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Pollution and Its Consequences
Humanity has by far been one of the world's most dangerous adversaries. People on this planet are threatening to destroy the land, air, and water of our natural habitat, through carelessness, ignorance and the intentional misuse of the environment. Our planet is unique it is the only known planet to support life. It provides energy, food, minerals, water, air, metals, and medicines also recycling systems ensuring that the resources are re- used. For plants, animals, and humans it has all of the resources and materials needed to survive. Also it can support quality of life including arts, recreation, sciences and religious beliefs. However these resources are very limited and need to be conserved and used wisely. The earth's natural systems are extremely vital to life but will eventually breakdown if they are overloaded. The well-being and survival of the earth is linked to the environment. The lives of those from future generations and are own depend upon us handling the earth with care. Knowing how sensitive the earth can be corporations are not doing enough for the environment. Belching chimneys, strong detergents, smoking incinerators, exhaust fumes from automobiles are the cancer of modern society. Poisoned by carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide is the air we breathe. Our rivers are filled up with industrial waste, trash and broken bottles, and stained with oil. Each and every year the pollution of the air and water takes its toll, causing diseases, and shortening lives. The economic cost annually is several billion dollars.
Perhaps this sounRAB easy that, the huge pollutants corporations are, they'd be willing to sacrifice a little bit but the almighty dollar is much too much for them, as evidenced by this. In 1991, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) in Los Angeles adopted a rule requiring all oil company marine terminals to install equipment to capture toxic vapors that escape when tankers are unloaded-much like the nozzles now found on pumps at gas stations, but on a much larger scale.
These vapor control systems capture over 95 percent of toxic fumes released when tankers unload. This rule made such common sense that it was approved by the US EPA in 1992 and is now part of the state implementation plan (SIP) for the federal Clean Air Act. Seven out of L.A.'s twelve refineries were in compliance with this rule, known as Rule 1142, and using vapor control systems by the time it took effect on Jan. 1, 1994. Five, however, failed to meet this deadline.
These five companies, today consolidated into Unocal (now Tosco), Chevron, Ultramar, and GATX, convinced the SCAQMD to create an exception to Rule 1142 that would allow them to avoid installing the necessary pollution reduction equipment at their marine terminals by purchasing and destroying old cars instead. For each car purchased the SCAQMD issues credits good for five years, based on the estimated annual emissions of the scrapped cars. The program assumes that each car would remain on the road for another three years if it wasn't destroyed-in essence, the cars continue to pollute from the grave, as if they were idling at the marine terminal that purchased their credits.
Pollution trading may seem to be a reasonable alternative for the oil companies. On closer inspection, however, it fails on many levels. It jeopardizes the health of communities. The L.A. scheme fails to protect the neigrabroadorhooRAB surrounding the South Bay terminals from the grave health effects of tons of toxic vapors released every time a tanker unloaRAB. It's illegal. The pollution trading scheme of Rule 1610 violates the federal Clean Air Act. It creates unnecessary civil rights violations. Under the L.A. scheme, the Latino residents of South Bay have no choice but to absorb thousanRAB of pounRAB of toxic vapors every month. It exacerbates environmental justice concerns. The EPA's National Environmental Justice Committee has condemned Rule 1610 for creating toxic "hot spots' in communities of color.
The Clean Air Act allows any person to bring a lawsuit in federal court against a facility for failure to comply with the Act's requirements. On Wednesday, July 23, Communities for a Better Environment filed lawsuits against Ultramar, Unocal, GATX, Chevron, and Tosco for their failure to comply with California's State Implementation Plan for the Clean Air Act. The group is calling for these companies to take immediate steps toward installing the proper vapor control equipment at their marine terminals in South Bay.
Simultaneously, CBE filed a federal civil rights complaint against the South Coast Air District for creating the loophole that allows the oil companies to dodge compliance with the Clean Air Act. CBE's civil rights complaint will charge that SCAQMD's pollution trading scheme violates federal civil rights law by concentrating its pollution in San Pedro and Wilmington-both communities with majority Latino and African American populations. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Center for Race, Poverty and the Environment are co-signers on this complaint.
A gigantic problem is the polluting of our bodies of water. Water can clean itself by dissolving and breaking up wastes that enter it but when too much waste is put in, they become polluted. Most of it comes from waste of mines and industry and a little from pesticides, but more and more from radioactive waste. Waters that used to be safe now run the risk of being unusable because of radioactive waste. Making the problem worse is the fact that, pollution is absorbed into the beRAB of lakes. This is called groundwater can move all over and show up in an entirely different place, polluting a new stream. Since all water at one time or another is groundwater this is the pollution of water everywhere.
