Archive for the ‘Pollution’ Category

Dirk Nowitzki has torn finger tendon – ESPN.com

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

Nowitzki suffered the injury when he was called for a foul after stripping Miamis Chris Bosh with 344 remaining in the fourth quarter. I thought I stripped him clean, then I kind of looked down and I couldnt straighten my finger out anymore, said Printable Post Card Maryland

Has Rams Steven Jackson lost a step – ESPN.com In the past, Williamson has described Jackson as one of the very best players in the NFL. But in an Insider piece breaking down NFC West running back situations, Williamson says Jackson has lost a step and no longer qualifies as a top runner in the open Printable Music Note Flash Cards Pdf

Drunken-driving law has positive impact – Lansing State Journal Michigans super drunk driving law that increased penalties for those with high blood-alcohol content appears to be making a difference. Prosecutors in Eaton and Ingham counties both say the new law, which went into effect last October, is forcing more Create Your Own Online Product

Nominee has Mouse ties – Variety Hollywoods ties to the Obama administration stand to be further bolstered if the presidents nominee to be the next secretary of commerce is confirmed. On Tuesday, President Obama nominated John Bryson, former CEO of Edison Intl. and an 11-year member of Printable Vitals Of A Whittail Deer

World has too many cars -Ford – Independent Online William Clay Ford Jr, to give him his full name, is the great-grandson of Henry Ford, the companys founder. He ran the company for five years, turning the chief executives post over to Alan Mulally in 2006, and remains the executive chairman of Ford to Free Printable Main Idea Worksheets

Cheryl Cole only has herself to blame – Independent Online Dare we hope that the latest tawdry twist in the dispiriting saga of Cheryl Cole yet another British wannabe who has tried and failed to make it in America will turn out to be one of the last gasps of the vacuous celebrity culture thats defined the past Foil Label Laser Manchester Printable Uk

Ryan Leaf has benign tumor removed from brain stem – YAHOO! LUBBOCK, Texas APFormer NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf was recovering in California on Tuesday after doctors removed a benign tumor from his brain stem. The 35-year-old Leaf had been experiencing headaches, dizziness and blurred vision before seeing a Printable Preposition Instruction Cards

Palin signals she has WH ambitions, reluctance – YAHOO! JUNEAU, Alaska Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has authorized a documentary film about her rise in politics, is adding staff and says she has that fire in the belly for a presidential bid. Thats fueling speculation shes inching toward a run and The Shapes Of Things Printable Mimi Book

CNN poll has Obama rating up – Seattle Post Intelligencer President Obamas job approval rating has climbed from 48 percent to 54 percent during the last two months, according to a new CNNOpinion Dynamics national poll. An April survey showed Americas 44th president with a 48 percent approval rating versus Free Flash Cards Printables The Human Cell

Man who gave trooper the finger has charge dropped – YAHOO! DENVER A harassment charge has been dropped in the case of a 35-year-old Colorado man who faced prosecution for displaying his middle finger to a Colorado State Patrol trooper. The State Patrol said in a statement late Friday that it asked that the Free Printable Nephew Birthday Cards

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Top Tips on Setting Up an Effective Business Recycling Program

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

With landfill taxes set to go up yet again by 2013, business recycling is becoming more crucial than ever. Solutions such as buying or renting a baler to compact waste streams can also save company’s a significant amount of money on refuse collection and labour costs.
If you’re looking to setup an effective recycling program for your business, the following guide will outline the right steps to take.

1 – Get Everyone On Board
All employees will need to fully participate and be clearly aware of the waste reduction you are trying to achieve in order to make your recycling program deliver the best results. See my previous articles titled ‘Easy Guide on Getting Started with Office Recycling’ for guidance on how to get everyone into the full swing of things.
The most important step is communication – all staff needs to work towards the beneficial objectives of recycling i.e. saving money by reducing waste pickup services and paying less landfill tax, plus reducing the company’s carbon footprint. It’s also very helpful to print posters to remind staff of the business recycling goals and promote some simple waste reduction tips.

Step 2 – Identify the Waste Materials to be Recycled
Walk through the different areas of your company’s commercial property and note where and how materials are generated. The most common targets are usually paper, cardboard, cans and bottles, but don’t overlook packing materials and office equipment.
It’s a good idea to focus first on recycling the largest volume of waste materials being thrown away – in an office, this would be paper and cardboard. After your initial recycling program is well underway, phase in further recycling programs. In this way you will build solid success rates over time.
Many recycling companies can help you concisely identify what to tackle and how best to deal with each time of material by doing a waste audit.

