Y

The Yellow River also known as ‘Chinas Sorrow’ is the second longest river in China running 5,464 kilometres. As most of the rivers in China, the river is heavily polluted and is often used by factories as dumping ground.

Although it is much polluted and frequently turns red in areas, it is not the pollution that has earned it its name. In fact the river is known for flooding which has a huge impact on the people living nearby. There are records dating back to 600 years BC, with stories about the river running over its banks. That is why people call it ‘China’s Sorrow’.

Chemicals are released into this and all other Chinese rivers everyday. This means that today nearly all the surface water in China is classified as undrinkable. Sewage released in the Yellow River is often the source of strange pollution and fish kills. Every year the river carries 1.3 billion tons of silt from the Loess Plateau downstream, of which 400 million tons are washed down to the river’s lower reaches. The pollution issue is not looking good and the health of the river is on the decline

Z

Zannichellia palustris is the Latin name for horned pondweed. It is a plant that is found both in America and throughout Europe in lakes, streams ponds and the sea. It growths mostly in shallow water, but have been found on depths down to 5m. It can be found in the sea although the water has to be very brackish (low in salt) if the plant is to survive. It is normally recognised as a freshwater plant and growths in early spring through to June.

Its environmental impact is somewhat limited to being a food source for other animals. But it is actually a plant which also oxygenates the water well, limiting the growth of dangerous algae.

The physical characteristics of the plant are its long thin leaves. They are 5 – 10cm long but are less than 1mm thick.

This is the last part of my series on water pollution. You can read all 9 parts of this series under the ABC Series category.

V

VOCs are short for Volatile Organic Compounds with the most common being methane. Methane is one of the most efficient greenhouse gasses, a gas that prevent heat from escaping the earth’s atmosphere and in that way contributing to global warming.

VOC’s contribute to both air and water pollution. The compounds can enter the groundwater and cause pollution to big areas and render the water undrinkable. Some VOC incidents have even been accused of causing cancer and birth defects.

Some common sources of VOC pollutants include paints, paint strippers, wood preservatives, air fresheners, stored fuels and dry-cleaned clothing. The healths risks from these compounds vary to a great extend. Some are known to cause cancer to animals and humans.

W

Waterborne diseases are the result of micro organisms being transmitted and consumed via contaminated water sources. The problem is biggest in the world underdeveloped countries where water related illness accounts for 80% of all diseases. Diarrhoeal diseases which accounts for the most common diseases, especially amongst children, in undeveloped countries are according to WHO, 88% of the time, directly related to unsafe water. Diarrhoea occurs worldwide and causes 4% of all deaths.

The diseases are normally spread in via water which has been in contact with urine and faeces of infected animals or humans. This is obviously most likely to happen to water close to the surface and the reason why so many underdeveloped countries are having the problems. Especially after floods and other disasters like the tsunami in 2004. They simply haven’t got the resources to dig wells that will surpass the contaminated surface water.

There are several steps that can be taken to prevent waterborne diseases. But the most crucial is access to clean water and safe disposal of faeces.

X

Xerophyte is latin and directly translated means: dry plant. These plants or organisms are adapted to live in areas where water supply is limited and have developed techniques for storing water and adapt their physical appearance when water is scarce.

Some plants stay as a seed in the ground until water supply is sufficient to allow growth. Some have the ability to drop their leaves in dry condition and let them grow out again when water becomes available.

Their ability to extract water from the environment is dependent on the physical shape or structure of the plants. Some have extremely long or thin roots which can pick up even the smallest traces of water. Some have long roots that will extend further down where water is more available than at the surface.

Xerophytes includes, cactus, tea plants, marrum grass and esparto grass.

Also check out The ‘YZ of Water Pollution about:
Y) The Yellow Rover
Z) Zannichellia palustris

In my recent article about the damaged NATO pipeline in Belgium; I explained that many of the pipes in NATO’s Pipeline systems are more than 50 years old. They were put in the ground in the time of the cold war and still serve all NATO’s oil and petroleum requirements.

The NATO Pipeline System (NPS) is made up of nine separate storage and distribution system for the military. The whole system has a length of nearly 12.000 kilometres and runs through 12 NATO nations. It was a pipeline from the Central European Pipeline System that was damaged by a farmer causing the leak. This system runs through Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The damaged pipeline serves the Florennes airbase in southern Namur in Belgium.

This was the second accidental damage within 3 years, and Belgian ministers and environmentalists are now pressing NATO to take action. The Public Company Assistance Environmental Quality (SPAQue) in Belgium will even asses the extent of pollution in Mons and seek to impose the polluter pays principle on NATO.

