Welcome to our blog...Hdop mzty arr jujow..!Our group members are Haidar,Asyraf,Dzariz,Nadziephah n Husna.....Life must be honest..!haha...:) :p
We'r here cuz of da english project about da pollution..We don't know wt kind of pollution..hehe..:p...but we know it...hakhak..;)
N now,,,we'r gonna tell somthin bout it...blieve us cuz we can do it...!
Lyk wt we said,,hdop mzty arr jujow...:)

air pollution



Air is the ocean we breathe. Air supplies us with oxygen which is essential for our bodies to live. Air is 99.9% nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor and inert gases. Human activities can release substances into the air, some of which can cause problems for humans, plants, and animals. There are several main types of pollution include smog,acid rain, the greenhouse effect, and "holes" in the ozone layer. Each of these problems has serious implications for our health and well-being as well as for the whole environment.
One type of air pollution is the release of particles into the air from burning fuel for energy. Diesel smoke is a good example of this particulate matter . The particles are very small pieces of matter measuring about 2.5 microns or about .0001 inches. This type of pollution is sometimes referred to as "black carbon" pollution. The exhaust from burning fuels in automobiles, homes, and industries is a major source of pollution in the air. Some authorities believe that even the burning of wood and charcoal in fireplaces and barbecues can release significant quantities of pollution into the air.
Another type of pollution is the release of noxious gases, such as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and chemical vapors. These can take part in further chemical reactions once they are in the atmosphere, forming smog and acid rain.
Indoor Pollution

Pollution also needs to be considered inside our homes, offices, and schools. Some of these pollutants can be created by indoor activities such as smoking and cooking. Some people spend about 80-90% of their time inside buildings, and so our exposure to harmful indoor pollutants can be serious. It is therefore important to consider both indoor and outdoor air pollution. Most people are aware that outdoor air pollution can damage their health but may not know that indoor air pollution can also have significant effects. Scientists study human exposure to air pollutants indicate that indoor air levels of many pollutants may be 2-5 times, and occasionally more than 100 times, higher than outdoor levels.
These levels of indoor air pollutants are of particular concern because it is estimated that most people, including children, spend as much as 90% of their time indoors.
Over the past several decades, our exposure to indoor air pollutants is believed to have increased due to a variety of factors, including the construction of more tightly sealed buildings, reduced ventilation rates to save energy, the use of synthetic building materials and furnishings, and the use of chemically formulated personal care products, pesticides, and household cleaners.
In recent years, comparative risk studies that in close cooperation with a effort to a better understand indoor air pollution and to reduce people's exposure
to air pollutants in homes, schools, and other environments where children.
Environmental Tobacco Smoke
(Secondhand Smoke)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Environmental Health reports that 43 percent of children, two months through 11 years of age, live in a home with at least one smoker. Children who live with smokers involuntarily inhale many pollutants in smoke. Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), also known as secondhand smoke, is a complex mixture of more than 4,000 chemicals, including carbon monoxide , nicotine, tars, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide. Several of these chemicals are known human carcinogens or respiratory irritants.
Children exposed to ETS tend to have more bronchitis, pneumonia, respiratory infections, otitis media (fluid in the middle ear), and asthma symptoms. The frequency of infection depends directly on the amount of smoke in the home. Children who live with two smoking parents have more respiratory infections than children who live with one smoking parent. The lowest rates of respiratory infections and asthma are found in children of parents who do not smoke at all. Maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with an increased incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
They estimates that between 150,000 and 300,000 cases of lung infections, such as bronchitis and pneumonia, that occur annually in infants and young children up to 18 months of age may be attributed to exposure to ETS. Of these, 7,500 to 15,000 will result in hospitalization. ETS exposure aggravates the condition of between 200,000 and 1,000,000 asthmatic children. EPA has found that ETS increases fluid in the middle ear, a sign of chronic middle ear disease, the most common cause of hospitalization for surgery in children.
The CDC estimates that children exposed to tobacco smoke in their homes have 18 million more days of restricted activity, 10 million more days of bed confinement, and miss 7 million more school days annually than other children, primarily due to acute and chronic respiratory conditions.
Smog

Relax, breath deeply, and let's talk about the air you just breathed in.
Smog is a nasty mixture of chemicals in the air that can harm human health. As proof, just look how emergency room admissions increase whenever there's a high smog period. For some people, smog causes headaches, burning eyes, coughing, and shortness of breath. Those most at risk are young children, the elderly, and people with asthma and respiratory illnesses. If you suffer from these ailments, stay indoors during periods of high air pollution. Even healthy adults can have trouble breathing when smog levels are high. During smog advisories avoid taking part in strenuous outdoor activities, especially near high traffic areas.
Smog levels are often highest during hot, sunny summer days. Levels are particularly high in cities that lie within the Quebec Windsor corridor, lower New Brunswick and the Lower Fraser Valley near Vancouver. While smog is a problem for urban dwellers, it can also be carried by the wind into rural areas, producing levels as high as, or higher than, those found in cities.
The major sources of smog are motor vehicles, coal fired power plants, and industrial emissions. You can help make things better.
Did you know?
• In Ontario, Canada 15 percent of all infant respiratory admissions to hospitals in the summer are related to high levels of air pollution. Worse yet, in the past decade, childhood asthma rate have increased by 60%.
• The Ministry of the Environment has estimated that smog causes 1,800 premature deaths each year in Ontario.
• Air pollution, much of it caused by smog, adds an extra $1 billion each year to Canada's health costs, according to federal estimates.
• More than 13 million cars now traverse Canada's roads — one for every two Canadians, one of the highest ratios of car ownership in the world. Each of these cars travels, on average, more than 16,000 km per year, a total of some 200 billion kilometers, or more than 1,000 times the distance between the Earth and the sun.
• According to the Canadian Automobile Association, it costs $7,412 to own and operate a motor vehicle. Compare this to $912 for a yearlong transit pass in Toronto or $300 to own and operate a bicycle. A single bus can take up to 40 vehicles off the road, save as much as 70,000 liters of fuel and keep 9 tones of air pollutants per year out of the air.
More Information about Smog
Smog is a serious threat to human health, but there are many ways to reduce this threat. Progress has been made on reducing many smog pollutants through vehicle technology improvements, but the smog problem has not been solved. Gains made through these improvements are lost as more and more cars crowd the roads. The travel choices we make every day can lead to improvements in air quality, enhance our sense of well-being and enrich our communities. Healthy living involves being active. Taking transit, walking, cycling, running and inline skating are action oriented activities that provide pleasant alternatives to our often sedentary lifestyles.
The benefits of clean air don't stop with human health. With more people reducing their car use, less money will be spent on the construction and maintenance of roads. And when we do drive, there will be less congestion, reduced stress and hopefully fewer incidents of "road rage". Even our health care system will be less strained as fewer people visit their doctors or go to hospitals. I believe that's a future people will work towards. We hope you'll prove us right.
In the summer, listen to the radio for smog advisory warnings. When smog levels are high, avoid exercising outside. If you have chronic respiratory problems, asthma or heart disease, stay indoors at these times, and always make sure that you take your medication as prescribed by your doctor. I also urge you to take action to reduce smog and make your air, our air, safer to breathe. Please follow the advice and take action today to combat smog. It's our greatest hope for a cleaner and healthier tomorrow.
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Nitric Oxide (NO)

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is one of a number of important oxides of nitrogen present in the atmosphere. Nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (together termed NOx) are the most abundant man-made oxides of nitrogen in urban areas; these are formed in all high temperature combustion processes, although nitric oxide predominates. Nitric oxide is not generally considered to be harmful to health at the concentration found in the ambient atmosphere.
Approximately 45% of all oxide of nitrogen emission originates from motor vehicles, with most of the remainder arising from power stations and other industrial sources. Since power station and industrial emissions are usually from elevated sources, motor vehicles represent by far the lowest source of low-level nitrogen dioxide emission and therefore make the largest contribution (about 75% or more) to long term ground level concentrations in urban areas.
The highest NOx levels in cities are observed at curbside locations. However, since NO2 is formed from primary emissions of NO by time dependent oxidation processes in the atmosphere, the relative decline in NO2 concentration away from the curbside is slower than for NO.
Several surveys using diffusion tube samplers for NO2 have been undertaken to determine the distribution of background concentrations of NO2 in cities. These have shown that, in general, NO concentrations are greatest in central urban areas. However, this cannot be assumed to be the case: for instance, a recent study in Sheffield identified an industrial area, close to the M1 motor way, with higher NO2 concentrations than the city center.
Sulphur Dioxide (SO2)

Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) is formed by the oxidation of sulphur impurities in fuels during combustion processes. A very high proportion (approximately 85%) of SO2 emissions originates from power stations and industrial sources. As the use of coal for domestic heating has decreased, SO2 emissions and atmospheric concentrations in urban areas have decreased considerably over the last 20-30 years.

Though virtually no SO2 is emitted from petrol engine vehicles, it is emitted from diesels and, as the use of these has increased, curbside concentrations of this pollutant are now observed to be higher than at urban background locations.

Geographically, SO2 concentrations the are highest in urban areas where there is still significant use of coal for domestic heating, such as mining region. Studies have indicated that the highest SO2 concentrations in cities usually occur in the central areas of North America.
Carbon Monoxide (CO)

Carbon Monoxide is a tasteless, odorless, and colorless gas. Carbon Monoxide is created by the incomplete combustion of any carbon-containing fuel, including gasoline and diesel vehicles. It is poisonous to the environment which includes any living organism; plants, animals and humans. CO enters the bloodstream through the lungs and reduces oxygen delivery to the body, organs and tissues. The gas combines with the hemoglobin in our blood, impairing the flow of oxygen to our brain and other parts of the body.
The health threat from carbon monoxide is most serious for those who suffer from cardiovascular disease. At higher levels of exposure, healthy individuals are also affected.
The amount of CO released into the air depends on the emission rate for individual vehicles and the vehicles speed, being highest at very low speeds (traffic).
Since CO is a primary pollutant, its ambient concentrations closely follow emissions. In urban areas, concentrations are therefore highest at the curbside and decrease rapidly with increasing distance from the road. No detailed investigations of the spatial distribution of CO in UK urban areas have been undertaken. However, since traffic is by far the most important source of CO, its spatial distribution will follow that of traffic: this will generally result in the highest level being observed in the city centre

questions

What is air pollution?
What is the effect of air pollution?
What is the cause of air pollution?




