10 Things I Can Do To Save Our Environment

PLANT A TREE


It's good for the air, the land, can shade your house and save on cooling (plant on the west side of your home), and they can also improve the value of your property


TAKE A SHORTER SHOWER

Every two minutes you save on your shower can conserve more than ten gallons of water.

TURN OFF LIGHTS

Always turn off incandescent bulbs when you leave a room. Fluorescent bulbs are more affected by the number of times it is switched on and off, so turn them off when you leave a room for 15 minutes or more. You'll save energy on the bulb itself, but also on cooling costs, as lights contribute heat to a room.

GIVE IT AWAY

Before you throw something away, think about if someone else might need it. Donate!

CHANGE YOUR LIGHT

If every household replaced one regular lightbulb with one of those new compact fluorescent bulbs, the pollution reduction would be equivalent to removing one million cars from the road.

BRUSH WITHOUT RUNNING

You've heard this one before, but maybe you still do it. You'll conserve up to five gallons per day if you stop.

RECYCLE GLASS

Recycled glass reduces related air pollution by 20 percent and related water pollution by 50 percent. If it isn't recycled it can take a million years to decompose.

TURN OFF LIGHTS

Always turn off incandescent bulbs when you leave a room. Fluorescent bulbs are more affected by the number of times it is switched on and off, so turn them off when you leave a room for 15 minutes or more. You'll save energy on the bulb itself, but also on cooling costs, as lights contribute heat to a room.

HANG DRY

Get a clothesline or rack to dry your clothes by the air. Your wardrobe will maintain color and fit, and you'll save money.

USE BOTH SIDES OF PAPER

For a quick and easy way to halve this, set your printer's default option to print double-sided (duplex printing). And when you're finished with your documents, don't forget to take them to the recycling bin.

Primary and Secondary Pollutants

What is the difference between a primary and secondary pollutant?



A Primary Pollutant are pollutants that enters the air directly and a Secondary Pollutant is not directly emitted or not directly produce as such, but forms when other pollutants (primary pollutants) react in the atmosphere. An example of primary pollutant; A volcanic eruption releases smoke and ash. And an example of secondary pollutant; cars and factories releasing smoke and sulfur dioxide.

Major primary pollutants produced by human activity include:

Sulphur oxides (SOx) - especially sulfur dioxide, a chemical compound with the formula SO2. SO2 is produced by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide. Further oxidation of SO2, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as NO2, forms H2SO4, and thus acid rain.This is one of the causes for concern over the environmental impact of the use of these fuels as power sources.

Nitrogen oxides (NOx) - especially nitrogen dioxide are expelled from high temperature combustion, and are also produced naturally during thunderstorms by electric discharge. Can be seen as the brown haze dome above or plume downwind of cities. Nitrogen dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula NO2. It is one of the several nitrogen oxides. This reddish-brown toxic gas has a characteristic sharp, biting odor. NO2 is one of the most prominent air pollutants.

Carbon monoxide (CO)- is a colourless, odourless, non-irritating but very poisonous gas. It is a product by incomplete combustion of fuel such as natural gas, coal or wood. Vehicular exhaust is a major source of carbon monoxide.

Volatile organic compounds - VOCs are an important outdoor air pollutant. In this field they are often divided into the separate categories of methane (CH4) and non-methane (NMVOCs).

Methane is an extremely efficient greenhouse gas which contributes to enhanced global warming. Other hydrocarbon VOCs are also significant greenhouse gases via their role in creating ozone and in prolonging the life of methane in the atmosphere, although the effect varies depending on local air quality. Within the NMVOCs, the aromatic compounds benzene, toluene and xylene are suspected carcinogens and may lead to leukemia through prolonged exposure. 1,3-butadiene is another dangerous compound which is often associated with industrial uses.

Particulates, alternatively referred to as particulate matter (PM), atmospheric particulate matter, or fine particles, are tiny particles of solid or liquid suspended in a gas. In contrast, aerosol refers to particles and the gas together. Sources of particulates can be man made or natural. Some particulates occur naturally, originating from volcanoes, dust storms, forest and grassland fires, living vegetation, and sea spray. Human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels in vehicles, power plants and various industrial processes also generate significant amounts of aerosols. Averaged over the globe, anthropogenic aerosols—those made by human activities—currently account for about 10 percent of the total amount of aerosols in our atmosphere. Increased levels of fine particles in the air are linked to health hazards such as heart disease,altered lung function and lung cancer.

Persistent free radicals connected to airborne fine particles could cause cardiopulmonary disease.

Toxic metals, such as lead and mercury, especially their compounds.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) - harmful to the ozone layer emitted from products currently banned from use.

Ammonia (NH3) - emitted from agricultural processes. Ammonia is a compound with the formula NH3. It is normally encountered as a gas with a characteristic pungent odor. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to foodstuffs and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or indirectly, is also a building block for the synthesis of many pharmaceuticals. Although in wide use, ammonia is both caustic and hazardous.