NATO says that they have taken the requisite security and environmental measures which should be expected of them. Because the pipeline runs through Belgium, they as the host country is responsible for the maintenance of the system and that they should take necessary measures and hand NATO the bill.

A farmer from the southern Belgium city Mons, accidentally pierced a pipeline Wednesday morning causing the leakage of around 50 cubic meters of oil.

A 5cm whole wqas cut in the PipelinePhoto: screenshot from RTLinfo.be

The farmer was driving his tractor early Wednesday morning when he by accident hit the pipeline. There is no sign above the ground indicating the pipelines and the farmer did not own the land which may help explain the accident.

Read the rest of the story on ENO

S

Sewage is mainly liquid but can contain some solids. Sewage is a waste product of the daily activities in our homes such as preparing food, washing up etc. Domestic sewage is being led out through the drains in our houses; we drain out excess foods and vegetables through the sink. Washing powder, cleaning products and organic materials everything is being flushed out into the sewer pipes in the ground.

This waste contains toxic materials, disease causing microbes which are all contributing to water pollution. The sewer pipes are in place to bring this excess waste to a treatment plant, which will then remove these impurities BEFORE, the liquid can be returned to the environment. But in many countries, especially in underdeveloped countries, such treatment plants are not in place and the sewage are poured directly from the pipes into the sea or the rivers.

This leaves nature to break down impurities itself. This process requires oxygen, and will eventually lead to a lack of oxygen and can cause alga blooms and fish deaths. But the diseases and impurities in the liquid being poured into the sea will also enter animals like crabs and fish. Fish especially, is a very common ingredient in animal food as well as human food.

T

Thermal Pollution is when human activities are the cause for a change in water temperature. Whenever there is a change in the waters temperature whether it is up or down, it will influence the natural fauna of the water. Even a change of a few degree have a massive influence.

The most common form of thermal pollution comes from power plants and other industrial estates that use water as a coolant. They normally take surface water from a natural water source somewhere in the area to cool down machines and then release the heated water back into that same water source. But also deforestation that causes sunlight to shine through and heat water that might have been shaded can cause thermal pollution.

An increase in water temperature causes a lack of oxygen increasing algae growth which in turn limits sun light and decreases the photosynthesis process. Warm water also enhances growth in plants causing overpopulation and a lack of oxygen.

A decrease in water temperature can have same devastating effects as an increase. And both scenarios have massive influence on the development of native species. Especially eggs and smaller plants are very vulnerable to temperature changes and can not survive even the smallest changes. This will eventually lead to a complete destruction of certain species.

U

Urban areas are big polluters. For the first time in human history, more people are now living in cities rather than in rural areas. This means that more cities are being built, cities roads and other urban construction are mostly constructed of concrete, metal and other hard surfaces that slow the water drainage down and lets the water pick up dirt and impurities.

Runoffs from urban areas come in contact with many polluting substances including: sediment, nutrients, bacteria, oil, metals, chemicals, road salt, pet droppings and litter. When not disposed of properly and left in the environment to rot, it will eventually find its way into rivers and seas polluting and making fish and other food sources dangerous to eat.

Many big industrial companies do not get rid off their waste properly; they dispose it directly into streams and lakes leaving nature to clean it self. Streams and rives are natural filters that cleans water, but when they are filled with dirt and garbage and lake being filled in with concrete, it limits their ability to function as filters.

Also check out The ‘VWX’ of Water Pollution about:
V) VOC
W) Water borne diseases
X) Xerophytes

The Colombian Government has just launched a campaign aiming to make cocaine users aware of the devastating nature of cocaine production.

A cocaine ‘factory’ on the Ciudad Perdida trek, Colombia
Photo: Jungle_Boy at flickr.com

A photo exhibition is being launched across the western world and the US. The exhibition kicked off in London Wednesday May 21st and is now being launched across Europe.

Read the rest of the story on ENO

P

Photosynthesis is a process that is actually very complex and we don’t actually know everything about it yet. It is essentially the conversion of sunlight energy into oxygen and sugar. The importance of this process is somewhat evident in the fact that nearly all life on earth depends on it. Trees and leafs are the most common organisms that springs to mind when ordinary people think of photosynthesis. But photosynthesis is a process that can occur everywhere where a little green pigments called chlorophyll is present. This pigment is what absorbs the sunlight before it is processed and in the end turn out as oxygen.

6H2O + 6CO2 ———-> C6H12O6+ 6O2

Is the official formula of photosynthesis. To us deadly people this means: six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen. Sugar is in fact the prime result of the process, and oxygen just happens to be a waste product in the process. What really happen is that the organism (a water plant for example) absorbs sunlight and mixes it with water and carbon dioxide (CO2) and produces sugars which are food for the plant. During this process oxygen is released keeping the water oxygenated and healthy. As you can see from the process above, this process gives us oxygen and absorbs carbon dioxide (the prime suspect of Global Warming).

