OMTEX CLASSES

THE HOME OF TEXT

PROJECT TO STUDENTS

WATER POLLUTION AND SOCIETY

INTRODUCTION

Comprising over 70% of the Earth’s surface, water is undoubtedly the most precious natural
resource that exists on our planet. Without the seemingly invaluable compound comprised of hydrogen
and oxygen, life on Earth would be non-existent: it is essential for everything on our planet to grow and
prosper. Although we as humans recognize this fact, we disregard it by polluting our rivers, lakes, and
oceans. Subsequently, we are slowly but surely harming our planet to the point where organisms
are dying at a very alarming rate. In addition to innocent organisms dying off, our drinking water has
become greatly affected as is our ability to use water for recreational purposes. In order to combat
water pollution, we must understand the problems and become part of the solution.

POINT AND NONPOINT SOURCES

According to the American College Dictionary, pollution is defined as: “to make foul or unclean;
dirty.” Water pollution occurs when a body of water is adversely affected due to the addition of large
amounts of materials to the water. When it is unfit for its intended use, water is considered polluted.
Two types of water pollutants exist; point source and nonpoint source. Point sources of pollution occur
when harmful substances are emitted directly into a body of water. The Exxon Valdez oil spill best
illustrates a point source water pollution. A nonpoint source delivers pollutants indirectly through
environmental changes. An example of this type of water pollution is when fertilizer from a field is
carried into a stream by rain, in the form of run-off
which in turn effects aquatic life. The technology exists for point sources of pollution to be monitored
and regulated, although political factors may complicate matters. Nonpoint sources are much more
difficult to control. Pollution arising from nonpoint
sources accounts for a majority of the contaminants in streams and lakes.

CAUSES OF POLLUTION

Many causes of pollution including sewage and fertilizers contain nutrients such as nitrates and
phosphates. In excess levels, nutrients over stimulate the growth of aquatic plants and algae.
Excessive growth of these types of organisms consequently clogs our waterways, use up dissolved
oxygen as they decompose, and block light to deeper waters.
This, in turn, proves very harmful to aquatic organisms as it affects the respiration ability or fish and
other invertebrates that reside in water.
Pollution is also caused when silt and other suspended solids, such as soil, washoff plowed fields,
construction and logging sites, urban areas, and eroded river banks when it rains. Under natural
conditions, lakes, rivers, and other water bodies undergo Eutrophication, an aging process that slowly
fills in the water body with sediment and organic matter. When these sediments enter various bodies of
water, fish respirationbecomes impaired, plant productivity and water depth become reduced, and
aquatic organisms and their environments become suffocated. Pollution in the form of organic material
enters waterways in many different forms as sewage, as leaves and grass clippings, or as runoff from
livestock feedlots and pastures. When natural bacteria and protozoan in the water break down this
organic material, they begin to use up the oxygen dissolved in the water. Many types of fish and
bottom-dwelling animals cannot survive when levels of dissolved oxygen drop below two to five parts
per million. When this occurs, it kills aquatic organisms in large numbers which leads to disruptions in
the food chain.
The pollution of rivers and streams with chemical contaminants has become one of the most crutial
environmental problems within the 20th century. Waterborne chemical pollution entering rivers and
streams cause tramendous amounts of destruction.

Pathogens are another type of pollution that prove very harmful. They can cause many illnesses that
range from typhoid and dysentery to minor respiratory and skin diseases. Pathogens include such
organisms as bacteria, viruses, and protozoan. These pollutants enter waterways through untreated
sewage, storm drains, septic tanks, runoff from farms, and particularly boats that dump sewage.
Though microscopic, these pollutants have a tremendous effect evidenced by their ability to cause
sickness.

