The environmental A-Z… the letter A…week 1

 

Welcome to my new series…still an A-Z but with a difference …it’s not food-related!

But don’t worry one of my regular readers( Chel) came up with an idea for me…all these good ideas to keep the grey matter active…Thanx Chel x

In the meantime, the idea for this series came about because yes as my regular followers and commenters know I am passionate about the health of the world I am living in… however often when I am researching and reading articles I come across terms and have to look them up which spawned the idea for this…two-fold… it increases my knowledge and I hope yours…

Not wanting to bore you I decided to run with Chels idea on the opposite weeks to my new idea…Chels idea for me was to go through the alphabet (as) is getting a norm for me but with the said letter (A) for this illustration as the middle letter…e.g. wrAps which of course need no explanation I mean who doesn’t love a spicy chicken wrap?

The A-Z of the environment and Climate Change…

The best way to predict your future is to create it...Abraham Lincoln.

Air Pollution…

Air is composed of a number of gases, mostly oxygen and nitrogen with smaller amounts of water vapour, carbon dioxide, argon and other trace gases.

The open burning of waste from individual residences, businesses and dumpsites are a large source of air pollutants. Globally the emissions from CO2 from open waste burning are relatively small compared to total anthropogenic CO2.

Anthropogenic carbon emissions are the emissions of various forms of carbon – the most concerning being carbon dioxide – associated with human activities. These activities include the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, land-use changes, livestock, fertilization, etc., that result in a net increase in emissions.

Regional CO2 emissions from developing country’s in Asia and Africa are a concern …it is often highlighted here as although it is illegal… farmers and individuals carry on burning the sugar cane fields.   

We humans however can breathe easy. The average human exhales about 2.3 pounds of carbon dioxide on an average day. (The exact quantity depends on your activity level—a person engaged in vigorous exercise produces up to eight times as much CO2. as his sedentary peers.

Conclusion: Air Pollution leads to Air Quality which is a measure of the level of pollution in the air.

An air quality index is used by government agencies to communicate to the public how polluted the air currently is or how polluted it is forecast to become. Public health risks increase as the AQI rises. Different countries have their own air quality indices, corresponding to different national air quality standards. Wikipedia

Algae Blooms…

No, they are not beds of pretty flowers…

They are…Sudden spurts of algal growth, which can affect water quality adversely and indicate potentially hazardous changes in local water chemistry.

As algae blooms grow, they deplete the oxygen in the water and block sunlight from reaching fish and plants. … And when the algae eventually die off, the microbes which decompose the dead algae use up even more oxygen, which in turn causes more fish to die or leave the area.

What can we do at home? 

  1. Recycling items — and properly disposing of items that cannot be recycled — keeps them from making their way to rivers and oceans. Even cigarette butts have a dramatic environmental effect when people drop them on the ground at a beach or riverside area.
  2. Eliminating or minimizing your use of harsh chemicals provides the surest way to protect global waters from chemicals. When chemicals leach into a body of water, they can devastate ecosystems. Nitrogen and phosphorus, commonly used in fertilizers, lead to a surge in algae growth when they enter a water body, killing off existing aquatic life, for example.
  3. Proper disposal of hazardous materials such as paints, motor oil and pharmaceuticals keeps them out of the water supply. Inquire with your municipal centre about chemical pickup or drop-off locations in your area.
  4. Water that runs down streets after rainfall, or after you wash your car with a hose, carries toxins from streets and yards that eventually may reach waterways. Sweep rather than hose down your driveway if you need to get rid of debris. When washing your car, use a bucket instead of a hose. Having porous outdoor surfaces like gravel, as well as gardens, also minimizes runoff.
  5. Get involved with local initiatives to plan responsible water use systems and ensure that healthy waters become a component of any development initiative. Attend city council and town hall meetings regularly to contribute your input, or even run for a position on the city council or your county board of supervisors. Even if you’re not an expert on water use, you can put the issue on the agenda, bring in expert consultants and educate yourself and the public. By exercising a direct impact on local planning, you’ll also be protecting waters at the global level.

Personally, I think each one of us needs to start taking responsibility for the world we live in…the time has come for individuals to feature in a look at their own home and surrounding areas and take responsibility…Make a difference!

Alternative Energy Sources…

Is the energy that does not come from fossil fuels (such as coal, oil, gas), BUT from wind, flowing water, solar energy and biomass.

Wind and flowing water are simpler to understand… the wind is another source of solar energy…Winds are caused by the heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the rotation of the Earth, and the Earth’s surface irregularities. For as long as the sun shines and the wind blows, the energy produced can be harnessed to send power across the grid.

