Atmospheric Pollution

Pollution
Pollution is the contamination of Earth’s environment with materials that interfere with human health,
the quality of life, or the natural functioning of ecosystems1. OR

It is also defined as “undesirable change in the physical, chemical, or biological characteristic of air,
water and land brought about by man’s activities that may harmfully affect living organism and other
resources”.

 Pollution is a human contribution to nature.

 Science has evolved technologies which have helped in the human welfare and simultaneously has
given birth to pollution.
 Human activities which results in pollution are:
o Industries for various human needs – directly and indirectly.
o Agriculture for food production or industrial needs.
o Health care for health of humans beings and animals
o Transport for mobility of humans beings
o Dwelling for settlement in city or villages.
o Energy for various direct human needs and industrial needs
 Although some environmental pollution is a result of natural causes such as volcanic eruptions.

 There are two main categories of polluting materials / pollutants.

1. Biodegradable pollutants
 They are materials, such as sewage, that rapidly decompose by natural processes.
 These pollutants become a problem when added to the environment faster than they can
decompose.
2. Non-degradable pollutants
 They are materials that either do not decompose or decompose slowly in the natural
environment.
 Once contamination occurs, it is difficult or impossible to remove these pollutants from the
environment.
 Such as di-chloro di-phenyl tri-chloroethane (DDT), dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs), and radioactive materials.

Types of Pollutions:
 There are many types of pollution, but following six have the most perilous effect on our lives.
1. Water Pollution
2. Air Pollution
3. Soil / Land Pollution
4. Noise Pollution
5. Thermal Pollution
6. Radioactive Pollution

Atmospheric Pollution:
It is the addition of harmful substances to the atmosphere resulting in damage to the environment,
human health, and quality of life.

 Air pollution makes people sick such as, breathing problems and cancer.
 It harms plants, animals, and the ecosystems in which they live.

1
Ecosystem: living organisms and their physical surroundings
  Some air pollutants return to Earth in the form of acid rain and snow,
 Acid rain and snow;
o Corrode statues and buildings, damage crops and forests,
o Make lakes and streams unsuitable for fish and other plant and animal life.

Major air Pollutants:

 Clean, dry air consists primarily of nitrogen and oxygen—78 percent and 21 percent respectively,
by volume.
 The remaining 1 percent is a mixture of other Gases2.
 The gaseous air pollutants of primary concern in urban settings include sulphur dioxide, nitrogen
dioxide, and carbon monoxide.
o These are emitted directly into the air from fossil fuels such as fuel oil, gasoline, and natural gas
that are burned in power plants, automobiles, and other combustion sources.
o Ozone3is also a gaseous pollutant.

Six types of pollutants are described below:

1. Particulate Matter:
 They are very small fragments of solid materials or liquid droplets suspended in air called
particulates.
 Especially those less than 10 micrometres.
 E.g., soot, dust, smokes, fumes, mists.
 Except for airborne lead, which is treated as a separate category.
 They are characterized on the basis of size and phase (i.e., solid or liquid) rather than by
chemical composition.
 Solid particulates between roughly 1 and 100 μm in diameter are called dust particles.
 Whereas airborne solids less than 1 μm in diameter are called fumes.

Effect:

 The particulates of most concern with regard to their effects on human health are solids less
than 10 μm in diameter.
 Because they can be inhaled deep into the lungs and become trapped in the lower respiratory
system.
 Certain particulates: carcinogens4, e.g. asbestos fibres, and carbonaceous5particulates e.g. soot.

Sources:

 Major sources of particulate emissions include:

 Fossil-fuel power plants,
 Manufacturing / Industrial processes,
 Fossil-fuel residential heating systems
 Gasoline-powered vehicles.

2. Carbon monoxide
 Carbon monoxide is an odourless, invisible gas formed as a result of incomplete combustion.
 It is the most abundant of the criteria pollutants.

