Social Impacts of Pollution
It is well known that the majority of pollution is caused and emitted by the most developed nations. North America, in particular, is responsible for a large portion of both chemical and greenhouse gas emissions. This is partly due to the relatively high standard of living that is enjoyed here which includes transportation, heating and cooling, as well as the high rates of meat and dairy consumption.
By way of comparison, the majority of the world’s population lives in areas where the consequences of pollution are felt more keenly. This is partly due to a disproportionate distribution of wealth and living standards.
It is also partly due to the closer relationship that people living in Africa and Asia have to the natural environment. This situation is not likely to change anytime soon, given the global nature of pollution spread, that knows no boarders.
Why Is Climate Change Getting Worse?
As if the increased levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere were not enough to worry anyone silly, climate models predict that even if another drop of fossil fuels were never burned again, things would continue getting worse for quite awhile before they got better.
This is due to the feedback effect that has already been observed in several places in the world. One prime example are the “drunken forests” of Siberia. Though the permafrost that these spruce trees grow upon is always in a state of flux, the rate of melting has increased dramatically in recent years, causing a great deal of damage in areas where people have built upon the permafrost.
More importantly, there’s a great deal of methane trapped in that permafrost, as it melts, this gas that’s known to be 45 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, is released into the atmosphere, making it melt even faster.
Atmospheric Ozone Success Story
Not all the news about the atmosphere is bad. There are the occasional success stories that keep people going. The reduction of the very powerful ozone depleting chemical family known collectively as CFCs since being banned worldwide in the 1990s is one such story.
Originally drafted in 1987 in Helsinki, Finland, the international treaty for the control of substances that harm the ozone layer calls for a long phase-out of these chemicals by signatory nations to minimize the economic impact this act would have on less prosperous nations. Nearly every nation on Earth has signed on, including all of the most heavy users of these chemicals.
Chlorine and bromine are the worst offenders, and for the first time since they’ve been traced in the atmosphere, their levels are beginning to drop. The treaty calls for all CFCs to be phased out by 2030, with the worst offenders to be gone by 2010. The ozone hole that is observed over the South Pole each year will take longer to recover, with the largest hole ever recorded as recently as 2006.
What are Carbon Offsets
Carbon offsets are bought and traded to compensate the greenhouse gas emissions released by a person or an organization. Preferably, we offset emissions when we cannot avoid them while executing our everyday activities. If one releases emissions when another sustainable alternate is available, it is generally objected to by environmentalists. Though offsets can be originated by cutting any of the six main greenhouse gas emissions, a single carbon offset is usually considered as the cutback in harmful gases analogous to one metric ton of carbon dioxide.
In numerous developed nations, companies are assigned caps as to how much carbon dioxide they can generate. Organizations that are unable to keep their emissions within that preset limit must buy offsets to abide by the laws. Other than this compliance market, there is also an emerging market for voluntary purchase of carbon offsets. People who care for the environment purchase offsets to reduce their own carbon footprint even though they are not required by law to do so.
So this is basically how the need for carbon offsets arises, either via government policies that somehow penalize businesses or via rising environmental awareness in voluntary purchasers. But how are offsets produced? Companies that sell you offsets generally acquire them from large projects carried out to reduce GHG emissions anywhere on earth. The objective is to lessen the aggregate emissions released into the atmosphere without worrying about the location of the project.
Greenhouse gases mix into the environment and spread throughout the world rapidly; it doesn’t make any difference at the end of the day if you release methane in United States, Asia or France as the overall impact will be similar for the global environment anyway. For the same reason, numerous carbon offset projects are run in South America even though majority of offset buyers reside in North America and Europe. It works well as curbing CO2 in developing nations is mostly far cheaper than reducing the same amount of emissions in European countries.
This small article won’t enter the debate of carbon offsetting scams. On the whole, carbon offsets have a say in reduction of greenhouse gases if generated by legitimate projects and traded with maximum transparency.
Environmentally Friendly Refrigerator Coolants
If you have an old refrigerator, you may be considering your alternatives, as to the use of environmentally friendly coolants. The coolant systems of most refrigerators, freezers, dehumidifiers and other condenser devices were almost exclusively designed to use the CFC most commonly known as Freon. Between the 1950s and its phase out in the late 1990s, this otherwise initially non-toxic material made its way into nearly every home in North America.
Newer models use a different type of coolant that is less harmful (though potentially greenhouse gas emitting) to the ozone layer. While new machines are far more energy efficient, significant energy savings are also achieved by recycling your existing model. This can be done with relatively minor changes to the system that shouldn’t cost much at all compared to the cost of a new machine.
While freon coolant isn’t a concern while the refrigerator is running properly, its leaks that allow it to escape into the larger atmosphere – it’s not “consumed” any way during operation. More extensive modifications, including replacing the seals with more efficient ones and increasing the insulation value of the surrounding housing, can significantly increase the energy efficiency of an older fridge thats otherwise working well.
