Category Science

Which are the common things harming the environment?

By now, it is common knowledge that human activities have a significant impact on the world’s ecosystem. Human beings have deeply altered the environment. They have directly or indirectly contributed to pollution, global warming, climate change and the destruction of biodiversity. It is high time we took measures to save the planet from further degradation. Some of you may have already resolved to adopt a sustainable lifestyle. But where should you start? Well, the best place to begin is your own home!

Many everyday items in your house can be contributing to environmental degradation because of what they are made of, how they are produced, or how they are disposed of. We are not just talking about ‘single-use’ plastic items. Of course, they are among the biggest concerns. But today, we are going to focus on the less obvious ones.

Here is a list of common things harming the environment. Next time you reach for any of these items, remember the three Rs – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

Wet wipes

Whether it’s wiping your face or cleaning a spill on the table, wet wipes bring ease and convenience to our lives. But the same can’t be said for the environment. Because the single-use wipes are made of synthetic cellulosic fibre and plastic fibre that don’t break down easily. When disposed of via the toilet, the non-biodegradable products block sewers. They also end up in oceans and harm marine life. Remember, paper tissues are not any better, because trees are felled to make them.

Tooth brush and face wash

Some varieties of toothpaste contain plastic microbeads, a leading contributor to the eight million tones of plastic that enter the ocean each year. Microbeads are tiny pieces of polyethylene plastic added to products such as face washes, body scrubs, abrasive cleaners and toothpastes. Microbeads can easily pass water filtration systems and end up in the sea, posing a serious threat to marine life. They do not biodegrade and as they travel, attract toxic chemicals. According to a study, a single shower using such products can result in 1, 00,000 plastic particles in the ocean. So, when you purchase a product, always check its ingredients and avoid ones with microbeads. (Look for words such as “polypropylene” and “polyethylene” on the label. They indicate the presence of plastic microbeads.)

Deodorant sprays

Aerosols sprays cans such as deodorant, air fresheners and spray paint use certain gases to propel the content from the nozzle. These gases could be hydrocarbons and nitrous oxide – both of which are greenhouse gases. The use of aerosol-coated products also results in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions from the propellants and solvents contained in them. Once airborne, VOCs, in the presence of sunlight, react with nitrogen oxides to form ozone, a key cog in smog. Many sprays also contain highly toxic chemicals such as xylene and formaldehyde, which are cancer-causing agents. They also affect our neurons.

Sunscreen lotion

Common chemicals used in sunscreen creams and lotions to protect against harmful affects of ultraviolet light threaten corals and other marine life. They include oxybenzone, benzophenone-1, benzophenone-8, OD-PABA, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor, 3-benzylidene camphor, nano-titanium dioxide and nano-zinc oxide. Some of these compounds are found in more than 3,500 skin care products worldwide for protection against the sun’s harmful effects. The chemicals enter the environment through wastewater effluent or directly from swimmers wearing sunscreen. The chemicals impair growth and photosynthesis in algae; accumulate in tissues of corals and induce bleaching; and deform the young of mussels, sea urchins and dolphins.

Clothes

Apparel production is linked to environmental problems such as water and air pollution. Every year, global emissions from textile production are equivalent to 1.2 billion tones of CO2, a figure that outweighs the carbon footprint of international flights and shipping combined. Further, dyeing of apparel contributes to about 20% of global water pollution.

While production of natural fibre is linked to pesticide use and heavy water consumption, synthetic textiles contain microplastic known as microfibers, which find their way to the ocean, affecting marine life.

By keeping your clothes until they wear out, and not shopping often, you can reduce your impact.

Glitter

Glitter is made from plastic and used in a wide array of products, including in art and craft, jewellery and cosmetics. But when it is washed down the drain, it becomes part of the growing problem of microplastics, which are consumed by plankton, fish and birds. Animals die from starvation when microplastics collect in their systems, and the material can even make its way up the food chain to end up on our plates.

Paper cups

Increasing awareness and ban against plastic use have led to the shift to alternatives such as paper bags and cups. But how environment-friendly are they? Cups are technically recyclable, but due to the complicated way in which they are produced, the vast majority of coffee cups do not end up being recycled. Indeed, they are made largely of paper, but disposable coffee cups are lined with plastic polyethylene, making the cups waterproof and therefore able to contain liquid. In addition, the difficulty of recycling coffee cups is increased by the fact they are contaminated with drink. This means cups cannot be recycled at standard recycling plants, and must instead be taken to special facilities, which are minimal in number all over the world. Further, many paper cups are made from virgin paper pulp. That means trees are felled to produce them.