Step 3 – Choose the Right Recycling Company
Balers are a highly effective way to compact your waste so that you can save money on collection and disposal. Also be aware that you can also choose to use different independent contractors to collect different materials, so if one vendor won’t pick up certain recyclable materials, you can use multiple companies.

Step 4 – Good Locations for Recycling Collection Containers
It will save on time to place your recycling containers as close to the area where waste materials are generated as possible. Here again, balers are great as many models provide storage, so they will double as containers and compactors, which will save on space and generally make the entire process more tidy and efficient.
It’s also important however to have small bins located in multiple areas such as next to copiers or in break rooms. A good rule of thumb is wherever a garbage bin is placed, there should be a well labelled recycling bin to go with it.

Step 5 – Monitor Success Rates
To encourage ongoing participation moral, monitoring the recycling program and highlighting positive results through the company newsletter will go a long way to ensuring your ongoing success.
A second very important benefit of keeping a close eye on the results your program is achieving is that it will reveal whether there are any recycling weaknesses that need to be strengthened.
Some of the main ways to monitor your recycling results are to ask for tonnage or volume reports from your recycler(s) and rubbish hauler, plus gather feedback from your employees. You’ll be able to quantify the success of your program by the amount of resources saved, the pollution prevented and the money your business has saved since commencing with recycling. And don’t forget the ecological benefits – for example, every ton of paper your company recycles will save 17 trees. This final fact is a great morale booster for people on a practical level and many companies who have a successful recycling programme even promote these kinds of figures in their internal newsletter.

Conclusion

Office recycling will not only save your business a significant amount of money on landfill taxes and refuse collection, it is also the responsible way forward when it comes to everyone doing their bit to keep the environment clean and reducing our carbon footprint for the sake of future generations. By setting clear and well communicated recycling objectives for your company as well as making sure all employees are fully on board to achieve them, you will effectively be giving your business the cost efficient and responsible ‘Green’ stamp of approval.

Air Conditioning Filters: Should We All Live Without Them?

Sunday, May 29th, 2011

There are particles in the air all around you, and you know it. Some of these things hurt you when you breathe them in. That is why there are so many air borne diseases on outbreak, and so many respiratory conditions that seem as though they cannot be diagnosed. That’s why you need air filters too, and more than you really know you do.

You go to work and come back every day, and you have no clue just how much your life depends on air filters. Well, it does in a very big way. There are filters in your car, and in your office. And they keep you from disease all the time.

Nature pollutes the air, and we don’t make things a lot better either. You have to know by now that the air is no longer as sweet to breathe as it used to be, because of the pollutants. And so, you cannot trifle with the air filters – they are the life line we all need today.

Air filters aren’t meant for humans only; even machines need protection from pollutants in the atmosphere. And so, lots of machines are fitted with air filters as well. That way, particles don’t get in to damage the moving parts.

The air that you breathe is only as clean as you can make it. You might not have been aware of it before, but at this time, your life practically depends on the performance of the air filters you use because of the level of toxicity and contamination of the air around you. Sincerely, you can live without those complications in your life. Be sure you have the best air filters installed wherever you are.

You might not be able to clean all the air that you breathe, but you sure can give it your best shot. So even though you aren’t able to filter the air on the highway, you can at least see that the one in your home and office is.

You should know of the dozens of consumer products on the market that sport air filters. You should know which ones to choose for each instance you find yourself in. You don’t want to contact a disease now, do you? You should know to understand air filters and use them well.

There are so many products out there today that work to filter air that you begin to wonder if the air is safe to breathe at all. The truth is that it is not; and every time you breathe it, you leave yourself open to serious risk. You want to change that, believe me.

The essence of air filters is to reduce the presence of pollutants in the air. Lord knows, the air is not short of them pollutants either. If only you could check the air out at any arbitrary moment, you’ll see it too. The type of air filter you use therefore depends on the application – mechanical, biological, or human. Take your pick, but be sure it’s one that can deal with the pollutants.

There is a reason air filters were invented. It was because the air was getting too dangerous to breathe. You know how they say they don’t know what causes asthma and a lot of those respiratory diseases? That isn’t entirely accurate. It’s the particles. Perhaps you want to take another look at the air filters, and maybe get a few for your home too.

Thomasena Elliott is presently making use of the Recycling website.

China Cracks Down over The water Polluters Just as River Foams Red

Sunday, May 29th, 2011

Bosses throughout China can be penalized up to half its yearly revenue if their companies are found guilty of polluting the water under latest laws and regulations, it emerged yesterday.

