...near lakes, ponds or rivers add nutrients like nitrogen into the water bodies. Land Pollution These chemicals come from industrial activities and from bad waste disposal. Soil pollution may cause health risks. They include the sound of vehicles, loud speakers, etc. Noise pollution can cause ear problems or even permanent deafness. Noise Pollution Air Pollution Water Pollution Pollution Pollution Facts & Types of Pollution by Alina Bradford, Live Science Contributor | March 10, 2015 10:05pm ET Pollution is the process of making land, water, air or other parts of the environment dirty and unsafe or unsuitable to use. This can be done through the introduction of a contaminant into a natural environment, but the contaminant doesn't need to be tangible. Things as simple as light, sound and temperature can be considered pollutants when introduced artificially into an environment. 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. Land pollution Land can become polluted by household garbage and by industrial waste. In 2010, Americans produced about 250 million tons (226.8 million kilograms) of garbage, consisting of product...
Words: 2832 - Pages: 12
... INTRODUCTION Sugarcane bioethanol is the most successful alternative fuel to date. Unfortunately, only Brazil and its favourable weather conditions, expansive territory, and large unskilled labor can provide the ideal situation needed for the exploitation of this renewable energy. Being the second largest producer in the world and the first net exporter, bioethanol is largely used for domestic consumption in Brazil, as it has replaced 40% of gasoline consumption, which has enabled the country to significantly reduce its dependence on oil. The first major milestone in the development of this alternative energy was the ProAlcool program in 1975, where in response to the oil crisis, the Brazilian government made huge investments to produce ethanol to stop its dependence on imported oil. However, it is only in 2003 that bioethanol really took off when fuel-flex vehicles came to the market. Unfortunately production levels have been stagnating and even decreasing since the 2008 financial crisis as there have been fewer investments, adverse weather conditions and high sugar prices (Walter, 2013). As such, sugarcane bioethanol has made many achievements, but it also faces many challenges. This paper will attempt to give a comprehensive overview of the situation of sugarcane bioethanol in Brazil and consider the prospect potential of this energy in Brazil. In order to elaborate on this topic, this paper will start by reviewing the achievements that this renewable energy has made, such...
Words: 1697 - Pages: 7
...Energy Portfolio management (Like Financial Portfolio management) is the Key to solving today’s and the future’s energy issues….. by Doug Story I believe it has been determined and accepted by almost everyone in the financial management industry and by those of us that invest or have our jobs supply financial instruments such as IRAs, Roth IRAs, 401Ks, etc for our retirement that it is imperative that our financial portfolio be diversified in such a manner that when part of the portfolio drops in value other parts of the portfolio will climb so that we may maintain, protect and continue to grow our funds in preparation for retirement. For example, why was the ENRON collapse such a disaster to most of the employees at ENRON? ENRON management had put pressure on everyone in the company retirement program to put all of their retirement savings into ENRON stock, so when the stock collapsed from its record highs these employees lost everything. If many of the employees at ENRON had invested in a diversified portfolio most of the money they placed in their retirement accounts may have been protected from the collapse of the ENRON stock. What does “Diversified Retirement or Stock Portfolio” mean? Simply put it means having a retirement account that is spread out over a range of stocks, bonds, cash and even precious metals. If the stock market goes down, in theory the bonds and precious metals will stabilize or go up at a rate that equals or reduces the losses due to the stock...
