Damaging Air Pollution - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1341 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2019/04/15 Category Ecology Essay Level High school Tags: Air Pollution Essay Pollution Essay Did you like this example? Introduction A survey of the available literature shows just how damaging air pollution can be to the flora and fauna that inhabit the natural world. The leading pollutants include tropospheric ozone and carbon monoxide from automobile exhaust, the burning of diesel fuel in combustion engines and coal ash from electric power plants that creates particulate matter, and nitrogen dioxide from agricultural manure and fertilizers as well as the combustion of fossil fuels. These airborne pollutants can eventually fall out of the atmosphere and deposit onto the land and bodies of water. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Damaging Air Pollution" essay for you Create order The uptake, inhalation or consumption of these pollutants can be harmful to many plant and animal species such as the birch, pine, and maple trees of the temperate forest, the mice, birds, and fish of the urban ecosystem, and the fish, insects, and crayfish of the aquatic ecosystem. The role of air pollution in biodiversity, local habitat modification, and climate change are also examined. A survey of the worlds biomes Several of the Earths biomes will be referred to in the pages to come. It is therefore important to have an understanding of the biomes as it pertains to what makes a biome and why they are where they are. Climate, topography, and soil and parallel influences in aquatic environments- determine the changing character of plant and animal life over the surface of Earth. Although no two locations harbor exactly the same assemblage of species, we can group biological communities in categories based on their dominant plant forms, which give communities their overall character. These categories are referred to as biomes (Ricklefs 99). Contributions of Heinrich Walter German ecologist Heinrich Walter devised a terrestrial classification system which he termed ?climate zones. These zones were broken down by annual precipitation and temperature trends across the globe. He was careful to note signature plant and or animal traits that seemed to occupy these zones (Ricklefs). Contributions of Robert H. Whitaker Robert H. Whitaker, an ecologist from Cornell University, would devise his own classification system with a slight twist. He first established the vegetative structure of biome, then developed a diagram on which he plotted the annual precipitation and temperature norms. It should be noted that in the intermediaries between forest and desert, he took into account soil type, seasonal climate patterns, and fire to determine woodlands, shrublands, and grassland locations (Ricklefs). Courtesy of The Economy of Nature by Robert E. Ricklefs It is important to note the following when it comes to the animals and plants that share a biome: (1) animals and plants adapt to match their environments, (2) some fauna and flora overlap at the boundaries between neighboring biomes in response to local climate feedback loops, (3) while climate is the key factor in determining plant distribution, soil types and changes in topography are also influences, and (4) aquatic biomes are classified by salinity, water flow rate and water depth rather than temperature, precipitation and vegetation structure (Ricklefs). A biome map of the world courtesy of The Economy of Nature by Robert E. Ricklefs. The demarcations more or less follow Heinrich Walters biome structure. Walter noted the boreal and polar zones have annual average temperatures below 5, the temperate regions experience annual average temperatures between 5 and 20(central Ohio is located in the Temperate seasonal forest), and the tropical and equatorial biomes exceed 20 as an annual average temperature. Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2 or Nitrite) Pollution In the aquatic ecosystem The three major pollutants of freshwater ecosystems are sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (NO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The most common non-point sources of airborne NO2 pollution are the volatilization of manure and fertilizers and the combustion of fossil fuels. Airborne NO2 can enter the aquatic ecosystem by depositing on lakes, streams, and rivers. If introduced, nitrite can exhibit lethal toxicity of fish and invertebrates in doses of 3 mg NO2-N/L in a 96-hour exposure time (Camargo and Alonzo, 2006). This is mainly achieved by rendering oxygen-carrying cells incapable of transporting oxygen. This