ADDITIONAL FORMS OF WATER POLLUTION

Three last forms of water pollution exist in the forms of petroleum, radioactive substances, and
heat. Petroleum often pollutes waterbodies in the form of oil, resulting from oil spills. The previously
mentioned Exxon Valdez is an example of this type of water pollution. These large-scale accidental
discharges of petroleum are an important cause of pollution along shore lines. Besides the
supertankers, off-shore drilling operations contribute a large share of pollution. One estimate is that
one ton of oil is spilled for every million tons of oil transported. This is equal to about 0.0001 percent.
Radioactive substances are produced in the form of waste from nuclear power plants, and from the
industrial, medical, and scientific use of radioactive materials. Specific forms of waste are uranium and
thorium mining and refining. The last form of water pollution is heat. Heat is a pollutant because
increased temperatures result in the deaths of many aquatic organisms. These decreases in
temperatures are caused when a discharge of cooling water by factories and power plants occurs.

Oil pollution is a growing problem, particularly devestating to coastal wildlife. Small quantities of oil
spread rapidly across long distances to form deadly oil slicks. In this picture, demonstrators with "oil-
covered" plastic animals protest a potential drilling project in Key Largo, Florida. Whether or not
accidental spills occur during the project, its impact on the delicate marine ecosystem of the coral reefs
could be devastating.
CLASSIFYING WATER POLLUTION

The major sources of water pollution can be classified as municipal, industrial, and agricultural.
Municipal water pollution consists of waste water from homes and commercial establishments. For
many years, the main goal of treating municipal
wastewater was simply to reduce its content of suspended solids, oxygen-demanding materials,
dissolved inorganic compounds, and harmful bacteria. In recent years, however, more stress has been
placed on improving means of disposal of the solid residues from the municipal treatment processes.
The basic methods of treating municipal wastewater fall into three stages: primary treatment, including
grit removal, screening, grinding, and sedimentation; secondary treatment, which entails oxidation of
dissolved organic matter by means of using biologically active sludge, which is then filtered off; and
tertiary treatment, in which advanced biological methods of nitrogen removal and chemical and
physical methods such as granular filtration and activated carbon absorption are employed. The
handling and disposal of solid residues can
account for 25 to 50 percent of the capital and operational costs of a treatment plant. The
characteristics of industrial waste waters can differ considerably both within and among industries.
The impact of industrial discharges depends not only on their
collective characteristics, such as biochemical oxygen demand and the amount of suspended solids, but
also on their content of specific inorganic and organic substances. Three options are available in
controlling industrial wastewater. Control can take place at the point of generation in the plant;
wastewater can be pretreated for discharge to municipal treatment sources; or wastewater can be treated
completely at the plant and either reused or discharged directly into receiving waters.

Raw sewage includes waste from sinks, toilets, and industrial processes. Treatment of the sewage is
required before it can be safely buried, used, or released back into local water systems. In a treatment
plant, the waste is passed through a series of screens, chambers, and chemical processes to reduce its
bulk and toxicity. The three general phases of treatment are primary, secondary, and tertiary. During
primary treatment, a large percentage of the suspended solids and inorganic material is removed from
the sewage. The focus of secondary treatment is reducing organic material by accelerating natural
biological processes. Tertiary treatment is necessary when the water will be reused; 99 percent of solids
are removed and various chemical processes are used to ensure the water is as free from impurity as
possible.

Agriculture, including commercial livestock and poultry farming, is the source of many organic and
inorganic pollutants in surface waters and groundwater. These contaminants include both sediment
from erosion cropland and compounds of
phosphorus and nitrogen that partly originate in animal wastes and commercial fertilizers. Animal
wastes are high in oxygen demanding material, nitrogen and phosphorus, and they often harbor
pathogenic organisms. Wastes from commercial
feeders are contained and disposed of on land; their main threat to natural waters, therefore, is from
runoff and leaching. Control may involve settling basins for liquids, limited biological treatment in
aerobic or anaerobic lagoons, and a variety of other methods.

GROUND WATER

Ninety-five percent of all fresh water on earth is ground water. Ground water is found in natural
rock formations. These formations, called aquifers, are a vital natural resource with many uses.
Nationally, 53% of the population relies on ground water as a source of drinking water. In rural areas
this figure is even higher. Eighty one percent of community water is dependent on ground water.
Although the 1992 Section 305(b) State Water Quality Reports indicate that, overall, the Nation�s
ground water quality is good to excellent, many local areas have experienced significant ground water
contamination.
Some examples are leaking underground storage tanks and municipal landfills.

