LIGHT POLLUTION to increase as population and energy use increases

Posted on March 8, 2009

The International Dark-Sky Association defines light pollution as “any adverse effect of artificial light including sky glow, glare, light trespass, light clutter, decreased visibility at night, and energy waste.” Ecosystems or natural landscapes, animals, plants, and human health are negatively affected by light pollution. Via Andrew Sullivan, and the image was found here

POLLUTION: Sparking the Pollution Blaze – Do we Really Need Fireworks?

Posted on February 24, 2009

NOTE: This post was written by Holly McCarthy, contributor to the Conservation Report

If you think that burning a wad of $100 bills for momentary enjoyment is an act that’s reserved only for the loonies, well then, most of us are kind of crazy too, at least the ones among us who enjoy a fireworks display. Yes, I will admit that I am among those who tend to ooh and aah at the magnificent colors and amazing patterns that streak across the night sky and hold us enthralled. But then comes the sobering thought: How much are we contributing to the pollution of the earth’s atmosphere and the air we breathe by encouraging and participating in such displays?

The answer is not pleasant at all, because fireworks are among the largest polluters in terms of volume used.^[*] For example, even a single firecracker is capable of causing high level of air pollution. In fact, fireworks are an absolute menace to human health and one of the biggest enemies to a green and clean earth because:

The manufacturing process is polluting: Fireworks contain a large amount of chemicals and heavy metals, which means that the manufacturing process produces harmful effluents that tend to pollute surrounding areas and water resources.^[*] Also, most fireworks are manufactured in developing countries like India and China (for reasons of cost) where labor is cheap and anti-pollution laws are not stringent enough. Besides, there’s always the tendency to use substandard materials and harmful chemicals (some of which are banned) during the production process.

They contain harmful chemicals: The pretty colors we see showcased against the black sky are nothing but the effects of poisonous chemicals like barium, copper, cadmium, lithium, antimony, rubidium, strontium, lead and potassium nitrate. Some of them are radioactive^[*] and can cause cancer while others increase the levels of perchlorate in the air and water and yet others cause respiratory problems and other chronic illnesses. High levels of perchlorate inhibit your thyroid’s ability to absorb iodide, and this leads to hypothyroidism and thyroid cancer.^[*] Besides this, these chemicals have been proven to cause acid rain which is not good for the environment.

They contribute to noise pollution: This one’s a no-brainer—just ask anyone with a baby that needs to go to sleep how annoying and infuriating the sounds of firecrackers are, and you’re bound to get a earful. The noise is deafening and at times, when adequate safety precautions are not taken and the crackers are set off too close to human ears, there’s a high probability of damaged eardrums.

The debris litters the earth and surrounding resources: Falling debris from burned out firecrackers litter the ground and also pollute surrounding water resources. They are also liable to be swallowed by animals and fishes which then choke to death or die because they are poisoned by the chemical residue from the litter.

The smoke pollutes the air: Firecrackers emanate a lot of smoke which not only makes breathing difficult, but also adds to the existing pollution levels that are already dangerously high. The fumes are noxious and can cause and aggravate various respiratory illnesses like asthma and bronchitis.

They are dangerous: If adequate precautions are not taken, they can cause fires that destroy buildings and forests and also cause deaths and injuries.

It’s an irony that fireworks, being the heavy polluters that they are, are largely used to celebrate festivals and other occasions like Independence Day, because if we persist in encouraging this trend, the day is not far off when we’re going to be fighting a losing battle of another kind—the struggle to save our planet from global warming and pollution.

Footnotes:

^[*]“Fireworks are one of the most unusual sources of pollution in atmosphere; although transient, these pollution episodes are responsible for high concentrations of particles (especially metals and organic compounds) and gases.”

^[*]See: “U.S. government scientists say Fourth of July fireworks displays often held over lakes and other bodies of water can pollute the water with perchlorate“

^[*]For example, barium “is used to produce brilliant green colors in fireworks displays, despite being poisonous and radioactive.”

