The Unsorted BBS Collection/thegreatunsorted.tar/thegreatunsorted/texts/term_papers/polution.esy

Text File | 1994-05-16 | 13KB | 297 lines

                             TABLE OF CONTENTS

      TITLE                                               PG

1.    What is Pollution and kinds of pollution............ 1

2.    Air pollution........................................2

3.    Water pollution......................................4

4.    Land & Soil pollution................................5

5.    Sources of Pollution to World Ocean Regions..........6

6.    Wasting the environment, the world statistic data....7

7.    The Earth Day and action by an individual............8

8.    Action by an individual and conclusion...............9

9.    References...........................................10

10.   Bibliography.........................................11






























                  POLLUTION: THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY.
     Pollution is a term that refers to all the ways by which
people make their surroundings unclean. People contaminate the air
with toxic gases and smoke, poison the water with chemicals and
damage the soil with too many fertilizers and pesticides. They also
pollute their surroundings in various ways. For example, they ruin
natural beauty by scattering junk and litter on the land and in the
water. They operate machines and motor vehicles that fill the air
with disturbing noise. Nearly everyone causes environmental
pollution in some way or another.
We cannot be confident about breathing the air and drinking water.
We have chopped down the rain forest and as a result, the climate
is changing. There is a hole in the Ozone layer and this has
resulted in more global warming.
"This we know, the earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the
earth. All things are connected like the blood which unites a
family. Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons of the earth.
Whatever he does to the earth, he does to himself". The survival or
the Mother earth is in jeopardy and hence the human race.
                            KINDS OF POLLUTION
     There are several kinds of environmental pollution. They
include air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution and
pollution caused by solid waste, noise and nuclear radiation. These
pollution are a major threat to the existence of our planet.
                               AIR POLLUTION
     Air pollution turns clear, odourless and fresh air into hazy,
smelly and dirty air that harms health, kills plants and damages
property. People cause air pollution both outdoors and indoors.
Outdoor air pollution results from releasing hundreds of million of
tons of gases and particulate ( tiny particles of liquid or solid
matter) into the atmosphere each year. One of the most common forms
of outdoor air pollution is smog. Indoor air pollution results from
many of the same substances found outdoors. But indoor pollution
can present a more serious problem because they tend to build in a
small area from which they cannot easily escape. Cigarette smoke is
a familiar indoor air pollutant.
     Most air pollution results from the combustion process. The
burning of gasoline to power motor vehicles and the burning of coal
to heat buildings and help manufacture products are examples of
such a process. Each time fuel is burned in a combustion process,
some type of pollutant is released into the air. The pollutants
range from a small amount of colourless poison gas to a cloud of
thick black smoke.
     In crowded cities, for example, thousands of automobiles,
factories and furnaces may add tons of pollutants to a small area
of the atmosphere each day. At times, weather conditions cause
pollutants to build up over an area instead of clearing them away.
One such condition - called thermal inversion - occurs when a layer
of warm air settles over a layer of cooler air that lies near the
ground. The warm air holds down the cool air and prevents
pollutants from rising and scattering. An inversion occurs over a
city that is pouring tons of pollutants into the air. One serious
result of air pollutant is its harmful effect on human health. Both
gases and particulate burn people's eyes and irritate their lungs.
Particulate can settle in the lungs and worsen the respiratory
system leading to asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia. Studies have
shown that particulate help cause such diseases as cancer and
emphysema. In cities throughout the world, long periods of heavy
air pollution have caused illness and death rates to increase
dramatically.
     Most materials get dirty and wear out more quickly in polluted
air than in cleaner air. Polluted air even harms such hard and
strong materials as concrete and steel. In some cities, statues and
other art objects that stood outdoors for centuries have been moved
indoors because air pollution threatened to destroy them.
The Taj Mahal of India (biggest tourist attraction) has been badly
polluted due to the smoke of the near by factories. The white
marble of the tomb has faded in its clarity and brightness.
     Air pollutants may also affect climate. Both gases and
particulate can cause changes in the average temperature of an
area. Particulate scatter the Sun's rays and reduce the amount of
sunlight that reaches the ground. Such interference with sunlight
may cause average temperatures in area to drop. Some gases
including Carbon dioxide, allow sunlight to reach the ground but
prevent the sunlight's heat from rising out of the atmosphere and
flowing back into space. The warming of the earth's surface that
results is called the greenhouse affect. The burning of fuel and
other polluting activities are increasing the amount of heat
trapped in the atmosphere. This development may intensify the
greenhouse effect, causing average temperatures to rise.
In addition, air pollutants are damaging the layer of ozone in the
earth's upper atmospheres. As a result there is more penetration of
ultra violet rays from the sun and a greater risk of cancer and
other skin diseases.
                              WATER POLLUTION
     Water pollution reduces the amount of pure and fresh water
