We and the World: for how long ?

Here we are in the 21st century, and the World is not like we all believed it’ll be. Instead of flying machines and expeditions to Mars we have developed nuclear weapons, pollution and lots of wars ("against terrorism"). We’re destroying the life on our planet, including ourselves, with massive pollution and, on the top, the continuous fight form resources.

Let’s take a look at the man’s achievements till now.

What do you think of the marvelous Water pollution?

There are two types of water pollution: toxic pollution and organic pollution. The greatest contributors to the toxic pollution are herbicides, pesticides, and industrial compounds. Organic pollution occurs when an excess of organic matter enters the water; for example inorganic pollutants accumulate in the aquatic ecosystems, like nitrogen and phosphates , lead to the overgrowth of the plants and algae; as the plants and algae die they become organic matter; during the process of discomposure they cause a lower of the oxygen in the water which at the end will lead to the death of the whole aquatic living material (this "beautiful" process is called eutrophication).

At the left you can admire some specific sources of water pollution:

Farming (farms use large amongst of herbicides and pesticides )

Business: waste and sewage generated by industry can get into the water supply, introducing large quantities of pollutants into the ecosystem;

sulfur dioxide, caused by the burning fossil fuel, in reaction with the water in the atmosphere create rainfall that contains sulfuric acid; as the acid rain falls into the lakes, streams and ponds it can lower the pH of the waterway, affecting the whole food chain.

How about the well known Air pollution?

There are several main types of pollution and we all know the effects which are commonly discussed. These include smog, acid rain, the greenhouse effect, and "holes" in the ozone layer. Each of these has serious implication for our health and the whole environment.
The exhaust form burning fuels is the major source. Another type of pollution is the release of noxious gases, such as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and chemical vapors.

Among the many pollution problems mankind has created for itself is (ladies and gentlemen) Nuclear pollution.

Having mined for and refined Plutonium and other naturally radioactive elements and having constructed nuclear power plants which add to the problem, mankind find itself with detonation devices and nuclear waste increasingly to dispose of . This headache has a cure (dumping concrete-encased containers filled with radioactive wastes in the oceans our burying them underground in old salt mines) but the funds are decreasing and the interest in respecting all environmental laws is minimal (especially when you dump them in places like Africa).

Let’s not forget about the major result of pollution: Global warming!

How we all know, global warming is the rise of temperature in the Earth’ atmosphere. It’s said that by the time a child born today is 80 years old, the Earth will be 6 and a half degrees warmer than is now. Some global warming is good, but if extra greenhouse gases are made, the thermal blanket gets thicker and too much heat is kept in the Earth’s atmosphere. That’s when global warming is bad.

Some "magnificent" change could take place if the temperature rises:
water expands when is heated and oceans absorb more heat than the lands, so sea levels would rise;
sea levels would rise also due to the melting of glaciers and sea ice (cities on coasts would flood);
places that usually get lots of rain and snowfall might get hotter and drier ;
lakes and rivers could dry up;
less water would be available for drinking, shower and swimming pools;
some plants and animals might become extinct because of the heat;
hurricanes, tornadoes and other storms that are caused by changes in heat and water may get more common;
On the top you can admire the "lovely view" of the fight for resources disguised with all sorts of pretexts, fruit of the restless work of the major economical powers.

If we continue in this way we will self-destruct sooner than we presumed. If you want to participate at the contest "the World: for how long?" you can send your estimates about the time that mankind need to completely destroy life on Earth, at the e-mail address free4@ itcgbianchi.it.

Thanks for visiting our planet! Drive carefully!

written by : Oanta Roxana ( free4@itcgbianchi.it )

HTML by: David Broad .