ANSWER
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or damages the natural environment, into the atmosphere.

Air pollution will effect our health.

Air pollution come from human activity such as open burning and others.

land pollution
What is Waste?
Waste is something left or not used, such as garbage, trash, litter, or even broken toys and old automobile tires. Finding places to dispose of waste has become a serious problem because there is so much waste and so little space to put it in. We ca control how much we produce by the three R's of the environment-reducing, reusing and recycling.
Reducing


Reducing means using less. If we try to use fewer things that will produce trash, we will be taking the first step toward solving the waste problem. Choose things like cloth towels instead of paper towels. By doing this you will not only save money but also the environment.

Reusing


Reusing is taking items you would ordinary throw away and finding ways to use them again, like cloth towels instead of paper towels. Many people reuse cardboard boxes, glass jars, grocery bags, cards, and envelopes. You can save and reuse plastic bags by turning them inside out, rinsing them, and letting them dry. You can wrap a Birthday present with a Sunday newspaper, the comic section.
Recycling


Recycling is processing waste so that we can use it again. Some of the things people recycle are aluminum, glass, paper, and plastic. When we recycle things, less trash finds its way into bulging garbage dumps. Recycling also uses less energy and natural resources than making new products.
Landfills
Landfills are enormous holes where people dump their garbage. To create landfills, they usually set it up in a natural pit where a low-lying land is surrounded by hills. Sometimes, if the hole isn't big enough, they use earth-moving machines to deepen the hole and build up the sides. They line the inside of the pit to keep any waste from seeping out. Trucks then dump the garbage into the landfill, and tractors spread it around and cover each layer of garbage dirt

water pollution
People cause water pollution when they dump wastes such as chemicals, metals, and oil into oceans, lakes, streams, and so on. Water pollution is a serious problem in Canada and the US. When we pollute water, it can look dirty and smell really bad. Sometimes polluted water contains chemicals and germs that not only kills the aquatic ecosystem, but can make people ill and in some cases, death.

Green water has too many tiny plants called algae growing in it. When algae die, they decompose and use up oxygen that animals need to survive.

Foam or suds in the water which comes from detergents from homes or factories. If the water smells rotten, it might mean sewage has been dumped nearby.

It is difficult to identify all polluted water by appearance because sometimes polluted water doesn't shows no signs.

The Pollution Problem



It is easy to dispose of waste by dumping it into a river or lake. In large or small amounts, dumped intentionally or accidentally, it may be carried away by the current, but will never disappear. It will reappear downstream, sometimes in changed form, or just diluted. Freshwater bodies have a great ability to break down some waste materials, but not in the quantities discarded by today's society. This overload that results, called pollution, eventually puts the ecosystem out of balance.
Sometimes nature itself can produce these imbalances. In some cases, the natural composition of the water makes it unfit for certain uses: e.g., water flowing in the highly saline terrain of the prairies or gushing from highly mineralized springs in some parts of the country cannot sustain fish populations.
But most often our waterways are being polluted by municipal, agricultural and industrial wastes, including many toxic synthetic chemicals which cannot be broken down at all by natural processes. Even in tiny amounts, some of these substances can cause serious harm.
The Great Lakes, the Fraser River, and the St. Lawrence River are and continue to be seriously contaminated by such toxic chemicals.

Mercury

Mercury is a toxic heavy metal, which, when ingested, can cause serious neurological damage, particularly to developing fetuses, infants and children. Consequences of exposure to mercury include permanent and irreversible developmental delaysin learning to walk and talk, in coordination, visual loss, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, abnormal heart rhythms, abnormal reflexes, liver digestion and gastrointinal disturbances. People most at risk include women of childbearing age, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and subsistence fisher people.
Mercury makes its way into our diets primarily by first being emitted into the air and then washed into lakes and streams by rain and snow, where it reacts with bacteria to form organic mercury, the form most toxic to humans.
Mercury comes from coal and oil (32.8 %) burning electric power plants, municipal waste incinerators (18.7%), commercial and industrial boilers (10.1%) hazardous waste incinerators (4.4%) and manufacturing plants (10 %).

The release of mercury into the environment is harmful to both the ecosystem and human health. The comprehensive phase out of mercury's release is ultimately important because of its ability to persist in the environment for a long time. It can then bioaccumulate in aquatic food chains, to the point that consumption of fish is hazardous to birds, mammals and humans. There has been groups that has been working hard to achieve full mercury phase out, and has had many successes to date.

Cadmium

Cadmium is one group of elements known as "heavy metals". They are pollutants produced by industries and mining which can be dangerous to humans and animals even in very small quantities. In the case of cadmium, for example, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that drinking water that contains less then 0.000175 thousandths of an ounce of cadmium per quart (one quarter of a gallon). Concentrations greater than this cause disease of the kidneys and reproductive organs in humans.

Lead (PB)

Exposure to lead occurs mainly through the inhalation of air and the ingestion of lead in food, water, soil, and/or dust. It accumulates in the blood, bones and soft tissues. Because it is not readily excreted, lead can also adversely affect the kidneys, live, the nervous system and other organs.

Excessive exposure to lead may cause neurological impairments such as seizures, mental retardations and/or behavioral disorders. At low doses, fetuses and children often suffer from central nervous system damage. Recent studies also show that lead may be a factor is high blood pressure and subsequent heart disease.

What are the main source of water pollution?

The main source of water pollution is sewage, industries, and agriculture. Sewage is human wastes and water that has been used for bathing and cleaning clothes.
Industry puts three to four more times as many pollutants into water as all of our sewage systems do.
Chemicals and other wastes from farms also pollute our water.

Some farmers use chemical fertilizer to help their crops grow. They also use pesticides to kill pests such as insects and weeds. Rain water can carry these chemicals from the farmland into streams, and rivers. Animal wastes from farms also add to water pollution.

Aquatic ecosystems



In nature nothing exists alone. Living things relate to each other as well as to their non-living, but supporting, environments.
These complex relationships are called ecosystems. Each body of water is a delicately balanced ecosystem in continuous interaction with the surrounding air and land.

Whatever occurs on the land and in the air also affects the water. If a substance enters a river or lake, the water can purify itself biologically — but only to a degree. Whether it is in the smallest stream or lake — or even in the mighty oceans — the water can absorb only so much. It reaches a point where the natural cleaning processes can no longer cope.

How does pollution affect marine life?



People dump hazardous materials into the ocean to get rid of them. Sewage and waste from factories and cities can reach the ocean. This pollution is very harmful. It can kill the plants and animals living in the ocean. Dangerous chemicals like mercury kill the aquatic environment very quickly. Over 360 chemical compounds that have been identified in the Great Lakes. Many are persistent toxic chemicals such as DDT, and mercury potentially dangerous to humans and already destructive to the aquatic ecosystems.

For example, various species of fish now suffer from tumors and lesions, and their reproductive capacities are decreasing. Populations of fish consuming birds and mammals also seem to be on the decline. Of the ten most highly valued species of fish in Lake Ontario, seven have now almost totally vanished.

How to tell if a river/ lake is polluted



· If it has an uncontrolled amount of organic material such as sewage, milk, silage, liquids etc. that is affecting a waterway, the main sign that the water is polluted is that the water would be choked with vegetation.

· In the case of acid rain, the affect on the water is quite the opposite. The water will appear to be crystal clear. This is because the water is too acidic for fish etc. to live in.

· There may be bad smells where toxic waste is involved



question

What is water pollution?
What is the effect of water pollution?
What are the causes of water pollution?

answer

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater caused by human activities, which can be harmful to organisms and plants that live in these water bodies. It occurs when pollutants are discharged directly into water bodies without treating it first.

In rivers, oceans and seas, water pollution effects flora and fauna in them. Further, the birds and animals that consume this contaminated food supply can perish. Blood diseases, nervous system disorders and heart diseases are some of the effects of water pollution. Many toxins in polluted water lead to cancer. Rarely, the body's chromosomal makeup can be altered. Some of the less potent effects are skin lesions, vomiting and diarrhea.


People cause water pollution when they dump wastes such as chemicals, metals, and oil into oceans, lakes, streams, and so on

global change

Every day, millions of human and natural activities are altering the planet on which we live. Over the past century, through our ever-increasing population and mastery of technology, we have been changing the global environment at a pace unknown to natural history.
Greenhouse Effect
Some gases in the Earth's atmosphere act like a greenhouse. The gases let sunlight through and then traps some of it's heat. This natural greenhouse effect warms the Earth just enough for plants and animals to live.
Greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide trap heat near the Earths They are natural part of our atmosphere. People also make greenhouse gases when we burn coal and oil. For example, we make tons of carbon dioxide. These extra gases build up in the atmosphere. This traps more heat and makes the Earth warmer. This is called a global warming.
Global Warming
Global warming is the slow rise in the Earth's temperature. One cause of global warming is the greenhouse effect. If the world's average temperature rises just a little, conditions all over the world could change and cause problems for every living thing.
Some areas could turn into deserts, and others could become permanently flooded (watch the movie "Water World").
Global warming will not happen all of a sudden. We will not see it's effect in the next few months or years. Even though the most harmful effects may not happen in our lifetime, we should learn about global warming and try to stop it.

