Indoor air quality

The lack of ventilation indoors concentrates air pollution where people have greatest exposure times. Radon (Rn) gas, a carcinogen, is exuded from the Earth in certain locations and trapped inside houses. Researchers have found that radon gas is responsible for over 1,800 deaths annually in the United Kingdom.[citation needed] Building materials including carpeting and plywood emit formaldehyde (H2CO) gas. Paint and solvents give off volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as they dry. Lead paint can degenerate into dust and be inhaled. Intentional air pollution is introduced with the use of air fresheners, incense, and other scented items. Controlled wood fires in stoves and fireplaces can add significant amounts of smoke particulates into the air, inside and out. Indoor air pollution may arise from such mundane sources as shower water mist containing arsenic or manganese, both of which are damaging to inhale. The arsenic (As3+) can be trapped with a shower nozzle filter.

Indoor pollution fatalities may be caused by using pesticides and other chemical sprays indoors without proper ventilation, and many homes have been destroyed by accidental pesticide explosions.[citation needed]

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a quick and silent killer, often caused by faulty vents and chimneys, or by the burning of charcoal indoors. 56,000 Americans died from CO in the period 1979-1988.[citation needed] Chronic carbon monoxide poisoning can result even from poorly adjusted pilot lights. Smoke inhalation is a common cause of death in victims of house fires. Traps are built into all domestic plumbing to keep deadly sewer gas, hydrogen sulfide, out of interiors. Clothing emits tetrachloroethylene, or other dry cleaning fluids, for days after dry cleaning.

Though its use has now been banned in many countries, the extensive use of asbestos in industrial and domestic environments in the past has left a potentially very dangerous material in many localities. Asbestosis is a chronic inflammatory medical condition affecting the tissue of the lungs. It occurs after long-term, heavy exposure to asbestos, e.g. in mining or in the installation or removal of asbestos-containing materials from structures. Sufferers have severe dyspnea (shortness of breath) and are at an increased risk regarding several different types of lung cancer. As clear explanations are not always stressed in non-technical literature, care should be taken to distinguish between several forms of relevant diseases. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), these may defined as; asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma (generally a very rare form of cancer, when more widespread it is almost always associated with prolonged exposure to asbestos).

Biological sources of air pollution are also found indoors, as gases and airborne particulates. Pets produce dander, people produce dust from minute skin flakes, dust mites in bedding, carpeting and furniture produce enzymes and micron-sized fecal droppings, inhabitants emit methane, mold forms in walls and generates mycotoxins and spores, air conditioning systems can incubate Legionnaires' disease and mold, toilets can emit feces-tainted mists [1], and houseplants, soil and surrounding gardens can produce pollen, dust, and mold. Indoors, the lack of air circulation allows these airborne pollutants to accumulate more than they would otherwise occur in nature.

History of Environmental activism

Environmental activism dates back nearly 400 years. The first such recorded instance is that of the Bishnois of Rajasthan, India when a number of Bishnois embraced death to defy the cutting trees in their villages, by the king's men of that region.

Environmentalism today IV

In 1979 former NASA scientist James Lovelock published Gaia: A new look at life on Earth, which put forth the Gaia Hypothesis, that life on Earth can be understood as a single organism. This became an important part of the Deep Green ideology. Throughout the rest of the history of environmentalism there has been debate and argument between more radical followers of this Deep Green ideology and mainstream factions.
Environmentalism has also changed to deal with new issues such as the theory of global warming and genetic engineering.

Environmentalism today III

In the 1970s the Chipko movement was formed in India, influenced by Mahatma Gandhi they set up peaceful resistance to deforestation by literally hugging trees (leading to the term ‘tree huggers’). Their peaceful methods of protest and slogan 'ecology is permanent economy' were very influential.

By the mid 1970s many felt that people were on the edge of environmental catastrophe. The back to the land movement started to form and ideas of environmental ethics joined with anti-Vietnam War sentiments and other political issues. These individuals lived outside normal society and started to take on some of the more radical environmental theories such as deep ecology. Around this time more mainstream environmentalism was starting to show force with the signing of the Endangered Species Act in 1973 and the formation of CITES in 1975.

Environmentalism today II

In 1949 A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold was published. It explained Leopold’s belief that humankind should have moral respect for the environment and that it is unethical to harm it. The book is sometimes called the most influential book on conservation.

It was not until the 1960s that concern for the environment by a few individuals turned into a movement and the formation of environmentalism as an ideology started to happen. In 1962 Rachel Carson published Silent Spring. In this Carson detailed how insecticides and pesticides could enter the food chain affecting the whole environment as well as causing a risk to people. The book particularly looked at DDT and led to its eventual ban.[1] The book's legacy was to produce a far greater awareness of environmental issues and interest into how people affect the environment. With this new interest in environment came interest in problems such as air pollution and oil spills, and environmental interest grew. New pressure groups formed notably Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth.

