derecho

Today, many human activities carry large and serious unintended consequences,
especially on the environment: Pollution and Climate Change are perhaps two of the most
worrying, for this reason it is sometimes necessary to conduct Environmental Impact
Assessments. POLLUTION:Pollution is one of the biggest and most negative environmental and
social consequences that human activities have. It involves the introduction, in any medium, of
a substance in sufficient quantity to cause any damage or imbalance, irreversible or not,
and which may be harmful to the health, safety or welfare of the population or to plant or
animal life. Pollution is classified according to the means it affects:➢ Air Pollution. The main pollutants
(especially carbon dioxide) come from combustion processes in transport activities, industries,
electricity generation and domestic heating, as well as the evaporation of organic solvents and gas
emissions, which have caused a hole in the layer. of ozone.➢ Water Pollution. Generally, pollution of
rivers, seas and groundwater comes from industrial spills and waste (with the presence of metals and
high-temperature water) as well as untreated wastewater from the sanitation of towns and cities.
Spanish industries officially recognize that every year they pour more than 1,200,000 tons of
pollutants into the water. ➢ Soil Pollution. It appears after the application of insecticides, by leaks or
breaks of sewage pipes and industrial products. The most common chemicals are petroleum
products, solvents, insecticides and heavy metals. This type of pollution is closely related to the level
of industrialization. Its action can be direct or by coming into contact with drinking water courses.
Pollution can also be classified based on the environmental pollutant method. Thus, we can
distinguish between:➢ Chemical Pollution. It means the introduction of substances potentially
dangerous to health and to the environment of the earth, in food, in air or in water. For example,
excessive use of agricultural insecticides can affect aquifers and impact human health.➢ Radioactive
Pollution. Derived from the dispersion of radioactive materials, such as enriched uranium, used in
medical or research facilities, in nuclear power plant reactors, in atomic tests and which occurs by
accident (such as the 1986 in Chernobyl, Ukraine or the 2011 in Fukushima in Japan) or by the
handling of radioactive waste. ➢ Noise Pollution. It is pollution due to noise, excessive or annoying
sound caused by factories, means of transport or certain leisure activities. It can cause discomfort,
irritability, insomnia and partial deafness. While noise does not accumulate or move, nor is it
maintained over time, like other pollutants, it can cause damage to people’s quality of life and the
environment. Some city noises are above the sound pain principle (about 120 decibels). ➢ Thermal
Pollution. It takes place at a time when a process is changing the temperature of the environment in a
harmful way, for example due to the discharge of hot water into a river: increasing the temperature
decreases the solubility of oxygen in the water, so it can lead to a high mortality of fish. ➢
Electromagnetic Pollution. It is produced from radiation generated by electronic equipment and
electrical installations. In addition to creating problems in electrical appliances and data transmission,
it can affect human health; in this sense, mobile phone antennas are a constant source of
controversy. ➢ Light Pollution. It refers to the glow of light diffused in the night sky and
produced by artificial light from cities, vehicles and other infrastructure. It forces
many animal and plant species to change their nocturnal habits and prevents
astronomers from contemplating and studying the night sky. ➢ Visual Pollution. It occurs when the
abundance, clutter or type of elements found in the landscape deteriorate its aesthetics. For example
the one caused by windmills in the landscape of Galicia. Consciously or not, this pollution creates
discomfort and affects our quality of life. Pollution causes serious damage, threatens the lives of
people, animals and plants and deteriorates our planet more and more intensely. The demarcation
and cleaning of contaminated areas are often time and money consuming tasks. Current Spanish
legislation incorporates the ecological crime through which those who repeatedly and consciously
contaminate can be convicted (even with imprisonment). According to a Greenpeace study, in Spain
pollution has a direct relationship with the incidence of diseases and mortality: in our country 16,000
people die prematurely each year as a result of air pollution. That’s ten times more than the mortality
that traffic accidents produce annually. In addition, in the most industrialized areas certain diseases
such as cancer also have a more intense impact, which shows a direct relationship between industrial
pollution and disease. In Spain, 4,000 workers die each year from exposure to chemicals and more

