Archive for June, 2009

Aquatic biodiversity is important to the health and well-being of our planet, but is being threatened at an increasing rate. It is affected by many variables, including irrigation, contamination, and evaporation.

Irrigation

Irrigation is, possibly, the most subtle threat to aquatic biodiversity. Until recently, most irrigation issues were considered strictly from an engineering standpoint, with little regard to how construction and maintenance of irrigation channels would affect aquatic biodiversity. The channels were just earthworks, with no seepage protection. Over time, seepage affects a body of water’s aquatic biodiversity by changing its composition, affecting all life in or sustained by it.

Contamination of the body of water

In the past, lakes were often used as dumping grounds for waste materials. These materials are ingested by native animal and plant life, directly affecting aquatic biodiversity by killing off entire species. According to Philip Micklin and Nikolay V. Aladin’s article in the Scientific American, over the last thirty years animal life has decreased as follows: Fish species, from 32 to 6; bird species, from 319 to 160; and mammal species, from 70 to 32.

Evaporation

If rate of evaporation exceeds rate of rainfall, snowmelt, or groundwater supply, aquatic biodiversity is threatened.

When a body of water’s volume decreases (transforming the area into first a marsh, then dry ground, then eventually a desert) aquatic biodiversity changes as well. Micklin and Aladin state that the Aral Sea has actually suffered sufficient evaporation that it split into two smaller bodies, the Small and Large Aral Seas. The Large Aral Sea split again, into a “deep western basin, a shallow eastern basin, and an isolated gulf.” None are as deep as the original body of water and damage has been done to both plant and animal sectors. They further note that the marshland has decreased from 100,000 hectares in 1960 to 15,000 hectares in the 1990s.

Second, the percentage of salinity (the ratio of salt to water) can rise. Two of the smaller bodies are no longer habitable largely due to this aspect. According to Micklin and Aladin, the salinity of the Large Aral Sea has risen from about 14 grams per liter (g/l) to over 100. A typical ocean’s salinity is about 53 g/l, so this is devastating. What were once lush expanses of plant life sustained by the lake’s water are now barren except for the few varieties able to thrive in either saline soil, dry conditions or both.

If damage was restricted to this one body of water, the threat to aquatic biodiversity would not necessarily be world-threatening. The problem (exceedingly costly to fix once the damage has begun), however, is spreading. The latest victims are Central Africa’s Lake Chad and California’s Salton Sea. Unfortunately, even economically fortunate countries are cautious in allocating funds for remedying the problems. Unless ways can be found to help smaller countries, where immediate survival is often more urgent than long-term effects, we can expect these changes to continue, with disastrous effects.

Many of us talk about environmental pollution, and many of us have the same idea about what environmental pollution entails: orange sludge collecting in rivers, clouds of yellow smog wafting over valleys, trash littering a formerly green field. But these evocative images just aren’t sufficient if we really want to take on the task of ending or curbing environmental pollution in our local regions, and in the world at large. In order to fight environmental pollution, we need to know the major types of environmental pollution: how to recognize them, what problems they present, and what we can do against them.

Major Types Of Environmental Pollution #1: Air Pollution

Air pollution is any major source of irritating smoke, chemical residue, or other vapor released into the air that makes it a significant health risk to human life–or simply unpleasant to experience. Common sources of air pollution include smokestacks, jet engines, or other fossil fuel-burning technologies. Air pollution can even be much simpler: for example, some four million people die every year from air pollution caused by improperly ventilated cookfires in sub-Saharan Africa.

Major Types Of Environmental Pollution #2: Water Pollution

Water pollution is any type of contaminant released into the water supply. The classic image of this is the pipe outside a victory dumping waste into a river or lake, but water pollution can also happen through illegal trash dumping near a water source, or simply by pesticides seeping through the soil and into the groundwater, where they gradually pass into the rivers and the sea.

Major Types Of Environmental Pollution #3: Soil Contamination

Speaking of pesticides: soil contamination is any type of waste or poison that slowly leaches into the soil, rendering it unable to support life or growth. Many agricultural chemicals are linked to this type of environmental pollution, especially pesticides, veterinary medicines, and non-organic fertilizers.

Major Types Of Environmental Pollution #4: Noise And Visual Pollution

These types of environmental pollution are often not taken as seriously as others–after all, loud noises and aesthetically offensive advertising and industrial development won’t slowly poison your body or cause species of animals to go extinct on a massive scale. However, these aesthetic types of environmental pollution do significantly reduce people’s quality of life over time. If you don’t feel like going out to work or walking in your neighborhood because you’re surrounded by TV ads, billboards, and angry music played from a thousand radios, your quality of life goes down and your ability to thrive within your environment goes down with it.