Environmentalism today I

Modern environmentalism has its roots in the mid to late 19th Century United States with individuals such as John Muir and Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau was interested in peoples' relationship with nature and studied this by living close to nature in a simple life. He published his experiences in the book Walden, which argues that people should become intimately close with nature. Muir came to believe in nature's inherent right, especially after spending time hiking in Yosemite Valley and studying both the ecology and geology. He successfully lobbied congress to form Yosemite National Park and went on to set up the Sierra Club. The conservationist principles as well as the belief in an inherent right of nature were to become the bedrock of modern environmentalism.

In the 20th century environmental ideas continued to grow in popularity and recognition. Efforts were starting to be made to save some wildlife, particularly the American Bison. The death of the last Passenger Pigeon as well as the endangerment of the American Bison helped to focus the minds of conservationists and popularize their concerns. Notably in 1916 the National Park Service was founded by President Woodrow Wilson.

Environmentalism

Environmentalism is a concern for the preservation, restoration, or improvement of the natural environment, such as the conservation of natural resources, prevention of pollution, and certain land use actions. It often supports the struggles of indigenous peoples against the spread of globalisation to their way of life, which is seen as less harmful to the environment.

The term environmentalism is associated with other modern terms such as greening, environmental management, resource efficiency and waste minimization, and environmental responsibility, ethics and justice

Environmental science IV

As an example study, consider the case of a leaking solvent tank which has entered the soil upgradient of a habitat of an endangered species of amphibian. Physicists would develop a computer model to understand the extent of soil contamination and subsurface transport of solvent, chemists would analyze the molecular bonding of the solvent to the specific soil type and biologists would study the impacts upon soil arthropods, plants and ultimately pond dwelling copepods who are the food of the endangered amphibian.

Geosciences includes environmental geology, environmental soil science, volcanic phenomena and evolution of the earth's crust. In some classification systems it can also embrace hydrology including oceanography.

As an example study of soils erosion, calculations would be made of surface runoff by soil scientists. Hydrologists would assist in examining sediment transport in overland flow. Physicists would contribute by assessing the changes in light transmission in the receiving waters. Biologists would analyze subsequent impacts to aquatic flora and fauna from increases in water turbidity.

Environmental science III

Ecology studies typically analyze the dynamics among an interrelated set of populations, or a population and some aspect of its environment. These studies could address endangered species, predator/prey interactions, habitat integrity, effects upon populations by environmental contaminants, or impact analysis of proposed land development upon species viability.

An interdisciplinary analysis of an ecological system which is being impacted by one or more stressors might include several related environmental science fields. For example one might examine an estuarine setting where a proposed industrial development could impact certain species by water pollution and air pollution. For this study biologists would describe the flora and fauna, chemists would analyze the transport of water pollutants to the marsh, physicists would calculate air pollution emissions and geologists would assist in understanding the marsh soils and bay muds.

Environmental chemistry is the study of chemical alterations in the environment. Principal areas of study include soil contamination and water pollution. The topics of analysis involve chemical degradation in the environment, multi-phase transport of chemicals (for example, evaporation of a solvent containing lake to yield solvent as an air pollutant), and chemical effects upon biota.

Atmospheric sciences

Atmospheric sciences examines the new phenomenology of the Earth's gaseous outer layer with emphasis upon interrelation to other systems. Atmospheric sciences comprises meteorological studies, greenhouse gas phenomena, atmospheric dispersion modeling of airborne contaminants,[1][2] sound propagation phenomena related to noise pollution, and even light pollution

Taking the example of the global warming phenomena, physicists create computer models of atmospheric circulation and infra-red radiation transmission, chemists examine the inventory of atmospheric chemicals and their reactions, biologists analyze the plant and animal contributions to carbon dioxide fluxes, and specialists such as meteorologists and oceanographers add additional breadth in understanding the atmospheric dynamics.

Environmental science II

Environmental science encompasses issues such as climate change, conservation, biodiversity, groundwater and soil contamination, use of natural resources, waste management, sustainable development, air pollution and noise pollution. Due to the inherent interdisciplinary nature of environmental science, teams of professionals commonly work together to conduct environmental research or to produce Environmental Impact Statements, as required by the U.S. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) or under state laws. There are professional organizations that engender work in environmental science and aid in communication among the diverse sciences.

Environmental science I

Environmental science is the study of the interactions among the physical, chemical and biological components of the environment; with a focus on pollution and degradation of the environment related to human activities; and the impact on biodiversity and sustainability from local and global development. It is inherently an interdisciplinary field that draws upon not only its core scientific areas, but also applies knowledge from other non-scientific studies such as economics, law and social sciences. Physics is used to understand the flux of material and energy interaction and construct mathematical models of environmental phenomena. Chemistry is applied to understand the molecular interactions among natural systems. Biology is fundamental to describing the effects within the plant and animal kingdoms.