You can help stop global warming by cutting down on the use of fossil fuels. Walk or ride your bike if you can, instead of riding your car. When you do this, you can use less fuel and create less greenhouse gases. Planting a tree will also help. Trees remove carbon dioxide (see air pollution) from the air.
Shocking Facts
• Mountain Kilimanjaro has lost 75% of it's ice cap since 1912. This ice of Africa's tallest peak could vanish entirely within 15 years.
• Lake Baikal in eastern Siberia now freezes for the winter 11 days later than it did a century ago.
• Montana will lose all the glaciers in Glacier National Park by 2070 if their retreat continues at the current rate.
• Venezuelan mountains had six glaciers in 1972. Today only two remain.
• India's worst heat shock in 50 years killed more than 2,500 people in May 1998.
• Cherry Blossoms in Washington bloom seven days earlier in the spring than they did in 1970.
• Pacific Salmon populations fell sharply in 1997 and 1998, when local ocean temperatures rose 3*C.
• Polar Bears in Hudson Bay are having fewer cubs, possibly as a result of earlier spring ice breakup.
• Coral Reefs suffer from the loss of algae that color and nourish tem. The process, called bleaching, is caused by warmer oceans.
• Diseases like dengue fever are expanding their reach northward in the U.S.

Nuclear Power
Nuclear power stations produce cheaper energy than coal power stations, which helps keep the size of electricity bills down. However, just the burning of coal produces wastes that pollute the environment, nuclear power stations too produce a slightly different waste. These wastes are know as “radioactive wastes” which are very harmful to any type of life and can take hundreds of years to become harmless.
Nowadays, great care is taken to dispose of these wastes in a safe way, but because the waste is stored or buried in particular sites, the dangers of radiation may be greater in these areas. Perhaps the most damaging environment consequences of nuclear power are the potential for accidents. Nuclear power stations are built to be as safe as possible, but humans make mistakes. Although accidents of nuclear plants are statistically very rare, the damage that they would cause is devastating. For example, on April 26th, 1986, two explosions destroyed one of the four nuclear power reactors at Chernobyl, a small town in Russia. Many governments consider the risk to be worth taking, but not everyone agrees with this view.
Radioactive Waste
Nuclear power production produces radioactive waste, which may be a gas, liquid, or solid. These radioactive wastes are normally classified according to their level of radioactivity; high, intermediate and low.
High levels waste remains very dangerous for tens of thousands of years. At present it is turned into glass blocks and stored. Eventually it may be buried.
Intermediate level waste needs to be isolated for thousands of years. It too will probably be buried.
Low levels waste used to be dumped at sea in drums until this was thought to be too dangerous and was stopped in 1983. In Britian, radioactive waste was buried at Drigg in Cumbria. Other low level waste, from the nuclear plant at Sellafielel was released into the Irish Sea. Some people say this is safe but others disagree since the occurrence of leukemia, a disease which attacks red blood cells, is very high around Sellafielel.

oil pollution
The oceans are a key part of the world environment and the seas are important for a variety of economic activities. Among these activities are exploitation of mineral resources, fishing, tourism, trade, exploitation of energy, recreation and transportation.
Sometimes off shores wells, leaky pipelines or oil tankers will spill oil. Oil does not mix with water, the oil just forms a widespread film on top of the water. This floating film is called a oil slick. Oil spills that wash up on land can ruin beaches and shorelines and threaten the plants and animals that live there. The consequences of major oil spills from tankers can be more catastrophic if they are near the coastline. This is because both animals from the land and sea use the shorelines to hunt their food, mate, gather, live and rest. If an oil spill occurred in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for example, it would only affect the marine animals in that area. It still however, would have a horrible affect on the environment.
An oil spill can kill or damage anything that comes in contact with it like birds, fish, otters, turtles, or any other aquatic wildlife. Oil spills are very difficult and expensive to clean up. To clean up oil spills, workers must make a ring of floating devices called booms around the oil spill to stop it from spreading. A pump then collects the oil that floats on the surface of the water. Sometimes clean up crew use material that absorb or soak up the oil spills.
The most important source of oil that enters the sea is that from urban and industry areas that release directly into the oceans or into rivers that flow to the seas. This oil pollutes areas that are usually most important to coastal activities. Over a million tons of oil a year enter the sea deliberately from ships, most of it from tankers that wash out their empty tanks with sea water. Although this is illegal, many tankers still do it in the high seas where no one can see them.
When oil spills occur, oil soaks into the feathers of birds. This removes the air layer that protects them from the cold. Being covered with oil also makes it hard for sea animals to swim since they are unable to dive for food or swim away from predators. The oil can get into their eggs which are laid at the water's edge and kill the baby animals inside. Fish can die because the oil clogs their gills and they can't breathe. Oil also contaminates the food and water needed by the sea animals.
The Mediterranean
The Mediterranean is the filthiest sea in the world. The sea is almost totally enclosed, and takes about 70 years for it's waters to be renewed, since the pollution tends to stay in the sea.
The major pollution sources include domestic sewage from towns and cities, wastes from industries, rivers that collect fertilizers from agricultural land and toxic wastes from nuclear power plants. The sewage varies seasonally in the areas where population increases during the tourist season. Disease associated with bathing in contaminated waters or eating contaminated seafood is very common around the Mediterranean.
Pictures of Oil Pollution are available in the Water Pollution section of the Pictures page.

what you can do
1. Take public transit: On average, one passenger on public transit produces approximately eight times less carbon dioxide than a single driver in a car over the same distance.
2. Get active: Walking, running, cycling and in-line skating are great ways to reduce harmful emissions and improve your health.

3. Fill your car with coworkers: Carpooling saves wear and tear on your vehicle and reduces fuel and parking costs. Call the Ontario governments Share-A-Ride program (1-800-567-4273) for more information.
4. Stay tuned: Having your car's emission control system checked regularly and keeping the tires properly inflated can reduce fuel consumption by 15%.
5. Avoid the rush: Try to establish a telecommuting policy at your office, and work from home for a few days a week. The next time you need to go to a meeting try teleconferencing, or instead of driving to the bank, find out about virtual banking.

6. Plan your trips: Try to organize your errands so that you use your car less. In fact, eliminating four short car trips every week could save up to 100 kg. of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
7. Don't idle: Just 20 seconds of idling consumes more fuel than restarting your engine.
8. Use cleaner fuels: Choose ethanol or methanol when you fill up at a gas station. Alternative fuels have fewer impurities than gasoline and, therefore, produce less emissions that contribute to smog formation. Check with your mechanic to see which fuel is best for your car.
9. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!

10. Composting is easy. You don't need any special knowledge or equipment, and it takes only a little extra effort to collect your wastes and establish an active compost pile. Once you've got it going, it just about takes care of itself.
In nature, organic wastes are broken down through a combination of biological and chemical processes. Biological agents like worms, insects, fungi, bacteria and other micro-organisms "chew up" the materials, which are further transformed by oxidation (exposure to air), reduction and hydrolysis (exposure to water).
How to Compost Successful
For successful composting, you need:
• The right amount of water and air to keep the biological and chemical processes functioning.

• The right temperature. Ever notice how quickly things go 'bad' in warm - weather? For the purposes of composting, the warmer it gets, the better. In a cool environment, the composting process slows down. The internal temperature of a compost pile is also important. When the process of decomposition is at its peak, the compost will tend to generate quite a bit of heat. In a sense it's 'cooking'.

• The right container, you should use a compost unit. You can build your own or buy one from your local hardware store or garden supply centre. Some municipalities offer composts at a special price, to encourage their residents to use them.
Building a Compost
Building your own compost will allow you to design a unit to suit your specific needs. A compost can be made of wood, concrete blocks, wire mesh or almost any material you have available.
The three most essential features in a compost are:
• A lid that protects the pile from rain and snow and allows you to control how much moisture gets in.
• Holes or vents to allow air circulation.
• A means of removing the final product.
Here are some design ideas:
• A wire mesh bin with a hinged front panel;
• A three-sided cement block bin with an open front that will allow you to turn the pile and remove the finished compost easily;
• A circular unit made from chicken wire or snow fencing that can be opened up to collect the finished compost;
• A wooden pallet or two-by-four box with a lid and spaces for ventilation
• A metal barrel or garbage can with holes punched in the side and the bottom removed; or
• For more advanced enthusiasts, a unit with several compartments can be used to manage compost at different stages - raw materials, active piles and finished product.
Put your unit in a level, well-drained, accessible area. If you live in a part of the country that has winter weather, make sure you can get to your compost all year round.
Add other organic materials in layers no deeper than l 5 centimeters. Cover each successive layer of organic material with about 5 centimeters of ordinary garden soil. This contains micro-organisms that will accelerate the process: A layer of soil also helps to mask any odours.
Pour water onto the pile until it is about as moist as a wrung out sponge.
Turn the pile once a week to mix all the materials evenly and expose them to air.
Continue to add material as you go along. Always remember to cover new material with a layer of soil and to keep the pile moist.
If conditions are right, your compost pile will begin to heat up, eventually reaching an internal temperature of about 60-70 C. The pile will actually feel hot to the touch. As the chemical reactions-slow down, the pile will begin to cool to about 40-45 C. The decomposition process is then complete The finished product will be a dark, rich, soil-like substance with a good earthy smell.
How to get Started
You don't have to run to the compost every time you peel a potato. Many people keep their kitchen wastes under the sink in a large plastic container with a resealable lid and a handle. When the container is full, they empty it into the compost pile. This reduces the number of trips they have to make. If you have yard waste, find a suitable area to keep the materials until you can add them to the compost pile. When you rake up the dead leaves on your lawn, store them in bags so that you can add them to the compost file at regular intervals rather than all at once in the fall. In warmer climates, your compost may continue to 'cook' (at a slower rate) through the winter, so you can keep adding new materials. In colder climates, keep adding materials. When the temperature rises-in spring, the process will start again.
When you have enough finished compost, mix it into your soil and spread it evenly throughout your garden.
Place bulky loose materials like twigs, woody plant cuttings and sticks at the bottom of the bin. This will let air circulate through the pile.
Helpful Hints
Be patient. Different materials will decompose at different rates but they will all break down eventually. If you want to speed things up, use smaller pieces.
Leaves and grass tend to clump together when wet. To avoid this, allow grass clippings and leaves to dry out before putting them in your compost. Adding small amounts at a time and mixing them with dry materials will also help.
It may be easier to use two composts one for new materials and one for ingredients that are already cooking.