There are of course other types of environmental pollution–as many types as there are industrial projects with unsustainable methodologies. Once you can spot them, it’s time to begin the more difficult task: ending them, cleaning them up.

Biodiversity is a fragile thing, susceptible to all sorts of threats. Even as it supports all life on Earth it is constantly facing threats and damage that is almost impossible for our multiple ecosystems to recover from. Threats to biodiversity come from many sources, most human but some natural.

Largest among the threats to biodiversity looms human greed. Historically, humans have always taken what they needed from the earth itself, and from its plant and animal species, with no regard as to whether the resources being consumed were finite or not. It has only been since the middle of the 1980s, as species started becoming extinct at a record rate of speed, that threats to biodiversity became recognized as a major concern.

Deforestation left acres of former forests bare, and inhospitable to the animals and plants that depended on them for food and sustenance. Some bodies of water, such as the Aral Sea, have had their saline levels change so radically that they are uninhabitable by the marine life that used to be plentiful.

These and other threats to biodiversity, again mostly caused by humans, have created situations where support for the human life of some regions is imperiled by the changes to the area. For example, when a body of water is no longer habitable, the fish become extinct or migrate elsewhere, contributing to hunger of the local land species that used to feed on them.

Engineering projects – such as dams and irrigation channels which change the flow of water to a region, and can create either flood basins or deserts, depending on which project is placed in a region – are among the biggest man-made threats to biodiversity. They render vast amounts of land unusable for growing food, although – to be fair – an irrigation project is usually implemented to bring water to land that is more either arid or far more populous than the land used for the project.

Humans have used all the fossil fuels they can get their hands on – in fact have fought wars over these resources – with no thought that someday we might run out of them. And, whole national economies have been based on the production of and selling of those same fossil fuels.

Threats to biodiversity are almost as numerous as the regions that are threatened. While, given the differences between the regions, there is no one, uniform solution, there are things that can be done in all of them, such as careful planning, identification and preservation of threatened species, and learning that all natural resources are finite, that can clearly help us learn how to minimize the threats to biodiversity, which are, ultimately threats to our own well-being.

Introduction

An increased awareness of one’s surroundings coupled by a further rise in consciousness to the environment has now led to a great demand for environment education specialists who can cater to the needs of various organizations in this category.

The job of an environment education specialist entails jobs of various kinds and natures, focused typically towards the target of maintaining and ensuring environment-friendly practices for the entire work system.

Key Roles

To begin with, an environment education specialist is responsible for creating awareness of the basic relationships between human activity and natural environment. This primarily involves developing and promoting strategies that are intended to encourage others to make responsible choices regarding consumer decisions, government policies and corporate responsibilities.

There are a vast range of other special duties that are to be performed by the environment education specialists working in a particular organization. Conducting research on specific issues such as consumerism, lifestyle choices, resource development, wildlife management and forestry is one of the fist duties enlisted. Others include assimilating environmental information from many sources and making it understandable to others though written articles and presentations, teaching course and leading workshops on the subject.

Such specialists are also responsible for interpreting natural and human history through field study groups and school programs, educating the public though newspaper, magazine, radio, television and internet. Most importantly, an environment education specialist is responsible for integrating environmental education into traditional subject areas such as science, social studies, economics, language arts and mathematics.

Besides, there are various areas of specialized activities that the environment education specialists might choose to enroll in. These might include providing information about consumer goods and services that might influence living or purchasing habits, providing information that empowers people to take action of the environment in the work place and building capacity in communities, schools and businesses to create and deliver their own environmental education programs.

For an individual to qualify and train as an environment education specialist, he/she also needs to have a set of important personal characteristics in order to perform the job well.

The most important amongst these include strong interpersonal, communication and problem solving skills, interest in environmental issues, analytical skills required to determine the validity of information, strong writing skills, ability to work collaboratively with diverse groups of people and research and consulting skills that might be required to assess needs and develop potential action plans.

Some of the most prominent organizations employing such environment education specialists include the environmental and conservation societies, naturalist clubs, school boards, outdoor education enters and government departments.

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The evaporative emissions control system is part of the emissions control system that works to prevent harmful hydrocarbons and hazardous gases to be released from the operation of your vehicle. The evaporative emissions control system is not just in use when your vehicle is running, it also works when your vehicle is turned off.