Sources

 Gasoline-powered highway vehicles are the primary source,

2
Mostly argon (0.9 percent) along with trace amounts of carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen, helium, and more.
3
It forms in the atmosphere via complex chemical reactions occurring between nitrogen dioxide and various
volatile organic compounds (e.g., gasoline vapours).
4
Carcinogen: Any chemical, biological, or physical agent that can potentially be a cause of cancer.
5
They are suspected of being carcinogenic = capable of causing cancer
  Although residential heating systems and certain industrial processes also emit significant
amounts of this gas.
 Power plants emit relatively little carbon monoxide because they are carefully designed and
operated to maximize combustion efficiency.

Effects:

 Exposure to carbon monoxide can be acutely harmful since it readily displaces oxygen in the
bloodstream, leading to asphyxiation at high enough concentrations and exposure times.

3. Sulphur dioxide
 A colourless gas with a sharp, choking odour.

Sources:

 Sulphur dioxide is formed during the combustion of coal or oil that contains sulphur as an
impurity.
 Most sulphur dioxide emissions come from power-generating plants; very little comes from
mobile sources.

Effects:

 This pungent gas can cause eye and throat irritation and harm lung tissue when inhaled.
 It also reacts with oxygen and water vapour in the air, forming a mist of sulphuric acid that
reaches the ground as a component of acid rain6.
 It also causes corrosion of metals and deterioration of the exposed surfaces of buildings and
public monuments.

4. Nitrogen dioxide
 Of the several forms of nitrogen oxides, nitrogen dioxide—a pungent, irritating gas—is of most
concern.

Effects:

 It is known to cause Pulmonary Edema7.

 Nitrogen dioxide also reacts in the atmosphere to form nitric acid, contributing to the problem
of acid rain.
 In addition, nitrogen dioxide plays a role in the formation of photochemical smog8.

Sources:

 Nitrogen oxides are formed when combustion temperatures are high enough to cause
molecular nitrogen in the air to react with oxygen.
 Stationary sources such as:
 Coal-burning power plants are major contributors of this pollutant
 Although gasoline engines and other mobile sources are also significant.

5. Tropospheric Ozone:
 Ozone is formed by a complex reaction between nitrogen dioxide and hydrocarbons in the
presence of sunlight.
 It is considered to be a pollutant in the troposphere9, but not in the upper atmosphere.

6
Acid rain: Rain that contains dilute acid derived from burning fossil fuels.
Acid rain have harmed or destroyed fish and plant life in many thousands of lakes and streams in parts of Europe,
the north-eastern United States, south-eastern Canada, and parts of China.
7
Pulmonary Edema is an accumulation of excessive fluid in the lungs.
8
Photochemical smog: A reddish brown haze that often is seen in many urban areas and that is created by
sunlight-promoted reactions in the lower atmosphere.
 o In stratosphere, it occurs naturally and serves to block harmful ultraviolet rays from the
Sun.

Causes:

 Because nitrogen dioxide and hydrocarbons are emitted in significant quantities by motor
vehicles, photochemical smog is common in big cities.
 Certain geographic features contribute to the trapping of air pollutants and the formation of
photochemical smog.
o Such as mountains that impede air movement and weather conditions.
o Temperature inversions in the troposphere.

6. Lead Particulates:
Effects:

 Inhaled lead particulates in the form of fumes and dusts are particularly harmful to children.
o In children even slightly elevated levels of lead in the blood can cause learning disabilities,
seizures, or even death.

Sources:

 Sources of airborne lead particulates include oil refining, smelting, and other industrial
activities.
 In the past, combustion of gasoline containing a lead-based antiknock additive called tetraethyl
lead was a major source of lead particulates.
 In many countries there is now a complete ban on the use of lead in gasoline.

7. Air toxics
 Hundreds of specific substances are considered hazardous when present in trace amounts in
the air.
 These pollutants are called air toxics.

Types:

 Most air toxics are organic chemicals, comprising molecules that contain carbon, hydrogen, and
other atoms.
 Many air toxics are Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), organic compounds that readily
evaporate.
o VOCs include pure hydrocarbons, partially oxidized hydrocarbons, and organic
compounds containing chlorine, sulphur, or nitrogen.
o They are widely used as fuels (e.g., propane and gasoline), as paint thinners and
solvents, and in the production of plastics.
o In addition to contributing to air toxicity and urban smog, some VOC emissions act as
greenhouse gases and, in so doing, may be a cause of global warming.
 Some other air toxics are metals or compounds of metals—for example, mercury, arsenic, and
cadmium.