 

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How birds are affected by habitat loss?

There are birds like the piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) that lay their eggs directly on the sand of a beach in a shallow depression. When sea-levels rise, beaches are washed away. When temperatures rise, and wetlands dry out, ducks that live and lay eggs on them will have nowhere to go.

Same is the fate of birds that depend on coral reefs. About one third of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean. When CO2 increases and the weather gets warm, more CO2 is absorbed and water becomes more acidic. Increased acidity reduces the ability of the corals to secrete calcium carbonate, which forms the structure of the reef. As a result, they become brittle and break easily. The reef structures shrink (something that happened to the Great Barrier Reef). For many birds in the tropics, corals reefs provide an important food source and are critical habitats for survival.

In Hawaii, mosquitoes that carry malaria breed in lower attitudes. Mountaintops provide protection for birds from mosquitoes since they cannot reach the area. Increasing temperatures have led mosquitoes to move further up the mountain slopes, threatening the birds that live at the top of the mountain. Avian malaria is a major reason for the decline of Hawaiian birds.

When birds move out of their habitats in search of new places to occupy, they over-exploit prey sources, leading to destruction of the entire ecosystem. Ospreys have been seen hunting other birds, so they may pose a threat to birds in the area, particularly if fish become scarce.

Recently, peafowl were found across Kerala, surprising bird-watchers. Why did they move from their habitat? Obviously in search of food and shelter. Studies also show that some species of birds are developing shorter wing spans and have less density in their bones.

 

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What should we do to protect birds from climate change?

[1] Stop climate change. Even if we end releasing greenhouse gases now, there will be continued warming by the gases released earlier. Birds will have to face a warmer planet in the coming years.

[2] Preserve bird habitats. Restore them where they have been lost. Build artificial nesting sites (simple cages for sparrows to bring them back).

[3] Continues to observe and collect data on when birds arrive at certain spots, when their numbers decline, and the connection between their numbers and the year’s temperature patterns.

[4] Grow more trees. They help to balance climate changes, keep CO2 level low and give the birds a chance to nest and survive.

[5] Keep your cat indoors. Each year, outdoor cats kill more than a billion birds in the U.S. and Canada; keeping cats inside is safer for them and better for birds.

[6] Make the spaces around your house friendly for birds. Gardens, trees, and native flowers are good for people and birds.

[7] In a factory outside Chennai, migratory birds hit the glass windows often and crashed to the ground. The management built large nets under every window to save the birds.

[8] Wherever you find a place and time, talk about birds and the need to protect them. More than 30% of our breeding birds are already declining and are in need of conservation action.

 

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How do global warming and climate change affect birds?

A good example is the study of great tits (Parus major) in Europe. These birds reproduce when caterpillars come out in spring when the buds burst out. The caterpillars gorge on the new leaves, great tits pick up the caterpillars to feed the nestlings. This maintains the bird’s survival rates.

Bird reproduction takes place just when the caterpillars are in abundance before they form their cocoons. Warmer temperatures have led to caterpillars emerging sooner. The birds lay eggs too late, and the caterpillars are gone. The cues the birds use to reproduce are not matching up with the peak prey availability. This can reduce the number of eggs they lay.

Pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) spend the winter in tropical Africa before migrating to Europe in the spring to breed, They use day-length change in their wintering grounds as a cue for migration. But prey availability is based on temperature, and due to climate change, it starts earlier in the year. The birds do not arrive at breeding grounds in time to take advantage of peak prey. See the mismatch? The fly-catcher population has declined more than 90% in some areas.

The snow bunting is adapted to very specific mountain habitats. When climate changes, they cannot find food. The ranges of boreal birds in Northern Europe are predicted to decrease by more than 73% over the next century.

 

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Which meteor showers most likely to be visible in the sky in 2020?

The Quadrantids

The Quadrantids give off their own New Year’s fireworks show. Compared with most other meteor showers, they are unusual because they are thought to have originated from an asteroid. They tend to be fainter with fewer streaks in the sky than others on this list.

Visibility: Between the end of December and the second week of January

The Lyrids

There are records from ancient Chinese astronomers spotting these bursts of light more than 2,700 years ago. They blaze through the sky at about 107,000 mph and explode about 55 miles up in the planet’s atmosphere. This shower comes from Comet Thatcher, which journeys around the sun about every 415 years. Its last trip was in 1861 and its next rendezvous near the sun will be in 2276.