Words: 1663 - Pages: 7
...Alternative Fuels, Why bother? Over the years, fossil fuels have been the most popular form of fuel utilized in our every day transportation needs. Although fossil fuels are effective as our current energy source, the time is approaching where society will have to shift from fossil fuels towards utilizing alternative fuel sources. There are several factors contributing towards the shift from fossil fuels to using new alternative fuel sources. The primary reason for this shift is the rise in costs for harvesting, manufacturing and distributing the necessary basic components of gasoline. The increase in manufacturing costs has been passed on to the consumer in the form of increased gas prices. The average price paid per gallon in 2009 is $2.54, compared to $1.11 in 2001 (Energy Information Administration, 2009.) Additional factors contributing to the increase in gas production and distribution are due to the fact that fossil fuel reservoirs are not readily replenished and therefore, provided enough time has passed, our current stores will be depleted and society will be forced to rely on a new energy source. Additional factors contributing towards our need to switch to alternative fuels include the increase in foreign oil dependence to acquire fuel, the rise in air pollution, and the processing and distribution of these alternative fuels are more cost effective. Therefore, based on this and additional rationale, politicians and environmentalists should push for more funding...
Words: 2343 - Pages: 10
...Diesels may have amazing power, but they are terrible on the environment! In this paper you will see facts about why diesel exhaust affects people with asthma, allergies, and problems with breathing. You will also learn about how dangerous diesels are to plants. Also you will see how some companies, like volkswagen, have been cheating the emissions test by putting a software program to run the emissions computer as clean emissions. Lastly you will read about how Carbon dioxide has increased greatly in the Earth’s atmosphere since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Greenhouse gases affect more than the environment but, affect people more than anything, the exhaust from diesel affects people with asthma, allergies, and problems with...
Words: 1126 - Pages: 5
...Abstract Hybrid vehicles are known for having more than one battery and two engines (electric and gas) that help alternate the energy needed to run. While a majority of hybrid vehicles are designed not to burn as much fossil fuel, some hybrid vehicles may be designed to use other alternative fuels (such as hydrogen, biodiesel, flex-fuel, etc.). This not only makes them fuel efficient, but friendly to the environment as well. Conscious that carbon dioxide released from the burning of fossil fuels is driving global warming, many drivers have opted for hybrids because their fuel efficiency makes them relatively environmentally friendly (Hewitt, et al., 2006). There is a huge difference between non-hybrid vehicles and hybrid vehicles. Unlike the hybrid vehicles, a non-hybrid vehicle only burns fossil fuels that causes smog and a variety of harmful gases (such as nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide) into the atmosphere, which may be responsible for global warming. Because of the harmful gases in the atmosphere, they are not friendly nor healthy; which actually harms our environment. Renewable energy technologies are being explored to meet the challenges of energy security and climate change, as well as to boost regional economic development (Zhang & Cooke, 2008). Therefore, the two engines (electric and gas) that alternates energy (electric...
Words: 2210 - Pages: 9
...QUESTION ONE Toyota South Africa has moved into a new era in vehicle manufacturing in South Africa as a fully-fledged member of the Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) global production network. Following a five year multi-billion Rand plant modernisation and revitalisation programme Toyota’s Prospecton manufacturing facility, just south of Durban, boasts the latest in world class automotive manufacturing technologies. Many of these are proprietary TMC systems only recently released for use in Toyota plants outside of Japan. March the 4th 2008 marked a significant new chapter in the history of Toyota South Africa as the company became firmly established as a true volume exporter of vehicles in TMC global proportions. Using the Five Forces model of Michael Porter is a very elaborate concept for evaluating Toyota's competitive position. Michael Porter provided a framework that models an industry and therefore implicitly also businesses as being influenced by five forces. Michael Porter's Five Forces model is often used in strategic planning. Porter's competitive five forces model is probably one of the most commonly used business strategy tools and have proven its usefulness in numerous situations when exploring strategic management model. The auto manufacturing industry are considered to be highly capital and labour intensive. The major costs for producing and selling automobiles include: Labour - While machines and robots are playing a greater role in manufacturing vehicles...
