Submerged Lands

Animals breathe – so do plants. Pollutants eventually enter the water resources. Humans, animals and plants all need water. When we pollute the air with sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides we make our soil and water more acidic, which is harmful to many animals and plants. It can affect growth of certain plants, cutting down the number of plants available for shelter and food, having a devastating effect on delicate eco systems.

Improving Air Quality

Legislation over the last decade has improved air quality, since industry had to cut down carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide emissions, cars had to switch and use petrol and diesel with less lead, carbon and sulphur emissions, and new technology has introduced electric cars as an alternative to petrol or diesel engines. Better cavity wall insulation and updated building and construction methods have seen us lose less heat and use less heating via fossil fuel burning in the process.

Energy efficient lighting helps to cut down on energy consumption, together with daylight saving summer and winter time introduction. More still needs to be done.

Individuals can address air quality issues by using public transport more and cutting out unnecessary car journeys. Commuters who are able to do so, can share cars or use bicycles or walk to work. Companies can provide buses which collect workers in the morning and return them home after their shift. Too many people still rely on their cars and make too many useless journeys, which could either be avoided by shopping online and letting the post deliver or by sharing cars – or combatting obesity and getting out with the help of their own two legs.

Families and individuals can cut down on air travel by going overseas only once every other year. Most countries now run schemes which encourage growing of trees – our staunch allies in the fight against air pollution and a regaining of good air quality. Every one with a garden or grounds that will support one tree or more is encouraged to plant a tree – this helps not only with air quality but provides wildlife with habitat, too.

Householders should avail themselves of grants made available for switching to solar energy or alternative energy sources. In Germany’s rural areas farmers use methane to produce energy – friendly cows produce the stuff on a daily basis whenever their digestive systems feel the urge.

Wind farms are a renewable source of energy which will help to reduce the number of coal burning power stations producing for our energy needs – coal burning power stations are a major source of pollution and poor air quality.

If we don’t want to see deaths of the old and the young during hot summer months or windless winters, we must cut down on pollution in our cities and increase the air quality with planting of green roofs. Great for heat insulation, “green” roofs help with filtering the air of dust, reduce CO2 and provide habitat for wildlife in our cities. Better architecture for new builds reduces waste of energy and heat loss.

In many countries a re-introduction of electric trams has already achieved improved air quality. Fewer cars on the road mean not only less congested traffic, it also means less harmful pollutants are released into the atmosphere. Electric trams are popular – not only do they get commuters safely, efficiently and speedily from home to work and back again, they are almost noiseless and don’t pollute their air.

Every time transport workers strike in London, Paris or other large cities, commuters discover there are alternatives to taking individual cars, buses and even trains. Suddenly car-sharing schemes spring up, people discover the use of those two limbs dangling off their bodies – yes, we have legs – and they walk or cycle to work. Many discover they prefer this mode of cheap, air friendly transport and never go back to using the car, bus or underground train.

Newly build houses and office blocks fall under more stringent building regulations, taking better care to introduce better insulation, better use of passive solar energy efficient material and even the use of solar panels themselves. More office blocks and high rise buildings have green spaces on their roofs – roof gardens help with filtering of air, with dust particles and CO2 being taken care of by plants. These gardens are now highly sought after spaces of recreation and relaxation among office workers and provide valuable space for urban wildlife to thrive, too.

How to Improve Air Quality around the Globe

More must be done by developed countries to assist developing countries in avoiding our mistakes. America, China and Russia in particular are the main polluters or air. If anything good has come out of the recent disaster in Japan, then it is that is has shown how an economy that is reliant on nuclear power can be extremely vulnerable to natural disasters and how quickly a nuclear power station can deteriorate into a disaster zone.

Improving our air quality by reducing the number of coal burning power stations is a good thing, but replacing them with nuclear plants is not. For the first time in some twenty years countries around the world are addressing this serious issue in the light of safety – not with the usual eye on short term profit for the economy.

The other meltdown is happening in Middle Eastern countries across the whole region and this political and social upheaval has exposed the West’s over-reliance on fossil fuel burning energy. If we want to improve air quality, cut down on pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and gain freedom from being held to ransom by oil and gas producing countries, then governments in developed countries must act to find more funds for research into truly renewable, sustainable sources of energy, which neither put our air quality, water purity, soil condition nor wildlife at risk.

How can we achieve this when countries are ruled by greed not sense? Maybe it’s time for another revolution – maybe it’s time people, instead of politicians started to run the world. We all have it in our power to change the world – we just need to want it badly enough. Who needs politicians? Belgium has shown us that we don’t actually need governments – their wonderful little country manages quite well without one, thank you very much.

It is evident that cities and any other location where there is huge release of exhaust and industrial fumes and other air pollutants are vulnerable to smog. There are some seasons that favor smog more. Smog is fiercer during hot weather than in the period of colder weather. During hot weather the upper air will be so warm such that it will make it impossible for vertical circulation of these pollutants to take place. The pollutants hover for some period of time over these cities.

Smog is not only caused by vehicle exhaust fumes or other industrial emissions, there are also some natural occurrences that can give rise smog. Volcanic eruption for instance can release huge amount of sulphur dioxide and also particulate matter. These two elements are also instrumental to the formation of smog. When smog is formed as a result of volcanic eruption, it is referred to as vog. The term is used specifically to differentiate the naturally caused smog from man induced smog.

Some studies on the distribution of smog have also revealed that plants can also help in the distribution of smog through their radiocarbon content. Typical example of this is Creosote bush found in Los Angeles. It has been discovered that the bush enhances the distribution of smog even more than the combustion of fossil fuel.

