and animal life has to move away and find somewhere else to live, which results in overcrowding and increased competition among the species. This in turn eventually leads to extinction of the species that are unable to adapt to the changes in their environment. Believe it or not, since the Europeans came to Australia 200 years ago, 23 birds, 4 frogs, and 27 mammal species have become extinct. Even sadder, most of these extinctions were caused by humans as they introduced three species of animals not originally found in Australia which were: the European rabbit, the red fox, and the domestic cat At the present time, several species of dasyurids (marsupials that are small, fast, and nocturnal) are endangered, and one of these, known as the "Tasmanian Tiger" has disappeared since the arrival of the Europeans to Australia.
The species of wildlife in Australia that are now being exploited for profit are the kangaroo, possum and Mutton bird. About 5 million kangaroos are killed annually for their meat, skin, and fur. About 250,000 possums are killed for their meat, skins, and fur which are exported. About 200,000 Mutton birds are killed for their meat and oil and about 100,000 are killed by hunters. No species in the animal kingdom has become extinct in recent years except in Australia. The "mainland mala" was reduced in size to two small colonies by 1960. In the 1980's one of the colonies was destroyed by a single fox, and the other colony ceased its existence in the early 1990's due to a wildfire. Therefore, the main causes of extinction in Australia are due to the deforestation of the land for urban growth and development, and the introduction of species by humans that did not previously live here.

Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef in the world is located on the northeastern coast of Australia. "It is described as the eighth natural wonder of the world and can be seen from the moon!" (2006, Great Barrier Reef). To maintain its biodiversity, it is necessary to ensure good water quality around the coral reef system. This allows for the shelter and food needed by the numerous fish species at all stages of their development that thrive in this area. Coral reefs and the species that live on them require plenty of light and warm unpolluted seawater. This area is also known for its tourism, boating, fishing, and diving. At present, about 400 of the 3,000 reefs are in danger due to the deterioration of water quality. This is due to chemical runoff from farming, the loss of coastal wetlands, and over fishing of the area. Some scientists feel that the main threat to the Great Barrier Reef is actually climate change due to global warming. The reefs are already showing sensitivity to temperature due to the evidence of coral bleaching that has happened in recent years. Luckily, most of the reef is protected by "The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service." Their main goal over the next ten years is to reverse the decline of water quality in the area of the coral reefs. In 2004, steps were taken to limit the removal of any species living in about one-third of the coral reef area without written permission. This will hopefully help in slowing down and eventually remove the threat to our Great Barrier Reef. We all need to try and help conserve our world's animal and plant life and natural resources so that our children will be able to enjoy them as well and not view photographs of what once was.

Climate Changes
Some possible effects of climate change resulting from a warmer earth are that the temperature rises. This temperature increase causes sea levels to rise due to the melting of ice sheets in the northern hemisphere and the slowing down of the ocean's circulation of warm water to the North Atlantic. This change in the sea level will eventually lead to once dry land to be covered, erosion of beaches, and coastal flooding. Other results of the climate change will be that the amount of rainfall increases, extreme weather events will happen such as hurricanes and typhoons, and there will be a rise in tropical diseases.

Ozone Depletion
Ozone depletion affects human health in that it causes humans to have more exposure to the sun's dangerous ultraviolet rays, which increases the possibility of developing either nonmelanoma or malignant melanoma skin cancer. With ozone depletion the rays are not as filtered as they are with normal ozone levels. Ozone depletion affects crop yields in that the increased ultraviolet rays cause a decrease in crop productivity as the damaging ultraviolet rays cause changes in the growth of the crops, how the crops absorb the required nutrients to make them grow, and alters how the crop develops to maturity. Ozone depletion affects forest productivity in much the same way as crop productivity. The increase of the harmful ultraviolet rays causes a decrease in growth of trees and vegetation within the forest. It also increases the possibility of disease and affects the growth cycles of the forest life. Ozone depletion affects materials such as plastics and paints because these materials have special additives added to them to protect them from normal solar ultraviolet rays. When more of the rays are let through due to the ozone layer being depleted, it causes these materials to breakdown faster and therefore, they do not last as long as they normally would outdoors. Ozone depletion affects plankton productivity in a negative way as well. It has been found that an increase in solar ultraviolet rays reduces the plankton's survival rate in the water as they live and thrive in the uppermost layer of the body of water. The exposure to the harmful ultraviolet rays decreases their ability to reproduce significantly. (2006, Global Warming).