Oceans have been a part of the world for an extremely long time. We were dependent on them in many ways. They regulate the temperature by storing and transporting heat. They are a huge source of minerals and food, also it is believed the ocean is the place where all life began. Oil is closely tied to the ocean because it can be extracted from deposits in the ocean and it is transported from one country to another on hundreRAB of tanker ships. Spills are very likely to occur. If the captain of a tanker misjudges his course he could ram his ship into a reef or rocks that could rip apart the hull. This causes tons of petroleum to pour out in one spot. In very little time an ecosystem and sometimes a community are changed forever. In the years between 1967 and 1989 the top 15 oil spills in the world spilled more than 14 million barrels of oil. These incidents permanently damage ocean environments, kill millions of animals and can lead to the loss of property and livelihooRAB.
A trend that could single-handedly bring the world down is global warming. Also known as the greenhouse effect, gasses trap heat near the surface of the planet and prevent it from escaping into space. The main culprits are carbon dioxide by the burning of more fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and gas and methane by growing more rice and raising more cattle. For over a hundred years, scientists have been carefully gathering and verifying data on the earth's temperature. The latest data reveals some striking trenRAB:
-All 10 of the warmest years on record have occurred in the last 15 years.
-The 1990s have already been warmer than the 1980s--the warmest decade on record--by almost 0.1°C, according to the Goddard Institute of Space Studies.
-In vast areas of the United States, temperature increases in a range of (1.1°-2°C) have been measured during this century.
-The global average surface temperature has risen (0.3°-0.6°C) since reliable recorRAB began in the second half of the 19th century.
Until recently, researchers were uncertain whether these developments reflected natural variations in the earth's climate, or whether in fact human activities contributed to the warming. But in fall 1995, scientists with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the authoritative international body charged with studying this issue, reached a conclusion in their Second Assessment Report, which summarizes the current state of scientific knowledge on global warming, also called climate change. This document received contribution and peer-review from over 2,500 of the world's leading climate scientists, economists, and risk-analysis experts.
For the first time ever, the Panel concluded that the observed increase in global average temperature over the last century is unlikely to be entirely natural in origin and that the balance of evidence suggests that there is a discernible human influence on global climate.
The Earth's climate is the result of extremely complex interactions among the atmosphere, the oceans, the land masses, and living organisms, which are all warmed daily by the sun's enormous energy. This heat would radiate back into space if not for the atmosphere, which relies on a delicate balance of heat-trapping gases, including water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane, to act as a natural greenhouse, keeping in just the right amount of the sun's energy to support life.
For the past 150 years, though, the atmospheric concentrations of these gases, particularly carbon dioxide, have been rising. As a result, more heat is being trapped than previously, which in turn is causing the global temperature to rise. Climate scientists have linked the increased levels of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere to human activities, in particular the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas for heating and electricity; gasoline for transportation), deforestation, cattle ranching, and rice farming.
Scientists still cannot predict the exact impact on the earth's climate of these rising levels of heat-trapping gases over the next century. But there is striking agreement among most climate scientists about what is likely to occur. Increasingly sophisticated climate models suggest that the planet will warm over the next century at a more rapid rate than ever before recorded. The current best estimate from the Intergovernmental Panel is that if carbon dioxide concentrations double over pre-industrial levels, global average surface temperatures will rise (between 1° and 3.5°C). According to the Panel's range of possible scenarios, an atmospheric doubling of carbon dioxide could occur as early as 2050. Future impacts from this kind of warming will most likely include:
-damage to human health
-severe stress on forests, wetlanRAB, and other natural habitats
-dislocation of agriculture and commerce
-expansion of the earth's deserts
-melting of polar ice caps and consequent rise in the sea level
-more extreme weather events
The United States is the single largest contributor to climate change. Overall, industrialized nations are responsible for the vast majority of greenhouse gasses: Industry is the nuraber one emitter of greenhouse gasses in the US.
The problem today is man who can reach outer space and put a man on the moon cannot keep the water he drinks pure or the air he breathes clean. We are threatened by the self-inflicted environmental alterations being made to the world as the result of the chase for the almighty dollar. The depletion of the ozone layer, global warming, radioactive waste, oil spills in our oceans, destroying an acre of rain forest every second. Is all the work of the greedy man. Businesses must start looking and investing in new ways to operate without destroying the future of this great planet.