Effects:

 Many of air toxics cause genetic mutations or cancer; some cause other types of health
problems, such as adverse effects on brain tissue or fetal development.
 These pollutants can pose an immediate high health risk to exposed individuals and can cause
other environmental problems.
 For example, Pesticide Factory in Bhopal, India (1984);

9
Troposphere is the lowermost layer of the atmosphere.
 o An accidental release of methyl isocyanate in the factory immediately killed at least
3,000 people,
o And eventually caused the deaths of an estimated 15,000 to 25,000 people over the
following quarter-century,
o And injured hundreds of thousands more.

Sources:

 Most major sources of air toxics are so-called point sources—that is, they have a specific
location.
 Point sources include chemical plants, steel mills, oil refineries, and municipal waste
incinerators.
 Hazardous air pollutants may be released when equipment leaks.
o Or when material is transferred,
o Or pollutant may be emitted from smokestacks (pipes).
 Municipal waste furnaces can emit hazardous levels of dioxins, formaldehyde, and other
organic substances, as well as metals such as arsenic, beryllium, lead, and mercury.
 Hazardous air pollutants also come from area sources, which are many smaller sources that
release pollutants into the outdoor air in a defined area.
 Such sources include;
o Commercial dry-cleaning facilities,
o Gasoline stations,
o Small metal-plating operations,
o Woodstoves.

8. Dioxin
 Dioxin, any of a group of chemicals that contain chlorine, carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen
bonded to each other in a special way.
 Dioxin serves no useful purpose but is formed as an undesirable by-product during the
synthesis of 2, 4, 5-trichlorophenol and some other useful compounds.

Effects:

 Dioxins are of particular concern in regard to environmental and human health because they
are persistent environmental pollutants and therefore accumulate within the food chain.
 It has a chemical property to absorb into fatty tissue readily, and thus they have a tendency to
accumulate in animals.
o For example, in fish, as a result of the chemicals' presence in aquatic environments, and in
cattle and other livestock, as a result of the chemicals' release into terrestrial
environments.
 Consumption of potentially contaminated foods, such as beef and dairy products, is the
primary route for dioxin entry into the human body.
 Once in the human body, dioxins are absorbed into fat cells, where they persist for long periods
of time; the half-life of dioxin in humans has been estimated to be between 7 and 11 years.

Regional and Global air pollution issues

1. Acid-rain:

Definition: Acid Rain is a form of air pollution in which airborne acids fall to ground.

 The corrosive nature of acid rain causes widespread damage to the environment.

Formation:
  The problem begins with the production of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from the
burning of fossil fuels.
 Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides react with water and other chemicals in the air to form
sulphuric acid, nitric acid, and other pollutants.
 These acid pollutants reach high into the atmosphere, travel with the wind for hundreds of
miles, and eventually return to the ground by way of rain, snow, or fog.

Effects of Acid Rain

 The acids in acid rain react chemically with any object they contact.
 Acids are corrosive chemicals that react with other chemicals by giving up hydrogen atoms.
 The acidity10of a substance comes from the abundance of free hydrogen atoms when the
substance is dissolved in water.
 Rain, snow, or fog with a pH below 5.6 is considered acid rain.

Acid rain has been linked to widespread environmental damage described as below:

i. Soil
 In soil, acid rain dissolves and washes away nutrients needed by plants.
 It can also dissolve toxic substances, such as aluminum and mercury, which are
naturally present in some soils.
o By freeing these toxins to pollute water or to poison plants that absorb them.

ii. Trees:
 By removing useful nutrients from the soil, acid rain slows the growth of plants, especially
trees.
 It also attacks trees more directly by eating holes in the waxy coating of leaves and needles,
causing brown dead spots on plants.

iii. Surface water:

 Acid rain falls into and drains into streams, lakes, and marshes.
 Hence water bodies becomes acidic and unfit for life.

iv. Plants and Animals

 The effects of acid rain on wildlife can be far-reaching.
 If a population of one plant or animal is adversely affected by acid rain, animals that feed
on that organism may also suffer.
 Ultimately, an entire ecosystem may become endangered.

v. Human-made structure:
 Acid rain and the dry deposition of acidic particles damage buildings, statues, automobiles,
and other structures made of stone, metal, or any other material exposed to weather for
long periods.
 The corrosive damage can be expensive and, in cities with very historic buildings, tragic.

vi. Human Health:

 In the air, acids join with other chemicals to produce urban smog.
o This smog can irritate the lungs and make breathing difficult, especially for people who
already have asthma, bronchitis, or other respiratory diseases.
 Solid particles of sulfates, a class of minerals derived from sulphur dioxide, are thought to
be especially damaging to the lungs.