Words: 4923 - Pages: 20
...the decision to look at the comparison of fossil fuels and other sources of energy that we use compared to the use and acquisition of bio fuels. I will explain, show and support the opinion of the comparison with biofuels being the more positive and safer choice. The different areas I will show this will be both economically and environmentally by far. There's no question relying on coal and oil for power is a bad for the environment. Both fuels release greenhouse gases when they are burned through cars and big trucks. Both are acquired through dangerous collection ways. And both are nonrenewable because it would take millions of years to generate more once we've used the world’s current supply. Many countries around the world are attempting to lose their dependence on oil and coal by replacing it with biofuels. A biofuel is a fuel created by processing an organic compound into a usable energy source from the definition I looked up on Wikipedia which I know can be unreliable but I believe it will suffice for now. The two most common biofuels are ethanol and biodiesel. Biofuels are renewable and sustainable. That means that farmers can dedicate land to growing energy crops plants that will one day be used to create fuel as well as our food supply. Some of the most common potential crops include corn, soy, rapeseed and switchgrass. Rapseed and switchgrass were two that I found through research and interest. Plants like switchgrass that most people don’t know about can be grown...
Words: 667 - Pages: 3
...Jalen Foster Mr. Mundth ENG 107 16 December 2011 Biofuels on Mother Earth: Where Are They? The fossil fuels provided by our Earth are extremely limited due overuse by humans. Scientists thought the problem was solved with a new man-made fuel that could replace fossil fuels; they called them bio-fuels. With bio-fuels people can power cars, power factories, power houses, and power many other structures around the world. But lately these biofuels are becoming harder to come by, and they cost more than anticipated. Scientists have done several studies on why this is happening, but the answer in very clear. Although we have millions of resources on Earth we have managed to decrease those resources by more than half, and it is not all because of global warming. It is really because we have over used them as a people. Firstly, global warming should not have the full blame for the depletion of bio-fuels. Global warming is the worlds’ temperature increase, which has been found to be predominantly caused by humans as well. The “Green House Gases” aka carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are created from our cars, industrial buildings, houses, etc. In a movie called An Inconvenient Truth the issue was that people are emitting so much carbon dioxide that for the first time, carbon dioxide levels has risen over 300 parts per million. This comes from billions of cars running cars being driven across the world and the millions of major factories being ran across the world the...
Words: 1755 - Pages: 8
...Farm Subsidies Farming has been around since the beginning of time and has undergone significant developments since the time of the earliest cultivations. It hard to believe that farming is still an important tool for producing food since we are all surrounded by fast food restaurants. The United States Agriculture Department, USDA, has always supported the Agricultural business through Farm Subsidies programs. The U.S Agriculture Department has distributed between 10 billion and 30 billion into their Farm subsidies programs to large farm businesses. These subsidies consists of direct payments, counter-cyclical payments and marketing loans to the contracted farm producers. Just to better understand how each payment works direct payments are granted to farm producers based on the usage of their land and their history of crop production. This means that some individuals may receive direct payments for land they own, even if they are not currently producing commodity crops. Like direct payments, counter-cyclical payments are tied the production of crops, so farmers may receive payments for crops they are no longer growing. The marketing loan program guarantees minimum prices for crops. Producers can take out marketing loans, using their crops as collateral, in order to hold the crops and sell them when prices rise. Most of the Government’s farm subsidies funds go to farmers that produce the following top five commodity crops which include wheat, corn, soybeans, rice and cotton. The...
Words: 2334 - Pages: 10
...Genetically Modified Crops Tara Singleton Professor Sherif Sci 115 August 19 2015 Genetically Modified Crops In recent years genetically modified (GM) plants have grabbed a significant amount of attention in both positive and negative ways. This topic is discussed in the media and seen labeled on products in grocery stores, yet the general public remains uninformed of what genetically modified plants are. The Technology Genetic engineering is known to be the most favorable technology advances in biotechnology today. The results from genetic engineering are normally named genetically modified organisms or as seen on labels GMOs. There are many techniques scientist use to create these plants and in recent years produce crops. The two most common methods are by using the “gene gun” and a bacteria called Agrobacterium tumefaciens (Key, Ma, & Drake, 2008). The “gene gun” is genetic engineering method that shoots microscopic elements coated with DNA into the plant cells. Distinct plant cells are targeted and are renewed into a whole different genetically modified plant. The other way, use of the bacteria Agrobacterium tumefaciens, is the process of naturally transferring DNA to plants (Key et al., 2008). In principal, a strand of one plants DNA can be extracted from its cell and inserted into another plant's genome. On the topic of crop development, it is done with the same species of plant. Biotechnology speeds up the process of identifying the particular gene for...