LEGISLATION
 Several forms of legislation have been passed in recent decades to try to control water pollution. In
1970, the Clean Water Act provided 50 billion dollars to cities and states to build wastewater facilities.
This has helped control surface water pollution from industrial and municipal sources throughout the
United States. When congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972, states were given primary authority
to set their own standards for their water. In addition to these standards, the act required that all state
beneficial uses and their criteria must comply with the �fishable and swimmable� goals of the act.
This essentially means that state beneficial uses must be able to support aquatic life and recreational
use. Because it is impossible to test water for every type of disease-causing organism, states usually
look to identify indicator bacteria. One for a example is a bacteria known as fecal coliforms.(Figure 1
shows the quality of water for each every state in the United States, click on the US link). These
indicator bacteria suggest that a certain selection of water may be contaminated with untreated sewage
and that other, more dangerous, organisms are present. These legislations are an important part in the
fight against water pollution. They are useful in preventing Envioronmental catastrophes. The graph
shows reported pollution incidents since 1989-1994. If stronger legislations existed, perhaps these
events would never have occurred.

GLOBAL WATER POLLUTION

Estimates suggest that nearly 1.5 billion people lack safe drinking water and that at least 5 million
deaths per year can be attributed to waterborne diseases. With over 70 percent of the planet covered by
oceans, people have long acted as if these very bodies of water could serve as a limitless dumping
ground for wastes. Raw sewage, garbage, and oil spills have begun to overwhelm the diluting
capabilities of the oceans, and most coastal waters are now polluted. Beaches around the world are
closed regularly, often because of high amounts of bacteria from sewage disposal, and marine wildlife
is beginning to suffer.

Perhaps the biggest reason for developing a worldwide effort to monitor and restrict global pollution
is the fact that most forms of pollution do not respect national boundaries. The first major international
conference on environmental issues was held
in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972 and was sponsored by the United Nations (UN). This meeting, at which
the United States took a leading role, was controversial because many developing countries were
fearful that a focus on environmental protection was a means for the developed world to keep the
undeveloped world in an economically subservient position. The most important outcome of the
conference was the creation of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP).

UNEP was designed to be �the environmental conscience of the United Nations,� and, in an attempt
to allay fears of the developing world, it became the first UN agency to be headquartered in a
developing country, with offices in Nairobi, Kenya. In addition to attempting to achieve scientific
consensus about major environmental issues, a major focus for UNEP has been the study of ways to
encourage sustainable development increasing standards of living without destroying the environment.
At the time of UNEP's creation in 1972, only 11 countries had environmental agencies. Ten years later
that number had grown to 106, of which 70 were in developing countries.

WATER QUALITY

Water quality is closely linked to water use and to the state of economic development. In
industrialized countries, bacterial contamination of surface water caused serious health problems in
major cities throughout the mid 1800�s. By the turn of the century, cities in Europe and North
America began building sewer networks to route domestic wastes downstream of water intakes.
Development of these sewage networks and waste treatment facilities in urban areas has expanded
tremendously in the past two decades. However, the rapid growth of the urban population (especially
in Latin America and Asia) has outpaced the ability of governments to expand sewage and water
infrastructure. While waterborne diseases have been eliminated in the developed world, outbreaks of
cholera and other similar diseases still occur with alarming frequency in the developing countries.
Since World War II and the birth of the �chemical age�, water quality has been heavily impacted
worldwide by industrial and agricultural chemicals. Eutrophication of surface waters from human and
agricultural wastes and nitrification of groundwater from agricultural practices has greatly affected
large parts of the world. Acidification of surface waters by air pollution is a recent phenomenon and
threatens aquatic life in many area of the world. In developed countries, these general types of
pollution have occurred sequentially with the result that most developed countries have successfully
dealt with major surface water pollution. In contrast, however, newly industrialized countries such as
China, India, Thailand, Brazil, and Mexico are now facing all these issues simultaneously.