Visibility: Between April 16 and 26

The Eta Aquariids

The Eta Aquariids are one of two meteor showers from Halley’s comet. Its sister shower, the Orionids, will peak in October. Specks from the Eta Aquariids streak through the sky at about 148,000 mph, making it one of the fastest meteor showers. Its display is better seen from the Southern Hemisphere where people normally enjoy between 20 and 30 meteors per hour during its peak. The Northern Hemisphere tends to see about half as many.

Visibility: Between April 19 and May 28

The Southern Delta Aquariids

They come from Comet 96P Machholz which passes by the sun every five years. Its meteors, which number between 10 and 20 per hour, are most visible predawn, between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. It tends to be more visible from the Southern Hemisphere.

Visibility: From July 12 to August 23

The Perseids

The Perseids light up the night sky when Earth runs into pieces of cosmic debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle. The dirty snowball is 17 miles wide and takes about 133 years to orbit the sun. Its last go-round was in 1992.

Usually between 160 and 200 meteors dazzle in Earth’s atmosphere every hour during the display’s peak. They zoom through the atmosphere at around 133,000mph and burst about 60 miles overhead.

Visibility: From mid-July to mid-August,

The Orionids

The Orionids are an encore to the Eta Aquariid meteor shower, which peaks in May. Both come from cosmic material spewed from cosmic material spewed from Halley’s comet. Since the celestial celebrity orbits past Earth once every 76 years, the showers this weekend are your chance to view the comet’s leftovers until the real deal next passes by in 2061.

Visibility: From October 2 to November 7

The Leonids

The Leonids are one of the most dazzling meteor showers and every few decades it produces a meteor storm where more than 1,000 meteor can be seen an hour. Cross your fingers for some good luck – the last time the Leonids were that strong was in 2002. Its parent comet is called Comet-Temple/Tuttle and it orbits the sun every 33 years.

Visibility: During mid-November

The Geminids

The Geminids, along with the Quadrantids that peaked in January, are thought to originate not from comets, but from asteroid-like space rocks. The Geminids are thought to have been produced by an object called 3200 Phaethon. If you manage to see them, this meteor shower can brighten the night sky with between 120 and 160 meteors per hour.

Visibility: First two weeks of December

The Ursids

The Ursids tend to illuminate the night sky around the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. They only shoot around 10 to 20 meteors per hour. They appear to radiate from Ursa Minor, and come from Comet 8P/ Tuttle.

Visibility: Between December 17 and 26

 

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What is Meteor Shower and how to watch it?

If you spot a meteor shower, what you’re really seeing is the leftovers of the icy comets crashing into Earth’s atmosphere. Comets are sort of like dirty snowballs: As they travel through the solar system, they leave behind a dusty trail of rocks and ice that lingers in space long after they leave. When Earth passes through these cascades of comet waste, the bits of debris – which can be as small as grains of sand – pierce the sky at such speeds that they burst, creating a celestial fireworks display.

A general rule of thumb with meteor showers: You are never watching the Earth cross into remnants from a comet’s most recent orbit. Instead, the burning bits come from the previous passes. For example, during the Perseid meteor shower you are seeing meteors ejected from when its parent comet, Comet Swift-Tuttle, visited in 1862 or earlier, not from its most recent pass in 1992.

That’s because it takes time for debris from a comet’s orbit to drift into a position where it intersects with Earth’s orbit, according to Bill Cooke, an astronomer with NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office.

The name attached to a meteor shower is usually tied to the constellation in the sky from which they seem to originate, known as their radiant. For instance, the Orionid meteor shower can be found in the sky when stargazers have a good view of the Orion constellation.

How to watch?

The best way to see a meteor shower is to get to a location that has a clear view of the entire night sky. Ideally, that would be somewhere with dark skies, away from city lights and traffic. To maximize your chances of catching the show, look for a spot that offers a wide, unobstructed view.

Bits and pieces of meteor showers are visible for a certain period of time, but they really peak visibly from dusk to dawn on a given few days. Those days are when Earth’s orbit crosses through the thickest part of the cosmic stream. Meteor showers can vary in their peak times, with some reaching their maximums for only a few hours and others for several nights. The showers tend to be most visible after midnight and before dawn.

It is best to use your naked eye to spot a meteor shower. Binoculars or telescopes tend to limit your field of view. You might need to spend about half an hour in the dark to let your eyes get used to the reduced light. Stargazers should be warned that moonlight and the weather can obscure the shows. But if that happens, there are usually meteor livestream like the ones hosted by NASA and by Slooh.

 

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