Efforts to Control Acid Rain:

10
Acidity is measured using a pH scale with units from 0 to 14.
  Acid rain can be controlled by adopting following measures:
 Acid rain can best be curtailed by reducing the amount of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen
oxides released by power plants, motorized vehicles, and factories.
o The simplest way to cut these emissions is to use less energy from fossil fuels.
 Individuals can help in fighting against acid rain.
o Every time a consumer buys an energy-efficient appliance,
o Adds insulation to a house,
o Takes a bus to work,
o He or she conserves energy.
 Another way to cut emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides is by switching to
cleaner-burning fuels.
o Electric utility companies and other industries can pollute less by using the low-sulphur
or cleanable types of coal.

2. Ozone Depletion:
Ozone:

 Ozone is one of three forms, called allotropes, of the element oxygen.

 Ozone is triatomic, meaning that it has three atoms in each molecule (formula O3).
 Ordinary, or diatomic, oxygen (O2) is more stable than ozone and accounts for the bulk of
oxygen in the atmosphere.
 Ozone is much more active chemically than ordinary oxygen.
 It is used in purifying water, sterilizing air, and bleaching certain foods and to kill germs at
abattoirs.

Ozone Layer

 Ozone Layer is a region of the atmosphere from 19 to 48 km (12 to 30 mi) above Earth's
surface.
 Ozone concentrations of up to 10 parts per million occur in the ozone layer.
 The ozone forms there by the action of sunlight on oxygen.
 This action has been taking place for many millions of years, but naturally occurring nitrogen
compounds in the atmosphere apparently have kept the ozone concentration at a fairly stable
level.

Ozone Formation:

 Two forms of oxygen are found in the stratosphere;

 Molecular oxygen, which is made up of two atoms of oxygen,
 Ozone, which made up of three oxygen atmos.
 Ozone is formed when intensive ultra violet radiation from the sun breaks down oxygen into two
oxygen atoms.
 These highly reactive oxygen atoms can then react with O2 to form O3.
 Ultraviolet rays are necessary for the production of ozone.

Importance of Ozone:

Absorption of the sun’s ultra violet radiation during ozone formation and destruction in the
stratosphere has three important consequences.

1. Less ultra violet radiation reaches the lowers part of the atmosphere and, as a consequence,
the surface of earth is protected from damaging radiation.
2. Since ultra violet radiation is important for both ozone formation and destruction, the amount
of ozone that can accumulate is limited – as ozone formation increases, ozone destruction also
increases.
 3. Ultra violet radiation is highly energetic.
a. This energy is transformed to heat during reaction leading to a warming of the
stratosphere.
b. This is the reason why the temperature trend in the stratosphere is opposite to that seen in
the troposphere.

Ozone Depletion:

 In the 1970s, scientist became concerned when they discovered that chemicals called chloro-
fluoro-carbons (CFCs), posed a possible threat to the ozone layer.
 These chlorine-containing chemicals rise into the upper stratosphere and are broken down by
sunlight, whereupon the chlorine reacts with and destroys ozone molecules.
 About 100,000 molecules of ozone are broken down per CFC molecule.
 The so–called ozone “hole”, is thinned region of the ozone layer that develops in the Antarctic
spring and continues for several months before thickening again.