Odors — such as from garbage, sewage, and industrial processes

Radioactive pollutants - produced by nuclear explosions, nuclear events, war explosives, and natural processes such as the radioactive decay of radon.


Secondary pollutants include:



Particulates created from gaseous primary pollutants and compounds in photochemical smog. Smog is a kind of air pollution; the word "smog" is a portmanteau of smoke and fog. Classic smog results from large amounts of coal burning in an area caused by a mixture of smoke and sulfur dioxide. Modern smog does not usually come from coal but from vehicular and industrial emissions that are acted on in the atmosphere by ultraviolet light from the sun to form secondary pollutants that also combine with the primary emissions to form photochemical smog.

Ground level ozone (O3) formed from NOx and VOCs. Ozone (O3) is a key constituent of the troposphere. It is also an important constituent of certain regions of the stratosphere commonly known as the Ozone layer. Photochemical and chemical reactions involving it drive many of the chemical processes that occur in the atmosphere by day and by night. At abnormally high concentrations brought about by human activities (largely the combustion of fossil fuel), it is a pollutant, and a constituent of smog.

Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) - similarly formed from NOx and VOCs.

  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_pollution

Water Treatment - Reverse Osmosis Principle



                                         

                                Reverse Osmosis Principle

Reverse osmosis, also known as hyper filtration, is the finest filtration known. This process will allow the removal of particles as small as dissolved individual ions from a solution. Reverse osmosis is used to purify water and remove ions and dissolved organic molecules. It can be used to purify fluids such as ethanol and glycol, which will pass through the reverse osmosis membrane, while rejecting other ions and contaminants from passing. The most common use for reverse osmosis is in purifying water. It is used to produce water that meets the most demanding specifications that are currently in place.

If two aqueous solutions of different salinity are separated by a semi-permeable membrane, osmosis will cause water to pass through the membrane in the direction of the more concentrated solution, therefore diluting it. By applying sufficient pressure to the more concentrated liquid, the direction of osmosis can be reversed. In this way, we can mechanically reverse the flow and separate the concentrated solution into its constituents: the water and the dissolved solids. One part is called the permeate, or filtrate, and the other is the reject stream, or concentrate.

Reverse osmosis uses a membrane that is semi-permeable, allowing the fluid that is being purified to pass through it, while rejecting the contaminants that remain. Most reverse osmosis technology uses a process known as crossflow to allow the membrane to continually clean itself. As some of the fluid passes through the membrane the rest continues downstream, sweeping the rejected species away from the membrane, in a concentrated brine reject water.

The process of reverse osmosis requires a driving force to push the fluid through the membrane, and the most common force is pressure from a pump. The higher the pressure, the larger the driving force. As the concentration of the fluid being rejected increases, the driving force required to continue concentrating the fluid increases.

Reverse osmosis is capable of rejecting bacteria, salts, sugars, proteins, particles, dyes, and other constituents that have a molecular weight of greater than 150-250 daltons. The separation of ions with reverse osmosis is aided by charged particles. This means that dissolved ions that carry a charge, such as salts, are more likely to be rejected by the membrane than those that are not charged, such as organics. The larger the charge and the larger the particle, the more likely it will be rejected.

Source: http://www.shercorp.net

 

Wetlands

Lake Naujan

Oriental Mindoro

      Is the fifth largest lake in the Philippines.  It is found in the northeast coast of the province of Oriental Mindoro on Mindoro Island; the island is in itself considered a discrete biogeographical region. The lake is 14 kilometers long and 6 kilometers wide and is bounded by the municipalities of Naujan, Pola, Victoria and Socorro.  The lake is home to rich ethnic and cultural diversity.  The population is composed of the Mangyans, indigenous people of Mindoro including the Tadyawan tribe in the area of the lake, and the “damuong” or non-Mangyans.

Role in Ecology

  Naujan Lake is a wetland known for its rich biodiversity.  Protected fish species such as Mugil dussumieri, Caranx sexfasciagus ands, Lutianus argentimaculoju and various harvestable species. The lake is an important feeding or wintering ground for large numbers of ducks and other waterbirds such as herons, egrets, terns, rails and bitterns. The rare Amaurornis olivaceous is a resident-breeding species found in the area.  The endemic Philippine CrocodileCrocodylus mindorensis, a critically endangered freshwater crocodile, was recorded, but may now be extinct on Mindoro.

Species;

Mugil dussumieri

Caranx sexfasciagus

Lutianus argentimaculoju

Amaurornis olivaceous

Crocodylus mindorensis

 Conserving Naujan Lake

    The lake is a designated Ramsar Site, a wetland of international importance, because of its biodiversity, its substantial numbers of waterfowls and its critical role in the migratory birds flyway path.However, the increasing human population has put a stress on the natural resources of the lake.  Intensive fishing continuously comes in conflict between preserving the National Park for wildlife and development of the area for commercial and subsistence level activities by the local residents. Further, large animals continue to be caught, including the small population of crocodiles.

Reference

Society for the Conservetion of Philippine Wetland.inc