With China willing to help boost the pressure on the environmental offenders before the Olympic games, legislators told the state news agency Xinhua that the law was likely to be able to be agreed at next week’s full session of the People’s Congress (NPC).

News of the legislation, which would also increase maximum fines for the companies, emerged shortly after authorities cut the water supplies to as many as 200,000 people after a stretch of a river system in central China turned red and foamy.

Officials in Hubei initially blamed high levels of pollutants, saying tests showed high levels of ammonia, nitrogen and permanganate. But last night water supplies to help most residents resumed, with the authorities saying that non-toxic algal bloom due to help weather changes was to help blame for the problems along tributaries of the Han river, a branch of the Yangtze.

Water pollution incidents account for three-fifths of the emergency cases handled by the State The environmental Protection Administration (Sepa) and throughout a 2006 survey, one-third of the the water samples tested earned the worst pollution rating. But at present the maximum fine it can impose is only 1m yuan (?71,000).

NPC standing committee member Hou Yibin told Xinhua: “[Fines] should be made heftier, especially on those who violate environment rules repeatedly.”

The latest draft also retains a clause added in December, which would allow the water pollution victims to be able to join together throughout civil class actions against businesses.

Its publication coincided with the environment watchdog’s call for an end to tax breaks for damaging exports. Sepa has blacklisted 141 products such as DDT and nickel-cadmium batteries, describing its list as a reference point for future economic decision-making.

Blue Crabs in Chesapeake Bay

Friday, December 31st, 2010

Every summer, tens of thousands of tourists go to Washington for travel, visiting the White House as well as other national memorials and museums. However, not all tourists understand that there is a place named Chesapeake Bay near to Washington and blue crabs originating from the bay are as famous as those scenic spots, especially for those people who like seafood too much. As the season of blue crabs comes, hundreds of restaurants providing blue crabs start business along the eastern part of America from New Jersey in the north to South Carolina in the south part. People not only steam fresh blue crabs but also make them a kind of crab cake.
The circumstance described above occurred in the past years. At present, people could not find as many blue crabs as before. The blue crabs has been fading away in Chesapeake Bay. In the year 2007, Maryland saw the lowest harvest of 22 million pounds since 1945. In fact, two decades before 2007, the bay produced 96 million pounds. The quantity is down 70% since the year 1990 when people first did the formal count. In the year 2005, people have made a survey about blue crabs and found that the reserve of small blue crabs showed the largest number during recent years and the reserve of small blue crabs reached the peak since 1997. In addition, the quantity of grown-up female blue crabs has also been increased. Even so, Mr. Watermen said that although the quantity had increased, survival situation of blue crabs was still fragile. The fact indeed has proved what he has expressed.
Various factors have caused rapid decreasing of blue crabs in recent years. As mentioned above, people have hunted a large number blue crabs for food. Pollution is another element. Chesapeake Bay was ever the most productive estuary in the world. But nowadays, contaminated water with a large number of nutrients and some water without treatment of both urban and suburbs is discharged into the bay directly. In such case, the water quality has become quite bad and a large amount of fishes, water plants and crabs start to die. More and more areas of Chesapeake Bay will be dead zones. Species from other regions can also pose threat on blue crabs’ survival. In 2007, a scientist again found a hairy crab from China. Local fisheries experts think that crabs from other regions would pose threat on blue crabs survival and destroy the local ecosystem. They hold the idea that hairy crabs can occupy the living space of blue crabs. What is worse, once those hairy crabs stay in the bay for a long time, blue crabs’ food will be also in shortage. At present, the living environment of blue crabs in Chesapeake Bay has been worse and worse. If effective measures can be taken timely, delicious blue crabs and crab cakes will be the past memory at dinner. People have had so many unreasonable activities for which they feel sorry now.