results in hypoxia and death in fish and crayfish. Nitrite can also be toxic in the following ways: reduction of Cl- ions in and outside of cells causing an imbalance of electrolytes, reduced function of cardiac and skeletal muscles and decreased neurotransmission from imbalance of K+ , formation of mutagenic and carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds, acute damage to mitochondria in liver cells contributing to free oxygen shortage in the tissue, and a compromised immune system leading to increased susceptibility to parasites and infections diseases (Camargo and Alonzo, 2006). Nitrite can, through chemical reactions with other materials in the water, produce compounds that have lasting, disruptive effects. Nitrite lowers the pH of lakes and streams making them more acidic. According to Bobbink et al., fresh waters are among the most sensitive ecosystems with respect to atmospheric acidification (1998, p.718). Acidification of water that has low turnover rates, specifically lakes, can upset the delicate balance of nutrient cycles (and therefore food chain) required for the ecosystem to function properly. Low pH can also encourage the development of toxic algae which starves the other organisms of dissolved oxygen in a process called eutrophication. With low availability of food and oxygen, reproductive rates of aquatic animals suffer. Eutrophication reduces water clarity and light availability which can negatively impact photosynthesis rates in aquatic plant life (Hernandez et al., 2016). According to Camargo and Alonzo, Anthropogenic discharges containing elevated nitrite concentrations have been associated with fish kills in aquatic ecosystems (Camargo and Alonzo, 2006, p. 840). The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) lists vertebrate species impacted by reactive nitrogen. In the FWS Great Lakes Big River region there are five (5) such species. The Jollyville plateau salamander and the Smalleye shiner are listed as ?potentially endangered due to direct toxicity or lethal effects of N and eutrophication causing algal blooms that alter habitat by covering up substrate, respectively. The other three (3) species are listed as ?threatened by the FWS: the Arkansas River shiner and the Neosho Madtom for eutrophication lowering dissolved oxygen levels, and the Desert Tortoise (Sonoran population) for N pollution increasing non-native plant species that kill off the tortoises food sources (Hernandez et al., 2016). In species-rich grasslands Some nitrogen deposition studies have been conducted in western and central Europe concerning pH neutral grasslands which are moist to semi arid (Bobbink et al., 1998). This biome type tends to have soil that is nitrogen-poor hence the need for fertilization. In the UK, the Park Grass experiment has been ongoing since 1856 (Williams, 1978 and Dodd et al., 1994 as cited by Bobbink et al., 1998). Enrichment of nitrogen as sodium nitrate fertilizer is applied to select plots of neutral grassland in the amount of 48 kg N per hectare per year. This has resulted in a population explosion of a few, nitrophilic grasses such as the Meadow foxtail grass (Alopecurus pratensis) and Tall oat-grass (Arrhenatherum elatius). These have crowded out the abundance of smaller, more regular perennials (Bobbink et al., 1998). Additional land management is necessary to reintroduce and maintain biodiversity. In forest ground vegetation Drastic changes in ground flora have been noted in many studies over the years due to acidification of nutrient-poor soil by airborne nitrogen deposition. In their 1989 study of a central Netherlands forest, Dirkse Van Dobben observed a disappearance of all lichen species when nitrogen deposition increased from around 20 kg N per hectare per year in 1958 to near 40 kg N per hectare per year by 1981 (Bobbink et al., 1998). In a semi-natural forest in northeastern France, a large increase in nitrophilic plants was observed on 50 permanent vegetation plots when nitrogen deposition of 15-20 kg N per hectare per year raised soil pH to 6.9 (Thimonier et al., 1994). Coniferous forests have also been impacted by increased nitrogen inputs. The shoot density of Wavy hair-grass (D. flexousa) showed significant increase in a central Sweden coniferous forest where experimental ammonium nitrate enrichment reached 10 kg N per hectare per year (Kellner Redbo-Torstensson, 1995). This along with s imilar results in Finland seems to point to decreased biomass of shrubs and mosses that thrive in nutrient-poor areas. Competitive exclusion modifies the local, vegetative landscape to favor grasses and mosses that prosper in nutrient-rich soils. (Bobbink et al., 1998).