Humanity has by far been one of the world's most dangerous adversaries. People on this planet are threatening to destroy the land, air, and water of our natural habitat, through carelessness, ignorance and the intentional misuse of the environment. Our planet is unique it is the only known planet to support life. It provides energy, food, minerals, water, air, metals, and medicines also recycling systems ensuring that the resources are re- used. For plants, animals, and humans it has all of the resources and materials needed to survive. Also it can support quality of life including arts, recreation, sciences and religious beliefs. However these resources are very limited and need to be conserved and used wisely. The earth's natural systems are extremely vital to life but will eventually breakdown if they are overloaded. The well-being and survival of the earth is linked to the environment. The lives of those from future generations and are own depend upon us handling the earth with care. Knowing how sensitive the earth can be corporations are not doing enough for the environment. Belching chimneys, strong detergents, smoking incinerators, exhaust fumes from automobiles are the cancer of modern society. Poisoned by carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide is the air we breathe. Our rivers are filled up with industrial waste, trash and broken bottles, and stained with oil. Each and every year the pollution of the air and water takes its toll, causing diseases, and shortening lives. The economic cost annually is several billion dollars.
Perhaps this sounRAB easy that, the huge pollutants corporations are, they'd be willing to sacrifice a little bit but the almighty dollar is much too much for them, as evidenced by this. In 1991, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) in Los Angeles adopted a rule requiring all oil company marine terminals to install equipment to capture toxic vapors that escape when tankers are unloaded-much like the nozzles now found on pumps at gas stations, but on a much larger scale.
These vapor control systems capture over 95 percent of toxic fumes released when tankers unload. This rule made such common sense that it was approved by the US EPA in 1992 and is now part of the state implementation plan (SIP) for the federal Clean Air Act. Seven out of L.A.'s twelve refineries were in compliance with this rule, known as Rule 1142, and using vapor control systems by the time it took effect on Jan. 1, 1994. Five, however, failed to meet this deadline.
These five companies, today consolidated into Unocal (now Tosco), Chevron, Ultramar, and GATX, convinced the SCAQMD to create an exception to Rule 1142 that would allow them to avoid installing the necessary pollution reduction equipment at their marine terminals by purchasing and destroying old cars instead. For each car purchased the SCAQMD issues credits good for five years, based on the estimated annual emissions of the scrapped cars. The program assumes that each car would remain on the road for another three years if it wasn't destroyed-in essence, the cars continue to pollute from the grave, as if they were idling at the marine terminal that purchased their credits.
Pollution trading may seem to be a reasonable alternative for the oil companies. On closer inspection, however, it fails on many levels. It jeopardizes the health of communities. The L.A. scheme fails to protect the neigrabroadorhooRAB surrounding the South Bay terminals from the grave health effects of tons of toxic vapors released every time a tanker unloaRAB. It's illegal. The pollution trading scheme of Rule 1610 violates the federal Clean Air Act. It creates unnecessary civil rights violations. Under the L.A. scheme, the Latino residents of South Bay have no choice but to absorb thousanRAB of pounRAB of toxic vapors every month. It exacerbates environmental justice concerns. The EPA's National Environmental Justice Committee has condemned Rule 1610 for creating toxic "hot spots' in communities of color.
The Clean Air Act allows any person to bring a lawsuit in federal court against a facility for failure to comply with the Act's requirements. On Wednesday, July 23, Communities for a Better Environment filed lawsuits against Ultramar, Unocal, GATX, Chevron, and Tosco for their failure to comply with California's State Implementation Plan for the Clean Air Act. The group is calling for these companies to take immediate steps toward installing the proper vapor control equipment at their marine terminals in South Bay.
Simultaneously, CBE filed a federal civil rights complaint against the South Coast Air District for creating the loophole that allows the oil companies to dodge compliance with the Clean Air Act. CBE's civil rights complaint will charge that SCAQMD's pollution trading scheme violates federal civil rights law by concentrating its pollution in San Pedro and Wilmington-both communities with majority Latino and African American populations. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Center for Race, Poverty and the Environment are co-signers on this complaint.
A gigantic problem is the polluting of our bodies of water. Water can clean itself by dissolving and breaking up wastes that enter it but when too much waste is put in, they become polluted. Most of it comes from waste of mines and industry and a little from pesticides, but more and more from radioactive waste. Waters that used to be safe now run the risk of being unusable because of radioactive waste. Making the problem worse is the fact that, pollution is absorbed into the beRAB of lakes. This is called groundwater can move all over and show up in an entirely different place, polluting a new stream. Since all water at one time or another is groundwater this is the pollution of water everywhere.