Q

Qanats are a supply of water in desserts and other dry areas. A qanat is essentially and underground river or canal, are man built, can run up to 70 kilometres. The first qanat was built about 5000 years ago in Iran and was about 350 meters deep.

A qanat starts high up, normally in the mountains where a “mother well” is dug. This well is the main water source; obviously it has to be reliable for many years to come. The ability to locate these water sources was seen as being a gift and was a strictly kept secret, normally passed down from father to son. From this mother well, main water source, a tunnel to lead the water was dug. The angle of this tunnel had to be very precise, it obviously had to go down in order to led gravity lead the water, but if it was too steep, pools would be generated and there would be a risk that the tunnel would collapse. At every 30 meters a shaft was dug, this meant that the people digging the tunnels would not have many kilometres if they wanted to get out. But they also provided oxygen so the water would stay clean. Remember these tunnels could run up to 70 kilometres. In the end the water would run out in a village.

Many thousand years ago it took a man with a lot of money to build a qanat, but it could be a good investment. If he had a man that could locate a good water source, the village would have water for many years to come. Most importantly the man paying for the qanat also owned the water and would take payment from people who used it.

R

Rivers are very important when talking about water pollution and in fact very important in the whole debate about climate change. Despite being a freshwater source, rivers are actually responsible for about 80% of all marine pollution.

Rivers normally have their beginning on land and normally travel a long way before reaching sea. Rivers will therefore pick up a lot of all the waste products being dumped on land. Fertilizers will run into the rivers and will be carried out into the sea. Rain carries contamination from urban area out in the river; chemicals are sometimes being dumped in rivers causing massive fish death. Abandoned mines can cause pollution and toxic metals can find their way out into the rivers system.

Agricultural pollution is a serious threat to many river systems. Excess fertilizer will run into the river taking up oxygen and causing algae bloom and fish death.

Also check out The ‘STU of Water Pollution about:
S) Sewage
T) Thermal pollution
U) Urban pollution

Due to drought especially in the tourist destination of Catalonia, Barcelona is now having fresh water shipped from France.

Beach showers in Barcelona have been switched off
Photo: gnackgnackgnack at flickr.com

Spain is faced with the worst drought since measurements began 60 years ago. This means that there is a lack of freshwater supplies, and tankers with up to 19.000 tons of freshwater are now expected to enter the port of Barcelona over the coming months.

Read the rest of the story on ENO

In my recent article on Swedish hikers being warned not to drink the untreated water found in the area of Åre. I mentioned the reason for the warning was that the parasites; Giadia and Cryptosporidium have been found in some of the streams. They are most commonly found in North Americas streams and have only on occasions been found in Europe, so I thought I would elaborate a little on the How’s and Why’s of these parasites.

The Giardia parasite is the more common of the two, and the illness it can cause is called Giardiasis. It is also referred to as backpacker’s diarrhea because travellers are some of the most vulnerable to the disease because they drink the untreated water found in cold streams.

The Giardia cyst can tolerate very harsh environmental conditions and can live for weeks in cold streams and reservoirs. And even very small amounts can infect a human being or other warm blooded animals. Dogs in particular are often infected with the disease because they drink and swim in water where the cysts live. The cyst is 20 times smaller than a human hair, and can be very hard to filter out of the water. It is therefore recommended that in order to be sure, you have to boil any suspicious water for at least 5 minutes before drinking.

Dogs easily get infected by drinking contaminated water

The disease is mostly transmitted from person to person, but also animals like dogs and cats can carry the disease. But you can also be infected just by swimming in contaminated water. Common symptoms on the infections are diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, gas, malaise, and weight loss. Normally healthy people will cure themselves, but you can experience symptoms in up to 1 month after being infected. Normally it goes away after a few weeks.

Hikers in the otherwise “water safe” Åre in Sweden are advised not to drink from the normally safe watersheds in the area.

Hikers now need to carry all their water supplies with them.

Photo: ugglan at flickr.com

The water can be contaminated with giardia and cryptosporidium, two microscopic parasites that produce cysts that are very resistant to harsh environmental conditions. These parasites even in small amounts can cause illness; symptoms are normally Diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, gas, malaise, and weight loss.

Joni_didze from the Greenpaece forum “Louder Than Words” point the finger at the general public: “Hikers have been advised to not drink from several watersheds in areas that are becoming more and more polluted from human developments.”
Read the rest of the story on ENO