Questions About Indoor Air Quality?









Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service

South Carolinians want their homes to be free from indoor air pollutants and toxic substances that can affect the health of children and other family members. You spend 80 to 90 percent of your time indoors, and you may have family members with health conditions which are affected by pollutants.

While pollutant levels from a single source may not be a health risk, some homes have many sources which contribute to indoor air pollution. Fortunately, there are ways to control or eliminate most pollutants at a relatively low cost. These control measures will help you to achieve a healthy house.

This publication answers common questions about indoor air pollutants and discusses ways to reduce or eliminate the problems. For additional information about radon, contact the Clemson University Housing Institute or your County Extension Office for copies of "A Citizen's Guide to Radon," "How to Reduce Radon Levels in Your Home," and "Home Buyers and Sellers Guide to Radon."

What causes indoor air pollution problems?

Indoor air pollution results when man-made and natural chemicals, gases, particles, and other substances are produced or released in or near the home. Common pollutants found in homes are volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, particulates, radon, asbestos, and combustion gases and by-products.

These pollutants come from a variety of sources such as household cleaning products, wood or fuels that are burned, building materials and products, furnishings, paint strippers, pesticides, the soil under a house, and human activities.

Some sources, like air fresheners, release pollutants almost continuously. Others, like unvented space heaters, produce pollutants occasionally or when they are used.

Has anyone set acceptable pollution levels for the home?

Pollution standards exist for outside air and for the work place, but there are no standards for pollutant levels in the home. However, when homes have been monitored, pollutant levels indoors have sometimes exceeded "safe" outdoor or work levels.

An "acceptable" pollution level in your home may depend on such varied factors as:

whether or not family members have chronic illnesses - especially respiratory or illnesses aggravated by pollutants
whether there are children or elderly family members who may be more sensitive to pollutant effects
whether products or materials used in the home produce pollutants and how often they are used
the effectiveness of your home ventilation system and the distribution of air throughout the house
How do indoor pollutants affect the health of my family?

You may feel the effects of exposure to an indoor pollutant immediately after exposure, or the problem may not show up until years later. Immediate effects include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat; headaches; dizziness and fatigue. Age, preexisting conditions, and sensitivity to the pollutant can all affect whether a person reacts to a pollutant.

Other health effects may show up years after exposure or after repeated or long exposure. These effects can include central nervous system damage, chromosomal damage, and cancer. Health effects associated with some indoor air pollutants are summarized in following table.

Table I: Common Indoor Air Pollutants, Sources, Health Impacts, Controls and Detection

Pollutant Sources Health Impacts Controls* Detection
Asbestos Insulation on pipes and ducts, wood stove gaskets, ceiling tiles, resilient flooring and tiles, thermal insulation; deteriorating, damaged or disturbed insulation, fireproofing, or acoustical material Lung cancer, asbestosis, mesothelioma Do not disturb existing asbestos containing materials; for asbestos-containing materials that are friable (flaking or crumbling), coat with a sealant, enclose with airtight structure or have removed by a professional asbestos abatement contractor. Bulk sample sent to lab for analysis: contact your county Extension office or DHEC for a list of laboratories; air sample taken by industrial hygienist using special equipment.
Biological contaminants Molds, mildews, fungi, bacteria, viruses, dust mites; wet or moist walls, ceilings, carpets and furniture; poorly maintained humidifiers, dehumidifiers, and air conditioning; bedding, household pets Allergies, respiratory irritation, infectious diseases; eye, nose and throat irritations; fever; humidifier fever; influenza Control relative humidity in house; ventilation and use of outside vented exhaust fans; if humidifiers are used, clean reservoir daily with chlorine bleach or disinfectant, or follow manufacturer's instructions for cleaning; seal ductwork, especially those located in crawl spaces. Air sample taken by industrial hygienist using special equipment; odor of mold and mildew; relative humidity can be checked with sling psychrometer or humidity sensor.
Combustion Products Unvented space heaters (natural gas, kerosene, fuel oil, and charcoal), unvented gas stoves, wood stoves and fireplaces; tobacco smoke; human respiration; outside air Headaches, drowsiness, dizziness (carbon dioxide); impairment of vision and brain functioning, irregular heart functioning, nausea, mental confusion, death (carbon monoxide); respiratory distress and lung damage (nitrogen dioxide) Supply adequate combustion air for appliances, especially by use of outside air for combustion; have gas or oil furnaces and exhaust systems checked annually; use exhaust fans vented to outside; use catalytic converters on wood burning heaters; air cleaners. Eliminate use of kerosene space heaters. Inexpensive carbon monoxide monitors available; check with county Extension office, county health department. No simple test for carbon dioxide; check with county health department. Dosimeters available for nitrogen dioxide available from industrial health and safety supply companies; check with county Extension office, county health department; consult gas utility supplier.
Formaldehyde Pressed wood products (hardwood plywood wall paneling, particle board, fiberboard) and furniture made with these pressed wood products; ureaformaldehyde foam insulation (UFFI) and furnishings made with ureaformaldehyde; finishes on home textiles, durable press drapes, and some glues Irritation of skin, eyes, nose and throat; respiratory irritation, respiratory function impairment; cancer; chromosome damage Use building materials with little or no formaldehyde; seal formaldehyde-containing floor and wall surfaces with vinyl flooring, vinyl wallpaper and formaldehyde- absorbent paint; air cleaners; ventilate area of house where formaldehyde-containing products are in use. House ventilation, outside-vented exhaust fans, air filters and cleaners; restrict use of products or equipment; use alternative products. Dosimeters available; check with county Extension office, county health department. Visual identification by source and location; personal exposure meters, microenvironment samplers; check with county Extension office, county health department.
Particulates Dust, pollen, cleaning and cooking sprays; environmental tobacco smoke; fireplaces, wood stoves, kerosene heaters, unvented gas or space heaters Eye, nose, throat irritation; respiratory infections and bronchitis; lung cancer (long term risk) Regularly change filters on heating/cooling systems and air cleaners; vent all furnaces to outdoors; eliminate unvented space heaters and gas appliances; have trained professional inspect, clean, and tune-up central heating system; repair leaks promptly. Bulk sample sent to lab for analysis: contact your county Extension office or DHEC for a list of laboratories; air sample taken by industrial hygienist using special equipment.
Radon Soil, well-water from private supplies No immediate symptoms; lung cancer (long term risk); smokers at higher risk of developing radon-induced lung cancer House ventilation; seal cracks in floors, walls and ceilings; soil ventilation; house pressure control; seal ductwork. Test your home to determine radon level. Test kits available from county Extension offices in South Carolina. Monitors or detectors available: check with county Extension office, county health department for sources.
Volatile Organic Compounds Household chemicals and products (including pesticides, painting supplies, solvents, adhesives, cleaners and waxes, moth crystals, air fresheners, fabric protectors, chlorine bleach), aerosol propellants; dry cleaned products; tobacco smoke and combustion processes Range of possible effects from headaches, eye and respiratory irritations to central nervous system disorders; liver/kidney effects; cancer; chromosome damage Follow use and storage instructions on labels. Use outside vented exhausts; increase ventilation in house; use solvents and paint products outside when possible; use alternative products; air cleaners. Dosimeters to test for specific chemicals and materials available from industrial health and safety supply companies; check with county Extension office, county health department for sources; air sample taken by industrial hygienist using special equipment.

* Controls other than those mentioned may be suitable for individual houses; not all controls listed may be appropriate for individual houses

You and your doctor may not be sure of the cause of an illness. Most pollutants can't be seen, smelled, tasted or felt, and pollutant-related illnesses may mimic the effects of a cold or virus. Also, with many pollution sources in the house, it may be difficult to single out which ones are causing the problem. In addition, since some health effects take years to develop, a person may be unaware of a pollutant that may be contributing to future health problems.

How do I know if there is a pollution problem in my house?

If you are concerned about air quality in your house, you can make a common-sense diagnosis by documenting health complaints. You can also have tests done or samples taken to test for various pollutants. Professionals often use the following questions when considering the possibility of indoor air pollution:

What health complaints have been experienced by you or members of your family?
Are complaints reported by more than one family member?
When were these complaints first noticed?
Can you associate these complaints with certain events or activities, like moving to a new house, remodeling, or adding new furnishings, carpeting or draperies?
Do the health complaints occur seasonally, at a particular time of the day, or when a family member is in a particular part of the house?
How often do the complaints occur and how long do they last?
Do the complaints or reactions go away when you are away from the house? Do they return when you return home?
Do visitors have the same reactions or health complaints?
Are the complaints or reactions less severe when you ventilate the house?
Sampling techniques that detect and measure pollutants in your house vary in difficulty and expense. Testing for some pollutants, like volatile organic compounds (VOC), carbon dioxide and asbestos, may require a certified industrial hygienist using special equipment. These tests can cost up to several hundred dollars. You can purchase inexpensive monitors or detectors which measure for formaldehyde, radon, nitrogen dioxide, water vapor and other pollutants. The devices can be installed and left in your house for a certain period of time. Usually you must return them to a laboratory for analysis. You'll receive test results and follow-up information from the laboratory. The cost of analysis is often included in the purchase price of the monitor or detector.

One exception is asbestos. A homeowner can send a sample of a suspected asbestos-containing material to a lab for "bulk analysis." Ask the laboratory about how to take the samples and what safety precautions to observe.

If you suspect that there may be asbestos fibers circulating throughout your house, a different process is used. A sample for airborne asbestos fibers requires special equipment and the skills of a trained asbestos removal contractor or certified industrial hygienist. You may find these listed in the yellow pages or business section of your telephone directory.

