Global Warming- a consequence of Pollution

Global Warming- a consequence of Pollution

By Taichi   August 28, 2016   No comments:

Global Warming

Global Warming is the increase of Earth's average surface temperature due to effect of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels or from deforestation, which trap heat that would otherwise escape from Earth. This is a type of greenhouse effect.
So we can say that Global warming and climate change are terms for the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth's climate system and its related effects.Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming.Although the increase of near-surface atmospheric temperature is the measure of global warming often reported in the popular press, most of the additional energy stored in the climate system since 1970 has gone into the oceans. The rest has melted ice and warmed the continents and atmosphere. Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented over tens to thousands of years.

Earth's climate is mostly influenced by the first 6 miles or so of the atmosphere which contains most of the matter making up the atmosphere. This is really a very thin layer if you think about it. In the book The End of Nature, author Bill McKibbin tells of walking three miles to from his cabin in the Adirondack's to buy food. Afterwards, he realized that on this short journey he had traveled a distance equal to that of the layer of the atmosphere where almost all the action of our climate is contained. In fact, if you were to view Earth from space, the principle part of the atmosphere would only be about as thick as the skin on an onion! Realizing this makes it more plausible to suppose that human beings can change the climate. A look at the amount of greenhouse gases we are spewing into the atmosphere (see below), makes it even more plausible.

Global warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the Earth’s climate. There is great debate among many people, and sometimes in the news, on whether global warming is real (some call it a hoax). But climate scientists looking at the data and facts agree the planet is warming. While many view the effects of global warming to be more substantial and more rapidly occurring than others do, the scientific consensus on climatic changes related to global warming is that the average temperature of the Earth has risen between 0.4 and 0.8 °C over the past 100 years. The increased volumes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released by the burning of fossil fuels, land clearing, agriculture, and other human activities, are believed to be the primary sources of the global warming that has occurred over the past 50 years. Scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate carrying out global warming research have recently predicted that average global temperatures could increase between 1.4 and 5.8 °C by the year 2100. Changes resulting from global warming may include rising sea levels due to the melting of the polar ice caps, as well as an increase in occurrence and severity of storms and other severe weather events.

The Greenhouse Gases?

The most significant greenhouse gas is actually water vapor, not something produced directly by humankind in significant amounts. However, even slight increases in atmospheric levels of  carbon dioxide (CO₂) can cause a substantial increase in temperature. 
Why is this? There are two reasons: First, although the concentrations of these gases are not nearly as large as that of oxygen and nitrogen (the main constituents of the atmosphere), neither oxygen or nitrogen are greenhouse gases. This is because neither has more than two atoms per molecule (i.e. their molecular forms are O₂ and N₂, respectively), and so they lack the internal vibrational modes that molecules with more than two atoms have. Both water and CO₂, for example, have these "internal vibrational modes", and these vibrational modes can absorb and reradiate infrared radiation, which causes the greenhouse effect. 
Secondly,  CO₂ tends to remain in the atmosphere for a very long time (time scales in the hundreds of years). Water vapor, on the other hand, can easily condense or evaporate, depending on local conditions. Water vapor levels therefore tend to adjust quickly to the prevailing conditions, such that the energy flows from the Sun and re-radiation from the Earth achieve a balance. CO₂ tends to remain fairly constant and therefore behave as a controlling factor, rather than a reacting factor. More CO₂ means that the balance occurs at higher temperatures and water vapor levels.  

Increased  Atmosphere's CO ₂ Concentration?

Human beings have increased the CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere by about thirty percent, which is an extremely significant increase, even on inter-glacial timescales.  It is believed that human beings are responsible for this because the increase is almost perfectly correlated with increases in fossil fuel combustion, and also due other evidence, such as changes in the ratios of different carbon isotopes in atmospheric CO₂ that are consistent with "anthropogenic" (human caused) emissions. The simple fact is, that under "business as usual" conditions, we'll soon reach carbon dioxide concentrations that haven't been seen on Earth in the last 50 million years.
Combustion of Fossil Fuels, for electricity generation, transportation, and heating, and also the manufacture of cement, all result in the total worldwide emission of about 22 billion tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere each year. About a third of this comes from electricity generation, and another third from transportation, and a third from all other sources.
This enormous input of CO₂ is causing the atmospheric levels of CO₂ to rise dramatically. The following graph shows the CO₂ levels over the past 160 thousand  years (the upper curve, with units indicated on the right hand side of the graph). The current level, and projected increase over the next hundred years if we do not curb emissions, are also shown (the part of the curve which goes way up high, to the right of the current level, is the projected CO2 rise). 