The Myth of the American Dream Exposed in Death of a Salesman

Millers work on â€Å"Death of a Salesman† is an example piece of work furthering the social protest involving totalitarianism and the American Dream. Throughout the piece, Miller uses his voice of conscience and passion for the purpose of exposing the truth about the concepts. Using the perspective of Willy, a fictional, working class citizen, Miller picks apart the myth of the American Dream, exploring topics such as abandonment, betrayal, family dynamics, and using interesting symbolism along the way. With reckless abandon, Willy believes in the idea of the American Dream. In fact, thats a bit of an understatement. Willy is a dreamer, one that continues following that until its too late. In â€Å"13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore,†¦show more content†¦When push comes to shove, Willy basically interprets what he wants in the wrong way, which eventually leads to his undoing. His ignorant faith in his own fabricated version of the American Dream is his downfall when he realizes that his life doesnt connect to his version of the American Dream. When abandonment is brought into question, it is clear to see that Willys life is a collection of issues involving just that. Every case of abandonment in his life leaves him in more anguish than ever before. When he was a child, his father leaves him and his brother, leaving them nothing to remember him by, financially, or otherwise. Eventually his brother moves to Alaska, injecting the heart of the issue that is his warped version of the American Dream. As a result, Willy is afraid of abandonment, which influences him to raise his family in a way that will fit the mold of model American citizens. However, his attempt to do so has resonance with the concept that he has lost touch with reality. He feels like a failure. Michael Cox and Richard Alm come together to debunk many mainstream beliefs and myths, showing that income is not a reliable measure how living standards should be. Poor people havent actually gotten poorer. Theyve just experienced an increase in expectations of living moreShow MoreRelated Myths of the American Dream Exposed in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman828 Words   |  4 PagesMyths of the American Dream Exposed in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman    Willy Loman, the lead character of Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, believes in the myths of the capitalistic society(DiYanni 412). This essay will examine the impact of the capitalistic myths on Willy Lowman.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Willy believes in the myth that popularity and physical appearance are the keys that unlock the door to the â€Å"American Dream†. 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Lsp 120 free essay sample

This is noted in the graph at the top. b. Let us look more carefully at the complete 2001 data. (This is the data for the year before the article)   Open the file HomicidesForCities2001. xls. Sort the data by the absolute number of murders. Which three cities had the highest number of murders in 2001? Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles c. In Column D, calculate the homicide rate (homicides per person). Paste into your Word document the top five rows of the resulting table. Chicago, Illinois| 2910709| 665| 0. 000228| New York, New York| 8023018| 649| 8. 9E-05| Los Angeles, California| 3763486| 588| 0. 000156| Detroit, Michigan| 956283| 395| 0. 000413| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania| 1518302| 309| 0. 000204| Note: New York’s rate is â€Å"8. 09E-05. † This means 8. 09*10^-5 or 0. 0000809 (move the decimal to the left 5 times. d. Now sort the data by column D. Which three cities had the highest murder rates in 2001? Fairfield, AL, Gary,In, and Opa Locka, FL e. How many times greater was the murder rate for the Fairfield, Alabama than the rate for Chicago? 4. We will write a custom essay sample on Lsp 120 or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 23 0. 000965/ 0. 000228 = 4. 23 Fairfield’s rate is 4. 23 times greater than Chicago’s f. There were exactly four cities with population greater than 500,000 with a rate higher than Chicagos. Which were they? Memphis, Baltimore, DC, Detroit g. Now sort by column B (population) in descending order to look at the largest cities in the US. Copy the top 10 rows of the table and paste them into a different part of your Excel sheet. You should now have the just the cities with population greater than 1 million. Sort this table by rate and paste the resulting table into your Word document. Who is ahead of the pack here when we consider cities of population 1 million or greater? Chicago, Illinois| 2910709| 665| 0. 