The modern-day issue of pollution is no exaggeration. To put things into perspective, the WHO has estimated that, in 2012 alone, an estimated 12.6 million people died from living or working in unhealthy environments, riddled with air and trash pollution alike—accounting for 1 in 4 of all deaths in total, killing more people yearly than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. And adding salt to the wounds, society’s most vulnerable members—the children, the poor, and the elderly—are impacted the most. They are the ones who suffer most from the chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, lung cancers, infectious diseases, and water contaminations brought upon the world by air and trash pollution. The purpose behind this project is to innovatively purify the planet's air through the use of trash, serving as both a private and public air cleaner to maximize its utility. Its design criteria include five ideals: the ultimate device must be predominantly sourced from trash, effective in its purification function, portable for travel, and easy to operate. In addition, four “Cleansing Chambers” housing the filter layers (three with different types of fine filtration layer and one control with no fine filter). A four-criterion aggregate score (with a maximum of 12) has been designed to gauge the overall efficacy of the device, including the filtration efficiency, smoke and odor removal, outputted airflow, and affordability (scores given by rank 0-3 each; 0=worst, 3=best). After an
Waste Management, Inc., incorporated in 1968, had become a leader in the industry of waste management services ranging from industrial operations to curbside collection. This company had become synonymous with many different kinds of disposal services that allowed for the company to grow and grow with a solid base over the course of twenty-eight years. Finally in 1996, the company reported total assets of almost $20 billion with net income close to $200 million. However, even with this growth and solid base, the company was feeling competitive pressures and net income was on the decline.
One of the most well known problems of the world is air pollution. It’s a pressing matter, as “approximately 3.3 million people die prematurely each year from causes directly linked to air pollution” (Hoyle, “Air Pollution”). These deaths cost the US economy about $225 billion in lost labor income. Also, “diseases attributed to both types of air pollution caused 1 in 10 deaths in 2013, or more than six times the number of deaths caused by malaria” (“Air Pollution Deaths”), which shows that this issue is something that needs to be desperately fixed. Despite many attempts to curb air pollution, it is still a prominent fixture that is not going away.
Throughout the mid-19th century, many cities across America were becoming industrialized and growing in size. As a city develops and grows, the city uses resources such as food, raw products, and energy. All these resources are consumed by a city. The outcome of all this consumption is the production of waste (Tarr 15). In the mid-19th century, a massive migration of Americans and wave of migrants from different countries in Europe and other parts of the world begin to settle in urban settings across America. Many were seeking better job opportunities and better lives in American cities. As a result, industrial cities grew dramatically and became heavily congested. As cities grew and began to emerge, many more resources were consumed
The factories that make the garbage that we purchase give off a ton of pollution. A lot of those factories work with plastic which is terrible for the environment. The air pollution levels rose fourteen percent from 1990 to 2008. The gas let out into the air and the products made just create more problems for the world. The factories waste energy and natural resources and eventually we won’t have anything to make other products that would be more useful. So much money goes into making useless garbage and that money could be used to make more useful and important things like new roads and new businesses.
With this knowledge, we evaluated which issue would be the most important and possible to solve. Pollution seemed the most needed and achievable, therefore, we decided to find a solution for it. Our main resource was the internet, which provided us with the main air pollutants, material for our design, and the origin of air pollution. With our identified problem, more research was conducted. To sum up, we learned numerous details such as, Houston’s ranking in air pollution, the main pollutant in the air that affects human and other organisms’ health, and the material
America disposes millions of dollars in unsold and out of date food yearly. In fact, four billion tons of food is produced annually, and on average $165 billion of that is wasted (Frasz). Between grocery stores, restaurants, and personal households this total can add up rapidly. Society frequently complains about the unemployed, sick, and poor not having ends meet. However, Americans often contradict themselves by allowing this process of waste to continue daily. These wasted products could be beneficial in numerous ways. For example, donating to charity, food banks, or farmers for animal feed and compost are just a few ideas we could consider other than just throwing our leftovers out. Other countries, such as France are finally starting to counteract against this worldwide situation and the United States should follow in line. America should be implementing techniques to solve this excessive waste problem before the issue becomes out hand.