Incandescent Bulbs out of Sight in Near Future

Sunday, October 24th, 2010

Incandescent bulbs have accompanied human being for generations and generations. As more and more advanced technology has been adopting in the modern world, incandescent bulbs will come out of people’s sight gradually. In fact, incandescent bulbs have been prohibited for use in several developed countries. As for the history of incandescent bulbs, it has to be traced to the 19th century. At the late half of the 19th century, people started to use incandescent bulbs of which people heat the filament in vacuum by electricity. In the year 1879, Edison invented carbon filament incandescent bulb and first sent light by electricity to thousands of households. In 1907, Justin de created drawn tungsten wire and made tungsten wire incandescent bulb. In 1915, people filled incandescent bulbs with the mixture of argon and nitrogen. In 1935, Mr. Claude from Germany refilled incandescent bulbs with krypton as well as xenon to further improve the luminous efficiency. In 1959, people in America, on the basis of incandescent bulbs, invented halogen with small volume as well as tiny lumen. In 1980s, people could produce 8000 pieces of incandescent bulbs per hour and the quality was also controlled and supervised by computers.
Although incandescent bulbs have time-honored history during the period of human beings development, the fact has proved that incandescent bulbs have the lowest efficiency among all kinds of lighting tools. Only 12% to 18% of electricity energy of incandescent bulbs consuming can be conversed into light energy and the rest has dispersed in form of heating energy. In addition, the lifespan of usage of incandescent bulbs is usually no more than 1000 hours while halogen could be used longer. Nowadays, as technology develops so fast and new high-tech lighting tools have come to the market one after another, for example, LED has been considered as the fourth generation of lighting or green lighting, several developed countries have stopped incandescent bulbs use.
Some years ago, 60-watt to 100-watt incandescent bulb was the mainstay of thousands of American households. The Compact Fluorescent Light bulb reports that 2007 sales for Energy Star CFLs nearly doubled from the previous year, and these sales accounted for about 20% of the American light bulb market. However, from January in 2012 to January of 2014, most incandescent bulbs are forbidden selling in the U.S market. Energy Independence and Security Act in 2007 stipulated that from January of 2012 to January in 2014, America would eliminate the usage of incandescent bulbs of 40 watts, 60 watts, 75 watts and 100 watts gradually. In stead, energy-saving light bulbs will be put into use. In other words, incandescent bulbs in America will disappear in near future. Besides U.S, several other countries have also taken measures to restrict incandescent bulbs use. In Australia, incandescent bulbs were stopped production in 2009 and in 2010, traditional incandescent bulbs are forbidden use. In Canada, by the year 2012, incandescent bulbs will have been prohibited for selling. Japan also decides to stop incandescent bulbs production in 2012. Anyhow, disappearance of incandescent bulbs, to some extent, reflects the social development as well as awareness improvement of environmental protection.

Songhua River in China

Saturday, September 25th, 2010

Songhua River is the largest tributary of Heilong River with the total length of 1900km. The river, whose drainage area is larger than that of Pearl River, covers 545, 6000 square kilometers. Acreage of Songhua River takes up 69.32% of the total land of the three provinces in northeast part of China. Songhua river has two sources in both north and south parts. The north source is Nenjiang which is also a large river. Nenjiang originates from Daxinganling and flows from north to south. The length of Nenjing is 1379km and the drainage area which takes up 51.9% of the total drainage area of Songhua River, covers 283,000 square kilometers. South source originates from Changbai Mountain with the length up to 795km. The drainage area of south source covers 78180 square kilometers, taking up 14.33% of Songhua River. The source also supplies 39% water of Songhua River. Silt content of various rivers belonging to drainage area of Songhua River is not much. River basin of Songhua River is rich in forest with a large amount of timbers. The region is the largest forest area in China. Abundant mineral resources also can be found in the region such as gold, iron, copper and coal etc. In addition, various crops such as soybeans, maize, wheat, sorghum, flax and cotton etc provide great yield for local people. Songhua river is a quite large freshwater fishery in northeast part of China. In a world, compared with other rivers in northeast part of China, Songhua River plays an more important role in agriculture, shipping and other aspects of people’s daily life.
However, people rarely treat the great river well. At present, pollution for Songhua River has become a serious problem. In the year 2005, the double benzene plant of China Petro encountered explosion. As a result, much harmful substances flowed into Songhua River. Many creatures were badly affected. Although people took measures to deal with the accident, the pollution could not be completely eliminated. The quantity of pollutants discharged by people into Songhua River is also not small. At the south bank of Songhua River, 175,100 cubic meters waste water without good treatment is discharged into the river every day. Besides people’s unreasonable activities, natural disaster could also cause more serious pollution for Songhua River. On 28th July 2010, terrible flood occurred in a county of Jilin province and various buildings suffered from collapsing. Consequently, more than 7000 barrels of chemical materials of chemical factories were flowed into Songhua River. According to some report, those materials included 3-methyl chloride silane, hexamethyl disilazane and other chemical substances. A large number of items floated on the river due to fast-flowing so salvage work proceeded with some difficulties. Some chemical reaction happened as some chemical met with water. Therefore, smog and pungent odor were given out. In such case, local water sector had to stop water supply temporarily. At present, the clean-up work still continues. We hope that people could make great achievements for the pollution caused by flood. But we should pay more attention to the ecosystem of Songhua River in future. Otherwise, unexpected accidents or disasters could happen sooner or later.

