Posts

Environment is a significant part of our lives and so is business. It is therefore, our responsibility to make them co-exist. Not many are running Chicago environmentally responsible business, but there are a few considerate businesses and non-profit organizations that are setting examples for the others. This can be implemented in various aspects of your business. You can recycle used papers or you can cut short the use of any paper at all by doing maximum work over computer. Other initiatives include using appliances that run with solar energy. The commercial automotive used by the people in businesses can run on eco-friendly fuel. Such minor but extremely significant steps are necessary.

Air Pollution

• Acid rain can kill trees, destroy the leaves of plants, can infiltrate soil by making it unsuitable for purposes of nutrition and habitation
• Ozone holes in the upper atmosphere can allow excessive ultraviolet radiation from the sun to enter the Earth causing damage to trees and plants
• Ozone in the lower atmosphere can prevent plant respiration by blocking stomata (openings in leaves) and negatively affecting plants’ photosynthesis rates which will stunt plant growth; ozone can also decay plant cells directly by entering stomata

Water Pollution

• May disrupt photosynthesis in aquatic plants and thus affecting ecosystems that depend on these plants
• Terrestrial and aquatic plants may absorb pollutants from water and pass them up the food chain to consumer animals and humans
• Plants may be killed by too much sodium chloride in water 
• Plants may be killed by mud from construction sites as well as bits of wood and leaves, clay and other similar materials
• Plants may be killed by herbicides in water; herbicides are chemicals which are most harmful to plants

Soil Pollution

• May alter plant metabolism and reduce crop yields
• Trees and plants may absorb soil contaminants and pass them up the food chain

Effects of Pollution on Animals - Air Pollution

• Acid rain  destroys fish life in lakes and streams
• Excessive ultraviolet radiation may cause skin cancer in wildlife
• Ozone in the lower atmosphere may damage lung tissues of animals

Effects of Pollution on Animals - Water Pollution

• Nutrient pollution (nitrogen, phosphates etc) causes overgrowth of toxic algae eaten by other aquatic animals, and may cause death.
• Chemical contamination can cause declines in frog biodiversity and tadpole mass.
• Oil pollution can negatively affect development of marine organisms can also cause gastrointestinal irritation, liver and kidney damage, and damage to the nervous system
• Mercury in water can cause abnormal behavior, slower growth and development, reduced reproduction, and death
• Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) may cause declines, deformities and death of fish life
• Too much sodium chloride (ordinary salt) in water may kill animals

Effects of Pollution on Animals - Soil Pollution 

• Can alter metabolism of microorganisms and arthropods in a given soil environment; this may destroy some layers of the primary food chain, and thus have a negative effect on predator animal species
• Small life forms may consume harmful chemicals which may then be passed up the food chain to larger animals; this may lead to increased mortality rates and even animal extinction.

The following tips will help you understand just how easy it is to apply the '3R' principle. All you have to do is think ahead. 

Reduce

• Take no more new bank notes and lai-see packets than necessary.
• Bring your own bags to reduce consumption of plastic shopping bags.
• Adopt simple packaging and minimize gift wrapping to avoid wastage of resources.
• Choose more durable products. Think twice before shopping to avoid purchasing unnecessary items and cause wastage.
• Send electronic greeting messages instead of paper greeting cards as the former can deliver the same message with less resource.
• Use reusable tableware during gatherings and parties and avoid excessive food.

Reuse

• Reuse lai-see packets and bank notes for lai-see.
• Store holiday decorations, such as plastic Christmas trees and ornaments for reuse in the following year. Good quality decorations could be reused many times.
• Donate unwanted gifts to needies through charitable organizations.

Recycle

• Separate all recyclable materials, such as metals, plastics, waste paper and other recyclables from waste stream and put them in recycling bins to facilitate recycling.

• Do Not Buy products from endangered animals
• Use Fluorescent Lighting
• buy products that are recycled.
• Use CFC free products.
• Do not use ivory or animal furs
• buy items that are less toxic to the environment
• Add a Low-Flow Faucet Aerator
• Recycle Your Motor Oil
• Add a Low-Flow Faucet Aerator

Human activities have led to large increases in heat-trapping gases over the past century. The global warming of the past 50 years is due primarily to this human-induced increase. Global average temperature and sea level have increased, and precipitation patterns have changed. Human “fingerprints” also have been identified in many other aspects of the climate system, including changes in ocean heat content, precipitation, atmospheric moisture, plant and animal health and location, and Arctic sea ice.