Words: 1437 - Pages: 6
...AEROGELS-THE MATERIAL SCIENCE OF CONSTRUCTION New buildings are rising everywhere, burning energy by the second and this demand for power pushes up greenhouse gases and pollution. 40% of the buildings energy consumption is used for heating and cooling. Being civil engineers it becomes imperative on our part to device some modern construction methodology to contribute our bit to prevent further worsening of the condition. Buildings alone waste 13% of the global energy production because of poor insulation. That’s equals to nearly four billion barrels of oil a year. Its an unbelievable waste just to heat up the sky. After years of research scientists have revealed the technology in the form of aerogels that could transform our cities and usher in better future. What is aerogel? Aerogel is made from a jelly like substance partly liquid partly solid. Solids are fine chain of silica surrounded by alcohol. It is then supercritically dried to transform it into aerogel.It is basically a form of nanotechnology.It is also known as frozen smoke or blue smoke because of its blue colour. History of aerogels: The first aerogels were produced in 1931 by Samuel Kistler, an undergraduate instructor at the College of the Pacific in Stockton, California. Accidently, Kistler found a way to remove the fluid from a wet silica gel, leaving behind its solid structure. The first commercial aerogels were produced in 1942 by the Mosanto corporation, under the trade name Santocel. The process involved...
Words: 1399 - Pages: 6
...Kreed Frentheway Professor Largey English 2010 2 February 2016 Marijuana’s prohibition We can’t live in a society that is free and drug-free. Seventy-seven years ago marijuana became illegal in the United States. There are two very distinct views looking at marijuana. One side is totally for it and sees it as an amazing plant that can heal countless medical problems, help with mental well-being, makes cells more active, and even more. But the other side is totally against it and sees it as the devil’s creation. Destroying lives. Making people dumb. Killing people. This side usually doesn’t have much knowledge about the drug, so they are ignorant to the facts. They rely on what the media tells them, what their old teachers and mentors told...
Words: 1412 - Pages: 6
...flexible; one can chose to install as much capacity as possible based on the available capital. For offshore islands, remote highlands which are inaccessible, vast but thinly-populated grasslands and pastures, and rural villages and frontier regions which are far away from power supply networks and will continue to remain unreached, wind power can be an effective energy source for production and survival, which further enhances its significance. bad aspects The spinning blades kill and maim birds and bats Noise like "brick wrapped in a towel turning in a tumble drier," "as if someone was mixing cement in the sky," "like a train that never arrives And at night, the towers must be lighted, which the AWEA describes as a serious nuisance, destroying the dark skies that many people in rural areas cherish (and that the state of Vermont is on the verge of specifically protecting). Red lights are thought to attract night-migrating birds. Ice...
Words: 5049 - Pages: 21
...ENS-314 Global Environmental Change Living in the Environment: Concepts, Connections, and Solutions, 16th ed., by G. Tyler Miller, Jr., and Scott E. Spoolman (Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole CENGAGE Learning, 2009). FINAL PROJECT Climate Change Prepared by Student at Thomas Edison State College Assignment Distributed Prepared for Global Environmental Change (ENS-314) Thomas Edison State College Technical summary of climate change Overwhelming scientific study demonstrate the earth’s atmosphere is warming rapidly, mostly because of human activities, and that this will lead to significant climate change during this century (Miller, Spoolman 2010). Climate change throughout history has affected evolution and natural selection, moving continents and dispersing populations throughout the world with these movements. Until the industrialization of the human population a hundred and sixty years ago our atmosphere...
Words: 3592 - Pages: 15