Polluted Ganges River

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

Ganges River, also named Ganga, is the largest river in north part of India and it is always considered as the “Holy River” in Indian Christians’ mind. Ganges River is also an important river in south Asia. The river flows though one of the regions with the most dense population and the most fertile land. The total length of Ganges River is about 2700km and the drainage area is up to 1.06 million square kilometers. Ganges River Originates from Himalaya Mountain and infuses into the Bay of Bengal. The acreage of Ganges River takes up 1/4 of the whole India. Most parts of Ganges River are in India but the delta appears in Bengal.
Ganges River is rich in water and various creatures as well as resources. Consequently, it feeds numerous people living along . Fertile land brings vast Ganges plain and delta by flowing streams. Industrious Ganges people live and work in the area from generation to generation and they have created unique civilization there. Since ancient times, people have built irrigation channels along Ganges River. As flood came, those channels could be made full use of. As an important river in India and south Asia, Ganges River absolutely plays an pivotal role in shipping. In addition, the power reserve of Ganges is up to 13 million kilowatts and 2/5 of them distributes in India. In a word, Ganges River plays an essential role in agriculture, industry and tourism development for local people.
However, people never stop unreasonable activities which have seriously polluted the great river. It is said that the river has the function of self-purification. Even so, the speed of self-purification is much slower than that of pollution made by people. In local people’s mind, Ganges River is the Holy River where they could remove their sin. Therefore, as people die, especially poor people, others alive would throw them into the river directly. In addition, many people also jump into the river to commit suicide in hope of entering into paradise after death. In such case, floating corpse is common in the river. Ashes of the dead are also thrown into the river. Therefore, occurrence of the contamination is not strange. Besides dead bodies, other pollutants also have been discharged into Ganges River. According to some report from Indian government, about 265 billion liters waste water without any treatment is discharged into the river every day. In fact, waste water handled just takes up less than 30% of the total contaminated water in India. In recent years, much fewer people go to Ganges River for bath when bathing festival comes every year due to serious pollution. A large amount of foam and garbage are floating on the river. As it gets hot, people could smell the odor from Ganges River. Many factories located along the rivers at the same time discharge some harmful heavy metals into the river by paying very low security deposit. At present, some industries related with water have lagged, for example, fishery. The government is trying to clean the river and we hope that what they do will be effective. Otherwise, Ganges River could not remove people’s sin and purify their souls any more.

Disgusting Chicago Tarum River and Yamuna River

Sunday, September 19th, 2010

Chicago Tarum River, located in west part of Java Island of Indonesia, originates from the mountainous area at the south part of Bandung and inflows into Java River. Chicago River is an important river in Indonesia with the length of 272km. The river provides water for irrigation as well as drinking water for local people. Before 1980s, the water in Chicago River was great and the scenery nearby was also very beautiful. Fishermen caught fish in the river and farmers obtained water from the river for irrigation. In addition, tourists also enjoyed themselves so much as to forget to go home. However, in recent decades, a large amount of industrial pollutants as well as daily waste have been discharged into the river which has been considered as the dirtiest river in the world by media. The surface of Chicago River is completely covered by various rubbish. If there is no boat on the river, it is likely for people to think it as a waste yard. People living along the bank can not fish in the river any more because there is no fish at all. Instead, they start to become scavengers. If they are lucky, they can get some rubbish valued 2 to 4 dollars. Since 1980s, the industry of the region has developed so fast and most factories are textile mills. At the same time, the population has also increased. At present, as Chicago River has been blocked, the hydropower plant nearby does not work normally. Local government is trying to clean the river but it is not an easy job. The current scenery of Chicago River is beyond many people’s imagination if they are allowed to describe the dirtiness.
Yamuna River is another river which is also seriously polluted. Ymuna River is the longest tributary of Ganges River with length of 1380km. The river originates from a glacier of northwest part of India. The river flows through Delhi and connects with Agra water way. Near to Mathura, the river also flows through Agra, Firozabad and Etawah. At the south bank of Yamuna River, some tributaries flow into the river such as Chambal River, Sindh River, Betwa River and Ken River etc. Yamuna River converges Ganges River near to Allahabad. However, pollution has badly affected the fertile river. 57% rubbish from New Delhi has been discharged into the river. From the year 1993 to 2005, the pollution increased by two times and the puffer has suffered from extinction. According to some official report, 75% to 80% pollutants in Yamuna River are daily waste. It is said that more than 30 billion liters of waste water which is discharged into the river every day by people living in New Delhi. Some scientists have got some water from the river as sample for test. As a result, the quantity of bacteria is 3000 times of that contained in safe and clean water. At present, the local government are taking measures to solve the problem and let’s wait and see what will happen.

