A Dramatic Effect of Air Pollution - Assignment Example

Q1. The first slide shows the potential feedback chart of the causes and the effects of the central component, which in this case is air pollution. Air pollution has many causes and as a result there are many problems which arise as a result. As the feedback shows, some of the main results of air pollution can be related to health problems such as asthma and diseases related to the lungs. A health hazard can lead to unemployment which may result in an increase in the poverty level of the community. Furthermore, air pollution can lead to a great cut down in the life expectancy of the local citizens as proven to show in the Chinese population. Moving on this can result in a negative feedback in terms of population but and yet can prove to be a positive reinforce of health costs. Acid rain is also one of the positive feedbacks which can do plenty of capital damage as it is known to damage structures and other building material over time. From the slide show one may also see that the environment is at great risk due to air pollution and with acid rain there can be a degradation of the local area with a potential slide in any form of tourism that the community may support. This can lead to a negative feedback with regards to capital flow through the area. Not only can this but the local wildlife population also suffer greatly. If any localized industry such as a dairy farm that is dependent on domestic animals, then they may be at risk of losing their animals to this problem. A few ways to solve this problem or to try and limit the effects for the time being could potentially be to introduce new rules regarding the pollution of the air in any forms. Factories should be subjected to a strict regulation that demands that certain limits be placed on the amount of pollution that is released in the air with some measures taken to ensure minimum release. Taxes should be placed on heavy duty industries in the area and the money should be spent on the maintenance of infrastructure and the wildlife. Planting more trees in the region where either acid rain has laid devastation or even those areas where humans have cut down greenery themselves will be able to solve the issue at least for the time. This can be coped with wildlife preservations to prevent any harm to the animals of the area ensuring their stability. For the case of abject poverty and potential debt due to a downturn in the economy, banks can be asked to issue loans at lesser interest rates than normal to those who require it or which to start a business of their own which can create employment in turn. Q2. We’ve seen that air pollution can have a dramatic effect on quite a number of day to day activities and can even have other long term effects on future population. In an attempt to somehow contain air pollution in the community we can introduce some stronger and stricter laws related to the amount of toxins that industries can release into the air. Air pollution can have severe affects on the health of the people in the local area. Studies conducted in Canada showed that one of the leading reasons of hospitalization is cardiovascular diseases along with respiratory diseases. From the study it’s observed that the proportions are 15% and 9% respectively while the main causes of death conducted in the same study showed that once again the leading causes of death were cardiovascular diseases which comprised a total of 37% of the complete sample and respiratory diseases caused a total of 9% of deaths (Health Canada, 2006). Not only this, there has been a dramatic rise in sea levels across the world. With the base year being 1880 the graph in the slide show shows that from that year to 2000 there was a rise of 20 centimeters on average over twenty year (Climate Institute, 2009). This will cause a dramatic alteration in the lives of those low lying areas where there is danger of the sea level rising further and inundating the area. One of the main threats and cause of air pollution itself is an increase in the population which has led to an increase in the demand for motor vehicles (Ghaz, 2009). These vehicles use those fossil fuels which emit greenhouse gases and as the pie chart on the slide show has indicated a huge portion of the toxic gases are a result of SUV’s and minivans (Maine. Gov, 2005). Perhaps a reduction of the vehicles allowed on the road would be a preferable measure to reduce the increase in demand for cars and so forth. A better public transport would be a better way to go about this as the increased burning of petroleum is the main component of fossil emissions. These emissions are damaging the ozone and causing a rise in skin cancer which can be prevented if we try to prevent further damage to the layer. It is not easy to identify the main threats to the community when it comes to the danger to the environment yet air is a vital source of life and to keep it as clean as possible would be in our own benefit. A decrease in air pollution can lead to a decreased rate in health concerns, cut down the damage caused by acid rain which will eventually save capital for the community. Sources: Climate Institute (2009). Recent sea level rises [online]. [Accessed 16 June 2010]. Available from: . Ghaz (2009). Global Fossil Carbon Emissions [online]. [Accessed 16 June 2010]. Available from: . Health Canada (2006). Leading Causes of Hospitalization [online]. [Accessed 16 June 2010]. Available from: . Health Canada (2006). Leading Causes of Death [online]. [Accessed 16 June 2010]. Available from: . Maine.gov (2005). Effects of Vehicle Pollution [online]. [Accessed 16 June 2010]. Available from: . Q3. The environment is fragile and needs to be looked after by the human population, yet we have failed in this cause for quite some time and instead have accelerated the process. Today, the earth’s ozone layer has gaping holes in some places where greenhouse gases have taken a toll while the earth’s sea levels are rising year after year. The cutting down of trees has lead to devastation all around as mankind thinks not of nature and the environment he is disturbing in his quest to maximize his comforts. Today there is a need to stop and take a look at what we have done to nature so far and try to help it to recover. The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has led nations to scamper and try to take charge of the situation yet they have failed. The oceans and the wildlife are the ones who will suffer more greatly than the people who live on fishing and other such activities. Ecological sustenance is now necessary and a way to manage the situation is by trying to reduce the release of greenhouse gases in the air. The ozone is the one thin veil that protects us from the sun’s rays which can be the source of cancer. Reducing the number of cars on the road will help this situation while a stronger set of regulations placed on industrialists will lead them to try to clean the smoke that is released with the use of a few technological advancements that have been in use for some time. The Kyoto agreement would have had a significant effect in this lieu however, the governments of the more economically nations such as the United States have been the greater opposition to this step in helping nature. However, the signing of this protocol has been an important step in the path towards recovery (Kyoto Protocol, 1997). Reforestation will be another way to try and improve our environment. The greater the number of trees on the earth then there will be a natural cleanser without additional costs pertaining to the various governments. Though even our simplest actions which can alter nature can have profound effects on the environment. The making of a dam for the production of electricity will in turn damage the environment that the structure is built in. The mining of coal for the power stations that require the burning of it will also damage the area. So there have been efforts for the past few years to build those power stations that are least damaging to the earth (Continental: Eco-friendly rubber bearings for wind power stations, 2009). Solar power has high capital costs yet it is not harmful in any way in the same way that air power isn’t along with hydra power (Air and Breathing, 2010). The model below can provide a solution to improving the way coal is burned and removing toxins released. There is not only a concern for the environment when we talk about the issue of pollution, ozone depletion, acid rain and so forth. The environment is damaged undoubtedly but humans are also at risk of diseases and other injuries when the environment that they live in is not clean or safe. Humans are caught in this tug of war between themselves and nature. As witnessed in the case of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombing, there was devastation to the area and not only that, the later generations had to bear the burden of the radiation that was dormant in the region after that (Time Magazine, 1946). There is a need for social justice when there is harm done to other humans. Cases of small town areas being turned into toxic wastelands by big companies have also risen now and then and there have been cases when the victims have been compensated for their problems but those are not always enough. What the people now need is a sense of security that their health is the main priority of their respective governments. Nature is more or less like a computer system. We provide the input and there is processing that takes place in the environment itself, whether it is immediately evident or takes a few or maybe twenty or so years, and then there is an output. In the same way that we can fix a computer, we can also try and attempt to fix the intricate system that has been built here on earth. The world has become a singular global unit now and we can use this to our advantage by sharing our ideas on how better to help sustain nature and even gather tips from others to improve our own methods. Sources: Continental [online]. (2009) [Accessed 17 June 2010]. Available from: . Daily Science Dose (2008). Cleaner Coal combustion [online]. [Accessed 16 June 2010]. Available from: . Kyoto Protocol (2003). Human Management of Carbon Budget [online]. [Accessed 16 June 2010]. Available from: . Medicine: Bomb's Aftereffects. (1946). Time Magazine, 4 February. Nutramed [online]. (2010) [Accessed 17 June 2010]. Available from: . Time for change (2007). Annual Greenhouse Gas Emission [online]. [Accessed 16 June 2010]. Available from: . UNFCCC [online]. (1997) [Accessed 17 June 2010]. Available from: . Read More