Enviroment Weblog

Street and land pollution in Barcelona

lfernan1976 — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:46:34 +0000

Causes

Consequences

• Factory closures

• Soil pollution from toxic waste

• Derelict areas include sites that have formerly been used as factories, etc., but have been closed down; the areas remain unused and undeveloped for any other purposes.

• Industrial sites deposit pollutants on the ground they occupy and by leaks from tanks and underground pipes. The pollution comes to light when industrial areas are dismantled and given over to other uses, La Llagosta (now the Olympic Village) and the coastal strip of Sant Adrià and Besòs-Montgat provide examples of this problem.

• Domestic waste Street waste storage bins are a characteristic of Barcelona streets. The most densely populated districts often have refuse spilling from the bins onto the streets.

• This creates offensive odours, is an eyesore and a health hazard, particularly in the summer heat. Collections are made at night, creating a great deal of noise.

• Sewer system’s capacity can be surpassed when there is torrential rain

• Causes surface flooding and direct discharges to the sea via the overflows. Raw sewage is washed onto the beaches

Air pollution in Barcelona

lfernan1976 — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:25:34 +0000

Causes

Consequences

• Traffic and industry The industries in the Besòs area have largely been replaced by service companies, producing a marked drop in atmospheric emissions for the whole areaPrivate traffic is the main producer of pollution in the Barcelona Region. The number of private vehicles on the road grows every year. Although older vehicles are being replaced by newer, less polluting ones, the increase in the number of cars on the road has more than offset cleaner combustion. The building of ring roads has increased the use of private vehicles.

• Gas-fired heating systems also cause air pollution

• Illegal burning of industrial materials (tyres, for example) which is currently done almost anywhere in the area.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AljadVOxkXY

• The main environmental problems associated with air emissions are harm to human health, the acidification and eutrophication of water and soils, and damage to natural ecosystems, buildings and crops.

• Barcelona, summer period: It is estimated that over 66% of the population are affected by ozone levels in excess of 180ug/m3, and that over 66% of the population have been exposed to maximum NO2 levels in excess of 200 um/m3. These figures are above the recommended WHO levels.

Noise Pollution in Barcelona

lfernan1976 — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:02:13 +0000

Causes

Consequences

• Traffic and industryIn Barcelona, the effect of noise is further aggravated by high concentrations of people living together (30,000/km²).The noise pressure comes from road traffic, air traffic, railways and construction activityThe province of Barcelona is host to some 1,900,000 vehicles, representing a ratio of 0.4 vehicles per inhabitant.

• TourismTourists frequently stay late into the night playing music in the squares. the Old Town (Ciutat Vella) is particularly badly affected

• Noise is an intense factor in affecting human health.Harmful environmental noise is defined as daytime, evening and night-time noise levels exceeding 65 – 60 – 55 decibels, depending on the source of noiseOver half of Barcelona’s population is subjected to noise levels over 65 decibels during the entire day (0800-2200 hours) which explains why locals have to shout to make themselves heard.

noise level

less than 55 dB(A)

55 to 65 dB(A)

more than 65 dB(A)

percentage of population

15%

35%

50%

Our enviroment and reducing, reusing and recycling.

lfernan1976 — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:31:14 +0000

The environment means surroundings in which people, animals and plants develop and exist. Ecology is a branch of biology which investigate relationships between living beings and their environment

The most serious ecological problems of today are the pollution of air, water and soil, the destruction of ecosystem, disappearance of many species of animals and plants, the weather changes, acid rains, the warming up of the Earth’s surface, the destruction of tropical rain forests and the breaking of the ozone layer. These damages are caused by the man himself and his technical progress.

Pollution: We need air to breathe, water to drink and food to eat, but there is a growing number of people in the Earth so that we have to share these everything with more people. The growing number of cars contribute much to the air pollution. Factories produce a large amount of carbon dioxide, lead poisons etc. which get into the air. Some of them in combination with water make sulfuric acid in the clouds, it later falls as acid rain which kills trees and make soil infertile. Factories also pollute rivers because they put there their chemical waste. Also farmers pollute the soil using a lot of pesticides and fertilizers. This pollution can also poison groundwater.

I think that the best way how to reduce pollution is reducing, reusing and recycling.

Greenhouse effect: In the last 100yars the Earth’s surface has warmed up by more than half a degree, this change could cause rising the sea levels by up to one and half meters by the year 2030. The Greenhouse effect is caused by polluted atmosphere which was polluted by carbon dioxide from fossil fuels and chlorofluorocarbons.

The best protection is to stop producing these gases and destroying rain forests. It is worth replacing old power plants with nuclear power which reduce the damage. Also nuclear power has its disadvantages, in this case there are alternative sources of energy : hydropower, solar power, geothermal etc.

Ozone Hole: The ozone gap is thinning at a rapid speed. It is a layer which protect us from dangerous UV rays, these could damage the life on the Earth.

Possible effects of the sun’s UV rays:
Eyes: cataracts and blindness
Skin: premature aging, skin cancer and wrinkling
Immune system: they brake down the immune system
Crops: they could interrupt the process of photosynthesis
Sea life: growth of plankton which are a vital part of the food chain in the world’s oceans.

The areas of largest ozone hole are Antarctica, South America, Australia, New Zealand.

The main destroyers are CFC and halons which are used in refrigerators and air conditioners. Scientists estimate that one atom of chlorine can destroy 100 000 ozone molecules.

If the destruction of environment continues the life on this planet will be endangered. I recent years a lot of environmental organizations have been found, e.g. Greenpeace, they develop their activities mainly in rich countries, they try to warn people by means of a lot of compaings, many of their suggestions were successful, e.g. using DDT was banned by law, or catalytic converters and unleaded petrol. All over the world there are air acts, water pollution acts and endangered species acts, each country has ministry for environment too.

Liquid bag for your Eco-walks

lfernan1976 — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:45:41 +0000

In your Eco-walks… have you ever been thirsty while walking in the city parks?

Why don’t you buy just one plastic bottle and use it getting profit of the public fountains instead of throwing a plastic bottle away each time you need a new bottle of water?

Remember: Be water, my friend!

Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless. Like water. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can flow, or it can crash. Be water, my friend!

Today starts our eco-point of view

lfernan1976 — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:09:14 +0000

Today starts our point of view which contributes to reinforce how important taking care of our enviroment is. By editing this blog, I aim of summing up the point of views of those who are truly interested and sensibilised with the enviroment of today for the enviroment of tomorrow.

Soon I will provide the first enviromental content. Please, feel free to post your ideas and to re-drive our blog.Today starts our eco-point of view. Do you want to join us?