Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Human Health
Adverse air quality can kill many organisms including humans. Ozone pollution can cause respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, throat inflammation, chest pain, and congestion. Water pollution causes approximately 14,000 deaths per day, mostly due to contamination of drinking water by untreated sewage in developing countries. Oil spills can cause skin irritations and rashes. Noise pollution induces hearing loss, high blood pressure, stress, and sleep disturbance.
Al Gore Wins Nobel Peace Prize
The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on Friday that Gore would share the prize with the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which also blames human activity for warming the planet.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said in awarding this year's peace prize, it wanted to highlight the importance of battling climate change.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said in awarding this year's peace prize, it wanted to highlight the importance of battling climate change.
Major forms of pollution and major polluted areas
Water pollution
The major forms of pollution are listed below along with the particular pollutants relevant to each of them:
Air pollution, the release of chemicals and particulates into the atmosphere. Common examples include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and nitrogen oxides produced by industry and motor vehicles. Photochemical
ozone and smog are created as nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons react to sunlight.
Water pollution via surface runoff, leaching to groundwater, liquid spills, wastewater discharges, eutrophication and littering.
Soil contamination occurs when chemicals are released by spill or underground storage tank leakage. Among the most significant soil contaminants are hydrocarbons, heavy metals, MTBE[4], herbicides, pesticides and chlorinated hydrocarbons.
Radioactive contamination, added in the wake of 20th century discoveries in atomic physics. (See alpha emitters and actinides in the environment.)
Noise pollution, which encompasses roadway noise, aircraft noise, industrial noise as well as high-intensity sonar.
Light pollution, includes light trespass, over-illumination and astronomical interference.
Visual pollution, which can refer to the presence of overhead power lines, motorway billboards, scarred landforms (as from strip mining), open storage of trash or municipal solid waste.
Thermal pollution, is a temperature change in natural water bodies caused by human influence, such as use of water as coolant in a power plant
The major forms of pollution are listed below along with the particular pollutants relevant to each of them:
Air pollution, the release of chemicals and particulates into the atmosphere. Common examples include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and nitrogen oxides produced by industry and motor vehicles. Photochemical
ozone and smog are created as nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons react to sunlight.
Water pollution via surface runoff, leaching to groundwater, liquid spills, wastewater discharges, eutrophication and littering.
Soil contamination occurs when chemicals are released by spill or underground storage tank leakage. Among the most significant soil contaminants are hydrocarbons, heavy metals, MTBE[4], herbicides, pesticides and chlorinated hydrocarbons.
Radioactive contamination, added in the wake of 20th century discoveries in atomic physics. (See alpha emitters and actinides in the environment.)
Noise pollution, which encompasses roadway noise, aircraft noise, industrial noise as well as high-intensity sonar.
Light pollution, includes light trespass, over-illumination and astronomical interference.
Visual pollution, which can refer to the presence of overhead power lines, motorway billboards, scarred landforms (as from strip mining), open storage of trash or municipal solid waste.
Thermal pollution, is a temperature change in natural water bodies caused by human influence, such as use of water as coolant in a power plant
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