CONCLUSION

Clearly, the problems associated with water pollution have the capabilities to disrupt life on our
planet to a great extent. Congress has passed laws to try to combat water pollution thus acknowledging
the fact that water pollution is, indeed, a seriousissue. But the government alone cannot solve the entire
problem. It is ultimately up to us, to be informed, responsible and involved when it comes to the
problems we face with our water. We must become familiar with our local water resources and learn
about ways for disposing harmful household wastes so they don�t end up in sewage treatment plants
that can�t handle them or landfills not designed to receive hazardous materials. In our yards, we must
determine whether additional nutrients are needed before fertilizers are applied, and look for
alternatives where fertilizers might run off into surface waters. We have to preserve existing trees and
plant new trees and shrubs to help prevent soil erosion and promote infiltration of water into the soil.
Around our houses, we must keep litter, pet waste, leaves, and grass clippings out of gutters and storm
drains. These are
just a few of the many ways in which we, as humans, have the ability to combat water pollution. As we
head into the 21st century, awareness and education will most assuredly continue to be the two most
important ways to prevent water pollution. If these measures are not taken and water pollution
continues, life on earth will suffer severely.
Global environmental collapse is not inevitable. But the developed world must work with the
developing world to ensure that new industrialized economies do not add to the world's environmental
problems. Politicians must think of sustainable development rather than economic expansion.
Conservation strategies have to become more widely accepted, and people must learn that energy use
can be dramatically diminished without sacrificing comfort. In short, with the technology that
currently exists, the years of global environmental mistreatment can begin to be reversed.
Natural Resources

Naturally occurring substances that are considered valuable in their relatively unmodified (natural)
form. A natural resource's value rests in the amount and extractability of the material available and the
demand for it. The latter is determined by its usefulness to production. A commodity is generally
considered a natural resource when the primary activities associated with it are extraction and
purification, as opposed to creation. Thus, mining, petroleum extraction, fishing, hunting, and forestry
are generally considered natural-resource industries, while agriculture is not. The term was introduced
to a broad audience by E. F. Schumacher in his 1970s book Small is Beautiful.[1] The term is defined
in the United States by the United States Geological Survey as "The Nation's natural resources include
its minerals, energy, land, water, and biota."
[edit] Renewable resources
Renewable resources are sometimes living resources (trees and soil, for example), which can restock
(renew) themselves if they are not over-harvested but used sustainably. There are also non-living
resources that are renewable, such as hydroelectric power, solar power, biomass fuel, and wind power.
Once renewable resources are consumed at a rate that exceeds their natural rate of replacement, the
standing stock (see renewable energy) will diminish and eventually run out. The rate of sustainable use
of a renewable resource is determined by the replacement rate and amount of standing stock of that
particular resource. Non-living renewable natural resources include dirt and water.

Flow renewable resources are very much like renewable resources, only they do not need regeneration,
unlike renewable resources. Flow renewable resources include renewable energy sources such as the
following renewable power sources: solar, geothermal, landfill gas, tides and wind.

Resources can also be classified on the basis of their origin as biotic and abiotic. Biotic resources are
derived from living organisms. Abiotic resources are derived from the non-living world (e.g., land,
water, and air). Mineral and power resources are also abiotic resources some of which are derived from
nature.

[edit] Non-renewable resources

Main article: Non-renewable resources
A non-renewable resource is a natural resource that exists in a fixed amount that cannot be re-made, re-
grown or regenerated as fast as it is consumed and used up.[3]

Some non-renewable resources can be renewable but take an extremely long time to renew. Fossil
fuels, for example, take millions of years to form and so are not practically considered 'renewable'.
Different non-renewable resources like oil, coal, natural gas etc. have different levels of demand from
different sectors like transportation and residences with each resource specializing for each sector.[4]
Many environmentalists proposed to tax on consumption of non renewable resources. NON-renewable
resources can not be replaced.

[edit] Natural capital

Main article: Natural capital
Natural resources are natural capital converted to commodity inputs to infrastructural capital processes.
[5][6] They include soil, timber, oil, minerals, and other goods taken more or less from the Earth. Both
extraction of the basic resource and refining it into a purer, directly usable form, (e.g., metals, refined
oils) are generally considered natural-resource activities, even though the latter may not necessarily
occur near the former. This process generates high profits due to the high demand for the natural
resources and the energies that they are able to generate.