Is the Temperature Really Changing?

Yes!  But that might be a temporary fluctuation, right? To see that it probably isn't, the next graph shows the average temperature in the Northern Hemisphere as determined from many sources, carefully combined, such as tree rings, corals, human records, etc.

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Roman Numerals-The funny Math

Roman Numerals-The funny Math

By Taichi   August 28, 2016   No comments:

Roman Numerals- A beautiful way of numbers

The Romans were active in trade and commerce, and from the time of learning to write they needed a way to indicate numbers. The system they developed lasted many centuries, and still sees some specialized use today.

Roman numerals traditionally indicate the order of rulers or ships who share the same name (Tsar Nicolas II ).

The numbers 1 to 10 are usually expressed in Roman numerals as follows:

I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X.

Numbers are formed by combining symbols and adding the values, so II is two (two ones) and XIII is thirteen (a ten and three ones). 

Romans Numerals are based on the following symbols:

1	5	10	50	100	500	1000
I	V	X	L	C	D	M

Forming Numbers - The Rules

When a symbol appears after a largersymbol it is added.

But if the symbol appears before a largersymbol it is subtracted.

Note:-

To Remember: After Larger is Added

Don't use the same symbol more than three times in a row (but in clocks 4 is sometimes used as IIII)

Really Big Numbers

Numbers greater than 1,000 are formed by placing a dash over the symbol, meaning "times 1,000", but these are not commonly used:

5,000	10,000	50,000	100,000	500,000	1,000,000
V	X	L	C	D	M

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A silent Killer - Pollution

A silent Killer - Pollution

By Taichi   August 27, 2016   No comments:

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light. Pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies or naturally occurring contaminants.

Also Pollution is when something is added to the environment that is harmful or poisonous to living things. Smoke or dust in the air is a type of pollution as it is bad for the lungs when we breath in. Sewage in drinking water is another type of pollution, as it can make people ill because it contains germs and viruses. 

Environmental pollution consists of five basic types of pollution, namely, air, water, soil, noise and light.Air pollution is by far the most harmful form of pollution in our environment. Air pollution is cause by the injurious smoke emitted by cars, buses, trucks, trains, and factories, namely sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. Even smoke from burning leaves and cigarettes are harmful to the environment causing a lot of damage to man and the atmosphere. Evidence of increasing air pollution is seen in lung cancer, asthma, allergies, and various breathing problems along with severe and irreparable damage to flora and fauna. Even the most natural phenomenon of migratory birds has been hampered, with severe air pollution preventing them from reaching their seasonal metropolitan destinations of centuries.Toxic pollution affects more than 200 million people worldwide, according to Pure Earth, a non-profit environmental organization. In some of the world’s worst polluted places, babies are born with birth defects, children have lost 30 to 40 IQ points, and life expectancy may be as low as 45 years because of cancers and other diseases. Read on to find out more about specific types of pollution.
                          

Air Pollution is the most prominent and dangerous form of pollution. It occurs due to many reasons. Excessive burning of fuel which is a necessity of our daily lives for cooking, driving and other industrial activities; releases a huge amount of chemical substances in the air everyday; these pollute the air.

Smoke from chimneys, factories, vehicles or burning of wood basically occurs due to coal burning; this releases sulphur dioxide into the air making it toxic. The effects of air pollution are evident too. Release of sulphur dioxide and hazardous gases into the air causes global warming and acid rain; which in turn have increased temperatures, erratic rains and droughts worldwide; making it tough for the animals to survive. We breathe in every polluted particle from the air; result is increase in asthma and cancer in the lungs.

Water Pollution has taken toll of all the surviving species of the earth. Almost 60% of the species live in water bodies. It occurs due to several factors; the industrial wastes dumped into the rivers and other water bodies cause an imbalance in the water leading to its severe contamination and death of aquatic species. If you suspect that nearby water sources have been contaminated by a corporation then it might be a good idea to hire an expert to see your options.

