Hi,
I'd like to know how an environmental cleanup in one place can
positively affect the environment far away. The agent could be a body
of water, an animal...it could be a direct or indirect effect. |
Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
29 Oct 2003 16:25 PST
Hello dew011,
I didn't want your question to go entirely unattended, so I thought
I'd offer up some information based on my own experience in
environmental issues.
There is a well known phenomenon known as "long range transport" of
pollution, and if you do a Google search on that phrase, I'm sure you
will find many examples of pollution sources in one place having
undesirable impacts over a long distance. Conversely, cleaning up
such sources can have beneficial effects far away.
Probably the most well-documented long-range-transport phenomenon is
acid rain...release of sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide pollutants from
power plants in the midwest and Canada, created acid rain that
devastated areas of the Adirondak mountains in New York State.
Other examples:
--burning of crop residues in Indonesia created dust clouds that
caused pollution and affected weather patterns thousands of miles
away.
--use of ozone depleting chemicals in the industrialized world created
the huge hole in the ozone over Antarctica
--runoff from farms and cities all through the midwest US ends up in
the Mississippi River and is dumped, eventually, into the Guld of
Mexico.
Hope this helps you or another researcher track down a full answer to
your question.
Cheers.
pafalafa-ga
|
Clarification of Question by
dew011-ga
on
29 Oct 2003 19:06 PST
Thanks, pafalafa. That's a good start. I appreciate the comment. I
do hope a researcher will pick this question up.
|
Clarification of Question by
dew011-ga
on
31 Oct 2003 15:24 PST
I hope somebody will help me with this question!
|
Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
31 Oct 2003 18:56 PST
Hello again,
Have a look at this site here, and see if it's the type of information
you need:
http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/news/trans.htm
The site belongs to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, and is
explaining (whining, a bit, actually) how much of their local air
pollution stems from long range transport from the US. Be sure to
check out the links to some cool maps and charts on the page.
As air pollution in the US is cleaned-up, it has a long range effect
on air quality in Canada and elsewhere.
Let me know if this is the type of thing you're after.
pafalafa-ga
|
Clarification of Question by
dew011-ga
on
01 Nov 2003 14:19 PST
Hi again,
THanks for your help so far. This is the type of thing I'm after,
although the more direct the connection, the better. The example you
gave earlier, "--burning of crop residues in Indonesia created dust
clouds that
caused pollution and affected weather patterns thousands of
miles
away, " except in reverse, is pretty close. Or, the effects a
clean-up in one part of the world and the re-emergence or
re-establishment of a type of animal that had come close to extinction
somewhere else due to positive changes in the water, the climate, etc.
I think you're on the right track.
I did see the map of US Pollution- I can see why Ontario is whining
about it!
Hope this is clearer. Thanks again-really appreciate it.
|
Clarification of Question by
dew011-ga
on
13 Nov 2003 10:11 PST
PLEASE don't let this question expire!!
|