Will I cause indoor pollution problems if I weatherize my home?

Some people who have made homes more energy efficient wonder if they've made the house too "tight." Symptoms associated with a "tight" house can be high relative humidity, interior mildew and molds, frequent condensation on windows or stale air.

Energy conservation measures do not cause indoor air pollution. But when you weatherize a house, you seal up cracks and openings and reduce the natural air flow through the house. When you add storm windows, weather stripping or caulking, concentrations of indoor air pollutants that are already in the home can increase. On the positive side energy conservation measures increase your comfort and usually result in lower heating and cooling costs. You don't have to give up the benefits of weatherization. You can take steps to minimize pollution from sources inside the home. You can also dilute or remove the pollutants.

What can I do to reduce or remove pollutants?

There are three basic strategies to improve the air quality in your home.

Source control is usually the most effective. Some sources, like an unvented kerosene space heater, can be eliminated or replaced with a more efficient, nonpolluting space heater. Other sources, like carpets and enamel paints which contain high levels of VOCs, or furniture which can contain high levels of formaldehyde can be replaced by materials with much lower levels, like latex paints or low-formaldehyde upholstery. Ask for these kinds of products where you normally buy the items. Other sources of pollutants, like the propellants in aerosol spray cans, can be eliminated by using a pump sprayer instead.

Improving ventilation may lower the concentration of pollutants in your home. Simply opening windows and doors will usually increase the natural ventilation rate. Turning on bathroom or kitchen exhaust fans, which are vented to the outside, can remove pollutants from these rooms. If you have a radon problem, keep a window open when using fans so that more radon is not drawn through the soil and into the house.

NOTE: Exhaust fans can cause backdrafting of combustion appliances if there isn't enough replacement air entering the house. When this happens, combustion exhaust products may spill into the house. If your house is very tight, use a balanced system which includes both exhaust and intake of air.

Larger mechanical ventilation systems can be expensive to install and operate. Whole-house ventilation can be a part of the heating and cooling system or it can be totally separate. An exhaust-only system draws replacement air through various openings throughout the house. A balanced system adds fresh air intakes to supply the same amount of air which is exhausted from the house. The system might include some types of heat recovery which use outgoing warm air to preheat incoming cold winter air.

If you look into a whole-house ventilation system, be sure that:

the system supplies fresh air to bedroom(s) and living areas,
exhaust air is removed from the kitchen and bathroom(s), and
the distribution system is effective to all other rooms in the house. Sometimes source control can be less expensive than increasing ventilation which can also increase energy costs.
Air cleaners can be effective for removing some pollutants. Air cleaners are generally designed to remove particles and some gases from the air.

The effectiveness of an air cleaner depends on:

how well it collects pollutants from the air (percentage efficiency rate);
how much air it draws through the cleaning or filtering element (cubic feet per minute) and
whether it removes particles, gases or both. The effectiveness of air cleaners for radon reduction in the home has not been established and at present is not recommended by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Where can I go for more information or assistance?

Your county Cooperative Extension Service office has additional materials on indoor air quality, sources of monitoring devices and names of local or county health agencies who can provide assistance. They can also refer you to an Extension specialist at Clemson University for general information as well as information about research, technical studies, and state and federal agencies who work with indoor air quality.

Your local health department may also be able to help or refer you to an appropriate state agency. Your telephone directory yellow pages may also have listings for commercial firms which supply testing devices or other services. Check under such headings as "Industrial Hygienists," "Formaldehyde Dosimeters," "Asbestos Sampling/Removal," "Pesticide Sampling," "Radon Dosimeters/ Samplers," and "Industrial Health and Safety Supply."

Glossary

Backdrafting - A condition in which the normal movements of combustion gases up a flue is reversed, causing the combustion products to enter the home. Backdrafting can occur when depressurization in the house overcomes the natural tendency of the exhaust gases to rise.

Exhaust Fan - A fan which blows indoor air out of a house. Exhaust fans can cause outdoor air and radon to leak in at other parts of the house to make up for the air blown out by the exhaust fan. Exhaust fans can also cause backdrafting.

Heat Recovery Ventilators/Heat Exchangers -Equipment used to transfer heat from one air flow to another. Heat from indoor air being exhausted to the outside is transferred to incoming air from the outdoors without the two air flows being mixed.

Infiltration - The unplanned movement of outdoor air or radon into a house through leaks and cracks in the house.

Radon - Radon is the only naturally occurring radioactive gas. The term is usually used to refer to radon 222, the radon isotope which is present inside houses. Radon-222 is directly created by the decay of radium-226 and has a half-life of 3.82 days.

Tight House - A house with a low air exchange rate, often below 0.5 air changes per hour (ACH).

Ventilation Rate - The rate at which outdoor air enters a house displacing indoor air. The ventilation rate depends on the house construction, weather conditions, and the use of appliances (like fans) that affect air movement. The rate is commonly expressed in terms of ACH or cubic feet per minute. It includes both natural ventilation (infiltration) and mechanical ventilation.

References

Residential Indoor Air Quality in North Carolina. 1985. American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Washington, D. C.

EPA Indoor Air Quality Implementation Plan. Appendix A: Preliminary Indoor Air Pollution Information Assessment.

EPA-600/8-87. 1987. U.S. Environment Protection agency, Washington, D. C.

EPA Indoor Air Quality Implementation Plan. Appendix E: Indoor Air Reference Data Base. EPA-660/8-87- 016. 1987. U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.

The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality. EPA/ 400/1-88/004. September, 1988. U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, D. C.

Guidance for Indoor Air Quality Investigations. January, 1987. Hazard Evaluations and Technical Assistance Branch, Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations and Field Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio.


Disclaimer and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not represent NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears by permission of the author and/or copyright holder. More

NASD Review: 04/2002

This publication was adapted, with permission, by Craig Dewitt, Clemson Extension Housing Specialist, from a similar document published by North Carolina State University.

For more information contact any of these numbers: Clemson University Housing Institute (803) 656-0114 South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (800) 768-0362 United States Environmental Protection Agency (800) SOS-RADON.

The Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to people of all ages, regardless of color, race, sex, religion, national origin, or disability and is an equal opportunity employer. Clemson University Cooperating with U.S. Department of Agriculture, South Carolina Counties, Extension Service, B.K. Webb, Director, Clemson, S.C. Issued in Furtherance of Cooperative Extension Work in Agriculture and Home Economics, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914

acid rain

Sulfur and nitrogen oxides do their damage not only in the form of airborne ozone and particulate, but in the form of acid rain, which threatens entire forest and aquatic ecosystems. Once emitted into the air, sulfur and nitrogen oxides form sulfates and nitrates, respectively, which are the principle components of acid rain. The victims to the impacts of acid rain are national treasures and forests.
Acid in rain, clouds and fog damage trees in two primary ways: (1) Directly damaging the needles and foliage, making them more vulnerable to adverse conditions including cold temperatures, and (2) Depleting nutrients from the soils in which the trees grow. Acid clouds and fog generally have even higher concentrations of damaging sulfates and nitrates than does acid rain. Thus, acid deposition is linked to the decline of red spruce growing at high elevations or in coastal areas which are immersed in acid clouds and fogs for long time periods.
Lake and stream ecosystems are also vulnerable to the effects of acid rain. As the acidity of the lakes and streams increases, the number of species that can live therein declines. It is not unusual to see episodic acidification of lakes and streams in the Great Lakes in which very few species can survive and nearly none can reproduce.
Moreover, acid rain in water causes an increase in aluminum concentrations, which is toxic to many fish species.
In 1990 Congress amended the Clean Air Act, calling for dramatic reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions to address the acid rain problem.
Despite the success of the acid rain program in reducing emissions of sulfur dioxide by about 25% thus far, eastern lakes have shown little or no improvement. Of 202 monitored lakes in Southeastern Canada, 67 percent have shown no improvement in acidity status. Moreover, forests at high elevations, while the stream water "can still pickle the leaves that fall from the trees" The reason for the program's failure to bring about the recovery of these ecosystems is simple, the program did not require deep enough cuts in SO2 or NOx.
What is Acid Rain
People make acid rain by putting pollutants in the air. Each day, automobiles exhaust pipes and chimneys from factories spew chemicals into the air. These chemicals become part of the rainwater in the clouds and form acids. When this acid rain falls, all the acids end up in our soil and in our lakes, rivers, and oceans.
When acid rain soaks into the ground, it dissolves valuable minerals in the soil and carries them away. Acid rain also damages tree leaves, slows plant growth, and changes the streams and lakes into which it falls. It destroys foods that fish eat and keep fish from hatching.
What is an Acid?
An acid is a chemical compound that tastes sour and will dissolve in water. An acid can irritate your skin and eyes. Some acids are so strong that they can actually dissolve rocks. The pH scale is used to describe the strength of an acid. This scale goes from 0, which means very acid, to 14, which means not acid at all.
What does acid rain do to trees and the environment?

The impact of acid rain on trees ranges from minimal to severe, depending on the region of the country and on intensity and type of air pollutant. Acid rain, acid fog and acid vapor damage the surfaces of leaves and needles, reduce a trees ability to withstand cold, and inhibit plant germination and reproduction. Consequently, tree vitality and regenerative capability are reduced.
When acid rain soaks into the ground, it dissolves valuable minerals in the soil. Acid rain also damages tree leaves, slow plant growth, changes streams and lakes into which it falls. It can also destroy foods that fish eat and keep fish eggs from hatching.
How does acid rain damage structures?