A nation's natural resources often determine its wealth in the world economic system and its
diplomatic, military, and political influence. Developed nations are those which are less dependent on
natural resources for wealth, due to their greater reliance on infrastructural capital for production.
However, some see a resource curse whereby easily obtainable natural resources could actually hurt the
prospects of a national economy by fostering political corruption. Political corruption can negatively
impact the national economy because time is spent giving bribes or other economically unproductive
acts instead of the generation of generative economic activity. This has been seen over the years with
legislation passed to appease companies who will benefit. There also tends to be concentrations of
ownership over specific plots of land that have proven to yield natural resources.

In recent years, the depletion of natural capital and attempts to move to sustainable development have
been a major focus of development agencies. This is of particular concern in rainforest regions, which
hold most of the Earth's natural biodiversity - irreplaceable genetic natural capital. Conservation of
natural resources is the major focus of natural capitalism, environmentalism, the ecology movement,
and green politics. Some view this depletion as a major source of social unrest and conflicts in
developing nations.
WATER LOGGING IN MUMBAI
MUMBAI has survived to tell the tale of Terrible Tuesday, July 26, 2005, when it broke the
world record of rain in 24 hours.

In the 24-hour period from 8.30 a.m. July 26 to 8.30 a.m. July 27, the city's suburbs " which now
house the majority of its population " received an incredible 944.2 mm (94.42 cm) of rain,
exceeding the record set by Cherapunjee of 833 mm (83.3 cm) in 1910. Much of this fell within a
12-hour period that also coincided with the high tide. The result was devastation on a scale
unknown even to this monsoon-scarred city.

In the worst affected areas, as each day dawned, there was no electricity, no water, the streets
were piled with garbage and carcasses of animals and phones did not work.

Why did it flood?

But once the rains stop and the water recedes, we have to ask: was our fortitude worth it in the
face of what seems a paralysed and indifferent administration? And why did Mumbai flood?
Was it only the coincidence of exceptionally heavy rains and the high tide?

It was more than just these two factors. One of the areas in the city most severely affected was
Kalina, an area close to the airport and just off the Western Express Highway that leads out of
the city to Ahmedabad. It is adjacent to the Mithi river, now no more than a dirty polluted nallah
but once a river that was used for transport and fishing. The river flows from the lakes in
Mumbai's hinterland to the sea at Mahim, and separates what is called the island city, or south
Mumbai, from the mainland or suburbs.

Today one/you would have a hard time thinking of this filthy stream as a river. It carries tonnes
of industrial and municipal effluent and its width has been drastically reduced by construction
debris dumped along its route. Worse yet, the river was diverted to make space for Mumbai's
spanking new business district, the Bandra Kurla complex, despite strong objections from
environmentalists.

Mumbai has had to pay the price for this flagrant indifference to the Mithi river that acted as a
natural safety valve, carrying excess rainwater into the sea and absorbing seawater at times of
high tide. Now it can do neither. So on July 26, when very heavy rain in the river's catchment
area brought down a higher volume of water, and the high tide also tried to enter its mouth, the
Mithi overflowed, carrying with it all the filth that had been dumped in it. As a result, areas
along its route were worst affected, with water levels rising to 15 feet. The water rose so suddenly,
that scores of people were caught off guard. People sitting in cars, thinking they were safe,
drowned because they could not get out. In buses, people had to scamper to the top of the bus to
escape the rising water. Many housing colonies saw ground floor flats being inundated. Those
who were not quick enough, or could not swim, got sucked under the rising water.

The abuse of the Mithi river symbolises the problem that Mumbai faces. To satisfy the greed of
builders and developers, successive governments have turned a blind eye to the natural checks
and balances that cities need. Thus, the coastal regulation zone rules are violated, thereby
changing the pattern of the tides. Green and no-development zones have been thrown open for
development. Areas marked for parks and open spaces have been built upon. What little open
space the city now has is just not enough to absorb heavy rain. Add to this an ancient drainage
system. Funds for upgrading it sit in the government's coffers but are not used.