Causes of Ozone Depletion:

 Scientific evidence indicates that stratospheric ozone is being destroyed by a group manufactured
chemicals, containing chlorine and/or bromine.
 These chemicals are called “ozone-depleting substances” (ODS)
1. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
 It is accounting for over 80% of total stratospheric ozone depletion.
 Used as coolants in refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners.
 Found in industrial solvents, dry-cleaning agents and hospital sterilants.
 Also used in foam products such as soft-foam padding (e.g. cushions and mattresses and
rigid foam (e.g. home insulation)
2. Halons:
 It’s a compound in which the hydrogen atoms of a hydrocarbon have been replaced by
bromine and other halogen atoms.
 It is very stable and used in fire extinguishers.
 It is thought to releases bromine that depletes the ozone layer.
3. Methyl Chloroform
 It is used mainly in industry for vapour degreasing, some aerosols, cold cleaning, adhesives
and chemical processing.
4. Carbon Tetrachloride:
 Used in solvents and some fire extinguishers.
5. Hydro-Chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs)
 HCFCs have become major transitional substitutes for CFCs.
 They are much less harmful to stratospheric ozone than CFCs are.
 But HCFCs still cause some ozone destruction and are potent to greenhouse gases.

Effects of Ozone Depletion:

 Stratospheric ozone filters out most of the sun’s potentially harmful shortwave ultraviolet (UV)
radiations.
 If this ozone becomes depleted, then more UV rays will reach the earth.
 Exposure to higher amounts of UV radiation could have serious impacts on human beings, animals
and plants, such as the following:
1. More skin cancers, sunburns and premature aging of the skin.
2. More cataracts, blindness and other eye diseases;
a. UV radiation can damage several parts of the eye, including the lens, cornea retina and
conjunctiva.
 b. Cataracts are the major cause of blindness in the world.
3. Weakening of the human immune system (immune-suppression)
4. They are also causing mutation.
5. Several of the world’s major crop species are particularly vulnerable to increased UV, resulting
in reduced growth, photosynthesis and glowering.
a. These species include wheat, rice, barley oats, corn, soybeans, peas, tomatoes, cucumbers,
cauliflower, broccoli, carrots.
6. In particular, plankton (tiny organisms in the surface layer of the oceans) is threatened by
increased UV radiation.
a. Plankton is the first vital step in aquatic food chains.
7. Decreases in plankton could disrupt the fresh and salt-water food chains, and lead to a species
shift in waters.
8. Loss of biodiversity in our oceans, rivers and lakes could reduce fish yields for commercial and
sport fisheries.

How to control ozone depletion:

 Growing concern for ozone depletion lead to the adoption of the Montreal protocol in 1987, in
order to reduce and control industrial emission of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
 Such international agreements have succeeded to a great extent in reducing the emission of these
compounds.
 However, more cooperation and understanding among all the countries of the world is required to
mitigate the problem.
 We too can do our bit to save the ozone.
 Use/buy more recycled products,
 Save energy,
 Take public transport,
 And most importantly spread awareness.

Our individual efforts can go long way in the saving the Earth’s blanket.

3. Greenhouse Effect
Definition: Greenhouse Effect is the capacity of certain gases in the atmosphere to trap heat emitted
from Earth’s surface, thereby insulating and warming the planet.

How the Greenhouse effect works:

 Sunlight is composed of a range of radiant energies known as the solar spectrum,

 Which includes visible light, infrared light, gamma rays, X-rays, and ultraviolet light.
 When the Sun’s radiation reaches Earth’s atmosphere, some 25 percent of the energy is reflected
back into space by clouds and other atmospheric particles.
 About 20 percent is absorbed in the atmosphere.
 About 50 percent of the Sun’s energy, largely in the form of visible light, passes through the
atmosphere to reach Earth’s surface.
 Soils, plants, and oceans on Earth’s surface absorb about 85 percent of this heat energy, while
the rest is reflected back into the atmosphere
 Sun’s radiation that is absorbed by Earth’s surface becomes heat energy in the form of long-wave
infrared radiation, and this energy is released back into the atmosphere.
 Certain gases, so-called Greenhouse Gases11in the atmosphere absorb this infrared radiant heat,
temporarily preventing it from dispersing into space.
 As these atmospheric gases warm, they in turn emit infrared radiation in all directions.