More Serious Pollution for Yellow River

Sunday, September 12th, 2010

Serious pollution for Yellow River is not a fresh topic any more. What is worse, the pollution has become more serious recently. Some days ago, a journalist traveled from Qinghai province to Inner Mongolia via Gansu and Ningxia. He has witnessed the more serious pollution for middle and upper reaches of Yellow River. According to some survey, the journalist found that although people had taken some measures to deal with pollution, the ecological environment became worse.
At present, 40% part of Yellow River can not provide drinking water and more than 1.2 million people along the river could just drink bitter water. In 2009, experts found 40% main part of Yellow River could not offer clean water. As economy develops so fast, the emission discharged into Yellow River has increased twice. Most tributaries of upper reaches of Yellow River have been polluted and nearly all tributaries of middle and lower reaches have suffered serious contamination. Wuliangsu, located in Inner Mongolia, is a very important drainage channel to Yellow River. The journalist found that many factories were distributed along the channel. So a large amount of pollutants are discharged into Yellow River directly. Industrial pollution is always the source for the pollution of Yellow River. In Qinghai, Ningxia, Gansu and Inner Mongolia, various industrial enterprises can be found in a large number. Much COD, nitrogen, heavy metal and potassium permanganate etc have been discharged into the river. As the journalist visited a ditch which connects Yellow River, he smelled the odor of the polluted ditch before getting off cars. Red acidic waste water flowed slowly in the ditch and green waste water of other branch ditches also flowed into the ditch at the same time. Land nearby has been eroded by the contaminated water and the color has become copper. Some people told the journalist that about 50,000 cubic meters waste water was discharged into Yellow River every day. Most seriously contaminated water was discharged by a smelting factory. Although some official departments have restricted discharging pollutants, they have not got any achievements. At present, acidic waste water more than 8000 cubic meters is still discharged into Yellow River every day. Even though people have taken measures to purify the contaminated water, the water is still harmful to people’s health. An official from Environmental Protection Department told that they had stopped providing water for people in cities.
Sewage, excessive fertilizers and pesticides pollution has also aggravated. At the same time, rubbish heap and dumping further aggravates the pollution. More serious polluted Yellow River not only badly affects nearby agricultural and industrial production but also imposes threat on people’s health. In some regions, water has become black. In addition, eutrophication of the water intensifies and water plants and reeds grow without any restriction. Various animals have been out of people’s sight and some have died out. Plants and crops are also in poor quality after irrigated by contaminated water of Yellow River. The future of Yellow River seems dim and can we just worry about it?

Noise Pollution

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

In recent years, entanglements about noise pollution can be found more and more. The government in England had to compensate 20 billion pounds to 100 to 200 thousand residents who live near to the Heathrow Airport because they suffered from the noise pollution from the airport at night. From 11:30 pm to 6:00 am, noise of 16 planes affects people’s normal and peaceful life so they turned to the lawsuit and won. If residents living near to Gatwick Airport and Stansted Airport also turn to laws for noise pollution, the government would compensate much more. More than 200 thousand fresh-water turtles with soft shell in Henan province of China were killed by noise pollution but no solutions yet. That was not an exaggeration. Big machines for road construction gave out high decibel noise which killed more than 200,000 turtles. The Government did not want to compensate the loss up to 1600 thousand RMB and the turtle bodies were still stored in the refrigeration house as evidence. In the past 20 years, noise pollution has increased in the globe.
Noise pollution, air pollution and water contamination are considered as the leading pollution in the world but noise pollution can not be paid much attention compared with the other two kinds of pollution. On the contrary, if the terrible results like the two examples above are not caused, noise pollution is always ignored by human beings. The WHO has made some surveys about noise pollution. They found that noise in developed countries had become more and more terrible. In America, the number of people living in the environment with decibel more than 80 has increased by some times during the past 20 years. In European countries, 40% people suffer from noise from vehicles every day. In some cities of developing countries, people also suffer from noise pollution. In some regions, the noise can be up to the decibel of 75 to 80 all day and all night. WHO said that noise pollution had affected people’s health and the quality of life and they called upon all countries to take pressures to control and reduce noise pollution.
Noise pollution not only comes from the environment outside but also the family itself. People often complain the noise pollution from vehicles, industrial production etc which we can not control. But they always ignore the noise pollution which they can control and reduce. Nowadays, people have more and more electronic appliances such as TV, computers, refrigerator, speakers etc. According to some test, TV, speakers etc can produce noise with decibel up to 60 to 80 and washing machine can produce the noise up to 42 to 70 decibel. Actually, some criterions from the government tell us that the noise in the day should be no more than 50 decibel and in the night should be less than 40 decibel. Otherwise, the noise would impose bad effects on people’s health, especially to children. Family noise even can cause some diseases to children. For example, kids would be deaf and dumb if they often suffer from terrible family noise.
Therefore, the government and people should struggle for noise pollution together for the sake of our health. If people are not healthy, everything they do seems meaningless.