^[*]See: “Low Levels Of Perchlorate Exposure Are Safe For Pregnant Women, Study Indicates”: However, “in higher amounts, perchlorate decreases the entry of iodine into the thyroid gland, [and] it can disrupt how the thyroid functions because iodine is an essential component of thyroid hormones.”

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Information about the Author:

This post was contributed by Holly McCarthy, who writes on the subject of organic coupons to make “living green and buying organic products easier for consumers everywhere.” She invites your feedback at hollymccarthy12 at gmail dot com

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Photo source for attribution. The author or licensor of this image does not endorse my work or me and their image is protected under an attribution license.

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ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS PICKS

Posted on November 17, 2008

ALGAE-BASED FUEL: Colorado Company Takes Algae-Based Fuel to the Next Level

ANIMAL WELFARE: Activists Throw Flour On Fur-Clad Lindsay Lohan

ASTRONOMY: Sun Shows Signs Of Life: Long-Awaited Solar Cycle 24 Starting To Take Off, Cassini Finds Mysterious New Aurora On Saturn, NASA: A Bubble in Cygnus

AUTO INDUSTRY: Reasons to Bail Out GM, Here’s Why We Need A General Motors (GM) Bailout, You F***er

BALLOT INITIATIVES: Mixed Bag for State Environmental Ballot Initiatives

BIG OIL: In secret agreement, Shell nets 25-year monopoly on S. Iraq’s gas, Blow to Brown as BP scraps British renewables plan to focus on US

CHERNOBYL: Chernobyl. 21 years later

CLIMATE CHANGE: Impact Of Climate Warming On Fish: International consensus on the reality of climate change is now apparent: global warming is ascribable in large part to human activities. It is causing rapid deterioration of the environment and is increasing the threat to biodiversity. However, the mechanisms of its impact are still poorly known, particularly in the aquatic environment., Warming Trend Is Steepest in 5,000 Years, Canada Offers Continental Climate Pact, Lemming Numbers Dwindling Under Warming

CLONING: Frozen mice cloned – are woolly mammoths next?

COAL: EPA Blocks Coal Plant, Could Change Power Landscape

DIESEL ELECTRIC HYBRID: Hybrid tugboat may give local ports a green push

ENDANGERED SPECIES: Water restrictions ordered to help California fish

ENERGY MIX OF THE FUTURE: How Floating ‘Energy Islands’ Could Power the Future

FOSSILS: Marine Plankton Found In Amber: Marine microorganisms have been found in amber dating from the middle of the Cretaceous period. The fossils were collected in Charente, in France. This completely unexpected discovery will deepen our understanding of these lost marine species as well as providing precious data about the coastal environment of Western France during the Cretaceous.

FUNGAS-BASED FUEL: Microbes: Fuel of the Future?, Rainforest fungus makes diesel: Colorized environmental scanning electron microscope photo of Gliocladium roseum, an endophtic fungus that produces myco-diesel hydrocarbons.

FUEL EFFICIENCY STANDARDS: New York City’s Green Taxi Program Red Lighted By Federal Judge:

GREEN: Best of what is new in green technology 2008, In Times Square, a Company’s Name in (Wind- and Solar-Powered) Lights: The first eco-friendly billboard is coming to Times Square, entirely powered by the sun and the wind — but there is one small catch.

GREEN CONSTRUCTION: 10 Amazing Buildings Made of Dirt and Straw

HIV/AIDS: AIDS Patient Reportedly Cured, T Cell-based HIV Vaccine Candidate Demonstrates Positive Results: The question of whether or not to continue to pursue the development of T-cell-based HIV-1 vaccines has been a source of controversy following last year’s widely publicized failure of the field’s most promising candidate, a vaccine developed by Merck known as V520.

INAUGURATION TICKETS: It’s time to plan your inauguration trip: Festivities could last 10 days, but hotel rooms, flights to D.C. will be scarce

INVASIVE SPECIES: Scientists: Reverse Age-Old Engineering Or The Great Lakes Suffer

LED LIGHTS: Would You Buy This Funny-Looking Bulb?

LIGHT POLLUTION: Efficiency’s Mark: City Glitters a Little Less: The bright lights of the big city are getting a little bit duller — with just a hint of green.