11
Greenhouse Gases: Including water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide
  Some of this heat returns back to Earth to further warm the surface in what is known as the
greenhouse effect, and some of this heat is eventually released to space.
 The heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere behave like the glass of a greenhouse.
 They let much of the Sun’s rays in, but keep most of that heat from directly escaping.
 Because of this, they are called greenhouse gases.
 Without these gases, heat energy absorbed and reflected from Earth’s surface would easily
radiate back out to space.
o And leaving the planet with an inhospitable temperature close to –19°C (2°F).

How do humans contribute to the Greenhouse effect?

The greenhouse effect is an essential environmental prerequisite for life on earth, but the problems
begin when human activities distort and accelerate the natural process by creating more greenhouse
gases in atmosphere than are necessary to warm the planet to an ideal temperature.

Following are the factors responsible for global warming.

 Burning natural gas, coal and oil including gasoline for automobile engines raises the level of
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
 Some farming practices and use changes increase the levels of methane and nitrous oxide.
 Many factories produce long lasting industrial gases that do not occur naturally, yet contribute
significantly to the enhanced greenhouse effect and ‘global warming’ that is currently under
way.
 Deforestation also contributes to global warming. Trees use carbon dioxide and give off oxygen
I its place, which helps to create the optimal balance of gases in the atmosphere. As more
forests are logged for timber or cut down to make way for farming, there are fewer trees to
perform this critical function.
 Population growth is another factor in global warming, because as more people use fossil fuels
for heat, transportation and manufacturing, the level of greenhouse gases continues to
increase. As more farming occurs to deed millions of new people, more greenhouse gases enter
the atmosphere.

Currently, carbon dioxide accounts for more than 60 percent of the enhanced greenhouse effect
caused by the increase of greenhouse gases, and the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is
increasing by more than 10 percent every 20 years.

If emissions of carbon dioxide continue to grow at current rates, then the level of the gas in the
atmosphere will likely double, or possibly even triple, from pre-industrial levels during the 21st century.

Today, the earth’s temperature is increasing at an unprecedented speed. During the entire 20th
century, the average global temperature increase by about 0.6 degrees Celsius (slightly more than 1
degree Fahrenheit). Using computer climate models, scientists estimate that by the year 2100 the
average global temperature will increase by 1.4 degrees to 5.8 degrees Celsius.

4. Global Warming.
Global Warming or Climate Change, measurable increases in the average temperature of Earth’s
atmosphere, oceans, and landmasses. Scientists believe Earth is currently facing a period of rapid
warming brought on by rising levels of heat-trapping gases, known as greenhouse gases, in the
atmosphere.

Effects of Global Warming:

Scientists agree that even a small increase in the global temperature would lead to significant climate
and weather changes, affecting cloud cover, precipitation, wind patterns frequency and severity of
storms and the duration of seasons.
 1. Rising temperatures would raise sea levels as well, reducing supplies of fresh water and
Flooding occurs along coastlines worldwide and salt water reaches inland.
2. Many of the world’s endangered species would become extinct as rising temperature change
their habitat.
3. Millions of people also would be affected, especially poor people who live in precarious
locations or depend on the land for a subsistence living.
4. Certain vector-borne diseases carried by animals or insects, such as malaria and dengue would
become more widespread as warmer conditions expanded their range.
5. Melting of glaciers, ice caps and snow will speed up. It would cause super floods and flash
foods.
6. It would lead to food insecurity.
7. Coastal regions will be submerged and may cause migrations.
8. Owing to higher temperature, water will evaporate quickly and this will cause shortage of
water i.e. drought.
9. Global warming is changing weather patterns. This would lead to change in cropping patterns.
Some agricultural areas may become barren.

Efforts to Reduce Global Warming:

To lessen those long-term effects, many nations, communities and individuals are taking action now to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow global warming by reducing dependence on fossil fuels,
increase the use of renewable energy, expanding forests and making lifestyle choices that help to
sustain the environment.

The only ways to control global warming is to control air pollution. Without controlling air pollution,
global warming cannot be controlled

Arguments against Global Warming:

Global Warming is a controversial issue today. Some say that it has been overly hyped greenhouse
gases. A lot has been said and heard about global warming more so in the last few couple of decades.
The proponents of global warning warn that if immediate preventives steps are not take, global
warming will have a disastrous effect on the future of humankind. The detractors, however, argue that
the problem is grossly overestimated. They also argue that the steps to tackle the problem will hinder
economic progress.

