Pollution Prevention Air Pollution Facts, Air Pollution Effects, Air Pollution Solutions, Air Pollution Causes Smog hanging over cities is the most familiar and obvious form of air pollution. But there are different kinds of pollution—some visible, some invisible—that contribute to global warming. Generally any substance that people introduce into the atmosphere that has damaging effects on living things and the environment is considered air pollution. Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is the main pollutant that is warming Earth. Other greenhouse gases include methane—which comes from such sources as swamps and gas emitted by livestock—and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were used in refrigerants and aerosol propellants until they were banned because of their deteriorating effect on Earth's ozone layer. Another pollutant associated with climate change is sulfur dioxide, a component of smog. Industrialized countries have worked to reduce levels of sulfur dioxide, smog, and smoke in order to improve people's health.
Toxic China: Widespread lead pollution is poisoning children (NaturalNews) Though set to become the world leader in manufacturing within the next few years, China has one of the worst track records for rampant environmental pollution with industrial materials and chemicals. And a recent report out of the town of Dongtang, which is located in China's major manufacturing region of Guangdong, has revealed that at least 160 local children there have been poisoned by lead pollution released from local factories. Reuters reports that ongoing investigations in the region have revealed "elevated" levels of lead in the blood of many children who live near heavy manufacturing plants. And many of these plants produce products like batteries that involve the use of lead and other heavy metals, which end up getting released into the air and water, oftentimes contaminating local crops and the food supply. To address the problems themselves, some local Chinese residents have staged protests and boycotts of companies emitting the deadly pollution.
Diesel Exhaust May Increase Risk In Patients With Heart Disease Air pollution could be putting patients with heart disease at risk by affecting blood vessels and clotting, researchers warn. A study by the University of Edinburgh and Umeå University measured the effects of diesel exhaust on heart and blood vessel function in men who have previously experienced a heart attack. The research, funded by the British Heart Foundation and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that inhalation of diesel exhaust caused changes in the heart's electrical activity, suggesting that air pollution reduces the amount of oxygen available to the heart during exercise. Dr Nicholas Mills, of the University's Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences, said: "This study provides an explanation for why patients with heart disease are more likely to be admitted to hospital on days in which air pollution levels are increased. The link between air pollution and heart disease is strongest for the fine exhaust particles produced by road traffic.
Pesticides are one of top three 'worst toxic pollution problems' on planet, say non-profit groups (NaturalNews) The Blacksmith Institute (BI), an international non-profit environmental health organization devoted to solving pollution problems around the world, in conjunction with Green Cross Switzerland (GCS), a group that helps clean up pollution, recently co-released a comprehensive report entitled The World's Worst Toxic Pollution Problems. In it, researchers explain how agricultural pesticides represent the number three worst pollution problem on the planet. The report was compiled based on data collected over a three year period from thousands of toxic "hotspots" around the world, all of which were in low- and middle-income countries. The team that compiled the report primarily analyzed how various pollutants affect local people groups rather than the world at large, which means the negative effects of these pollutants are far worse on a global scale. The team also focused on what it calls the "most relevant and urgent" pollutants in terms of toxicity and negative impact.
More economical way to produce cleaner, hotter natural gas New technology is offering the prospect of more economical production of a concentrated form of natural gas with many of the advantages -- in terms of reduced shipping and storage costs -- of the familiar frozen fruit juice concentrates, liquid laundry detergents and other household products that have been drained of their water, scientists reported in San Diego on March 27. They told the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society, that this "super natural gas" would burn hotter than the familiar workhorse fuel and occupy about 40 percent less space in pipelines, railroad tank cars and storage chambers. But its potential benefits range beyond that -- to making natural gas a better source of hydrogen for use in fuel-cell-powered cars in the much-discussed "hydrogen economy" of the future, according to Mohammad G. The scientists acknowledged funding from Virginia Commonwealth University and the U.S.
