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Residents of Beijing and the north east part of China have had their first air pollution crisis of the winter ease with a cold front moving through the area. The new cold weather and winds has swept some of the filthy air out over the Pacific. N. America will receive a blast of coal generated pollution from Asia in a few days. The Chinese national observatory reduced the smog warning from yellow alert(second highest). Their alert levels are instituted at levels different from those recommended by the World Health Organization for air pollution. WHO recommends that exposure to the very tiny particles in pollution – those 2.5 microns or smaller – be limited to an average of 10 micrograms per cubic metre. Beijing issues air pollution alerts when pollution levels reach 35 micrograms per cubic metre. "Increases in risk are apparent in the city with the next-lowest long-term PM2.5 mean (i.e. 14.9 µg/m3 ), indicating that health effects can be expected when annual mean concentrations are in the range of 11–15 µg/m3" . WHO Over the past week Beijing residents have been exposed to an average of 190 micrograms of the harmful tiny particles. Beijing is not the hardest hit area. Northeast of the capital, Shenyang has recorded as much as 1400 micrograms per cubic metre. The government agencies responsible for health have advised that the very young and very old stay inside as much as possible and that people wear face masks when venturing outside. Unfortunately the 2.5 micron or less sized particles are not filtered out by ordinary gauze masks. The air pollution is made worse as the winter progresses. China’s leading source of energy is coal. While the laws mandate pollution controls on stacks, it often is not done or enforced. Air pollution can initiate or make worse heart disease, stroke and cancers. In addition to the air pollution that China is wrestling with, an estimated 60% of the country’s aquifers are polluted and unsafe. Some sources estimate that air pollution kills about 4000 Chinese every day. Many countries have become addicted to coal for industrial purposes. Some are moving away from that fossil fuel to using shale gas. Another source of energy is nuclear. Neither is without serious environmental problems. Sources: Guangdong News China Daily World Health Organization In addition, the steel of the bridge is rapidly corroding because of the chemical action of the very salty water.
The Iranian government has announced that it is planning to spend USD$ 6 million to restore the lake. It has reached tentative agreement with Azerbaijan and Georgia to increase the water flow into the lakebed. The UN has placed a USD$25 million price tag on the job. Without timely intervention this important body of water may well follow the fate of another Middle Eastern salt lake. The Aral Sea in the former Soviet Union has been choked of its water supply by poorly planned and maintained irrigation systems. The drainage area is now shared by five countries. Most of the sea has dried up with the eastern part of the lake now turned into the Aralkum Desert. It has been termed one of the greatest environmental disasters. Sources: Science Daily Wikipedia Press TV Whales sometimes become entangled in fishing nets and the modern nets are especially dangerous because they do not rot and weaken after a time but can snare marine life again and again. One of the whales being necropsied in BC had scars from a fishing net. Shipping lanes can be deadly to whales. Stranding sometimes happens when the animals become disoriented. This time the prime suspect may be a single celled organism – a plankton bloom in the Gulf of Alaska.
The waters in the Gulf of Alaska have been unusually warm for that region and a burst of growth(bloom) of plankton has resulted. While it is suspected that one of the organisms is one that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning, it has not been proved. It is known that shellfish gatherers on the gulf have become ill. If the fish eating whales ate fish tainted with the plankton they could have become paralyzed. Dead sea lions, puffins and fish have been washing ashore as well. The warm water in the Gulf has been referred to as “the blob”. “We’re kind primed to answer this complex question as it plays out,” said Kris Holderied, NOAA’s science lead at its Kasitsna Bay laboratory. “This warm blob is a big thing that might be giving us a foretaste of what’s happening in the future.” Alaska Journal of Commerce The warming trend is expected to continue with a strong El Nino condition extending into 2016. Sources: CBC News Alaska Journal Alaska Journal of Commerce Some turned their livestock out to fend for themselves rather than leave them trapped by fences or in barns.
One woman who was forced to flee the firestorm described it to a local newspaper. "It was like a tornado coming — a fire tornado coming up the valley," she said, recalling the moments before their hasty departure. "There was no time. You just have to run."Kelowna Daily Courier While the Rock Creek Fire continues to dominate local news, many other smaller wildfires have consumed people’s homes in other areas of the parched province. Three days ago firefighters were forced to call off the helicopters and aircraft fighting one such fire when someone foolishly chose to fly a drone over the fire, making it unsafe for the aircraft. This was the second incident of this kind this year. BC has registered 1600 wildfires so far this year. Fire season usually starts mid-way through July but because of the drought, it began in May. South of the border, the western US states have been coping with drought and massive wildfires as well. Also at NEWTEKWORLDNEWS: Heat and drought threaten BC salmon runs Western Canada scorched by wildfires Sources: Kelowna Daily Courier |
Barbara McPherson
Blogger, gardener, farmer. Working toward food security and a 30 foot
diet. Addicted to reading. Love this planet, especially my little corner
on Vancouver Island, Canada Archives
October 2016
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