It is argued that global warming is a mine issue because of which major issues like HIV/AIDS, Nuclear
proliferation and poverty are not being devoted their deserved time and resources.

Global warming is even argued to be merely a vested interest of scientists. It is said that scientists
exaggerate the effects of global warming because they receive funds from environmental companies.
Global warming is believed also to be the outcome of failed weather accurately, so how can they
predict long-term climate change? It is argued that human activities are not the only cause of global
warming. There are other factors involved in global warming too.

Detractors of global warming also hold that newspapers sensationalize global warming in order to sell.
They distort the picture of global warming when actually tat it is not as severe issue as they make out
to be. Detractors also say that since scientists have made wrong predictions before, science and
scientist are not always right. Perhaps they have made an error in their calculations or drawn incorrect
conclusions on available evidence, thus making global warming a virtual rather than a real problem.

Since we don’t have long term historical records of the climate that Earth has witnessed global
warming could well be only a hypothesis. It is argued that water vapor plays a major part in global
warming. Anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, hydrocarbons and other green-house
gases have only a minor role to play. In fact, some people even believe that global warming is a natural
phenomenon. Man has no role to play in it. Only our environment is responsible.
The data on temperature increase that scientists keep producing as evidence is nothing to worry about
because the increase in the temperature has in fact been gradual spread over more than hundred
years. Also, the earth was warmer before. That did not have harmful consequences on humans. Why
will it now? In fact people argue that the increase in temperature will help plans grow in currently cold
and uninhabitable areas. The increase in the level of carbon dioxide will also stimulate plant growth.

Another common argument against global warming is that the upsurge in solar activity has caused
global warming, not anthropogenic effects of development.

One realizes that most of the arguments against global warming are factually incorrect or far-fetched.
People advocating these arguments have a vested interests in activities and industries that contribute
to global warming. Unfortunately they are able to sway a section of the population into believing that
global warming is not a serious issue. Earnest efforts must be taken to dispel these myths and make the
earth a better place to live in.

International agreements on air pollution control:

Montreal Protocol

(Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer)

It is an international treaty, adopted in Montreal on Sept. 16, 1987, that aimed to regulate the
production and use of chemicals that contribute to the depletion of Earth's ozone layer.

Initially signed by 46 countries, the treaty now has nearly 200 signatories.

In the early 1970s, American chemists F. Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina theorized that
chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) compounds combine with solar radiation and decompose in the stratosphere,
releasing atoms of chlorine and chlorine monoxide that are individually able to destroy large numbers
of ozone molecules. (Along with Dutch chemist Paul Crutzen, Rowland and Molina were awarded the
1995 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for this work.) Their research, first published in the journal Nature in
1974, initiated a federal investigation of the problem in the United States, and the National Academy of
Sciences concurred with their findings in 1976. In 1978 CFC-based aerosols were banned in the United
States, Norway, Sweden, and Canada.

Further validation of their work came in 1985 with the discovery of a “hole” in the ozone shield over
Antarctica by the British Antarctic Survey and the publication of its findings in Nature. Shortly before
these findings were to appear, representatives from 28 countries met to discuss the issue at the Vienna
Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer. The meeting called for international cooperation in
research involving ozone-depleting chemicals (ODCs) and empowered the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) to lay the groundwork for the Montreal Protocol.

The initial agreement was designed to reduce the production and consumption of several types of CFCs
and Halons to 80 percent of 1986 levels by 1994 and 50 percent of 1986 levels by 1999. The protocol
went into effect on Jan. 1, 1989. Since then the agreement has been amended to further reduce and
completely phase out CFCs and halons, as well as the manufacture and use of carbon tetrachloride,
trichloroethane, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs),
hydrobromofluorocarbons (HBFCs), methyl bromide, and other ODCs. Several subsequent meetings of
the signing countries were convened to track overall progress toward this goal and to authorize new
changes to the process of phasing out ODCs.

