Enviromental Science Profit Or Loss Essay, Research Paper
As we near the end of the millennium, the home planet that has for so long been our gracious host is suffering from the apathy and wreckless consumption of natural resources. Awareness is the gravest of concerns. Ignorance is not a bliss, for we must become aware of the problems that endanger our environment in order to save it. Unfortunately, the media with its powerful arms of influence, has nor done nearly enough informing the public.
There are many serious issues concerning the environment . Some of these issues are Acid Rain, Air pollution, and Oil industries.
Acid Rain Acid rain is a serious problem with disastrous effects. Each day this serious problem increases. Many people believe that this issue is too small to deal with right now, and others believe it should be met head on. Power generating plants, industrial commercial, and residential fuel combustion together contribute the rest of the nitric acid. In the atmosphere, the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide transforms into sulfuric acid and nitric acid. Air current can send them thousands of kilometers from the source. When these acids fall to the earth, they will have large impact on the growth and the preservation of certain wildlife. These substance’s can neutralize acids entering the body of water, thereby protecting it. However, large areas of Ontario that are near the Pre-Cambrian Shield, with quartzite or granite based geology and little topsoil; there is not enough buffering capacity to neutralize even small amounts of acid falling on the soil and the lakes. Therefore over time, the basic environment shifts from an alkaline to an acidic one.
Air Pollution, contamination of the atmosphere by gaseous, liquid, or solid wastes or by-products that can endanger human health and the health and welfare of plants and animals, or can attack materials, reduce visibility, or produce undesirable odors. Among air pollutants emitted by natural sources, only the radioactive gas radon is recognized as a major health threat. A byproduct of the radioactive decay of uranium minerals in certain kinds of rock, radon seeps into the basements of homes built on these rocks. The most prevalent and widely dispersed air pollutants are described in the accompanying table. The level is usually given in terms of atmospheric concentrations (micrograms of pollutants per cubic meter of air) or, for gases, in terms of parts per million, that is, number of pollutant molecules per million air molecules. Many come from directly identifiable sources; sulfur dioxide, for example, comes from electric power plants burning coal or oil. Others are formed through the action of sunlight on previously emitted reactive materials.
The petroleum industry is no different than any other business. It exists to make money and will pursue any means to profit. Americans and other people of the world don’t realize how much of an impact the petroleum industry has on the world economy. Most of us don’t think twice or even once at the gas pump about where our money is going. We just grumble occasionally about the price, then pay and drive off until the tank hits empty, requiring us to return. For the past century the petroleum industry and the automobile industry have grown almost as one, industry dependent on each other in the pursuit of profits.
Rumors over the years have reported that the petroleum industry has kept new innovative products off the market that could help reduce our problems considerably. They do this by buying the copyrights or paying people not to produce the products. This can be easily done by an industry that carries a big wallet.
Advertising has also kept the industry going. Advertisers portray a different picture that gets your mind off the problem. Petroleum companies play on your automotive desires, like gasoline that performs well and gives you more power. They also play on the convenience of their stores by selling unrelated products such as groceries. The industry has changed only to meet economic needs.
The automobile industry has also done little to comply with a growing attitude of change. With stricter pollution standards hovering over combustion engines, they continue trying to perfect hundred year old technologies. The combustion engine just keeps being refined enough to be in compliance with law. The fact is that we are still using petroleum products in an industry that is growing by leaps and bounds all over the world.
The auto and petroleum industries will keep making minor adjustments to address problems of pollution and dwindling resources. It wont be enough as long as petroleum consumption continues to rise from millions of automobiles put on the road each year. The advances we make to curb consumption and pollution are offset by automobile industries desire to produce more and profit. These dilemmas will persist as long as the auto and petroleum industries continue making each other money. So is it Environment or Profit?