Harmful Results Caused by Ozone Depletion

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

Accompanied by rapid economic and technological development, more and more electric equipments have entered into people’s life, for example, refrigerator which can keep food fresh. However, fluorine released by refrigerator terribly destructs ozone layer which can protect the creatures on the earth. Of course, ozone layer destruction also lies on other substances such as Halons, CTC, Methyl chloroform and Bromomethane and so on and so forth.
According to analysis from scientists, ozone layer destruction imposes the following bad effects on the earth. Firstly, harm to people’s health. As we all know, appropriate amount of UV is good for people’s health but if the amount is too large, people will suffer from some diseases such as cataract, skin cancer and destruction of immune system. Some analysis reports that if stratospheric ozone decreases 1%, incidence of cataract will increase by 0.6% to 0.8% and people losing their sight will increase 10000 to 15000 people all over the world. Ozone layer can prevent too much UV reaching on the earth to protect people’s health. But if ozone layer is damaged, much more UV absolutely reaches on the earth. Consequently, people will suffer from skin diseases, mainly skin cancer. And people with white skin have more chance to suffer from skin cancer because the white skin is lack of natural protection for sunlight. In addition, too much UV would change DNA in the cell and damage normal immune system. Secondly, harm to land plants. If UV reaches on the earth too much, plants can not get enough light and nutrients in photosynthesis and then slow down growth. Beside, excessive UV can change genetic in the cell and plant quality will not up to standard. If land plants are badly affected, we can imagine that the whole biosphere circle will be destroyed. Thirdly, harm to aquatic creatures. 30% animal protein of the world is from the sea. UV is harmful to many animals when they are at early developmental stages such as fish, shrimps, crab etc. and the worst point is that animals would suffer from fertility decline and larval hypoplasia. Phytoplankton also decreases because of UV. Phytoplankton plays an important role to absorb carbon dioxide which is the main source for greenhouse. that means if UV increases, the earth will suffer more from greenhouse. Fourthly, harm to urban environment and building materials. Too much UV can accelerate chemical reaction among different harmful emissions from factories and vehicles and pollution will become more terrible. UV also promotes materials ageing of building, package and cables and so on, especially in those regions with abundant sunlight and high temperature. Such destruction from UV can cause economic loss up to some billion dollars all over the world.
The above destruction caused by UV is estimated by scientists and if we want to get accurate results of destruction from UV, much more research and experiment have to be put into practice. Anyhow, the above bad results are indeed in front of us and all of us ought to try our best to reduce toxic emissions to protect our planet.

White Pollution

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

What is white pollution? Actually, it is another way to describe plastic pollution which means that daily plastic items made from polystyrene, polypropylene, PVC and other polymers become solid waste after use. At present, white pollution has seriously polluted the global environment because it is very difficult to degrade plastic items.

White pollution mainly causes two kinds of pollution, visual pollution and potential pollution. Visual pollution means plastic pollution damages the good image of cities when plastic bags, plastic bowls, plastic bottles and other plastic items are abandoned in our living environment. As for potential pollution, it endangers too much to human beings. Firstly, disposable plastic foam lunch boxes and plastic bags for food heating and packing are harmful to people’s health. When the temperature is up to 65℃, hazardous substances will infiltrate into food and the liver, kidneys, central nervous system and other organs will also be damaged. Nowadays, the ultrathin plastic bags we use are generally made from PVC which contains VCM. When people touch VCM, they would suffer from wrist and fingers swelling, skin sclerosis, splenomegaly, liver damage and other illness. We can find that many people often use plastic bags for food packing. They do not know such behavior not only pollutes our environment but also does harm to their health. Secondly, degradation of plastic waste destroys soil condition and inhibits the growth of crops. And if livestock eats plastic bags, they would suffer from digestive disease and even goes to die. Thirdly, plastic bags landfill is a way to reduce pollution in many countries and toxic substances will permeate into underground and contaminate groundwater. Fourthly, many countries burn plastic waste directly and it produces terrible secondary pollution.