Oil from Deepwater Horizon disaster entered food chain in the Gulf of Mexico Since the explosion on the BP Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, scientists have been working to understand the impact that this disaster has had on the environment. For months, crude oil gushed into the water at a rate of approximately 53,000 barrels per day before the well was capped on July 15, 2010. A new study confirms that oil from the Macondo well made it into the ocean's food chain through the tiniest of organisms, zooplankton. Tiny drifting animals in the ocean, zooplankton are useful to track oil-derived pollution. They serve as food for baby fish and shrimp and act as conduits for the movement of oil contamination and pollutants into the food chain. The study confirms that not only did oil affect the ecosystem in the Gulf during the blowout, but it was still entering the food web after the well was capped.
Air pollution from trucks and low-quality heating oil may explain childhood asthma hot spots Where a child lives can greatly affect his or her risk for asthma. According to a new study by scientists at Columbia University, neighborhood differences in rates of childhood asthma may be explained by varying levels of air pollution from trucks and residential heating oil. Results appear online in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology. In New York City, where the study was conducted, asthma among school-age children ranges from a low of 3% to a high of 19% depending on the neighborhood, and even children growing up within walking distance of each other can have 2- to 3-fold differences in risk for asthma. "This study adds to the evidence that further public health interventions on oil and truck emissions standards and the use of dirty oil may be warranted. The study may be the first to show an association between airborne black carbon in the home and proximity to buildings burning dirty oil (low-grade, types 4 and 6).
Can Manufacturers Institute By the Numbers Get facts, information and statistics about America’s most recycled packaging solution. How to recycle steel food cans: Empty the steel cans.Place containers in your curbside recycling bin or take them to your local recycling center.Complete the recycling loop by buying products made with recycled steel.For more information as to where and how to recycle steel food cans in your area, visit the Steel Recycling Institute's Website at www.recycle-steel.org or call their national consumer information hotline (800.937.1226)
Air pollution Air pollution is a broad term applied to any chemical, physical (particulate matter), or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. The atmosphere is a complex, dynamic natural gaseous system that is essential to support life on planet earth. Stratospheric ozone depletion due to air pollution has long been recognized as a threat to human health as well as to the earth's ecosystems. Worldwide air pollution is responsible for large numbers of deaths and cases of respiratory disease. Enforced air quality standards, like the Clean Air Act in the United States, have reduced the presence of some pollutants. While major stationary sources are often identified with air pollution, the greatest source of emissions are actually mobile sources, principally the automobile. There are many available air pollution control technologies and urban planning strategies available to reduce air pollution; however, worldwide costs of addressing the issue are high.
New satellites battle pollution 'ghosts' Emission maps: The art of plotting carbons Scientists say they need more accurate satellite equipment to monitor changes in city pollution levelsUniversity of Leicester teams are involved in potentially 15-year project to build new orbiting sensorsWorld Health Organization: Air pollution causes two million premature deaths a year Leicester, England (CNN) -- They call it battling ghosts: The incredibly tricky task of using satellites to track the invisible airborne pollutants that determine the air quality and health of our major cities. But as concerns mount over global warming, scientists say existing space technology has now reached its limits in this battle -- unable to measure how emissions are being cut in the urban centers that most people now live in. Now a new generation of orbiting sensors capable of mapping these wraith-like chemicals at city level is being built in a laboratory in central England, a development that will give scientists a new tool in the fight to cut pollution.
Drifting pollution affecting Arctic wildlife Air pollution 'will become bigger global killer than dirty water' | Environment Beijing, China, which is one of the countries likely to be worst hit by pollution-triggered deaths in coming decades. Photograph: David Gray/Reuters Urban air pollution is set to become the biggest environmental cause of premature death in the coming decades, overtaking even such mass killers as poor sanitation and a lack of clean drinking water, according to a new report. Both developed and developing countries will be hit, and by 2050, there could be 3.6 million premature deaths a year from exposure to particulate matter, most of them in China and India. The warning comes in a new report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which is a study of the global environmental outlook until 2050. If current policies are allowed to carry on, the world will far exceed the levels of greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say are safe, the report found.
Pollution articles(Rayann)