Flowing water…Hydropower uses a fuel—water—that is not reduced or used up in the process. Because the water cycle is an endless, constantly recharging system, hydropower is considered renewable energy. When flowing water is captured and turned into electricity, it is called hydroelectric power or hydropower.

Solar energy is the transformation of heat, the energy that comes from the sun. It has been used for thousands of years in many different ways by people all over the world. The oldest uses of solar energy are for heating, cooking, and drying.

Biomass is the fuel developed from organic matter waste of living organisms like plant waste, animal waste, forest waste, and municipal wastes. In biological terms, the word biomass refers to organic plant matter, which is converted into fuel and used as an energy source.

That’s all for today…I hope I have explained it in layman terms and made some things clearer as I believe we should all have a clearer picture in our minds as to what we can change and how…

See you in two weeks for the letter B…next Wednesday it will be Part 1 of the new A-Z on food and terms with the middle letter being A as in toAst.

Thank you for reading and please leave a comment if you feel a need… I love to chat it makes my day…Love Carol x

39 thoughts on “The environmental A-Z… the letter A…week 1”

  1. OIKOS™-Editorial

    Thank you for the great advices, Carol! We are in need saving the environment, and if each other are doing their part, it will get wonderful. Against algues here they are using carps. 😉 Best wishes! Enjoy your week! Michael

    Liked by 1 person

      1. OIKOS™-Editorial

        Hi Carol! They had said so. But it may have been a delusion. They use the pool pond for carp breeding and earn a lot of money with it. But they wanted to use the pond again for bathing, so there was this reason to have to leave the carp in the pond. 😉

        Liked by 1 person

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    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you…I will look it up…it would be the letter “r”…middle letter don’t forget…was the algae bloom bad? I know some are and can be a huge problem 😦

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

    A great start to the series Carol…we have a problem with solar power here as sunshine is a precious commodity – even with advances in the technology allowing for better absorption.. We do have some wind power but it needs more investment and for a small country such as ours it takes time.. As to recycling.. I do have a big peev.. and that is glass. There are bins for separate colours of glass which everyone carefully sorts.. clear, green and brown.. and then the truck arrives and picks them up one by one and dumps them all in the back of the lorry together!.. Anyway great job..hugsx

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you, yes there is always something I just wish they would even sort it here they haven’t got that far…we have the sunshine so that’s a plus more and more people are using solar power here …I noticed the packaging in the shops has reverted back to plastic from banana leaves etc and was told its because of Covid-19…I will be watching closely once covid is over …Hugs xx

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  9. robertawrites235681907

    An interesting post, Carol. In Africa, the sugar plantations have always been burned to get rid of poisonous snakes and rodents before cutting. It is a tradition. Our local people also burn the veld which is traditional so that the green grass grows through quicker. It is difficult to overcome this old customs.

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  10. Jim Borden

    this looks like it will be quite an informative series; I’m looking forward to reading it. My wife and I have talked about retiring to Florida, but the area we are interested seems to have frequent algae blooms. not sure if it is a cause for concern or not…

    Liked by 1 person

  12. koolkosherkitchen

    Very important series, dear Carol; good luck with it!
    We are quite familiar with algae blooms here, but I have never realize that they deplete oxygen. As to recycling, I wish some people realized the difference between different color lids of trash dumpsters, even if they can’t read the signs on them! This is my huge pet peeve.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank Dear Dolly for your kind words and support. I think your pet peeve is justified I just think people are lazy and just put their rubbish in the closest dumpster and think they are doing well…I watched docu on it a while ago and they don’t look the first available container and in it goes..Lazy… Hugs x

      Liked by 1 person

  13. petespringerauthor

    Great idea for a series. Make sure Chel reads rule 187.46 of the Carol Taylor handbook which clearly states, “Once suggesting an idea for Carol, said blogger must then participate each time with his/her own examples.” 😎 I wish I would have read the handbook in advance. Whew! The pressure is finally off. No more having to try and come up with foods ending in letters like j, q, and v.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. TasView

    “a person engaged in vigorous exercise produces up to eight times as much CO2. as his sedentary peers.” – mmmm, sounds like a good reason not to exercise and help the planet out 😉 A great post!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you, but given that there are other factors which cause far more Co2 to be released I think exercise should still be on the agenda…Nice try though 🙂

      Like

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Well Done, Peggy I wish people would do that a lot is done here as regards personal waste, food, clothes… it’s just things like burning everything and recycling as regards packaging etc is not good …hit and miss …I do hope you enjoy the series 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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