Landfill growth is inevitable. As landfills grow, they release toxic chemicals in the air and harmful pollutants into groundwater. These hazardous chemicals make our tap water undrinkable and our air unbreathable. Residents who live near landfills are most likely to encounter health problems. A few of these problems include: lung and respiratory problems, heart disease, nervous system damage, and cancerous illness. Residents who live nowhere near a landfill may think they are safe, when the risk may be just as high. The truth is, no matter if you live across the road from a landfill, or if you live 100 miles away, everyone is at risk. To better understand how people hundreds of miles away are at risk, it’s important to know how landfills came about, what kinds of toxins landfills produce and how they travel, and what can be done.
The author gives a historical analysis on the management of waste in the United States shifting from a historical description to an analysis of the general influence of political and economic forces that shape the way we manage waste today. Throughout most of history, recycling has primarily occurred as a result of a scarcity of material. This becomes clear in the first chapter where the author talks about how the availability of pulpwood and rags was extremely low due to war outcome, therefore the government called upon the citizens to supply old rags in exchange of other goods. These are the first steps of recycling in the United States. The author explains that first the word “recirculate” was used to describe the recirculation of water
For a great majority of the households in America, one universal item that is found in almost every home is a trashcan lined with a white or black drawstring bag. Americans use billions of these trash bags each year, disposing of food and other waste. Often times, an average family will go through three to four of these bags each week. While there is nothing initially puzzling about the use of garbage bags, it does call into question why a rival product that is cheaper and reusable has yet to catch on in American markets. After all, more and more Americans are turning to “greener” lifestyles, seeking to reduce their environmental footprint while simultaneously cutting back on unnecessary expenses.
Particulate matter removal from the industrial flue gas sources is one of the biggest challenges of the modern industrialized period. Particulate matter is a mixture of both solid and liquid that is suspended in air and is normally emitted into the air by the direct source of emission [1]. Particulate matter is of various sizes but PM10 and PM2.5 are commonly used to explain the PM concentration in the air and is normally required to be reported as an air pollution control standard. Particulate matters (PM) causes various health-related problems if their level is not controlled in the air. In a joint report, prepared jointly by European Centre for Environment and Health and WHO [1], PM matter especially smaller PM2.5 causes serious health risks and as a result, it is noticed that the life expectancy in 25 European countries has decreased about 8.6 months. There are variety of equipment used to control the particulate matter in the emission sources such as settling chambers, wet scrubber, electrostatic precipitator, filters and cyclone separators. Cyclone separators are most widely used to remove the particulate matter from the pollution source because of their low capital and operating cost, and simplicity in operation, however, their low efficiency is one of the major challenges.
The air that people breathe everyday is critical to the very existence of not only civilization, but also the entire Earth; therefore, taking care of it should be a priority to everyone that inhabits it. A commitment needs to be made by all. It is not necessary for everyone to be radical protesters against factories and automobile manufacturers, but if everyone were to get involved, even in the slightest way, such as carpooling to work, the air that is inhaled by all as a matter of survival would be increasingly cleaner. The air pollution created by these factories is dangerous to the environment and to the health of people everywhere. “Industrial air pollution is
Hazardous waste considered as an undesirable substance which characterized by ignitable, infectious, corrosion, explosion and toxicity(Environmental Protection and Heritage Council, 2010). It could be a solid, liquid, gasses, or sludges. It becomes dangerous to humans and the environmental health whether not treatment, storing, transportation or disposal properly(Western Australia Department of Environment and Conservation, 1996).
Air, is one of the most substantial source to mankind and our planet. While it exists, so does everything else along. However, in today’s epidemic, there has been certain factors that have increased in understanding whether the air we breathe today is healthy or not? Is it doing more harm than we thought? In other words, the health risks against air pollution have risen in the past few decades; all from what you may ask? Well, it could be for various factors and evaluations; either environmental or materialistic. Pollution is a major public health crisis in the world. (Friis, 2012). This is one of the conflicts that contribute to various aspects of an individual’s life, whether they may realize it or not. In this paper will include the sources that cause pollution with the effects it cause as well as policies on the regulation of air pollution.
During the week of November 20 – November 27, our main topic was on Management of Hazardous and Non-Hazardous Wastes. Our main discussions on this topic were Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Recovery & Liability Act (CERCLA) and Brownfields. We also discussed on blog posts, and their implication in our communities.
In today’s industrialized societies, these technological conveniences have become vital in order for one to compete for resources. With this dependency, comes a cost, and it threatens the very system that supports life on earth. In North America, 700,000 tons of air pollution is released into the atmosphere every day (Biology). This stems from the use of fuel-burning transportation, product manufacturing, and mining. There are two main classes of air pollution, particles and gases. The discharge of elements into the