The question then is: has smog any effect on health to spark off such concern nowadays? Definitely, the answer to the above question is yes. There are some dangerous health issues that are associated with smog. People with heart and lung disease can be affected by smog. It has been discovered that greenhouse gases like nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide, ground-level ozone and sulphur dioxide can enhance heart and lung disease. Senior citizens and children are also affected by these gases.

These gases can cause decrease in the functionality of the lung, shortness of breath, difficulty in breathing due to pain, coughing. This is one of the downsides of the greenhouse gases like ozone which protects us from the scorching heat of the sun. Up there in the atmosphere, ozone can be helpful to man but ground level ozone can also lead to burning eyes and noses and other respiratory problem that are associated with smog when it is trapped close to the ground level in situations of heat inversion.

Smog can lead to untimely death in some cases especially when people who are suffering such respiratory problems like asthma are exposed to it.

Besides the above mention people, those who are involved in some outdoor exercise are vulnerable to smog effect. This is because during exercise the rate at which we breathe increases and this exposes the lung to ground-level ozone. Children are also vulnerable to smog especially during summer. This is because, the play more outside during summer and this time favors smog.

Many people think that poor air quality is only inside their home, due to the chemicals used to clean.  Actually, the air outside your home is just as dangerous.  There are many areas of our planet covered with smog.  When gas is released in large quantity to the atmosphere, it creates bigger holes in the ozone layer. These holes are technically known as the ozone holes. The result of this is that ozone holes will become as large as to permit ultraviolent rays from the sun to have direct access to the earth. This can have deadly consequence on man, plants and animals.

These UV rays from the sun can cause skin cancer.  Overexposure of the body to UV rays facilitates the aging process and gives rise to skin wrinkles and crease. Besides, it is the major cause of sunburn. The UV rays do not only affect man but they affect the animals, plants and rivers. Virtually, every living thing abhors excessive heat. With the depletion of the ozone layer by the CFC gas the earth is left without shelter. Plants and animals will be exposed to scorching heat from the sun. The outcome is obvious. The heat will be too much for them to bear. Plants will simply die off and wildlife will also die of heat, starvation and thirst. There will be lack of water for the animals when the rivers and lakes dry up due to excessive heat. It will be good to note that the emission of CFC gas into the atmosphere is now being checkmated thanks to the Montreal Protocol. Montreal Protocol refers to the agreement among nations to control the emission of CFC gas to the atmosphere.

Though ozone layer can be very useful to man, it is also harmful to man especially when it is trapped in the ground level during heat inversion. People who are exposed to smog suffer some respiratory problems. This is due to the exposure to ozone gas at the ground level. It can damage the tissue of the lungs and lead to heart and lungs related problems. Plants are also affected by this ground level ozone gas. It blocks the stomata of the plant and this inhibits plant’s respiratory system. The aftermath of this is poor photosynthesis in plant which will lead to stunted growth in plant. Besides blocking the stomata of the plants, it can also penetrate the stomata and causes the decay of the plant cells.

There are other greenhouse gases that are also classified as pollutants. These greenhouse gases that pollute the air can cause dangerous side effects to man, animal and the environment. Methane is a dangerous greenhouse gas – it is fiercer than carbon dioxide – that is discharge to the atmosphere through landfill and other industrial processes. When it is discharge in large quantity together with other greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, their concentration in the atmosphere will increase. This will alter their natural function. The aftermath of this is global warming – rapid increase in the temperature of the earth’s surface.

There are other effects of dangers of poor air quality and air pollution that are not mentioned here.

Dust mites, even though not severely harmful to health, are still an annoyance to people around them.  They are found in closed and moist spaces. They also multiply if the conditions are moist and humid inside a closed space. Because of their small size and brown all most unnoticeable color, it is very hard to see them with a naked eye.  On top of that, they are highly allergenic and may emit unwanted odor if they are left alone to happily thrive in their newfound habitat.  This is why it is very important to control them by refreshing air.

The indoor air becomes stale as the result of poor circulation. In such conditions, it is very likely that molds will thrive. They are microscopic spores floating around us that we cannot see.  Many people are allergic to molds. Molds also produce toxic chemicals that can further have negative effects on health. For example, Aflatoxin B1 is a toxic chemical that has been found to cause cancers which is produced by molds.

Formaldehyde is another chemical that is present in the air. Formaldehyde is used in various dyes, clothes, fabric, furniture etc.  In short, it is everywhere be it your house or office or outdoor garden. When something toxic is so widespread, one should always be careful and mindful of how to minimize its use. It is an irritant and can cause eyes and throat to itch and may result in choking, vomiting, coughing and inflammation of lungs.  Such effects can be very severe especially in kids and may even cause death.

Not only those, but there are also ordinary contaminants such as dust particles, soot, smoke, metals etc.  They are called the particulate matter pollution by the scientists and are very spread out. These particles are produced by cars, buses, fireplaces, construction sites, industrial resources etc. Asthma, lung problems, and bronchitis are some of its effects. It may cause a much more severe reaction to people who are allergic to dust particles.

 You would be surprised to know how important the quality of air is to our health.  With such compounds in our air as bacteria, fiberglass, formaldehyde and dust mites, it is very important for us to device ways to keep the air clean. There are many chemicals that might have not been discovered yet.  A small effort can go a long way when it comes to cleaner air not only for you but also for your children and pets.  After all, who wants to go to the doctor, if we can prevent it?

 Cleaner air is a very attainable dream. There are many efficient air cleaners out there in the markets that may reduce air contaminants to non-toxic levels. The air contaminants never go away 100% of course, but it can be kept at a low level by using efficient air purifiers, good ventilation plan and hygienic habits.  With healthcare being scarce and expensive, one should do anything and everything possible to prevent any health problems. Better safe than sorry. We didn’t know such information about the importance of air quality a decade ago. The biological and scientists have done an amazing job of finding out such information so that we may become better and well informed society.