than 33,000 get sick from the same cause.GLOBAL WARMING:Global warming is the increase in the
average temperature of the Earth since we have temperature records (mid-19th century). This
increase is, for this century, between 0’3 to 1’7o C, up to 2’6 to 4’8o C, depending on the projected
scenarios. For scientists it is “extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of
warming observed since the middle of the twentieth century.” We would talk about climate change
motivated by human influence and the intensity of the actions that produce the increase in the
emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and others. The effects of warming
can lead to rising sea levels, changes in rainfall and the expansion of deserts. Other likely effects
include more frequent extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, and torrential rains. To
refer to change of human origin, the term anthropogenic climate change is also used: today’s human
actions are not only conditioning the climate in the long run but in the near future. The main causes of
global warming include the greenhouse effect: Solar energy heats the earth’s soil, which returns some
(37.5%) of that energy to outer space while the rest is retained by the gases in the upper layers of the
atmosphere. , producing its heating. It is what is called the greenhouse effect as it works the same as
the windows of a gardening greenhouse but this time developing naturally: hence the name and
parallelism. What is worrying is that in recent times the proportion of gases that cause this effect
(CO2, methane, among others) has risen enormously so that it prevents the release into outer space
some of the energy emitted by the Earth’s surface. As a result, the temperature of the atmosphere
rises, thus beginning a process of global warming and anthropogenic climate change. The global rise
in temperature has a direct effect on the oceans. Since 1960 the average temperature of the oceans
has risen by 0.1oC, but the waters of the Antarctic Ocean have done so by 0.2oC. This, together with
the increase in air temperature, causes the melting of large icy plates in the Arctic and Antarctic
areas, as well as the retreat and disappearance, in some cases, of terrestrial glaciers.THE
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT:The so-called ecological footprint is an indicator of sustainability that
summarizes, for each individual, what is the area needed to produce the resources it uses and to
assimilate the waste it generates. Its goal is to assess the impact on the planet in a
given way of life. The biocapacity of the planet per inhabitant was estimated at 1.8 ha, or what is the
same, if we had to divide the productive land of the Earth in equal parts, to each of the 7 billion
inhabitants, would correspond to 1.8 ha to satisfy all your needs for a year. Despite the above, each
human being is spending the amount of 2.23 ha, so globally, more resources are consumed and more
waste is generated than the planet can generate and admit. According to data from the latest analysis
of the ecological footprint of Spaniards,each inhabitant needs an average of 6.4 ha. of territory to
meet its consumption and absorb its waste, which is almost three times what Spain can afford.



Today, many human activities carry large and serious unintended consequences,
especially on the environment: Pollution and Climate Change are perhaps two of the most
worrying, for this reason it is sometimes necessary to conduct Environmental Impact
Assessments. POLLUTION:Pollution is one of the biggest and most negative environmental and
social consequences that human activities have. It involves the introduction, in any medium, of
a substance in sufficient quantity to cause any damage or imbalance, irreversible or not,
and which may be harmful to the health, safety or welfare of the population or to plant or
animal life. Pollution is classified according to the means it affects:➢ Air Pollution. The main pollutants
(especially carbon dioxide) come from combustion processes in transport activities, industries,
electricity generation and domestic heating, as well as the evaporation of organic solvents and gas
emissions, which have caused a hole in the layer. of ozone.➢ Water Pollution. Generally, pollution of
rivers, seas and groundwater comes from industrial spills and waste (with the presence of metals and
high-temperature water) as well as untreated wastewater from the sanitation of towns and cities.
Spanish industries officially recognize that every year they pour more than 1,200,000 tons of
pollutants into the water. ➢ Soil Pollution. It appears after the application of insecticides, by leaks or
breaks of sewage pipes and industrial products. The most common chemicals are petroleum
products, solvents, insecticides and heavy metals. This type of pollution is closely related to the level
of industrialization. Its action can be direct or by coming into contact with drinking water courses.
