Quality Tale - News on Technology

Monday, March 30, 2009

Air Pollution : The Big Issue

While pollution of the upper atmosphere threatens the basic preconditions for life, pollution of the lower atmosphere is also a threat. Already it is estimated that one fifth of the world's population breathes air contaminated by pollutants in excess of World Health Organization (WHO) safety limits.

Acid emissions, especially oxides of sulphur and nitrogen are one of the major culprits. These arise primarily from the burning of fossil fuels for industry, power-generation and transport. It is estimated that £11 billion worth of damage is occurring annually in the EU alone to buildings, pipework, forestry and agriculture as a result of acidification.

This is a trans-boundary air pollution issue. The UK exports acid emissions due to its dilute and disperse control methods, which rely on tall chimney stacks to remove pollutants from the locality. Norway on the other hand imports 96% of its acid deposition from elsewhere.

Soil acidification also releases toxic metals such as aluminium, which can then accumulate in groundwater.

Other local effects include the build-up of photochemical smog from a cocktail of gases including nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and ozone. This has been linked to an increase in respiratory diseases and asthma. Ozone is also implicated in $5.4 billion worth of damage to crops every year in the United States of America.

Volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), especially solvents used in industry are another health hazard. In Europe, stricter controls are being made on the use of VOCs but in many areas of the world, restriction on air emissions is limited to acid gases.

Waste incinerators are specifically implicated in the production of carcinogenic air pollutants such as dioxins. The point here is when we are going to think on Air Pollution?

Sunday, March 22, 2009

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Friday, March 20, 2009

Depletion of the OZONE LAYER - A Serious Issue

The Earth is protected against harmful radiation from the sun by a layer of ozone gas in the upper atmosphere, which acts like a filter. This layer is constantly being created and destroyed in a dynamic cycle which has a natural equilibrium.

After many years of concern, in 1985 the British Antarctic Survey first reported ozone thinning over Antarctica. Since then the rate of thinning has increased over wider areas and a loss of about 6-8% in the Northern Hemisphere has been recorded.

Levels have become critical over populated areas in the Southern Hemisphere. The effects of ozone depletion are:

• human health effects such as increase in skin cancer and cataracts.

• effects on the ability of plants to photosynthesise - which may have far - reaching effects on agriculture and phytoplankton (which form the basis of the food chain).

Ozone depletion has been proven to be associated with a range of chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydro-chloro-fluorocarbons (HCFCs) and halons. These are artificial compounds, which were developed for a range of industrial uses. Initially these compounds were assumed to be completely safe, as they have no direct toxic effects. However, it is precisely their stability (which makes them non-toxic) that causes the problems in the ozone layer. The amount of CFCs and other ozone depleting substances (ODSs) in the upper atmosphere will continue to re-form and destroy ozone for many years.

The issue was addressed by the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer in 1985. This development was followed by the international agreement aimed at phasing out the use of certain ODSs by 2005. This is known as the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer of 1987, The most successful environmental treaty in history. The recovery of the Ozone Layer will take decades, but the progressively phasing out of ODSs is an encouraging example of how effective an international agreement can be. However, smuggling of CFCs is still happening in some regions like in Asia.

Environmental Issues - We have to think over it

Guys, we are going to look at the broad context of environmental issues. These issues are of increasing importance throughout the world and in all types of economies - developed, developing, socialist and capitalist. Emphasis on particular problems may vary from place to place but the ideas presented in this chapter have universal significance.

For example, air quality in cities is an issue whether in Sao Paulo, Seoul or London.

Environmental issues illustrate the interdependency of all the world's nations. Brazil, Korea and England all have traffic problems of their own but only Brazil has indigenous tropical forest. Yet Korea and England also depend on the continued existence of those rain forests.

We will also introduce in this chapter some of the themes and conflicts associated with managing environmental issues in the widest sense. The chapter closes with case studies intended to illustrate two important themes:

• Environmental issues are complex - there may be no simple, right or wrong answer to an environmental dilemma.

• Environmental issues cannot be dissociated from economic issues - environment and development are closely linked whether in the sphere of international relations, creation of national policy or in the management of individual organizations.

Environmental Priorities:

The following is a list of environmental issues starting with those, which are most critical at a global level, and ending with those with more local significance.