How far reaching are the air pollutants we produce? According to a Wall Street Journal article posted in late 2010, 29% of air pollutants in San Francisco came from East Asia. Additionally, a 2012 article posted in the European journal, Biogeosciences, found that 50-60% of worldwide wheat loss from air pollution could be attributed to Asia, and North American pollution contributed 60-70% of the worldwide losses of maize and 75-85% of the worldwide losses of soybean from air pollution. Clearly air pollution can travel across international borders for many thousands of miles, but how will future global politics govern these issues as they start to become more prominent and how is this effecting all of our lives today? According to a Wall Street Journal article posted in late 2010, 29% of air pollutants in San Francisco came from East Asia. Additionally, a 2012 article posted in the European journal, Biogeosciences, found that 50-60% of worldwide wheat loss from air pollution could be attributed to Asia, and North American pollution contributed 60-70% of the worldwide losses of maize and 75-85% of the worldwide losses of soybean from air pollution. Clearly air pollution can travel across international borders for many thousands of miles, but how will future global politics govern these issues as they start to become more prominent and how is this effecting all of our lives today? NASA image of East Asia showing the “Asian Dust” phenomenon as well as industrial pollutants traveling across the East China Sea

What is the future of waste management? Swedish company Vattenfall now produces 20% of the countries heating using waste incinerators such as this According to a June 2012 article published by Public Radio International, Sweden has become so efficient at processing its waste it now imports 800,000 tons of it from the rest of Europe to power their incinerators. Only 4% of waste in Sweden ends up in landfills; when compared to countries like the U.S. (who sends 65% of waste to landfills [EPA, 2013]), Sweden certainly has a more sophisticated waste management system. But even this system has its faults, when waste is incinerated it leaves behind harmful dioxins and heavy metals that need to be put into landfills. Even with countries like Sweden recycling 96% of their refuse, we still need to begin designing products from “cradle to cradle” for continual reuse, rather than “cradle to grave”, placing the burden of consumption onto the environment.

Current topics: Chapter 18 “Environmental Externalities” We can easily find out the cost of any business activity, but how can we assess the environmental cost of these activities? Answering this question is not an easy task; fortunately, in 2013, a group of researchers developed a method that allows researchers to quantify the environmental damage of mountaintop removal coal mining. Using satellite imagery and coal production data from a 20 year period, a team— including Emily Bernhardt, associate professor of biogeochemistry at Duke University— calculated the environmental damage made per ton of coal removed through mountaintop mining. The study found that every year mountaintop coal removal produces hundreds of miles of polluted streams and prevents thousands of years of carbon sequestration. The main contribution of this research is that it will provide hard data on the impact that mining will have on the local environment. “With this paper we can actually begin to put things in common units,” Bernhardt said. “For every ton of coal you pull out of that landscape, here’s how much land you’re likely to disturb, here’s how much stream pollution you’re likely to cause…here’s how much forest carbon sequestration you’re likely to lose.” Source:

Chapter 17 – Natural Hazards Philippines Typhoon – November, 2013 Environmental Consequences: -Deforestation -Water Contamination -Air Pollution -Chemical Pollution -Devastation of agricultural lands – decrease the availability of food (Source: BBC News)

Chapter 17 – Natural Hazards For more information, read: pines-typhoon-update-haiyan_n_ html