000228| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania| 1518302| 309| 0. 000204| Dallas, Texas| 1215553| 240| 0. 000197| Los Angeles, California| 3763486| 588| 0. 000156| Phoenix, Arizona| 1366542| 209| 0. 000153| Houston, Texas| 1997965| 267| 0. 000134| Las Vegas, Nevada| 1117763| 133| 0. 000119| San Antonio, Texas| 1170622| 100| 8. 54E-05| New York, New York| 8023018| 649| 8. 09E-05| San Diego, California| 1246136| 50| 4. 1E-05| Chicago h. What was the overall impression of the article and the accompanying graph? Given the additional data in the Excel file, do you think the article is misleading in certain ways? If so, how? Critique the use of quantitative information in the New Years Day article. Yes, the article is a bit misleading in that it is only considering cities with more than a million people when it says Chicago is leading with regard to homicide rate. Naturally the rate is going to be high when you have so many people in a city. If you consider cities that have 500,000 or more people we are fifth despite having a larger population than the four cities ahead of us. Additionally, it mentions in the title that Chicago has fallen out of first, but this is only in absolute terms. 2. Spot prices for crude oil are rather volatile. From 1998 to 1999, spot prices for crude oil decreased by 28%. From 1999 to 2000, they increased by 106%. What was the percentage change over the two year period from 1998 to 2000? (You can assume that you start with a $100 initial price. If I start with $100 and in the first year, from 98 to 99, it decreases by 28% then in that year the price goes from $100 to: y= P*(1+/-r)^x y=100*(1-. 28)^1 = $72 If I start with $72 in 1999 and increase that by 100% to 2000 then in 2000 the price is: y = 72*(1+1. 06) = $148. 32 If I started in 1998 with $100 and ended with my new value of $148. 32 in 2000 then my percent increase is: (148. 32 – 100)/100 = . 4832 OR 48. 32% increase 3. There were 100 cellular telecommunications employees in the year 2000. The number of cellular telecommunications employees increased 10. % from 2000 to 2001 and decreased 5. 5% from 2001 to 2002. a. How many cellular telecommunications employees were there in 2002? From 2000 to 2001 we go from 100 employees to: y = 100*(1+. 104) = 110. 4 or 110 employees If we decrease this by 5. 5% then in 2002 we’ll have: Y = 110*(1-. 055) = 103. 95 or 104 employees b. What was the overall percent change in the number of employees from 2000 to 2002? Had 100 (reference or old value) and I now have 104 employees (new value): (104-100)/100 = . 04 or 4% increase

Use of conflict in Life of Pi free essay sample

?Oliver Christie-Limbrick Analyse how conflict was used to explore a theme In Life of Pi, the author Yann Martel analyses how a conflict was used to explore one of the main themes within the text, coming of age. Martel uses the conflict between the main protagonist Piscine Patel and Richard Parker the Bengal tiger, and how this conflict develops to skilfully teach the reader about what it means to become a fully grown individual. There are three stages to this conflict, when Piscine is fighting Richard Parker for territory upon the life boat, when Piscine touches Richard Parker and comes to be able to cooperate with him, and then when Piscine tells the second story in Mexico and learns to accept his own actions. Within this essay I will explain how these stages represent the long process of coming of age through the use of Richard Parker as a part of Piscine’s own psyche. We will write a custom essay sample on Use of conflict in Life of Pi or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When Piscine first enters the life boat, he has not fully grasped the side of himself which is needed to survive and come of age. â€Å"†¦I was so obviously out matched by Richard Parker that it wasn’t even worth worrying about† is what the narrator says on page 149. At the beginning of Piscine’s adventures, he often has to fight and evade Richard Parker as at that point they have not learned to cooperate with each other. During Life of Pi, Richard parker is a character created by Piscine within his mind for which he blames for the actions he is not willing to accept he committed due to their inhumanity. Piscine creates the story with the tiger in order to cope with his own trauma. In Life of Pi the colour orange symbolises survival, therefore because the tiger is orange it is these action which are needed to survive, the survival instinct. If one comes to realise this part of them they become empowered. They grow and become stronger. Yet because Piscine and Richard Parker are seen as conflicting the reader comes to realise Piscine has not realised that part of himself, and in order to come of age this is what needs to happen. Martel uses this conflict to teach society that in order to come of age you need to