Pollution can kill marine life, resulting in harmful algal blooms and anoxic zone, change the food web dynamics. The pollution is also harmful to human health, causing fisheries, tourism operators and other huge economic losses.
Too many nutrients in the water, resulting in excessive growth of algae. Recorded more than 300 cases of paralytic shellfish poisoning and 17 records of human deaths occur only in Central America, the toxins produced by these algal blooms.
Pollution range from an estimated $ 21 - $ 414 million a year in Southern California beach bacteria-related diseases medical expenses. California to spend approximately $ 51 million, its clean beach initiative, more than six years from 2000-2006.
Dispersed organic pollutants from sewage, the nutrient fertilizer runoff pollution, marine plastic debris, toxic dumping and oil spills, urban runoff and pollutants combined to create one of the most critical class of marine threats. The aquaculture wastewater offshore oil and mining, radionuclides, oil spills and antifouling chemicals and the dumping of toxic compounds. Plastic constitute a particularly serious threat, with an estimated 90% of floating debris in the ocean is plastic, which may take hundreds of years to break at sea. Part of the North Pacific Ocean (North Pacific Gyre) is the world's largest floating "islands" waste, known as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Contaminated area covers an area of ??about 800 square kilometers, larger than the land area of ??the United States as a whole.
Environmental and socio-economic impacts
Pollution applied some of the worst effects of marine and human systems. Nutrient inputs from sewage or fertilizers may cause eutrophication, thereby increasing the primary productivity and algal blooms (including harmful algal blooms), oxygen depletion, reduced water quality, fish, coral and other marine life populations. In turn, these changes to change the food web dynamics and the entire ecosystem. Nutrient pollution may also lead to the outbreak of the disease, which can produce a lot of fish and coral mortality. Chemical pollution is as bad from mining or toxic dumping. Toxic chemicals can accumulate in fish in vivo, to destroy the hormone balance, endangering fish breeding, changing food web dynamics, ecosystem function and biodiversity. Oil spills, the formation of a large area of ??water thin, toxic film, but also have a profound impact on the marine life at multiple levels. Plastic and floating debris is equally destructive, they absorb persistent organic pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and bioaccumulation in fish, marine mammals and seabirds and damage to the marine food web dynamics.
The pollution caused by the population. Cause mortality economically important species, pollution can reduce the productivity of fisheries and aquaculture, thereby endangering the livelihood of the people. Nutrient pollution also poses a serious health risk, including paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), ciguatoxin, and algae blooms, or elevated mercury levels in people's. Pollution of coastal waters, can also reduce the aesthetics, recreation and tourism. Strengthen agriculture, mining and industrial activities of the Pacific region as a whole, and the development of new synthetic compounds, chemical pollution control and unmonitored. Many marine ecosystems and human impacts, are still unknown.
Organic waste = air pollution
The consequences of air pollution seems unlikely to become a landfill, but in fact it is a major problem. The main culprit is what the organic code and food waste. Usually compressed to save space in landfills. Each day the deposit was covered with a layer of dirt to prevent insects and rodents, and help to shed rain, thereby minimizing leachate. So far, so good. But the result is a virtually oxygen-free environment. When the decomposition of organic matter under anaerobic conditions, they produce methane, a greenhouse gas. The compost generated carbon dioxide, another greenhouse gas, it is a reasonable doubt that the compost / landfill Select Classic Six, a half-dozen - other circumstances. The first to produce carbon dioxide, methane production. What is the difference between them? Is it really worth the time and effort to maintain organic matter in the landfill? To do something in terms of where and how to reduce it. Carbon dioxide is a major problem, a major pollutant. However, methane is worse. According to the EPA, methane remains in the atmosphere for 9-15 years old "," over 20 times more effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere 20 times more carbon dioxide (CO2) than during the past 100 years. "Methane than carbon dioxide powerful until 2003, the highest methane production in landfills (EPA). They are still one of the top three sources of other cows burp, or intestinal fermentation, production of natural gas leak. 2006, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency landfill has fallen to second place, this is mainly because more and more systems to collect methane, which is burned or used to generate electricity. Reported that nearly 6 trillion grams of landfill methane emissions, equivalent to more than six and a half billion tons. This is equivalent to about 125.7 trillion grams of carbon dioxide on the effects of global warming or 138,560,531 tons Flaring - combustion of methane because it collects landfill - may seem a terrible waste and pollution. It is. But if you keep in mind, the methane is so much more than carbon dioxide harm the environment, then practice the methane carbon dioxide in a different light. When the landfill stops production of methane? No one really knows. Now, some sources indicate that landfill continue to produce dangerous amounts and past the point, it is a period of 30 years after the economic collection and long, EPA requires closed landfills monitoring methane burn off in landfills methane generated CO2, is a greenhouse gas, but not as bad as methane. Global warming - fast - long-term dent in the improvement of the landfill offers the best opportunities around. |