Gas is a very easily evaporated substance and tends to turn from a liquid into a vapor at lower temperatures that many other substances. Until vehicles were equipped with the evaporative emissions control system component, there was a significant amount of liquid gas in the fuel tank that simply turned into vapor and was vented or released into the air. It was estimated that before 1970 when evaporative emissions control system programs were put in place, about twenty percent of all hydrocarbons released into the air were from gasoline evaporation from vehicle gas tanks.

The evaporative emissions control system turns what used to be an open system into a closed system, trapping the vapor in a canister. Both the gas tank as well as the carburetor vent into the canister that is filled with charcoal. When the vapor from the gasoline moves through the canister it sticks to the charcoal, which is a type of filter. The tiny vapor particles are held into the charcoal but when the vehicle is started again the suction produced by the engine will pull the vapors back into the engine. This vapor is then burned in the engine as part of the combustion of the motor, resulting in a cleaner burning engine.

In order for the evaporative emissions control system to work correctly, the system must be completely sealed. This includes a sealing gas cap to the outside of the vehicle. If the seal is damaged in some way, the system does not work properly and will trigger the “check engine” light to come on. Once this happens, taking the vehicle to a technician who can then check the on-board diagnostic system will confirm that there is a gas cap seal problem. Simply replacing the gas cap typically fixes the problem and ensures that the evaporative emissions control system is working correctly. Another common problem is a sticky valve to the canister, which will result in an improper air fuel ratio and poor vehicle performance. The valve can also stick open, result in incorrect fuel mixtures as well. Finally the filter to the charcoal canister can also become plugged. This is typically seen as a decrease in power and acceleration when the vehicle is being driven. Even if the engine light does not come on, this filter and the valve should be checked during all tune-ups.

For most makes and models of cars, trucks and SUV’s a vehicle emissions control information sticker can be found somewhere under the hood, usually close to the front and right side of the inside of the hood where it is clearly visible. The purpose of this decal is to provide the mechanic with the specific vehicle emissions control information that will be required when repairing or working on the engine.

There are several abbreviations used on the vehicle emissions control information sticker and they include:

• BPA – by pass air
• CONV – conventional system
• EGR – exhaust gas recirculation
• EGR BPT – exhaust gas recirculation back pressure transducer
• EVAP – evaporative emission
• EVAP CSP – evaporative emissions canister storage/purging
• IAC – idle air control
• IAC FIC – idle air control fast idle control
• PCV – positive crankcase ventilation
• TI – transistorized ignition
• WU-TWC – warm-up three way catalytic converter
• UB – underbody
• TWC – three way catalytic converter
• VCC – vacuum cut control solenoid

As a vehicle owner you won’t need to know or remember these terms, however the vehicle emissions control information sticker and the schematic drawing that shows these different areas of the engine are essential for your repair professional.

The easiest way for a driver to know when the vehicle has noted a problem with in the vehicle emissions control system is that the malfunction light will come on in the dash. Depending on the model and type of vehicle that you drive the light will be different. Typically there is some type of “check engine” message that is associated with the particular in-dash system, but in addition the vehicle will also store a record of what was happening in the engine within the computer memory. When you take your vehicle to the repair shop their diagnostic computer interacts with your vehicle computer chip, allowing the computer to literally help diagnosis the malfunction in your vehicle. In order to properly set and repair the vehicle, the vehicle emissions control information that is specific to your vehicle and engine will be used.

The computer system will also clear itself after so many drive cycles are completed without the same fault or detection occurring. Depending on the make and model of your vehicle the number of drive cycles required to clear the system will vary, but it is typically around three. This means that if the reading was an abnormality that doesn’t repeat, the car will actually reset it own computer chip and will cease to continue to alert the driver through the indicator light.

Nearly every large city on Earth suffers from some degree of smog. This word itself is a combination of “smoke” and “fog,” though the actual substance that hangs in the atmosphere like a dirty brown blanket is usually far more complicated.

During the initial century of the industrial revolution, smog was almost always caused by the emissions from coal-fired plants. However, since the 1950s, smog is more commonly found as “petrochemical smog,” most often containing a mixture of nitrogen oxides and a whole collection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are both emitted by the burning of fossil fuels, chiefly automobiles.

If these chemicals remained as they were, they’d be problematic enough. However, once released into the atmosphere, they react with sunlight to form many noxious compounds including carbon monoxide, particulate matter, ground-level (or tropospheric) ozone, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. All of these substances are known to cause respiratory disorder and premature death.