While the concept of environmental science has existed for centuries, it came alive as a substantive, active field of scientific investigation in the 1960s and 1970s driven by (a) the need for a large multi-disciplined team to analyze complex environmental problems, (b) the arrival of substantive environmental laws requiring specific environmental protocols of investigation and (c) the growing public awareness of a need for action in addressing environmental problems.

Built environment II

In landscape architecture, the built environment is identified as opposed to the natural environment, with the recognition that places like Central Park may have the look, feel, and nourishing quality of natural surroundings while being completely artificial and "built", thus blurring the line between the two.
In urban planning, the phrase connotes the idea that a large percentage of the human environment is manmade, and these artificial surroundings are so extensive and cohesive that they function as organisms in the consumption of resources, disposal of wastes, and facilitation of productive enterprise within its bounds.Recently there has also been considerable dialogue and research into the impact of the built environment's impact on population health

Built environment

The phrase built environment refers to the manmade surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging from the large-scale civic surroundings to the personal places.

In architecture and environmental psychology, the phrase is a useful acknowledgement that a small fraction of buildings constructed annually, even in the industrialized world, are designed by architects, and that users of the built environment encounter issues that cross the traditional professional boundaries between urban planners, traffic engineers, zoning authorities, architects, interior designers, industrial designers, etc. Historically, much of the built environment has taken the form of vernacular architecture, and this is still the case in large parts of the world. In the industrialized world, many buildings are produced by large scale development remote from its eventual users.

Challenges in the natural environment II

More recently, there has been a strong concern about climatic changes such as Global warming caused by anthropogenic releases of greenhouse gases, most notably carbon dioxide, and their interactions with human uses and the natural environment. Efforts here have focused on the mitigation of greenhouse gases that are causing climatic changes (e.g. through the Climate Change Convention and the Kyoto Protocol), and on developing adaptative strategies to assist species, ecosystems, humans, regions and nations in adjusting to the Effects of global warming.

A more profound challenge, however, is to identify the natural environmental dynamics in contrast to environmental changes not within natural variances. A common solution is to adapt a static view neglecting natural variances to exist. Methodologically this view could be defended when looking at processes which change slowly and short time series, while the problem arrives when fast processes turns essential in the object of the study.

Challenges in the natural environment

It is the common understanding of natural environment that underlies environmentalism—a broad political, social, and philosophical movement that advocates various actions and policies in the interest of protecting what nature remains in the natural environment, or restoring or expanding the role of nature in this environment. While true wilderness is increasingly rare, wild nature (e.g., unmanaged forests, uncultivated grasslands, wildlife, wildflowers) can be found in many locations previously inhabited by humans.

Goals commonly expressed by the environmentalists include: reduction and clean up of man-made pollution, with future goals of zero pollution; reducing societal consumption of non-renewable fuels, development of alternative, green, low carbon or renewable energy sources; conservation and sustainable use of scarce resources such as water, land and air; protection of representative or unique or pristine ecosystems; preservation and expansion of threatened or endangered species or ecosystems from extinction; the establishment of nature and biosphere reserves under various types of protection, and, most generally, the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems upon which all human and other life on earth depends.

The natural environment II

The natural environment is contrasted with the built environment, which comprises the areas and components that are heavily influenced by man. A geographical area is regarded as a natural environment (with an indefinite article), if the human impact on it is kept under a certain limited level (similar to section 1 above). This level depends on the specific context, and changes in different areas and contexts. The term wilderness, on the other hand, refers to areas without any human intervention whatsoever (or almost so).

The natural environment

The natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a term that comprises all living and non-living things that occur naturally on earth or some part of it (e.g. the natural environment in the United States). This term includes a few key components:

Complete landscape units that function as natural systems without massive human intervention, including all plants, animals, rocks, etc. and natural phenomena that occur within their boundaries.
Universal natural resources and phenomena that lack clear-cut boundaries, such as air, water and climate.
Natural features which occur within areas heavily influenced by man (such as wild birds in urban gardens).

Environment

Environment refers to a complex of surrounding circumstances, conditions, or influences in which a thing is situated or is developed. Environment is the external forces affecting living things, while nature is the inner force.

It may also refer to:
Natural environment, all living and non-living things that occur naturally on Earth
Built environment, manmade surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging from the large-scale civic surroundings to the personal places
Environmental science, the study of the interactions among the physical, chemical and biological components of the environment
Environmentalism, a concern with the preservation of the natural environment
Social environment, the culture that an individual lives in, and the people and institutions with whom they interact