MARINE CONSERVATION: Sea Snakes Seek Out Freshwater To Slake Thirst

MARINE MAMMALS: Killer Whales Are Discriminating Diners

NATURAL GAS: Does Natural Gas Have an Ally in Rahm Emanuel?

NATURE: Venom Hunt Finds ‘Harmless’ Snakes A Potential Danger, Tiny Radio Tags Offer Rare Glimpse into Bees’ Universe

NANOWASTE: Plants Can Accumulate Nanoparticles In Tissues

NUCLEARIZATION OF ENERGY SOURCES: Mini nuclear plants to power 20,000 homes: £13m shed-size reactors will be delivered by lorry

OCEANS: Mysterious Microbe May Play Important Role In Ocean Ecology: An unusual microorganism discovered in the open ocean may force scientists to rethink their understanding of how carbon and nitrogen cycle through ocean ecosystems., Elusive Microbe Fertilizes Oceans

PESTICIDES: Organic Farmer Murdered After Protesting Toxic Dumpsite: An Indian organic farmer and anti-pollution advocate was shot to death on Monday while in the midst of exposing an illegal dumpsite on his property to the media.

PIRATES: Somali Pirates Seize Supertanker Loaded With Crude

POLITICS: Prop 8 Myths, Fox’s Shepard Smith Disputes Idea That The Media Secured Win For Obama, Senate Dems To White House: Preserve Records (Especially You, Cheney)

POLL: Should Cape Wind be built?

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: California gives green light to high-speed train

RECLAIMED OR RECYCLED WATER: NASA astronauts to drink their own urine: As NASA prepared to double the number of astronauts living aboard the International Space Station, nothing did more for crew bonding than a machine being launched aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on Friday.

RECYCLING: Eat & Drink from Recycled Bottles, Recycling By the Numbers: The Truth About Recycling: Americans haul 82 million tons of trash to recycling centers each year—but that’s still just 32.5 percent of what we throw out. Here’s how much energy recycling saves and how much that’s worth., Is Recycling Worth It? PM Investigates its Economic and Environmental Impact: Americans haul 82 million tons of trash to recycling centers each year. But does it pay off—for the environment or the economy? PM has some real answers.

SCIENCE: New Path Found To Antibiotics In Dirt, Forced Evolution: Can We Mutate Viruses To Death?, Mystery solved: How bleach kills germs, Octopus Family Tree Traced Using New Molecular Evidence, Rock-Eating Bacteria “Mine” Valuable Metals

SEA LEVEL RISE: Mass Relocations Planned as Sea Levels Rise

SOLAR: Mid-East’s Largest Solar Panel Manufacturing Plant to be Built In Dubai, Coating helps solar panels soak up more of the sun

THE MEGAFISHES PROJECT: Giant Prehistoric Fish Rebounding in Canada

WATER POLLUTION: Freshwater Pollution Costs US At Least $4.3 Billion A Year: Pollution by phosphorous and nitrogen isn’t just bad for lakes, streams and other bodies of fresh water. According to researchers at Kansas State University, it’s also bad for Americans’ pocketbooks., Thousands of factory farms will be exempt from needing permits that limit water pollution thanks to a new Bush Administration rule signed today. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency did not adopt improved controls for bacteria and other pathogens that can pose risks to human health and wildlife.

WATER WARS: Atlas of hidden water may avert future conflict

WIND POWER: Pickens Delays His Wind Farm Plan, Largest Wind Farm in World Halted By Credit Crisis, Wind power blights la belle France

YEAR OF THE FROG: Global Warming Link To Amphibian Declines In Doubt

ZOOLOGICAL CONSERVATION: 90 Year-Old Giant Tortoise Mates, Lonesome George, the World’s Rarest Tortoise, Isn’t Ready to Be a Dad, Breeding program may fail to produce progeny for Galapagos’ Lonesome George, VIDEO: Last Tortoise’s Hopes Dim

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Photo source for attribution. The author or licensor of this image does not endorse my work or me and their image is protected under an attribution license.

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