New Law to Stop Waste Disposal in Water Resources

Effects Of Plastic In kerala Pollution

Used and thrown away diapers and other non-decomposable materials emit considerable amount of methane and other toxins increasing the green house gas composition, thereby causing global warming.

The solution to the plastic threat is by segregating plastics and similar non-degradable objects from biodegradable stuffs and subjecting the former to the recycling units. The City Corporation of Thiruvanandapuram in Kerala, a southern state of India has been successful in setting up a recycling unit at Vilappilshalla, where the garbage is segregated and plastics are broken into granules, which are recycled into plastic bags. These granules were also used in pothole free road constructions.

The Kerala Government has banned the use and sale of plastic carry bags below 30 microns.

Food scraps and food soiled paper emits methane. These biodegradable stuffs should be collected and treated at composting plants. In addition, we should try producing less or no food wastes. Some food chains in Hong Kong impose fines on the customers if they make food leftovers, which is a practical method of cutting down global warming.

Effects Of Global Warming and Pollution On Human Health

The 21st century, often referred to as the era of globalization, was expected to make tremendous advancements in the field of science, technology and telecommunication. However, it saw an increased threat to global health. With the ever-increasing gap in the societal revenues, health for all cannot be simply achieved. Timely analyzing and reporting of diseases and death across the countries might be different and in some might not exist at all. Therefore, tackling the global disease burden would be a challenge for organizations like World health Organization, United Nations Development Programme, World Bank and World Health Council.

The above-mentioned organizations would have to fight against poverty too to ensure good global health. They cannot ignore malnutrition and hunger faced by the under developed nations. The life expectancy falls due to an increase in child mortality, increase of death due to infectious diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, vaccine preventable diseases, sexually transmitted diseases like HIV, emerging infectious diseases. They will have to ensure the availability of safe drinking water for all. When the health organizations strive to eradicate malnutrition and global hunger in the under developed countries, they are equally faced with a much challenging issue of obesity, common in the western and developing countries.

Effects Of Global Warming On Human Health

The Global Warming has resulted in an increase in the earth’s surface temperatures, which has terrific effect on human health. Rapid melting of snow in the artic, rising of sea levels and erratic climate variations because of Global Warming can cause serious alterations to the eco system, as there would be changes in the vegetation.

The rain forests, which hold water, are shrinking due to frequent forest fires. Due to global warming, the ocean is getting warmer; the storms can pick up more energy from them. This explains the cause of Hurricanes like Katrina, Tornadoes, floods and tsunami, heat waves and forest fires that bring about huge damage and destruction, injuries and death of lives; these could be followed by epidemics that are mainly water and food borne. Thus, the death toll could rise further than predicted. The erratic climatic change affects the agriculture, which can lead to deficit of food supplies and further leave the people starved and sick.

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Modern Agriculture and Health Impacts

Modern and industrial agriculture, which replaces the traditional one, consumes huge quantities of fuel, right from growing the crops until the time of delivering the food to the consumers located miles away. In addition, modern agriculture makes use of high nitrogen contained manures, fertilizers resulting in an increase of nitrous oxide to the atmosphere.

This increases the green house gas composition in the atmosphere, further enhancing the global warming and ultimately global climate change. The rain fed rice farms emit less methane than the nitrogen rich fertilized rice farms. The cattle we raise are nowadays fed on rich protein diet, which emits more methane than the grass fed ones.

The Living Dead of Kasaragod

The pests over the time have got genetically adapted to the pesticides, so the only solution is to use more expensive and highly poisonous modern pesticides like Endosulfan, which has been banned in many countries. Prolonged usage of strong pesticides has affected human health, causing paralysis, physical deformities, cancers and even central nervous system disorders. Reports of the usage of killer Endosulfan in Kasaragod district of Kerala and its effects on the health of the villagers bear testimony to the fact that man kills not only humankind but also the entire eco-system just for some monetary gains.