Many of the statues, bridges, and buildings in our cities are made of limestone. Limestone reacts with the chemicals in the acid rain by dissolving. After being exposed to acid rain year after year, these structures can become pitted, weakened and even destroyed.
How else does acid rain affect forests?
Prolonged exposure to acid rain causes forest soils to lose valuable nutrients. It also increases the concentration of aluminum in the soil, which interferes with the uptake of nutrients by the trees. Lack of nutrients causes trees to grow more slowly or to stop growing altogether.
More visible damage, such as defoliation, may show up later. Trees exposed to acid rain may also have more difficulty withstanding other stresses, such as drought, disease, insect pests and cold weather.
The ability of forests to withstand acidification depends on the ability of
the forest soils to neutralize the acids. This is determined by much the same geological conditions that affect the acidification of lakes.
Consequently, the threat to forests is largest in those areas where lakes are also seriously threatened – in central Ontario, southern Quebec, and the Atlantic provinces. These areas receive about twice the level of acid rain that forests can tolerate without long-term damage. Forests in upland areas may also experience damage from acid fog that often forms at higher elevations.
Are these effects reversible?
Acid rain induces irreversible changes to forest soils and their fertility in parts of Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces, as well as in the northeastern United States. For now, forests in affected areas where acid rain exceeds the critical loads are using the pool of minerals accumulated during pre industrial times although some monitoring sites are already deficient and visual damage has appeared. The loss of nutrients in forest soils may threaten the long-term sustain ability of forests in areas with sensitive soils.
What is an alkali?
An alkali is a chemical compound that is the opposite of an acid. By adding just the right amount of an alkali to an acid, it is possible for them to mix and become neutralized. This means the mixture is neither acid nor alkali.

health affect

Air pollution can affect our health in many ways with both short-term and long-term effects. Different groups of individuals are affected by air pollution in different ways. Some individuals are much more sensitive to pollutants than are others. Young children and elderly people often suffer more from the effects of air pollution. People with health problems such as asthma, heart and lung disease may also suffer more when the air is polluted. The extent to which an individual is harmed by air pollution usually depends on the total exposure to the damaging chemicals, i.e., the duration of exposure and the concentration of the chemicals must be taken into account.
Examples of short-term effects include irritation to the eyes, nose and throat, and upper respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. Other symptoms can include headaches, nausea, and allergic reactions. Short-term air pollution can aggravate the medical conditions of individuals with asthma and emphysema. In the great "Smog Disaster" in London in 1952, four thousand people died in a few days due to the high concentrations of pollution.
Long-term health effects can include chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and even damage to the brain, nerves, liver, or kidneys. Continual exposure to air pollution affects the lungs of growing children and may aggravate or complicate medical conditions in the elderly. It is estimated that half a million people die prematurely every year in the United States as a result of smoking cigarettes.
Research into the health effects of air pollution is ongoing. Medical conditions arising from air pollution can be very expensive. Healthcare costs, lost productivity in the workplace, and human welfare impacts cost billions of dollars each year.
Asthma and Upper Respiratory Illnesses

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes airways to tighten and narrow, causing difficulty in breathing. For the past 15 years, an epidemic of asthma has been occurring in the Canada and the United States. Although asthma has become a major public health problem affecting Canadians and Americans of all ages, races, and ethnic groups, children have been particularly severely affected. The epidemic is most severe among lower income and minority children.
Physicians don't know the main cause of asthma, but they do know that the tendency to develop asthma is often inherited. All children with asthma have airways that are overly sensitive, or hyper-reactive, to certain asthma triggers. Things that trigger asthma attacks (also known as "episodes", exacerbation's" or "flares") differ from person to person.
Some common triggers are exercise, allergies, viral infections, and smoke. The sensitive airway linings react to trigger exposure by becoming inflamed, swollen, and filled with mucus.
The muscles lining the swollen airways tighten and constrict, making them even more narrowed and obstructed. These reactions, in turn, can cause coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. The symptoms, frequency, severity and duration of an asthma episode also vary from child to child.

Common Asthma Triggers
Allergic
House dust mites
Mold or yeast spores
Pollen
Cat hair, saliva and urine
Dog hair and saliva
Cockroach particles
Aspirin or other non steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs
Metabisulfite, used as a preservative in many beverages and some foods
Non-allergic
Tobacco smoke
Smog
Natural gas, propane, or kerosene used as cooking fuel
Wood smoke
Coal smoke
Gas, wood, coal, and kerosene heating units its
Paint fumes
Viral respiratory infections
Exercise
Weather changes

Here are some really good links to get more info about pollution.
If you like to exchange links please e-mail me.

www.pollution.com
- All information about every kind of pollution. A very good web-site.
www.ec.gc.ca/envhome.html
- Environment Canada Web-Site
www.canadiangeographic.ca
- Canadian Geographic, a very good place for news articles
www.greenpeace.org.
- Good news coverage about the Environment
www.epa.gov
- The US Environmental Agency
http://www.spiritone.com/~gdy52150/ar.htm
-Information about Acid Rain
www.canada.gc.ca
-The government of Canada's web site, just go to there environmental section
http://members.iinet.net.au/~hydros/nuclear/nuclear_energy.htm
-Information about nuclear energy
http://nova.nuc.umr.edu/~ans/QA.html
-Questions and Answers about nuclear energy
http://www.batguano.com/nuclear/nucgallery.html
-Pictures of nuclear bombs exploding as test, thank you America for your death clouds. I feel safeir already

I will update more links in the near future. If you want to exchange links or you know other pollution sites, please e-mail me.

Global warming
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For past climate change, see paleoclimatology and geologic temperature record.



Global mean surface temperature anomaly relative to 1961–1990


Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1999 to 2008 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980
Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the last century.[1][A] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that anthropogenic greenhouse gases are responsible for most of the observed temperature increase since the middle of the twentieth century,[1] and that natural phenomena such as solar variation and volcanoes probably had a small warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 and a small cooling effect afterward.[2][3] These basic conclusions have been endorsed by more than 40 scientific societies and academies of science,[B] including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries.[4][5]
Climate model projections summarized in the latest IPCC report indicate that global surface temperature will likely rise a further 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) during the twenty-first century.[1] The uncertainty in this estimate arises from the use of models with differing climate sensitivity, and the use of differing estimates of future greenhouse gas emissions. Some other uncertainties include how warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the globe. Most studies focus on the period up to 2100. However, warming is expected to continue beyond 2100, even if emissions stop, because of the large heat capacity of the oceans and the long lifetime of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.[6][7]
Increasing global temperature will cause sea levels to rise and will change the amount and pattern of precipitation, likely including expansion of subtropical deserts.[8] The continuing retreat of glaciers, permafrost and sea ice is expected, with the Arctic region being particularly affected. Other likely effects include shrinkage of the Amazon rainforest and Boreal forests, increases in the intensity of extreme weather events, species extinctions and changes in agricultural yields.
Political and public debate continues regarding the appropriate response to global warming. The available options are mitigation to reduce further emissions; adaptation to reduce the damage caused by warming; and, more speculatively, geoengineering to reverse global warming. Most national governments have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Contents [hide]
1 Radiative forcing
1.1 Greenhouse gases
1.2 Aerosols
1.3 Ozone
1.4 Solar variation
2 Temperature changes
3 Feedback
4 Climate models
5 Attributed and expected effects
5.1 Environmental
5.2 Economic
6 Responses to global warming
6.1 Mitigation
6.1.1 Emissions reduction
6.1.2 Geoengineering
6.2 Adaptation
7 Economic and political debate
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
11 Further reading
12 External links
Radiative forcing



Components of the current radiative forcing as estimated by the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report.
The Earth's climate changes in response to external forcings, including changes in greenhouse gas concentrations, variations in Earth's orbit around the Sun,[9][10][11] changes in solar luminosity, and volcanic eruptions.[12] The thermal inertia of the oceans and slow responses of other indirect effects mean that climate can take centuries or longer to adjust to changes in forcing. Climate commitment studies indicate that even if greenhouse gases were stabilized at 2000 levels a further warming of about 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) would still occur.[13]
Greenhouse gases
Main articles: Greenhouse gas and Greenhouse effect


Recent increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Monthly CO2 measurements display small seasonal oscillations in an overall yearly uptrend; each year's maximum is reached during the Northern Hemisphere's late spring, and declines during the Northern Hemisphere growing season as plants remove some CO2 from the atmosphere.
The greenhouse effect was discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and first investigated quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius in 1896.[14] It is the process by which absorption and emission of infrared radiation by atmospheric gases warm a planet's lower atmosphere and surface. Existence of the greenhouse effect as such is not disputed even by those who do not agree that the recent temperature increase is attributable to human activity. The question is instead how the strength of the greenhouse effect changes when human activity increases the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases.
Naturally occurring greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about 33 °C (59 °F), without which Earth would be uninhabitable.[15][C] The major greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes about 36–70 percent of the greenhouse effect (not including clouds); carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes 9–26 percent; methane (CH4), which causes 4–9 percent; and ozone, which causes 3–7 percent.[16][17]
Human activity since the industrial revolution has increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to increased radiative forcing from CO2, methane, tropospheric ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide. The concentrations of CO2 and methane have increased by 36% and 148% respectively since the mid-1700s.[18] These levels are considerably higher than at any time during the last 650,000 years, the period for which reliable data has been extracted from ice cores.[19] Less direct geological evidence indicates that CO2 values this high were last seen approximately 20 million years ago.[20] Fossil fuel burning has produced approximately three-quarters of the increase in CO2 from human activity over the past 20 years. Most of the rest is due to land-use change, in particular deforestation.[21]
CO2 concentrations are continuing to rise due to burning of fossil fuels and land-use change. The future rate of rise will depend on uncertain economic, sociological, technological, and natural developments. The IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios gives a wide range of future CO2 scenarios, ranging from 541 to 970 ppm by the year 2100.[22] Fossil fuel reserves are sufficient to reach this level and continue emissions past 2100 if coal, tar sands or methane clathrates are extensively exploited.[23]
Aerosols
Global dimming, a gradual reduction in the amount of global direct irradiance at the Earth's surface, may have partially counteracted global warming during the period 1960-1990. Human-caused aerosols likely precipitated this effect. Scientists have stated with 66–90% confidence that the effects of human-caused aerosols, along with volcanic activity, have offset some of the warming effect of increasing greenhouse gases.[1] Anthropogenic emissions of other pollutants—notably sulfate aerosols—can exert a cooling effect by increasing the reflection of incoming sunlight. This partially accounts for the cooling seen in the temperature record in the middle of the twentieth century,[24] though the cooling may also be due in part to natural variability. James Hansen and colleagues have proposed that the effects of the products of fossil fuel combustion—CO2 and aerosols—have, for the short term, largely offset one another, so that net warming in recent decades has been driven mainly by non-CO2 greenhouse gases.[25]
Ozone
Ozone depletion, the steady decline in the total amount of ozone in Earth's stratosphere, is sometimes cited in relation to global warming. Although there are a few areas of linkage the relationship between the two is not strong. Reduction of stratospheric ozone has a cooling influence, but substantial ozone depletion did not occur until the late 1970s.[26] Tropospheric ozone is a positive forcing and contributes to surface warming.
Solar variation