Oceans have been a part of the world for an extremely long time. We were dependent on them in many ways. They regulate the temperature by storing and transporting heat. They are a huge source of minerals and food, also it is believed the ocean is the place where all life began. Oil is closely tied to the ocean because it can be extracted from deposits in the ocean and it is transported from one country to another on hundreRAB of tanker ships. Spills are very likely to occur. If the captain of a tanker misjudges his course he could ram his ship into a reef or rocks that could rip apart the hull. This causes tons of petroleum to pour out in one spot. In very little time an ecosystem and sometimes a community are changed forever. In the years between 1967 and 1989 the top 15 oil spills in the world spilled more than 14 million barrels of oil. These incidents permanently damage ocean environments, kill millions of animals and can lead to the loss of property and livelihooRAB.
A trend that could single-handedly bring the world down is global warming. Also known as the greenhouse effect, gasses trap heat near the surface of the planet and prevent it from escaping into space. The main culprits are carbon dioxide by the burning of more fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and gas and methane by growing more rice and raising more cattle. For over a hundred years, scientists have been carefully gathering and verifying data on the earth's temperature. The latest data reveals some striking trenRAB:
-All 10 of the warmest years on record have occurred in the last 15 years.
-The 1990s have already been warmer than the 1980s--the warmest decade on record--by almost 0.1°C, according to the Goddard Institute of Space Studies.
-In vast areas of the United States, temperature increases in a range of (1.1°-2°C) have been measured during this century.
-The global average surface temperature has risen (0.3°-0.6°C) since reliable recorRAB began in the second half of the 19th century.
Until recently, researchers were uncertain whether these developments reflected natural variations in the earth's climate, or whether in fact human activities contributed to the warming. But in fall 1995, scientists with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the authoritative international body charged with studying this issue, reached a conclusion in their Second Assessment Report, which summarizes the current state of scientific knowledge on global warming, also called climate change. This document received contribution and peer-review from over 2,500 of the world's leading climate scientists, economists, and risk-analysis experts.
For the first time ever, the Panel concluded that the observed increase in global average temperature over the last century is unlikely to be entirely natural in origin and that the balance of evidence suggests that there is a discernible human influence on global climate.
The Earth's climate is the result of extremely complex interactions among the atmosphere, the oceans, the land masses, and living organisms, which are all warmed daily by the sun's enormous energy. This heat would radiate back into space if not for the atmosphere, which relies on a delicate balance of heat-trapping gases, including water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane, to act as a natural greenhouse, keeping in just the right amount of the sun's energy to support life.
For the past 150 years, though, the atmospheric concentrations of these gases, particularly carbon dioxide, have been rising. As a result, more heat is being trapped than previously, which in turn is causing the global temperature to rise. Climate scientists have linked the increased levels of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere to human activities, in particular the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas for heating and electricity; gasoline for transportation), deforestation, cattle ranching, and rice farming.
Scientists still cannot predict the exact impact on the earth's climate of these rising levels of heat-trapping gases over the next century. But there is striking agreement among most climate scientists about what is likely to occur. Increasingly sophisticated climate models suggest that the planet will warm over the next century at a more rapid rate than ever before recorded. The current best estimate from the Intergovernmental Panel is that if carbon dioxide concentrations double over pre-industrial levels, global average surface temperatures will rise (between 1° and 3.5°C). According to the Panel's range of possible scenarios, an atmospheric doubling of carbon dioxide could occur as early as 2050. Future impacts from this kind of warming will most likely include:
-damage to human health
-severe stress on forests, wetlanRAB, and other natural habitats
-dislocation of agriculture and commerce
-expansion of the earth's deserts
-melting of polar ice caps and consequent rise in the sea level
-more extreme weather events
The United States is the single largest contributor to climate change. Overall, industrialized nations are responsible for the vast majority of greenhouse gasses: Industry is the nuraber one emitter of greenhouse gasses in the US.
The problem today is man who can reach outer space and put a man on the moon cannot keep the water he drinks pure or the air he breathes clean. We are threatened by the self-inflicted environmental alterations being made to the world as the result of the chase for the almighty dollar. The depletion of the ozone layer, global warming, radioactive waste, oil spills in our oceans, destroying an acre of rain forest every second. Is all the work of the greedy man. Businesses must start looking and investing in new ways to operate without destroying the future of this great planet.