Earth is Beautiful

 

Earth

Oxygen

Nitrogen

Carbon dioxide gilds over Mars and Venus.  Scanty amounts of Oxygen and Nitrogen encrust in them.  But on earth, Nitrogen and Oxygen overlie our atmosphere.  Traces of carbon dioxide and unstable gas nitrous oxide brew on the earth’s atmosphere.  Nitrous oxide is an unstable byproduct from abundance of oxygen.  Earth is compiled of water, gases, and temperature.  Negentropy or negative entropy occurs when Oxygen and Methane balance out.  Green plants photosynthesize leaving behind a waste product we know as oxygen; bacteria in oxygen-poor habitats like freshwater and saltwater marshes bring about waste product methane.  Sunlight filters through plants and turns out carbon dioxide and water vapor into breathable air.  Wood-eating termites, grass-grazing cattles, and meat-eating humans all emit methane.  Every animal that feeds on fibrous plants emit methane.  Nearly 1,000 million tons of reintroduced methane balances out in the atmosphere.  And oxygen which oxidizes methane has to be replaced —2,000 million tons yearly. 

 

Plankton, Dimethylsulfide, and Cloud Nuclei

 

Planktons

Float above in the clouds, dimethylsulfide excreted by planktons effect our climate.  Marine plants called plankton produce important chemical compound which forms clouds.  Inside plankton cells, DMS (dimethylsulfide) forms to protect against high salt in seawater.  The plankton cells excrete DMS.  DMS effects seawater; hence it affects our atmosphere.  Eaten or dying, DMS enter our seawaters; then DMS diffuses into seawater and out to atmosphere.  It oxidizes to form sulfate particles that serves to condense nuclei developing cloud particles.  A theory states DMS cools the earth’s surface.  DMS and cloud nuclei correlate with one another.  Clouds affect our climate reflecting the sun’s radiation and sending it back to space.  DMS also has positive and negative feedback loops.  Negative feedback loops stabilize; positive feedback multiplies.  Negative feedback loop is a thermostat.  As DMS is released, temperature goes down.  Positive feedback loop destabilize creating warmer temperatures which reduces plankton’s DMS.  Here we take the first step in understanding climate change. 

 

 

Tropical Rain Forests

Below closer to the ground, air pollutants like nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide cause acid rain in the aquatic ecosystems, forests, and buildings.  Global warming affects our rain forests by change in the weather patterns.  Loss of biodiversity gives rise to loss of cardinal sources for medicinal drugs, waxes, natural insecticides, cosmetics, and sources for food.  In rain forests, 4000 species are lost every year; 15,000 to 50,000 species are lost per year.  Chloroflurocarbons (CFC), a greenhouse gas affect the ozone layers blocking harmful ultraviolet lights.  U.S. emits more greenhouse gases approximately 5.2 billion metric tons than any other country.  We use more fossil fuels to power cars, make electricity, run industrial process, and heat homes.  Ultraviolet lights effect human skin cells causing melanoma and skin cancer.  Ultraviolet lights can also kill a certain species of plankton in the sea pivotal in excreting DMS to the atmosphere.  As the amount of DMS decreases, so do cloud forming particles which cools our earth.  Here, we incur climate change.            

 

    

 

Mitigating Radon 

Back down below here on earth, soils and rocks emit radon, a radioactive gas formed by decayed uranium.  Soils and rocks have small quantities of naturally occurring radon derived from uranium.  Radons are colorless and odorless but named deadly by the EPA.  Radon and ETS (environmental tobacco smoke) are both air pollutants harmful to human beings.  Other indoor air pollutants are made from synthetic materials found in building material and furnishings.  Find them in household cleaning and personal care products —vinyl chloride, benzene, lead, formaldehyde, and combustible carbon monoxide.  Gas stoves and inadequately vented furnaces emit carbon monoxide.  Carbon dioxide emissions have also increased for more than two centuries.  In U.S. alone, more than 88% of energy is used from fossil fuels —coal, oil, and natural gas. 

 

 

Private Water Well

Private Well

Consumers can take steps to protect their households.  Children face harm from lead.  Lead contaminates private wells by use of submersible water pumps made of brass and bronze.  Consuming lead contaminated water causes irreversible brain damage in children.  Municipal and rural residents commonly face contaminated groundwater by more than one means —hazardous wastes, leaky underground storage tanks, agricultural runoffs such as nitrates and pesticides.         

 

 

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Plant a Tree

EPA has set standards reducing emissions.  Instead of fossil fuels and nuclear energy, government policies aim consumers’ spending on solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, and other forms of renewable energy.       National standards have been set for natural sources such as lead, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone.  For example, maximum concentration of carbon monoxide is 8 hours for 10mg/m³; for ozone, it is 1 hour per 235ug/m³.  Out of all environmental concerns, we have seen most improvements in reducing air pollutants.  Environmental groups have done their own studies; U.S. Forest Service finds planting trees bring $38 million benefit in a 30 year term saving and reducing the buildings’ heating and cooling costs.  Trees also absorb air pollutants.  Planting three trees strategically around a house saves a homeowner $50 to $90 a year.  States with strongly enforced policies have shown less air pollutants.  Environmental policies compile 1.5% of U.S. federal’s $1.5 trillion budget amounting to $22 Billion.  Clean Air Act helped reduce air pollutants.    

 

State and local policies brewed under heavy criticisms and had us rethink our policies:  Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Resource Conservation, Superfund, FFRA, Endanger Species Act, and Recovery Act.  All of the above policies had to be analyzed and re-strategized.  Federal, state, and local policies address energy use, population rates, economic development, and ecological systems.  Environmental inequity looks at environmental effects on minority groups and low-income neighborhoods.  As a target in a population subgroup, the minority and poor are at higher risk for exposure to toxic chemicals and other pollutants.  Government agencies such as U.S. Office Technological Assessment set new sustainable developments in agriculture, forestry, and similar actions.  Transfer of technology goes for developing nations. 

 

 

State and local policies do not fix environmental issues alone.  Businesses help weigh in environmental concerns to consumers.  Sustainable developments ensure cleaner products by its design, life cycle, and product stewardship.  Taking steps towards sustainable development, companies followed suit to meet these measures:  Du Pont, Shell, Chevron, Johnson Wax, Dow Chemicals, Proctor & Gamble, and Scott Paper.  Companies have also promoted products by offering discounts to consumers; for example, a company that sells light bulbs may offer 80% discount on energy-efficient light bulbs.  Progressive and socially conscious corporations pave the road in transforming consumers on a new age of environmentally conscious behavior.                

 

 

Deforestation

Globally, bilateral treaties, regional associations, and interest agencies like UN Environment Program and World Bank have comparable effects.  UNLED works to find consensus on food, population, water, human settlements, and climate that define issues and spur international agreements.  International treaties and agreements have a substantial effect on environment but it has been applicable to only countries that comply.  Environmentalists blame the World Bank and lending institutions largely for environmental destruction on developing projects.  Institutional and political obstacles like deforesting South American countries such as Brazil, for example, on a speedy economic development hinder international organizations on concurring change for environmental growth.   

 

Grassroots Organizations

 

Grassroots organizations have surged on voicing environmental issues; while the young generation has taken interest in environment more than any other topics such as drugs and homelessness.  Rise in computer and internet use for information highway have lent educating the public at large on environment issues readily accessible.  Pending green planet lies on the hands of consumers whose acts accrue responsibly to mother earth.  It is not military security which threatens our country’s future, but climate change and the well-being of our planet that do more harm for the long term.  Secure our planet’s future.  Start today.