Australian Ozone
Australia suffers from what is known as the ozone hole. Ultraviolet radiation levels also known as UV rays are much higher than in other parts of the world, even in the summer. Australia is located closely to the ozone hole in the Antarctic. This means residents have a higher risk of being over-exposed to ultraviolet rays that may cause skin cancer. "Australians suffer the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. Each year, around 1,200 Australians die from what is an almost totally preventable disease. Everyone can develop skin cancer; however, some people may be at higher risk than others, due to a range of factors." (2006, Ozone). Australia's summers are harsh, as the Earth's orbit brings Australia even closer to the sun. This results in an even higher risk of exposure to excessive ultraviolet rays. "Australians are exposed to up to 15 percent more UV than Europeans." (2006, Ozone). It's important for all residents of the World to protect their skin and eyes with sunscreen and sunglasses. However, Australian residents definitely need to be more cautious about exposure to sun because of their increased risk of developing skin cancer or severe vision damage. The Australian Government should pursue further awareness of the ozone hole in Australia and how dangerous the sun can be to people's health.

Water Pollution
Water pollution occurs when toxins, bacteria, and/or toxins are exposed to a body of water that people may drink or bathe in. It is important for people to dispose of their trash responsibly and safely in order to avoid water pollution. It is also important to not waste water, especially in Australia. Australia is the World's driest region that is inhabited with humans, wildlife, and plant life. What would happen if the main source of Australia's water system was polluted with dangerous chemicals or toxins? Millions of people are killed each year due to polluted water around the World. Australia would suffer gravely if their water was contaminated because their supply is so limited. How many people would die? How many species would begin to suffer? Waste that is not properly disposed of may result in water pollution that can begin to kill residents and animal life in Australia. It is important for people to realize water is essential to life, both human and wildlife.

Conclusion
The Australian Government continues to spread awareness of pollution to residents and believes by reducing the amount of waste people produce will protect their water supply. The United States also creates awareness to residents about pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency in the United States is dedicated to protecting American's health and the Earth's environment. Whether here in Australia, or around the World, we all need to take the necessary steps now to protect and preserve our great planet Earth, so that it will be around for centuries for our children, their children, and so on. If not, the world as we know it today with all of its wonderful wildlife and plant life, will cease to exist for future generations to come, and they will only have photographs of what once was.

References
Animals. (2006). Animals Australia: The voice for animals. Retrieved November 25, 2006 from http://www.animalsaustralia.org
Atmosphere. (2004). Ozone Depletion in Australia. Environmental Reporting. Retrieved November 12, 2006 from http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/reporting/atmosphere/ozone.html
Australia. (2006). World Rankings. Retrieved December 1, 2006 from http://www.aneki.com
Biodiversity. (2006). Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity. United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved November 25, 2006 from http://www.undp.org/biodiversity
Census. (2001). Census Data. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved December 1, 2006 from http://www.abs.gov.au
Environment. (2002). Australia: Environmental Issues. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved November 29, 2006 from http://www.eia.doe.gov
Extinction. (2006). Causes of Extinction. Science Daily. Retireved November 19, 2006 from http://www.sciencedaily.com
Global Warming. (2006). Ozone Depletion. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Retrieved November 7, 2006 from http://www.epa.gov/ozone
Great Barrier Reef. (2006). Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved November 17, 2006 from http://www.epa.qld.bov.au
Ozone. (2006). Consequences. The Ozone Hole. Retrieved November 20, 2006 from http://www.theozonehole.com/consequences.htm
Rainforest. (2006). Rainforest Carnivorous Marsupials. Australian Rainforest. Retrieved November 25, 2006 from http://www.rainforest-australia.com
Statistics. (2006). Solid Waste. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved December 1, 2006 from http://www.abs.gov.au
Tourism. (2006). Australian Tourism. Australia. Retrieved November 30, 2006 from http://www.australia.com
U.S. Census. (2006). Census Data. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 30, 2006 from http://www.census.gov
Wildlife. (2006). Wildlife of the World. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved November 24, 2006 from http://www.worldwildlife.org