Pollution can also be classified based on the environmental pollutant method. Thus, we can
distinguish between:➢ Chemical Pollution. It means the introduction of substances potentially
dangerous to health and to the environment of the earth, in food, in air or in water. For example,
excessive use of agricultural insecticides can affect aquifers and impact human health.➢ Radioactive
Pollution. Derived from the dispersion of radioactive materials, such as enriched uranium, used in
medical or research facilities, in nuclear power plant reactors, in atomic tests and which occurs by
accident (such as the 1986 in Chernobyl, Ukraine or the 2011 in Fukushima in Japan) or by the
handling of radioactive waste. ➢ Noise Pollution. It is pollution due to noise, excessive or annoying
sound caused by factories, means of transport or certain leisure activities. It can cause discomfort,
irritability, insomnia and partial deafness. While noise does not accumulate or move, nor is it
maintained over time, like other pollutants, it can cause damage to people’s quality of life and the
environment. Some city noises are above the sound pain principle (about 120 decibels). ➢ Thermal
Pollution. It takes place at a time when a process is changing the temperature of the environment in a
harmful way, for example due to the discharge of hot water into a river: increasing the temperature
decreases the solubility of oxygen in the water, so it can lead to a high mortality of fish. ➢
Electromagnetic Pollution. It is produced from radiation generated by electronic equipment and
electrical installations. In addition to creating problems in electrical appliances and data transmission,
it can affect human health; in this sense, mobile phone antennas are a constant source of
controversy. ➢ Light Pollution. It refers to the glow of light diffused in the night sky and
produced by artificial light from cities, vehicles and other infrastructure. It forces
many animal and plant species to change their nocturnal habits and prevents
astronomers from contemplating and studying the night sky. ➢ Visual Pollution. It occurs when the
abundance, clutter or type of elements found in the landscape deteriorate its aesthetics. For example
the one caused by windmills in the landscape of Galicia. Consciously or not, this pollution creates
discomfort and affects our quality of life. Pollution causes serious damage, threatens the lives of
people, animals and plants and deteriorates our planet more and more intensely. The demarcation
and cleaning of contaminated areas are often time and money consuming tasks. Current Spanish
legislation incorporates the ecological crime through which those who repeatedly and consciously
contaminate can be convicted (even with imprisonment). According to a Greenpeace study, in Spain
pollution has a direct relationship with the incidence of diseases and mortality: in our country 16,000
people die prematurely each year as a result of air pollution. That’s ten times more than the mortality
that traffic accidents produce annually. In addition, in the most industrialized areas certain diseases
such as cancer also have a more intense impact, which shows a direct relationship between industrial
pollution and disease. In Spain, 4,000 workers die each year from exposure to chemicals and more         
than 33,000 get sick from the same cause.GLOBAL WARMING:Global warming is the increase in the
average temperature of the Earth since we have temperature records (mid-19th century). This
increase is, for this century, between 0’3 to 1’7o C, up to 2’6 to 4’8o C, depending on the projected
scenarios. For scientists it is “extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of
warming observed since the middle of the twentieth century.” We would talk about climate change
motivated by human influence and the intensity of the actions that produce the increase in the
emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and others. The effects of warming
can lead to rising sea levels, changes in rainfall and the expansion of deserts. Other likely effects
include more frequent extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, and torrential rains. To
refer to change of human origin, the term anthropogenic climate change is also used: today’s human
actions are not only conditioning the climate in the long run but in the near future. The main causes of
global warming include the greenhouse effect: Solar energy heats the earth’s soil, which returns some
(37.5%) of that energy to outer space while the rest is retained by the gases in the upper layers of the
atmosphere. , producing its heating. It is what is called the greenhouse effect as it works the same as
the windows of a gardening greenhouse but this time developing naturally: hence the name and
parallelism. What is worrying is that in recent times the proportion of gases that cause this effect
(CO2, methane, among others) has risen enormously so that it prevents the release into outer space
some of the energy emitted by the Earth’s surface. As a result, the temperature of the atmosphere
rises, thus beginning a process of global warming and anthropogenic climate change. The global rise
in temperature has a direct effect on the oceans. Since 1960 the average temperature of the oceans
has risen by 0.1oC, but the waters of the Antarctic Ocean have done so by 0.2oC. This, together with
the increase in air temperature, causes the melting of large icy plates in the Arctic and Antarctic
areas, as well as the retreat and disappearance, in some cases, of terrestrial glaciers.THE
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT:The so-called ecological footprint is an indicator of sustainability that
summarizes, for each individual, what is the area needed to produce the resources it uses and to
assimilate the waste it generates. Its goal is to assess the impact on the planet in a
given way of life. The biocapacity of the planet per inhabitant was estimated at 1.8 ha, or what is the
same, if we had to divide the productive land of the Earth in equal parts, to each of the 7 billion
inhabitants, would correspond to 1.8 ha to satisfy all your needs for a year. Despite the above, each
human being is spending the amount of 2.23 ha, so globally, more resources are consumed and more
waste is generated than the planet can generate and admit. According to data from the latest analysis
of the ecological footprint of Spaniards,each inhabitant needs an average of 6.4 ha. of territory to
meet its consumption and absorb its waste, which is almost three times what Spain can afford.