Solar variation over the last thirty years.
Main article: Solar variation
It has been suggested that recent climate change may be due to variations in solar output,[27][28] and that climate models may overestimate the relative effect of greenhouse gases compared to solar forcing.[29] Even with an enhanced climate sensitivity to solar forcing, most of the warming since the mid-20th century is attributable to the increases in greenhouse gases.[29] Others have suggested that the Sun may have contributed about 45–50 percent of the increase in the average global surface temperature over the period 1900–2000, and about 25–35 percent between 1980 and 2000.[30] There has been no increase of solar brightness over the last 1,000 years.[31] Solar cycles led to a negligible increase in brightness over the last 30 years, but this effect is too small to contribute significantly to global warming.[32] The combined effect of natural climate forcing, solar variation and changes in volcanic activity, probably had a warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 but a cooling effect since.[1]
An increase in solar activity should warm the stratosphere, whereas an increase in greenhouse gases should produce cooling there.[33] The observed trend since at least 1960 has been a cooling of the lower stratosphere.[34]
Temperature changes

Main article: Temperature record


Two millennia of mean surface temperatures according to different reconstructions, each smoothed on a decadal scale. The unsmoothed, annual value for 2004 is also plotted for reference.
Global temperatures have increased by 0.75 °C (1.35 °F) relative to the period 1860–1900, according to the instrumental temperature record. The urban heat island effect is unlikely to have significantly influenced this value and is estimated to account for about 0.02 °C of warming since 1900.[35] Since 1979, land temperatures have increased about twice as fast as ocean temperatures (0.25 °C per decade against 0.13 °C per decade).[36] Temperatures in the lower troposphere have increased between 0.12 and 0.22 °C (0.22 and 0.4 °F) per decade since 1979, according to satellite temperature measurements. Temperature is believed to have been relatively stable over the one or two thousand years before 1850, with possibly regional fluctuations such as the Medieval Warm Period or the Little Ice Age.[citation needed]
Ocean temperatures increase more slowly than land temperatures because of the larger effective heat capacity of the oceans and because the ocean loses more heat by evaporation.[37] The Northern Hemisphere has more land than the Southern Hemisphere so it warms faster. The Northern Hemisphere also has extensive areas of seasonal snow and sea-ice cover subject to the ice-albedo feedback. Although more greenhouse gases are emitted in the Northern than Southern Hemisphere this does not contribute to the difference in warming because the major greenhouse gases persist long enough to mix between hemispheres.[38]
Based on estimates by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies 2005 was the warmest year since reliable, widespread instrumental measurements became available in the late 1800s, exceeding the previous record set in 1998 by a few hundredths of a degree.[39] Estimates prepared by the World Meteorological Organization and the Climatic Research Unit concluded that 2005 was the second warmest year, behind 1998.[40][41] Temperatures in 1998 were unusually warm because the strongest El Niño-Southern Oscillation in the past century occurred during that year.[42]
Feedback



A drunken forest in Siberia caused by melting permafrost. Melting of permafrost releases methane into the atmosphere, accelerating global warming.
Main article: Effects of global warming
When a warming trend results in effects that induce further warming, the process is referred to as a positive feedback; when the warming results in effects that act to reduce the original warming, the process is referred to as a negative feedback. The main positive feedback involves the tendency of warming to increase the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. The main negative feedback is the effect of temperature on emission of infrared radiation: as the temperature of a body increases, the emitted radiation increases with the fourth power of its absolute temperature.
Water vapor feedback
If the atmosphere is warmed the saturation vapour pressure increases, and the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere will tend to increase. Since water vapor is a greenhouse gas the increase in water vapor content makes the atmosphere warm further; this warming causes the atmosphere to hold still more water vapor (a positive feedback), and so on until other processes stop the feedback loop. The result is a much larger greenhouse effect than that due to CO2 alone. Although this feedback process causes an increase in the absolute moisture content of the air, the relative humidity stays nearly constant or even decreases slightly because the air is warmer.[43]
Cloud feedback
Warming is expected to change the distribution and type of clouds. Seen from below, clouds emit infrared radiation back to the surface, and so exert a warming effect; seen from above, clouds reflect sunlight and emit infrared radiation to space, and so exert a cooling effect. Whether the net effect is warming or cooling depends on details such as the type and altitude of the cloud, details that are difficult to represent in climate models.[43]
Lapse rate
The atmosphere's temperature decreases with height in the troposphere. Since emission of infrared radiation varies with the fourth power of temperature, longwave radiation escaping from the upper atmosphere to space is less than that emitted from the lower atmosphere toward the ground. Thus, the strength of the greenhouse effect depends on the atmosphere's rate of temperature decrease with height. Both theory and climate models indicate that global warming will reduce the rate of temperature decrease with height, producing a negative lapse rate feedback that weakens the greenhouse effect. Measurements of the rate of temperature change with height are very sensitive to small errors in observations, making it difficult to establish whether the models agree with observations.[44]


Aerial photograph showing a section of sea ice. The lighter blue areas are melt ponds and the darkest areas are open water, both have a lower albedo than the white sea ice. The melting ice contributes to the ice-albedo feedback.
Ice-albedo feedback
When ice melts, land or open water takes its place. Both land and open water are on average less reflective than ice and thus absorb more solar radiation. This causes more warming, which in turn causes more melting, and this cycle continues.[45]
Arctic methane release
Warming is also the triggering variable for the release of methane from sources both on land and on the deep ocean floor, making both of these possible feedback effects. Thawing permafrost, such as the frozen peat bogs in Siberia, creates a positive feedback due to the potentially rapid release of CO2 and CH4.[citation needed]
Reduced absorption of CO2 by the oceans
Ocean ecosystems' ability to sequester carbon are expected to decline as the oceans warm. This is because warming reduces the nutrient levels of the mesopelagic zone (about 200 to 1000 m depth), which limits the growth of diatoms in favor of smaller phytoplankton that are poorer biological pumps of carbon.[46]
Climate models

Main article: Global climate model

Calculations of global warming prepared in or before 2001 from a range of climate models under the SRES A2 emissions scenario, which assumes no action is taken to reduce emissions.


The geographic distribution of surface warming during the 21st century calculated by the HadCM3 climate model if a business as usual scenario is assumed for economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions. In this figure, the globally averaged warming corresponds to 3.0 °C (5.4 °F).
The main tools for projecting future climate changes are computer models of the climate. These models are based on physical principles including fluid dynamics and radiative transfer. Although they attempt to include as many processes as possible, simplifications of the actual climate system are inevitable because of the constraints of available computer power and limitations in knowledge of the climate system. All modern climate models include an atmospheric model that is coupled to an ocean model and models for ice cover on land and sea. Some models also include treatments of chemical and biological processes.[47] These models project a warmer climate due to increasing levels of greenhouse gases.[48] Although much of the variation in model outcomes depends on the greenhouse gas emissions used as inputs, the temperature effect of a specific greenhouse gas concentration (climate sensitivity) varies depending on the model used. The representation of clouds is one of the main sources of uncertainty in present-generation models.[49]
Global climate model projections of future climate most often have used estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from the IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES). In addition to human-caused emissions, some models also include a simulation of the carbon cycle; this generally shows a positive feedback, though this response is uncertain. Some observational studies also show a positive feedback.[50][51][52]
Including uncertainties in future greenhouse gas concentrations and climate sensitivity, the IPCC anticipates a warming of 1.1 °C to 6.4 °C (2.0 °F to 11.5 °F) by the end of the 21st century, relative to 1980–1999.[1] A 2008 paper predicts that the global temperature will not increase during the next decade because of short-term natural climate cycles.[53]
Models are also used to help investigate the causes of recent climate change by comparing the observed changes to those that the models project from various natural and human-derived causes. Although these models do not unambiguously attribute the warming that occurred from approximately 1910 to 1945 to either natural variation or human effects, they do indicate that the warming since 1975 is dominated by man-made greenhouse gas emissions.
Current climate models produce a good match to observations of global temperature changes over the last century, but do not simulate all aspects of climate.[54] The physical realism of models is tested by examining their ability to simulate current or past climates.[55] While a 2007 study by David Douglass and colleagues found that the models did not accurately predict observed changes in the tropical troposphere,[56] a 2008 paper published by a 17-member team led by Ben Santer noted errors in the Douglass study, and found instead that the models and observations were not statistically different.[57] Not all effects of global warming are accurately predicted by the climate models used by the IPCC. For example, observed Arctic shrinkage has been faster than that predicted.[58]
Attributed and expected effects

Environmental
Main article: Effects of global warming
See also: Ocean acidification and Regional effects of global warming


