SOC 1301 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Nuclear Weapons Testing, Water Pollution, Waterborne Diseases
Document Summary
Ch. 4 threats to the environment: social problem news. U. s france debate whether paris climate treaty would be legally binding. U. s secretary of state john kerry says treaty will not be legally binding. French president francois holland says treaty will be binding: environmental problems: solid waste. The united states discards 30 percent of the world"s resources (rogers 2005). As such, it is the largest producer of solid waste among the industrialized nations, both in absolute and per capita terms. According to the environmental protection agency (2011b), in 2010 americans generated 250 million tons of old food, glass, clothing, electronics, plastics, metals, textiles, rubber, wood, and paper. The problem of what to do with solid waste is compounded by the increased amounts of waste that are contaminated with compounds and chemicals that do not appear in nature. These wastes pose new and unknown threats to human, animal, and plant life.
