Environment Disadvantage -4wkj-ndi

Human Intervention kills biodiversity

Isbell et. al. 7/16/13 (Isbell, F., Reich, P. B., Tilman, D., Hobbie, S. E., Polasky, S., & Binder, S. (2013). Nutrient enrichment, biodiversity loss, and consequent declines in ecosystem productivity. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America, 110(29), 11911-11916. doi:10.1073/pnas.1310380110

http://web.ebscohost.com.turing.library.northwestern.edu/ehost/detail?vid=3&sid=19ae2143-9ca4-4635-a10a-6578020ac499%40sessionmgr114&hid=108&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=89157177)BC Anthropogenic drivers of environmental change often have multiple effects, including changes in biodiversity, species composition, and ecosystem functioning. It remains unknown whether such shifts in biodiversity and species composition may, themselves. be major contributors to the total, long-term impacts of anthropogenic drivers on ecosystem functioning. Moreover, although numerous experiments have shown that random losses of species impact the functioning of ecosystems, human-caused losses of biodiversity are rarely random. Here we use results from long-term grassland field experiments to test for direct effects of chronic nutrient enrichment on ecosystem productivity, and for indirect effects of enrichment on productivity mediated by resultant species losses. We found that ecosystem productivity decreased through time most in plots that lost the most species. Chronic nitrogen addition also led to the nonrandom loss of initially dominant native perennial C4 grasses. This loss of dominant plant species was associated with twice as great a loss of productivity per lost species than occurred with random species loss in a nearby biodiversity experiment. Thus, although chronic nitrogen enrichment initially increased productivity, it also led to loss of plant species, including initially dominant species, which then caused substantial diminishing returns from nitrogen fertilization. In contrast, elevated CO2 did not decrease grassland plant diversity, and it consistently promoted productivity overtime. Our results support the hypothesis that the long-term impacts of anthropogenic drivers of environmental change on ecosystem functioning can strongly depend on how such drivers gradually decrease biodiversity and restructure communities

Expansion leads to local environmental decline

ICF 1 (ICF International was founded in 1969 as the Inner City Fund, a venture capital firm whose mission was to finance inner-city businesses. ICF International is a global, diversified firm that combines the entrepreneurship and dynamism of a new company with a solid reputation in the consulting industry derived from more than 40 years of performance. “North American Trade and Transportation Corridors: Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Strategies”, August, 2001http://www.cec.org/Storage/41/3313_Trade_Corridors_Final-e1_EN.PDF)> BC

Increases in freight transportation can have adverse environmental impacts outside of air quality.

