Monday, September 14, 2009

THE EFFECT OF AIR POLLUTION

Smog and other types of air pollution can lead to or aggravate respiratory, heart, and other health problems. It can beparticularly harmful to people with existing lung or heart disease, the elderly, and the very young. Some fail to meet one or more federal airquality standards during some portion of the year. However, not everyone who lives in such areas will have health problems. Level, extent, and duration of exposure, age, individual susceptibility, and other factors play a significant role in determining whether or not someone will experience pollution-related health problems. Since polluted air can move from one area or region to another, it has the potential toaffect virtually all of us.
Acid rain which is caused by sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides combining with moisture in the air, limits the ability of lakes to support aquatic life, may damage trees and plants, and erodes building surfaces and national monuments. Pollutants in the air can also reduce visibility, obscuring the majestic vistas in national parks such as Grand Canyon and Shenandoah.
Other air pollutants--called "air toxics"--are known or suspectedto cause cancer or other serious heath effects, such as damage torespiratory or nervous systems. Air toxics include metals,particles, and certain vapors from fuels and other sources.

SOURCE & EFFECT of AIR POLLUTION (in diagram)


Effect of polluted air:
  • hazardous to human health
  • drinking water
  • ground water
  • aquatic ecosystem

SOURCE & EFFECT of AIR POLLUTION (in diagram)


Source:
  • motor vehicle
  • forest fire
  • deforestation
  • industrial waste
  • gas emission
  • open fire in paddy field
  • intensive husbandry
  • soil fertilization

Effect :
  • acid rain
  • smog

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

CFC PROBLEM

We should try to understand this...







The picture/map below show area of the CFC problem occured...









Fast action may safe the earth from further damage...Think!What we can do to save our world...

Air Pollution 2


There are many different types of air pollutant. These pollutants have different effects on the environment and on our health. Some, directly because they are harmful chemicals and others because they can react together to produce harmful chemicals. Other pollutants or pollutant combinations upset the natural balance of acidity and nitrogen in the environment which can affect the diversity of species in sensitive areas. Other pollutants can contribute to changing global conditions and potentially give rise to dramatic changes in climate and sea level.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Energy and the Environment: Fossil Fuels

Fossil Fuels are one of the most important things on this planet to the human race. Without fossil fuels we wouldn't have today's current means of transportation, we would have less heating for the general population, energy uses would be more expensive, and overall the economy and the world would not be able to sustain themselves. Even still, the fact that fossil fuels are on this planet will never change, but how we use them and what impacts their use has will always be an issue.




Is it for real???


Even though fossil fuels provide for the most percentage of energy usage in the world, there is still the issue of pollution and other environmental impacts. Just oil and natural gas alone provide for more than 60 percent of the energy consumed in the United States (US Dept. of Energy). With this amount of fossil fuel usage taking place, and the fact that burning, transporting, recovering, and processing fossil fuels creates pollution, one can see how much total damage that is occurring on a daily basis.






Monday, September 7, 2009

Car-OzonLayer-Pollution

The ozone layer is made up of a molecule containing three oxygen molecules. Playing an important role in absorbing radiation from the sun. Protecting us from ultra violet rays. Without an ozone layer these rays would effect humans with non-melanoma skin cancer, as well as damaging plant life, marine life, and animal life. Ozone molecules destroy and create at a stable rate, but when in contact with certain man made chemicals. Ozone molecules are being destroyed faster than they are being produced, creating a hole in the ozone.











CFC's, once considered a miracle substance, is one of the major chemicals breaking down ozone molecules. Breaking ozone molecules down at a rate of 100,000 to 1. CFC is a chemical used in the cooling process, or refrigeration process of man made objects. Car's air conditionings release these CFC's, and appropriate precautions are not being taking to deplete the amount of CFC's in America today The disposal and production of car hurts the environment in two ways, adding CFC's to the atmosphere and creating landfills for tires. In the production of cars, CFC's are entered into the car system. Releasing small amounts of CFC's into the atmosphere, but it only takes a small amount of CFC's to do a good amount of damage. CFC's are also released during the life of the car, and released once again in the destruction of cars. Tires also damage the environment because tires are not biodegradable, and usually discarded in a tire dump. Most tires are sent to dumps or landfills were they must be monitored, in case of a fire breaking out. No one is really sure of the damages done from a tire fire, but they can never be put out. Tires can burn for decades, releasing smoke and haze into our environment. To deal with a burning fire they must be buried, this does not extinguish the fire; it just covers it up. From that point the tire burns within. These landfills also create problems because of the amount of disease spread from the large amount of insect populations growing in these tires. These tire dumps are not a very nice setting and cause much of a threat to humans.