In order to reduce white pollution, some countries have issued environmental-protection laws. Indian government forbids plastic bags use in dairy industry, government in South Africa bans all use in plastic bags, Italy government imposes environmental tax on plastic bags packing, Japanese government bans non-degradable plastic bags use and imposes tax and government in China stipulates that people pay for plastic bags use etc.

However, it is far enough to protect environment just by eco-friendly laws. We also ought to take some measures. First, we should try our best not to use plastic bags and reduce white pollution as much as we can. If we use less plastic bags, plastic pollution will be less. Second, we ought to recycle waste plastics and change them into available resources, which is the most important and the fundamental way to remove plastic pollution. In recent years, some developed countries such as America, Japan, and Germany etc. have successfully realized the virtuous circle of plastic bags production, usage, recycling and reuse. But many other countries have a long way to go for white waste dealing. Third, people all over the world should improve eco-friendly awareness. Adults should teach children how to protect our living environment and ask them not to throw rubbish at random. If people can know how to protect environment when they are young, there is nothing to worry about the problem of pollution.

Indoor Pollution

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

When we talk about pollution, we often talk about nature pollution such as air pollution, water contamination, and soil pollution and so on and so forth, which is outdoor pollution. People are paying more and more attention to outdoor but indoor pollution also can not be ignored. At present, indoor pollution mainly comes from the smell of hazardous substances which adhere to furniture, decorative materials and other house wares. How does the indoor pollution come into being?

First, indoor pollution still exists though people have made use of eco-friendly materials for furniture, door, ceiling and other house wares. Why? Because hazardous substances from furniture and other items mix together and they can release more terrible pollution. Second, it is difficult to judge if the indoor environment is polluted or not according to smell of the gas. Of all harmful gases, some odoriferous such as Benzene with aromatic smell, Formaldehyde with irritating odor, Ammonia with foul smell of urine etc. On the contrary, some others are colorless and odorless such as TVOC, Radon and so on and so forth. Therefore, when these gases are mixed together, it is difficult for us to distinguish if there are toxic substances or not. But people always judge by the smell, which is not right. If they can not smell any odor then they will ignore the harmful substances. Third, some so-called hi-tech materials are actually “gas bomb”. More and more enterprises involve into decoration pollution control industry and in order to get high profits, they deceive consumers and sell inferior products in the name of hi-tech items. As a result, indoor pollution gets more serious. Fourth, Market of building materials is lack of standardized management and materials are not qualified. So many houses can be described as gas chambers when they are built. Such problem is more terrible in China than that of other developed countries. Fifth, people are lack of environmental awareness and knowledge. Some ignore the indoor pollution and they think keeping ventilated is ok. Some pay attention to it but they always want to get instant results. After all, removing indoor pollution is a long-term task. Some others start to control the pollution after they suffer from it, for example, there are ill by breathing in harmful gas.

As for indoor pollution, experts think prevention is better than taking pressures for pollution and give us some suggestions: firstly, we ought to choose environmental-protection materials and products which are also up to national standard. That is the most important. Secondly, we‘d better choose decorative companies with environmental-protection logo. Thirdly, after decoration is finished, we should not live in the house at once because some harmful gases remain in the house and we’d better test the air quality before living in the house. Fourthly, we should try our best to buy eco-friendly house wares.

Indoor environment is closely related with our life and our health, especially for kids and old man because their immune systems are not as good as young people. So what should we do now for our family health? The answer is obvious.

Everyone is responsible for protecting the environment.

Friday, October 30th, 2009
As has been pointed out before, air pollution is becoming more and more serious in large cities.  As the capital city, Beijing’s atmosphere condition draws extensive concern.
It is well known that factories, vehicles and smokers are three major factors contributing to air pollution in Beijing.  Due to the rapid growing economy and heating demand of the city, many new factories have been set up.  The chimneys of these factories and waste product abandoned by them threaten the atmosphere.  The number of private cars can be considered as the sign of prosperity of a city, yet the increasing number of private cars causes a great many problems.  As for Beijing, air pollution is a seriously negative impact imposed by the increasing number of private cars.  Smoke is another contributory factor of air pollution in Beijing, not only theatens the health of the human body, but also brings out environment promblems.
Beijing government has brought out a more strict criteria of emission of waste gas and enhance the punishment to those who go against it.  At the same time, they bulit more and more subway lines to relieve the traffic burden, as well as the pollution from private cars.  Meanwhile, they encourage people to use public transportation as much as possible.  However, protecting the environment is not only the government’s duty.  It concerns every individual in the society.  It is everyone’s responsibility.  We should put more lessons about environment protection in our education too.