It is important to note that ODC phase-out schedules differ between developed and developing
countries. The period for developing countries to come into compliance is slightly longer, owing to the
fact that they have fewer technical and financial resources to introduce substitutes. In developed
countries the production and consumption of halons formally ended by 1994, several other chemicals
(such as CFCs, HBFCs, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform) were phased out by 1996, methyl
bromide was eliminated in 2005, and HCFCs are scheduled to be completely phased out by 2030. In
contrast, developing countries phased out CFCs, carbon tetrachloride, methyl chloroform, and halons
by 2010; they are scheduled to phase out methyl bromide by 2015 and eliminate HCFCs by 2040.

The Antarctic ozone hole grew in size throughout the 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century.
The ozone layer over the Arctic also thinned, although not as pronouncedly as over the Antarctic.
Despite these findings, most scientists contend that the ozone layer will eventually recover. They note
that the success of the treaty is exclusively responsible for the substantial decrease of ODCs available
for release into the atmosphere. Signs of recovery might not become apparent until about 2020,
however, because of natural variability. According to the World Meteorological Organization and the
UNEP, the full recovery of the ozone layer is not expected until at least 2049 over middle latitudes and
2065 over Antarctica.

Kyoto Protocol

Kyōto Protocol, international treaty adopted in 1997 that sets concrete targets for developed countries
to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming, also known as climate
change.

The Kyōto Protocol is a supplementary treaty to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) and went into force in February 2005.

More than 130 countries are party to it, with this figure set to rise; so far, however, the United States
has refused to ratify the treaty.

Under the Kyōto Protocol, developed, or industrialized, countries are subject to legally binding
commitments to curb their emissions of the six main greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane,
nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.

The targets are based mostly on the emission levels of these pollutants in 1990. In general the treaty
calls for industrialized nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 5 percent below 1990
levels.

The target goals must be accomplished by 2012, and commitments to start achieving the targets begin
in 2008. Developing countries—that is, most countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America—are only
subject to general commitments.

The Kyōto Protocol is a flexible treaty, allowing individual governments to decide what specific policies
and reforms to implement to meet their commitments. It also allows countries to offset some of their
emissions by increasing the carbon dioxide absorbed, or sequestered, by trees and other vegetation.
However, eligible sequestration activities, and the amount of offsetting allowed, are tightly controlled.

In addition, the Kyōto Protocol established three market-based mechanisms to help bring down the
costs of lowering emissions. These mechanisms are known as joint implementation, the clean
development mechanism (CDM), and emissions trading. Under joint implementation and the CDM, a
country can invest in a project to curb emissions in another country, where it is cheaper to do so, and
thereby acquire the resulting credit to offset against its own target. Under emissions trading, a country
that exceeds its own target of lowering emissions can transfer the surplus credits to another country
that is finding it more difficult to reduce its emissions. Developing countries can participate, but only
through the CDM. Safeguards are in place to ensure that emission credits are genuine.

Developed countries are subject to stringent reporting requirements, and a compliance committee
considers any suspected noncompliance. Countries commit to achieve a certain level of their target
goal beginning in 2008. Any country that fails to meet its emissions target may be penalized by having
to meet a proportionally higher target for the following commitment period and by having to prepare
an action plan to show how emissions will be reined in.
The entry into force of the Kyōto Protocol was delayed for several years while countries finalized its
details. A package of decisions, known as the Marrakech Accords, was finally agreed to in 2001, setting
out in detail how the protocol’s rules and mechanisms will work. Implementation is now underway,
with the CDM already operational. Many businesses are especially keen to participate in the market
mechanisms, and the European Union (EU) launched a regional emissions trading system in January
2005. Meeting the protocol’s targets, however, will be a challenge for many countries.

Talks are due to start soon on next steps in the international effort to control climate change. Key
controversial issues will include when and how to negotiate stronger commitments for developing
countries, and how to secure the participation of the United States. Under the administration of
Democratic president Bill Clinton, the United States supported the protocol but never submitted it to
Congress for ratification because of opposition from the Republican Party. When Republican George W.
Bush became president in 2001, the United States withdrew its support for the protocol. Bush claimed
that the treaty would harm the U.S. economy and was unfair to industrialized nations because
developing countries were not required to control their emissions