Soil Pollution occurs due to incorporation of unwanted chemicals in the soil due to human activities. Use of insecticides and pesticides absorbs the nitrogen compounds from the soil making it unfit for plants to derive nutrition from. Release of industrial waste, mining and deforestation also exploits the soil. Since plants can’t grow properly, they can’t hold the soil and this leads to soil erosion.

Noise pollution is caused when noise which is an unpleasant sound affects our ears and leads to psychological problems like stress, hypertension, hearing impairment, etc. It is caused by machines in industries, loud music, etc.

Radioactive pollution is highly dangerous when it occurs. It can occur due to nuclear plant malfunctions, improper nuclear waste disposal, accidents, etc. It causes cancer, infertility, blindness, defects at the time of birth; can sterilise soil and affect air and water.

                                    

Some Facts On Pollution Are:-

Fact 1: Pollution is one of the biggest killers, affecting more than 100 million worldwide.

Fact 2: More than 1 billion people worldwide don’t have access to safe drinking water.

Fact 3: 5000 people die every day as a result of drinking unclean water.

Fact 4: The garbage dumped in the ocean every year is roughly around 14 billion pounds. Plastic is the major constituent.

Fact 5: Pollution kills more than 1 million seabirds and 100 million mammals every year.

Fact 6: People who live in high-density air pollution area, have 20% higher risk of dying from lung cancer, than people living in less polluted areas.

Fact 7: Approximately 46% of the lakes in America are extremely polluted and hence risky for swimming, fishing and aquatic life.

Fact 8: In the great “Smog Disaster“, that happened in London in the year 1952, approximately four thousand people died in a few days due to the high concentrations of pollution.

Fact 9: United States produces 30% of the world’s waste and uses 25 % of the worlds natural resources

Fact 10: The Mississippi River dumps 1.5 million metric tonnes of nitrogen pollution in the Gulf of Mexico every year.

Fact 11: Every year around one trillion gallons of untreated sewage and industrial waste is dumped in the U.S water.

Fact 12: Children contribute to only 10% of the world’s pollution but are prone to 40% of global disease.

Fact 13: More than 3 million kids under the age of 5 years die every year due to environmental factors like pollution.

Fact 14: Composting and recycling alone have prevented 85 million tons of waste to be dumped in 2010.

Fact 15: China is the world’s largest producer of carbon dioxide. United States is number 2.

Fact 16: Almost 80% of urban waste in India is dumped in the river Ganges.

Fact 17: Noise pollution is the most neglected type of pollution.

Fact 18: The amount of money invested in nuclear test could be used to finance 8,000 hand pumps, giving villages across third world access to clean water.

Fact 19: Acidification of the ocean is the worst type of pollution. Oceans are becoming more acidic rue to green house emissions from fossil fuel.

Fact 20: Livestock waste majorly contributes to soil pollution. During monsoon, water runs over the fields carrying dangerous bacteria from the livestock into the streams.

Fact 21: More than 100 pesticides in any medium- air, water or soil can cause birth defects, gene mutation and  cancer.

Fact 22: There are more around 73 various kinds of pesticides in the groundwater, which is used as drinking water.

Fact 23: There are more than 500 million cars in the world and by 2030 the number will rise to 1 billion. This means pollution level will be more than double.

Fact 24: Major oil spills like those in the Gulf of Mexico, is the the worst type of pollution due to consistent oil spills in the water body which spreads everywhere else.

Fact 25: House owners use chemicals that are 10 times more toxic per acre, than the amount used by the farmers.

Fact 26: Around 1000 children die in India every year due to diseases caused from the polluted water.

Fact 27: In India, the Ganges water is gradually becoming septic, especially due to dumping of half burnt dead bodies and enshrouded babies.

Fact 28: 88% of the children in Guiyu, China suffer from various respiratory diseases as the area they live in is a huge e-waste site.

Fact 29: Antarctica is the cleanest place on Earth protected by anti-pollution laws.

Fact 30: Scientific research has proven that carbon dioxide emissions are lowering the pH of the ocean and are acidifying them even more.

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