These impacts occur through increased levels of truck and rail traffic in a corridor and alsothrough construction activities associated with building new or expanded freight handlinfacilities, widening highways, double- or triple-tracking rail lines, or building new segments ofhighway or rail. Four areas of environmental impacts are discussed below—water resources,biological resources, noise and ground-borne vibration, and hazardous materials. Noquantification of these impacts is attempted.6.1 Water ResourcesIncreased truck traffic can contribute to higher levels of runoff pollution from highways,including particulates and heavy metals from vehicle exhaust fumes, copper from brake pads, tire and asphalt wear deposits, and drips of oil, grease, antifreeze, hydraulic fluids, and cleaningagents. Contamination of surface water beyond the corridor itself could occur in the event of a spill of material in transport. Spills can permeate the surrounding soil and contaminate thegroundwater. Improperly disposed motor oil is an extremely concentrated water contaminant—one quart of motor oil can contaminate a million gallons of fresh water.Construction impacts to water resources are often related to run-off from the impervious surfacescreated by construction sites and erosion of barren rock and soil surfaces exposed duringexcavation. The use of vehicle washing effluents and oiland hazardous materials at theconstruction facility could also lead to surface water contamination. When construction involveswork in surface water, like the dredging of a new tunnel alignment, there is a danger ofdisturbing contaminated sediments. Ground excavation in areas with a long history of industrialactivity may disturb shallow groundwater containing elevated levels of heavy metals andhazardous organic compounds. The development of new railroad lines can contribute to leachingof creosote into soil and groundwater. Creosote is a hazardous material containing carcinogenicimpurities, and is used to treat railroad ties to protect against decay and rot.6.2 Biological ResourcesIncreases in freight traffic volumes can adversely impact sensitive species with habitat near thecorridor. However, construction impacts on biological resources are a much bigger concern.Construction of a new right-of-way can lead to destruction or fragmentation of habitat.Construction can also impact biological resources when higher levels of run-off lead to a largephysical disturbance of habitats, such as fish-spawning areas and water vegetation. High run-offvolumes of water from hot paved surfaces can boost surface water temperatures, harming fishand other aquatic life. Open water disposal of dredged material can alter bottom habitats,decrease water quality, and adversely affect marine organisms.6.3 Noise and Ground-Borne VibrationIntrusive noise and vibration can degrade the quality of life for people in affected areas. Inextreme cases, excessive noise can pose a threat to hearing. Sound above 65 dB(A) is enough toNorth American Trade and Transportation Corridors: Final Report45cause annoyance and sound above 125 dB(A) is considered painful.50 In addition to the decibellevel, the frequency, duration and time of day affect the extent of noise impacts. Noise can causestress and other health problems and can affect the habitat of species living near the roadway orrail line.Increased use of a transportation system generates greater noise impacts. Noise from road andrail transport comes primarily from engine operations, but also includes noise generated frompavement/rail-wheel contact, aerodynamic effects and the vibration of structures. Near a gradecrossing, locomotive horns are typically the most significant contributor to noise. Typical noiselevels for highway vehicles at a distance of 7.5 meters range from about 70 dB(A) forautomobile traffic to 85 dB(A) for a heavy trucks. Noise levels for railroad operations areapproximately 90dB(A) for an electric locomotive, 92dB(A) for a diesel locomotive, and 120dB(A) for a locomotive horn. For safety reasons, locomotives typically sound a horn at a gradecrossing, so increases in train frequency can significantly boost average noise levels for apopulation living near a crossing. A recent trend to mitigate these impacts is to ban locomotivehorns in exchange for improvements to crossing protection.Perceptible noise and vibration caused by construction equipment may cause annoyance topeople in the vicinity. As a general rule, the total noise level during a typical 12-hour, daytimeconstruction workday is about 90 dB(A) at 15 meters from the construction site. Impact piledriving can cause daytime annoyance out to a distance of approximately 76 meters and potentialvibration damage to structures at distances less than about 12 meters from the pile driving.Tracked vehicles such as bulldozers as well as equipment used for vibratory compaction andexcavation can create substantial noise and vibration during earth moving operations. Loadedtrucks on construction surfaces can causeannoyance at distances up to 61 meters away. Ifexposed to sufficient high levels of ground vibration, a building may suffer structural damage,such as glass breaking or cracking plaster.6.4 Hazardous MaterialsHigher volumes of freight transport increase the likelihood of the accidental release of hazardousmaterials. Most reported incidents of hazardous waste spills occur in the highway sector, whichtransports over 60 percent of the hazardous materials in the United States, with rail reporting thenext largest number of incidents. Spills may impose substantial costs for product loss, carrierdamage, property damage, evacuations, and response personnel and equipment. The environmental impact depends on the type and quantity of material spilled, amount recovered incleanup, chemical properties (such as toxicity and combustibility), and impact area characteristics (such as climatic conditions, flora and fauna density, and local topography). Thehazardous materials most likely to be involved in a spill include corrosive and flammable liquids,gasoline, fuel oil, sulfuric acid, and compound cleaning liquids.50 Sound is most often measured on a nonlinear scale in units of decibels (dB). An adjusted scale, the A-weightedscale, emphasizes sound frequencies that people hear best. On this scale, a 10-dB(A) increase in sound level isgenerally perceived by humans as a doubling of sound.North American Trade and Transportation Corridors: Final Report46During construction activity, the likelihood for encountering contaminated soils or groundwateris greater as the volume of the earth to bemoved increases. The proximity of hazardous wastesites to the project will also affect the chance of encountering contaminated soils or groundwater.Petroleum-related contamination is the most commonly encountered problem but is one forwhich relatively well-developed procedures are available. Proximity of the project alignment tooil fields increases the possibility that associated hydrocarbon contaminants may be encountered,including hydrogen sulfide gas. Soil contamination is a common issue with construction projects,though it mainly affects project implementation and cost more than human health or ecology.6.5 Summary of Other Environmental ImpactsThe specific impacts of increased trade on environmental quality other than air depend greatly on local conditions. In general, increased freight activity within an existing corridor poses greaterconcerns for air quality impacts than non-air impacts. Noise is probably the most significant nonair impact resulting from higher traffic levels, particularly rail traffic, in places where thecorridor passes through populated areas. The likelihood of a hazardous materials release mayalso increase with freight traffic levels. If increased trade leads to the expansion of facilities orconstruction of new facilities, non-air impacts can be much more significant, and water andbiological resources then become a major concern.7 DATA NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR COOPERATIONThe process of determining the environmental impacts of cross-border trade reveals a number ofareas where necessary information is non-existent or highly uncertain. It is important that thesdeficiencies are addressed as trade-related environmental issues become more prominent. Fourspecific areas are mentioned below, followed by several examples of ways to improveinformation collection and environmental monitoring.7.1 Data NeedsCross-Border Traffic VolumesAt many border crossings, truck and rail traffic counts are not readily available. Obtaining thedata usually requires contacting the individual customs stations, but many customs stations donot have records of rail traffic or do not release cross-border traffic information at all. It is alsoimportant to know the fraction of empty rail cars at a border crossing to properly estimateenvironmental impacts. Yet this information is rarely available, in part because customs officesdo not compile it, and also because some rail crossings (e.g., tunnels) are privately operated andtherefore the information is considered proprietary. One exception is the Texas-Mexico bordercrossings. Truck and rail traffic volumes for all POEs are regularly collected and published byTexas A&M International University.