Sparse records indicate that glaciers have been retreating since the early 1800s. In the 1950s measurements began that allow the monitoring of glacial mass balance, reported to the WGMS and the NSIDC.
It usually is impossible to connect specific weather events to global warming. Instead, global warming is expected to cause changes in the overall distribution and intensity of events, such as changes to the frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation. Broader effects are expected to include glacial retreat, Arctic shrinkage, and worldwide sea level rise. Other effects may include changes in crop yields, addition of new trade routes,[59] reduced summer streamflows, species extinctions,[60] and changes in the range of disease vectors.
Some effects on both the natural environment and human life are, at least in part, already being attributed to global warming. A 2001 report by the IPCC suggests that glacier retreat, ice shelf disruption such as that of the Larsen Ice Shelf, sea level rise, changes in rainfall patterns, and increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather events are attributable in part to global warming.[61] Other expected effects include water scarcity in some regions and increased precipitation in others, changes in mountain snowpack, and adverse health effects from warmer temperatures.[62]
Social and economic effects of global warming may be exacerbated by growing population densities in affected areas. Temperate regions are projected to experience some benefits, such as fewer cold-related deaths.[63] A summary of probable effects and recent understanding can be found in the report made for the IPCC Third Assessment Report by Working Group II.[61] The newer IPCC Fourth Assessment Report summary reports that there is observational evidence for an increase in intense tropical cyclone activity in the North Atlantic Ocean since about 1970, in correlation with the increase in sea surface temperature (see Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation), but that the detection of long-term trends is complicated by the quality of records prior to routine satellite observations. The summary also states that there is no clear trend in the annual worldwide number of tropical cyclones.[1]
Additional anticipated effects include sea level rise of 0.18 to 0.59 meters (0.59 to 1.9 ft) in 2090-2100 relative to 1980-1999, [1] repercussions to agriculture, possible slowing of the thermohaline circulation, reductions in the ozone layer, increasingly intense (but less frequent)[64] hurricanes and extreme weather events, lowering of ocean pH, oxygen depletion in the oceans,[65] and the spread of diseases such as malaria and dengue fever,[66][67] as well as Lyme disease, hantavirus infections, bubonic plague, and cholera.[68] One study predicts 18% to 35% of a sample of 1,103 animal and plant species would be extinct by 2050, based on future climate projections.[69] However, few mechanistic studies have documented extinctions due to recent climate change[70] and one study suggests that projected rates of extinction are uncertain.[71]
Increased atmospheric CO2 increases the amount of CO2 dissolved in the oceans.[72] CO2 dissolved in the ocean reacts with water to form carbonic acid, resulting in ocean acidification. Ocean surface pH is estimated to have decreased from 8.25 near the beginning of the industrial era to 8.14 by 2004,[73] and is projected to decrease by a further 0.14 to 0.5 units by 2100 as the ocean absorbs more CO2.[1][74] Since organisms and ecosystems are adapted to a narrow range of pH, this raises extinction concerns, directly driven by increased atmospheric CO2, that could disrupt food webs and impact human societies that depend on marine ecosystem services.[75]
Economic
Main articles: Economics of global warming and Low-carbon economy


The projected temperature increase for a range of stabilization scenarios (the colored bands). The black line in middle of the shaded area indicates 'best estimates'; the red and the blue lines the likely limits. From the work of IPCC AR4.
Some economists have tried to estimate the aggregate net economic costs of damages from climate change across the globe. Such estimates have so far yielded no conclusive findings; in a survey of 100 estimates, the values ran from US$-10 per tonne of carbon (tC) (US$-3 per tonne of carbon dioxide) up to US$350/tC (US$95 per tonne of carbon dioxide), with a mean of US$43 per tonne of carbon (US$12 per tonne of carbon dioxide).[63]
One widely publicized report on potential economic impact is the Stern Review. It suggests that extreme weather might reduce global gross domestic product by up to one percent, and that in a worst-case scenario global per capita consumption could fall 20 percent.[76] The report's methodology, advocacy and conclusions have been criticized by many economists, primarily around the Review's assumptions of discounting and its choices of scenarios.[77] Others have supported the general attempt to quantify economic risk, even if not the specific numbers.[78][79]
Preliminary studies suggest that costs and benefits of mitigating global warming are broadly comparable in magnitude.[80]
According to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), economic sectors likely to face difficulties related to climate change include banks, agriculture, transport and others.[81] Developing countries dependent upon agriculture will be particularly harmed by global warming.[82]
Responses to global warming

Main articles: Mitigation of global warming, Kyoto Protocol, Geoengineering, and Adaptation to global warming
The broad agreement among climate scientists that global temperatures will continue to increase has led some nations, states, corporations and individuals to implement responses. These responses to global warming can be divided into mitigation of the causes and effects of global warming, and adaptation to the changing global environment.
Mitigation
Emissions reduction
The world's primary international agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the Kyoto Protocol, an amendment to the UNFCCC negotiated in 1997. The Protocol now covers more than 160 countries and over 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.[83] Only the United States and Kazakhstan have not ratified the treaty, with the United States historically being the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The treaty expires in 2012. International talks began in May 2007 on a future treaty to succeed the current one.[84] The next significant talks are expected to occur in December 2009, and are titled COP15.
Many environmental groups encourage individual action against global warming, as well as community and regional actions. Others have suggested a quota on worldwide fossil fuel production, citing a direct link between fossil fuel production and CO2 emissions.[85][86]
There has also been business action on climate change, including efforts to improve energy efficiency and limited moves towards use of alternative fuels. In January 2005 the European Union introduced its European Union Emission Trading Scheme, through which companies in conjunction with government agree to cap their emissions or to purchase credits from those below their allowances. Australia announced its Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme in 2008. United States President Barack Obama has announced plans to introduce an economy wide cap and trade scheme.[87]
The IPCC's Working Group III is responsible for crafting reports on mitigation of global warming and the costs and benefits of different approaches. The 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report concludes that no one technology or sector can be completely responsible for mitigating future warming. They find there are key practices and technologies in various sectors, such as energy supply, transportation, industry, and agriculture, that should be implemented to reduced global emissions. They estimate that stabilization of carbon dioxide equivalent between 445 and 710 ppm by 2030 will result in between a 0.6 percent increase and three percent decrease in global gross domestic product.[88]
Geoengineering
Geoengineering would involve the deliberate modification of Earth's natural environment on a large scale "to suit human needs and promote habitability".[89] Greenhouse gas remediation describes methods which remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, through carbon sequestration techniques such as carbon dioxide air capture.[90] Solar radiation management reduces insolation, such as by the addition of stratospheric sulfur aerosols.[91]
Adaptation
The effects of global warming are wide in their scope, and a similarly wide variety of measures have been suggested for adaptation to global warming. These range from the trivial, such as the installation of air-conditioning equipment, up to major infrastructure projects, such as abandonment of settlements threatened by sea level rise. Measures including water conservation,[92] changes to agricultural practices,[93] construction of flood defences,[94] changes to medical care,[95] and interventions to protect threatened species[96] have all been suggested. A wide ranging study of the possible opportunities for adaptation of infrastructure has been published by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers[97]
Economic and political debate

Main articles: Global warming controversy, Politics of global warming, and Economics of global warming
See also: Scientific opinion on climate change, Climate change denial, List of countries by greenhouse gas emissions per capita, List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions per capita, List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions, and List of countries by ratio of GDP to carbon dioxide emissions

Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in 2000, including land-use change.


Per country greenhouse gas emissions in 2000, including land-use change.
Increased publicity of the scientific findings surrounding global warming has resulted in political and economic debate.[98] Poor regions, particularly Africa, appear at greatest risk from the projected effects of global warming, while their emissions have been small compared to the developed world.[99] At the same time, developing country exemptions from provisions of the Kyoto Protocol have been criticized by the United States and Australia, and used as part of a rationale for continued non-ratification by the U.S.[100] In the Western world, the idea of human influence on climate has gained wider public acceptance in Europe than in the United States.[101][102]
The issue of climate change has sparked debate weighing the benefits of limiting industrial emissions of greenhouse gases against the costs that such changes would entail. There has been discussion in several countries about the cost and benefits of adopting alternative energy sources in order to reduce carbon emissions.[103] Business-centered organizations, conservative commentators, and companies such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute and ExxonMobil have downplayed IPCC climate change scenarios, funded scientists who disagree with the scientific consensus, and provided their own projections of the economic cost of stricter controls.[104][105][106][107] Likewise, environmental organizations and a number of public figures have emphasized the potential risks of climate change and promote the implementation of GHG emissions reduction measures. Some fossil fuel companies have scaled back their efforts in recent years,[108] or called for policies to reduce global warming.[109]
Another point of contention is the degree to which emerging economies such as India and China should be expected to constrain their emissions. According to recent reports, China's gross national CO2 emissions may now exceed those of the U.S.[110][111][112][113] China has contended that it has less of an obligation to reduce emissions since its per capita emissions are roughly one-fifth that of the United States.[114] India, also exempt from Kyoto restrictions and another of the biggest sources of industrial emissions, has made similar assertions.[115] The U.S. contends that if it must bear the cost of reducing emissions, then China should do the same.[116]
See also

Glossary of climate change
List of climate change topics
Notes

^ Global surface temperature is defined in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report as the average of near-surface air temperature over land and sea surface temperature.
^ The 2001 joint statement was signed by the scientific academies of Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, the Caribbean, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, Sweden, and the UK. The 2005 statement added Japan, Russia, and the U.S. The 2007 statement added Mexico and South Africa. Professional societies include American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Astronomical Society, American Chemical Society, American Geophysical Union, American Institute of Physics, American Meteorological Society, American Physical Society, American Quaternary Association, Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences, Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, European Academy of Sciences and Arts, European Geosciences Union, European Science Foundation, Geological Society of America, Geological Society of London-Stratigraphy Commission, InterAcademy Council, International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, International Union for Quaternary Research, National Research Council (US), Network of African Science Academies, and Royal Meteorological Society (UK).
^ Note that the greenhouse effect produces an average worldwide temperature increase of about 33 °C (59 °F) compared to black body predictions without the greenhouse effect, not an average surface temperature of 33 °C (91 °F). The average worldwide surface temperature is about 14 °C (57 °F).
References