The solution to this problem is by cultivating and encouraging the consumption of organic foods. Organic crops are grown without the addition of harmful pesticides, fertilizers, sewage sludge and human wastes. Encouraging the consumption of organic crops could reduce green house gas emissions to a considerable level, there by improving global health.

Scenario of Pollution and Global Warming

Pollution from vehicles and plants contribute a greater proportion of green house gases to the atmosphere. These green house gases acts as a thick blanket, trapping much of the sun’s heat, thus warming the earth. These pollutants also cause respiratory and cardio-vascular diseases in humans.

By controlling the emissions from power plants and vehicles, we can improve the quality of air we breathe, indirectly our health. Some countries encourage car-pooling, thereby reducing road traffic, fuel and pollution. Using modern technology to build electric cars, relying on other sources of energy such as wind and solar can indirectly reduce global warming. Architects can design works that utilizes minimum energy and less vulnerable to heat and flood. Transport planners can do their best in creating and encouraging safe public transport system to allow convenient and an eco-friendly commuting for the public.

Finally, educating people about global warming and their health, on how each one of us can contribute to save energy and reduce our bills by simply choosing a fluorescent lamp over an incandescent bulb and switching them off when not needed is critical. Making them prepare for disasters and enhancing disaster management is highly essential.

Electronic Wastes - Things to Know About E-Wastes

The greatest environmental cum health problem that the world is going to face in the near future is that of electronic waste. The United Nations Organization (UNO) assumes that within ten years from now the quantity of electronic waste in the environment is to rise by ten times. Experts claim that it is due to the increase in the use of electronic gadgets plus lack of e-waste gathering and dearth in process of recycling.

What is e-waste?

Computers, Laptops, Electronic gadgets, Mobile Phones, Television, Refrigerator, Security Boards, Bulbs and their appendages that are no more in use are all identified as e-waste. It includes not only those items that are dumped out of factories but things that are thrown away from houses as waste. This in turn have become one of the major reasons for environmental - health problems.

It is estimated that in America around three crore computers are abandoned and in Europe about ten crore mobile phones are discarded per year. According to statistics it is believed that nearly five crore tons of electronic waste is disposed every year. But it is merely a rough calculation as domestic e-wastes are not included. The most shocking thing of all is that, only 20 percent of this e-waste is recycled and the rest remains as pollutants in water, soil etc.

How is e Waste a Threat to Health?

When parts of electronic devices are left out carelessly, gradually it leads to various health problems. A single computer consists of around a thousand poisonous components. Heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury fall into this category. These metals are hazardous and can damage the human neuron system, kidneys and brain. There are others that cause cancers too. The water ,which is polluted by such metals, when consumed by a pregnant lady can affect the baby to be born. Mercury is an example for the same. It damages the neuron system and the growth of brain in children. The mercury accumulated in the fishes and other marine animals from such e-wastes on consumption by human beings results in unhealthiness.

The lead present in printed security boards affects the central neuron system. When it mixes up with the blood it causes several health problems. It also affects the kidneys badly. In addition it can affect the foetus and new borns. It is believed that lead on consumption can result in cancer as well.  The flame retardants in printed security board hamper the digestive system. It has been proved that they too lead to cancer. They hoard in fat cells and generate severe troubles to health.

Cadmium, found in semiconductors and chips, is another metal of this sort. Apart from affecting the kidneys and liver it also results in osteoporosis. Thallium, Boron, Boryllium, Cobalt, and Radium is among the e-waste that is disposed in huge quantities which are hazardous to environment and human health

Electronic Wastes Recycling  - How To Recycle e Wastes

The Developed Countries which have introduced to the world the advancement in the field electronic technology have not been so successful in coming up with a scientific approach for the gathering, disposing and recycling of these e-wastes. Even India falls in the list of countries where it is found that people take up only the useful parts of old electronic gadgets and the rest of it is thrown out carelessly.

This results in water and air pollution. At this point developed countries are taking a crooked way to get rid of e-waste by depositing them in third world countries through ships. Reports reveal that such wastes are sometimes dumped even in sea. Experts ascertain that if these wastes are treated and recycled, a good portion of it can be reused.