that is available for such necessities as drinking and cleaning and
for swimming and fishing. The animals and plants also need clean
and fresh water to live and grow. The pollutants that affect water
come mainly from industries, farms and sewage systems.
     Industries dump huge amounts of wastes into bodies of water
each year. These wastes include chemicals, waste from animal and
plant matter, and hundreds of other substances. Some of the wastes
may be hazardous to both human beings and plants.
     Sewage systems carry wastes from homes, offices and industries
into water. Nearly all cities have waste treatment plants that
remove some of the most harmful waste from sewage. But even most of
the treated sewage contains material that harms water. Our seas and
rivers are not safe, they are polluted with chemicals and other
garbage waste. The Rhine, which flows through many countries of
Europe is highly polluted due to chemical waste from Germany and as
a result, the countries which are located down stream, Austria and
Hungary, find water toxic and contaminated. They are accusing
Germany for this trouble. Likewise the Nile and the Ganges rivers
are highly polluted and their water is not suitable for drinking
and irrigation.
     Seas and oceans have also been used for dumping of nuclear and
chemical waste. For many decades Russia has dumped nuclear wastes
in the Kara sea and Norway had to pay the price. Most of the fish
and sea mammals died and there was always a fear of radiation
leakage at the beaches of Norway. The Arctic region despite its
remoteness has not escaped pollution from Canada and the USA.
                          LAND AND SOIL POLLUTION
     We are also damaging our land by dumping garbage, pouring oil,
chemicals and pesticides on the soil surface. We are chopping down
the rain forests and using more land which has natural vegetation
for industrial, transportation and housing purposes. Every day new
contributing to the pollution of the earth. In the past decade, the
area of tropical forests has shrunk from 4.7 to 4.2 billion acres.
The world's farmers, meanwhile, have lost nearly 500 million tons
of topsoil, an amount equal to the tillable soil coverage of India
and France combined.
                               THE EARTH DAY
     There is a growing understanding among scientists, ecologists
and even ordinary people that modern civilization-that is our
current organization of society and modes of production and
consumption-is just not sustainable. Hence every year, April 22nd
is declared Earth day through out the world. The Public as well as
government organizations reiterate to save the mother earth from a
pollution disaster. During the last Earth summit in June 1992 at
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Mr. Brian Mulroney, the then prime minister
of Canada signed the treaty to protect endangered species and the
areas they inhabit and agreed to try to roll back emission of
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by the end of the decade.
With the understanding that 1990 levels would be a desirable - but
not mandatory target. But the President of the USA refused to sign
the treaty.
                          ACTION BY AN INDIVIDUAL
     We as global citizens are responsible for the future of our
world. We live in an era of global inter-dependence-which
influences environmental, social and economic issues. Northerners
or Southerners, we share a common future. We must take an active
part and get involved to overcome the present situation. We can
take several measures at home and in the office.
Follow the 4 R's Policy:
1.   REUSE, REDUCE, RECYCLE, AND REPAIR
     At home or in the office, we should try to reuse the things
     instead of using once and throwing them away. For example
     writing paper can be used on both sides before it is given  foe
recycling. Prefer repairing the things instead of buying    a new
one. We should take the possibility of repairing it    first. News
papers, magazines, journals should be sent for    recycling.
Mineral cans, glass jars and plastic bottles should    be kept for
reusing and recycling.
2.   We should take pride in buying recycled or biodegraded
materials. Thus we can support the recycled industries and  help to
save the environment.
3.   Cut energy consumption by insulating homes, buying efficient
     appliances and switching to fluorescent lighting.
4.   Conserve gasoline by picking fuel efficient autos, joining car
     pools and using transit systems such as the TTC and Subways.
5.   Make every drop of water count.
6.   Avoid the use of chemical, pesticide and biochemical products.
7.   Meet the local politicians and show your concern on local
environmental issues, so that the government takes quick and
adequate measures to reduce the pollution.
     CONCLUSION
     The choice is up to us: smooth or chaotic change. We know the
problem is there. It is a question of our existence and our next
generation survival. No price is too high to pay, if it can save
our planet. We need to use alternative technologies, or alternative
operating practices, which might save our lives and those to come.

                                REFERENCES
     Chief Seattle of Washington, " 1855 letter to President
Franklin Pierce" as quoted in " The Main Culprit" chapter 4,
Development Environment, spring 1992, p.22

     Meteorology for Aviators.  Federal Aviation Authority,
Oklahoma.p.23

     Paul Kering, " Environmental Nightmare." The Global and Mail.
11 sept. 1993. p.14

     Jean J. Charest, Canada's Environment Today, (Ottawa: Ministry
of the Environment), p.13

     Philip Elmer Dewitt, "Summit to save the Earth", Time, 1 June
1992, p.22

     "The Main Culprits", Development Environment, spring 1992 p.28

































                               BIBLIOGRAPHY

     Canada Environment Today. Ministry of Environment,Ottawa,1993

     Coller's Encyclopedia. Toronto: Collier Macmillian, 1990

     Development Environment, Spring 1992


     International Civil Aviation Journal, Montreal. August, 1993

     Meteorology for Aviators. Federal Aviation Authority,
Oklahoma, U.S.A. 1989

     News Week,  New York, December 18, 1989

     The Global and Mail, April 22, 1993

     Time magazine, New York, June 1, 1992