come to see that humans are not black or white, good or evil, rather that they are black and white, good and evil; they are a mix of two opposites. Piscine is shown as not seeing this through the Zebra and its black AND white stripes which represent what he believed at that time. In order to come of age we need to come to realise that we are also made of morals and our survival instincts, with our survival instincts being our own Richard Parker’s. As Piscine trains Richard Parker into cooperating with him in chapter 72, he has controlled the part of him needed to ‘grow up’ but has still not fully acknowledged it within himself. On page 207 at the end of chapter 72, the narrator says â€Å"The fifth shield lasted me the rest of his training. † This meant that Piscine had now learnt how to control Richard Parker. Due to Richard parker representing the side of Piscine which is needed to survive and come of age, this development in the conflict was a step in the right direction. Through showing Piscine as being able to control Richard Parker the reader learns that at that instance Piscine has learnt to control his survival instincts as by controlling the tiger it has made it easier for Piscine to survive on the Life boat. Yet he has still not fully come of age as in order to do this you need to acknowledge that this fragment of your psyche consists within your own self. As Piscine is still at this point using the character Richard Parker who he blames the actions he is not willing to accept he did on, Piscine is still failing to accept his own survival instincts and therefore has not come of age. Through this development in the conflict between Piscine and Richard Parker, Martel intentionally demonstrates to society that the process of coming of age is not entirely instant. It is impossible in the space of one day to fully develop from the mind of a child to the mind of a fully grown adult. This was a step for Piscine, because of this the reader realises that there are important steps which need to be taken. Life of Pi is the story of Piscine’s coming of age, and Piscine is on the boat for 227 days. Therefore the coming of age is a gradual evolution. Piscine comes of age when he tells the second story to the Japanese. On page 310 during chapter 99 Piscine says while telling this story â€Å"Then we fought and I killed him [the chef]. † And then he says â€Å"I stabbed him in the stomach. † In order to come of age you need to come to terms with your own survival instincts. Due to Piscine in this story plainly saying exactly what he committed and him no longer placing the blame on the imaginary character Richard Parker, he has now fully realised that he contains within him not only his ideals, but also his survival instincts. He is a mixture of the two. With this he also realises that humanity is not made up of only black or white, good or evil, rather that it is made up of grey. Again, it is made up of a mixture. Before Piscine had been internalising the conflict between himself and Richard Parker. He was trying to distance himself from his instincts. So during this very moment that conflict had been resolved. As a result of this Piscine becomes empowered and stronger. This newly found strength is demonstrated through his precision of language while telling the second story. In those two examples of Piscine explaining how he killed the chef, short precise simple sentences are used to explain directly what occurred. This gives the impression to the reader that Piscine is now fully able to interpret his actions clearly and therefore becomes much stronger for it. While demonstrating this, Yann Martel deliberately shows society that once an individual becomes fully grown, they will achieve this precision of language and clear interpretation of their own actions. They will become strong human beings who will be succeed within our society’s and understand how their own mind works. In conclusion Yann Martel uses the internalized conflict between Richard Parker and Piscine to demonstrate the process of coming of age and analysing exactly what it means to come of age. He shows Piscine’s process using three important stages. The first is when he first gets on the boat and is fighting Richard Parker for territory, the second is when he learns to control the tiger thus learning to control his survival instincts, and the third is when he tells the second story and realising Richard Parker is part of him. Also by showing Piscine come of age through realising that he consists of a mixture of ideals and survival instincts, Martel shows the reader that coming of age is to realise humanity is not black or white, but a combination of the two. It is a great novel which should all of society aspire for that moment of revelation, that moment when we ‘grow up’. By Oliver Christie-Limbrick