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The mangrove ecosystem covers the flora, fauna and ground conditions with in the parameters of a mangrove. From the climatic conditions to the members and relationships in the food chain, the mangrove ecosystem is dependant on the major resources available. The mangrove ecosystem is unique to its area between brackish and fresh water. The mangroves are vital to filtering out the salt from the water to enable the trees to grow.

The fauna in a mangrove ecosystem will include the minute and the massive. The mangrove ecosystem offers shelter and living conditions to insects, birds, arachnids and mammals, from the tiny bush mouse to large mammals, lizards or water dwelling predators.

In the mangrove ecosystem the smallest creatures and plants are still important to the structure of the environment. From the smallest gnat to the largest predator, the relationship between the food chain is vital to the balance of the ecosystem.

Even the plants of the mangrove will become fodder for larger herbivores or small fish and water dwelling creatures. The mangrove ecosystem is balanced by the resources available. The number of trees is maintained by the number of animals or insects using them for their lifestyle or food sources. If the number of predators in the mangrove ecosystem should alter, then the food chain would be unbalanced right down to the fundamental level. Even a slight alteration in the mangrove ecosystem, due to floods, pollution, drought or human intervention, can lead to the destruction of the mangrove ecosystem itself.

The mangrove ecosystem is reliant on the balance being maintained, between growth and decay. While rotting plants, brackish water, carcasses and mulch can offer sustenance to some creatures, the death of a plant is still part of the mangrove ecosystem. The mulch provides the ideal place for germination of other seeds. All this is part of the balance of the mangrove ecosystem.

The mangrove ecosystem includes the life cycle of the larger animals too. Their living, reproducing, hunting and dying all effect the way the mangrove ecosystem achieves balance. Any variation to the numbers of creatures within the mangrove ecosystem could change the fragile balance drastically. Too few predators could mean an over production of marine life that relies on the mangroves. Once the balance is lost, it can be impossible to regain.

The delicate balance of the mangrove ecosystem is vital to the health and vitality of the mangrove itself. From climate conditions, water quality and quantity, to human intervention, or exploitation, the mangrove ecosystem is prone to influences that can alter it forever.

There are many different types of rooms, buildings or spaces that are not designed to allow typical types of air conditioners to be installed. This may be because they don’t have a large window for the window mount units or are not in an area where a through the wall air conditioner could be mounted. This is often the case for basements or second or higher stories. In addition the home or building may not be suitable for a forced air or conventional type of air conditioning unit for a variety of reasons. New technology now allows the option of cooling these rooms using portable air conditioning units. These portable air conditioning units are not much more expensive than window or through the wall units and have the added benefit of being moved from room to room or space to space, which may in fact result in overall energy saving as only the required area is cooled.

Portable air conditioning units do not need any type of permanently mounted outside air exchange, which means they do not need to be attached to a window ledge or through the wall to the outside. The portable air conditioning system does need to release the hot air outside, however this is done by a simple, flexible hose that is attached to the back of the unit. The other end of the hose is placed through the window, allowing the system to get rid of the hot air and prevent warming in the area around the portable air conditioning unit.

A portable air conditioning system is identical to a window mounted, wall mounted or forced air system. The system draws in air, removes the heat from the air, runs the air through the cold side of the unit to cool the air and blows the cool air back into the room. Through this process water is removed from the air that collects either in a tray at the base of the unit or is partially evaporated and released with the hot air through the flexible hose. The portable air conditioning systems that use this method are easier to maintain as there is less need to continually check the water levels in the collection tray during operation. If you cannot access the outside of the building through a window, the non-evaporative system may be much more practical. Care must be taken to avoid venting the humid air near drop ceilings or any vents to the attic to prevent adding additional moisture to these areas of the house or building.

Some of the newer models of portable air conditioning systems also double as heaters, dehumidifiers and even as fans. Looking at the features of each unit will help determine which is the best possible option for individual needs.

Conserving freshwater that isn’t contaminated with something ugly is a major concern for most cities. Even in places where the municipal water supply is reused many times before discharge into the larger environment, the number of passes through our cities and our selves increases the level of contamination.

Conserving water decreases the amount of energy spent on pumping. It also decreases the reliance upon rivers, streams and lakes. Such bodies of water can be pumped too low for already stressed animal populations to survive the other impacts of pollution – notably algal blooms in estuaries.

Since much of a household’s water budget is spent on laundry, it makes sense to address this water “sink” as the “source” becomes more erratic due to climate change. Water service is also quite costly. Since the 1970s, some washing machines have been designed to use a fraction of the wash water by recycling gray-water from one load to another and using fresh rinse water.
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