{ photo essay planning assignment }

   what is your environmental concern?
My environmental concern is the damage cigarettes and the butts of them do, and how it affects us.


  why is it important to me?
At first it was pretty much the only thing I could think of so I just thought whatever, but as I started researching about it,  more and more interested in the topic. now, its disgusting to see what these cigarette butts are doing to the world, so I want to see a change.


 list 5 ways or more that it negatively affects the environment
one)
 Researcher Helmut Geist has determined that 200,000 hectares of forests are cut down for tobacco farming each year. this deforestation mainly occurs in the developing world and accounts for 2-4% of all global deforestation.


two)
Smoking worldwide releases about 2.6 billion kilograms of carbon dioxide in the air every year. It also releases about 5.2 billion kilograms of methane every year.
three)
Although the global share of agricultural land used for tobacco growing is less than 1%, its impact on global deforestation is 2-4%, making a visible footprint for climate change.
four)
Cigarettes discarded irresponsibly are a common cause of forest fires worldwide. Experts estimate that smokers who don't extinguish their cigarettes properly cause 10% of all forest fires.
five)

It has been estimated that 17,000 people worldwide are killed annually by fires caused by cigarettes or cigarette lights, causing property damage in excess of  US$27 billion.

six)

In 2008, during the annual International Coastal Cleanup organized by the Conservancy, over 3.2 million butts were removed from beaches and inland waterways around the world.19 During the 2009 Cleanup, cigarettes and cigarette filters accounted "for nearly twice the number of any other debris item.
seven)
Cigarette butts are not biodegradable. The paper and tobacco in cigarette butts are biodegradable, but filters (most of which are made of cellulose acetate, a form of plastic) are not.
eight)
Montreal has estimated that 3 million cigarette butts are discarded on the ground every day in its downtown.23 Toronto found that cigarette-related litter made up 17% of all small litter found on its streets.24 San Francisco estimates that cleaning up cigarette butts costs the city about $7.5 million a year.

list 5 ways or more that it negatively effects animals or humans

one)
When ingested by children or other living organisms, cigarette butts are poisonous. Poison control centres worldwide report thousands of incidents involving children ingesting cigarette butts annually.
The nicotine in cigarette butts is poisonous and children under six who have ingested them suffer symptoms of "vomiting, nausea, pale,
or flushed appearance, lethargy, and gagging.
two)
Popular pets, such as dogs, are also susceptible to nicotine poisoning and have experienced great discomfort when ingesting cigarette butts.
three)
Second hand smoke causes cancer.
four)
Smoking robs you of some of your good cholesterol.
five)
Smoking temporarily raises your blood pressure.
six)
 Smoking increases the blood’s clotting likelihood.
seven)
Smoking makes it more difficult to exercise.