The story of July 26 is of neglect and inefficiency by the administration. More than 400 people
died in Mumbai. This should never be repeated. But it will if the administration fails to learn
from this disaster that the real tragedy is Mumbai's development model, one that cares little for
nature or for ordinary people, one that thinks of gloss more than substance.

The rain shut down life and work in Mumbai

Why does a week of heavy monsoon rain kill more than 400 people, cause damage estimated at
nearly $700m, and completely paralyse life in a bustling metropolis? The high tide also did not
help matters. Mumbai's storm water drains are designed to shut during high tide.

Flyover project

This prevents tidal water from entering the city, but on very rainy days, it also prevents
rainwater from draining out.

"But the water that collected in the city should have ebbed when the tide receded," says Bittu
Sahgal, one of India's best-known writers on environmental issues.

"Why didn't that happen?"

Mr Sahgal blames the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, an ambitious flyover project that has come under
fire from environmentalists for making ecological compromises.

The flyover crossing the sea, he says, has pinched the mouth of the Mithi River that drains most
of Mumbai's excess water out into the Arabian Sea.

That's not all. The systematic destruction of about 1,000 acres of the city's mangrove cover -
what's left, about 5,000 acres, is under threat - has deprived Mumbai of its natural flood-barrier
and silt trap.

Large parts of the city are under water. Now rainwater washes silt into the bay, threatening to
clog the city's deep natural harbour. "Ecologically unsound decisions have caused huge financial
damage," says Mr Sahgal.

Mangroves cleared
Horror stories abound of urban welfare projects gone terribly awry. A World Bank-funded
urban transport project has cut away hillsides, dumping debris on the city's wetlands.
Mangroves have been cleared to build golf courses, amusement parks and rubbish dumps.

Building construction is planned even on 5,400 acres of salt pan land. "In the post-tsunami
scenario, this is plain lunacy," says Debi Goenka, executive trustee of Conservation Action Trust,
an environmental NGO.

The city's drainage system is in a mess. Experts say the historical process of reclaiming the sea to
build the city is the cause of Mumbai's problems. In the 16th century, 95\% of today's Mumbai
was under water, says Sheela Patel, director of Sparc, an NGO working on housing issues.

"We can't rectify what happened 100 years ago," admits Bittu Sahgal. "They didn't have the
benefit of information that we do."

Drains choked

It's not just the "no-development zones" that have fallen prey to the frenzy of unplanned
building. Successive state governments have signed off lands reserved for parks on the pretext of
housing the poor.

Typically, 35-40\% of rainwater is absorbed by the land, lifting groundwater levels, but there are
few open spaces left in Mumbai.

India has the lowest ratio of open space to people in the world - a mere four acres per 1,000 of
population, compared to the global benchmark of 12 acres.

In Mumbai, this falls to a paltry 0.2 acres, and after accounting for slums, it diminishes to a
measly 0.03 acres.

Unregulated development led to landslides

An unholy nexus between politicians and builders and unfettered development has brought the
city to the brink of collapse, environmentalists say.

Mumbai's development plan is obsolete in the face of such unfettered urban growth, they allege.
Thousands of tonnes of uncleared rubbish choke the city's 100-year-old storm water drains,
which urgently need an overhaul.

And in a city where 88\% of commuters use public transport, governments spend a lot on
flyovers and a pittance on upgrading creaky trains and buses.

'Urban collapse'

Environmentalists say the only city in the world with a quarter of its land area designated as a
national park is on a suicide mission. Bittu Sahgal calls it "a case study for the collapse of
urbania in India".

If Mumbai's unprecedented rainfall is an early warning of global warming and rising sea levels,
the city will "become an island again, be it with rain water or sea water".

In the next 50 years, the storm drains that carry rainwater out of Mumbai could be bringing sea
water in, even at low tide, Mr Goenka prophesies. "People should be moving out of Mumbai, not
moving in," he says. "This city is a sinking ship."
Pollutions
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm
or discomfort to the physical systems or living organisms they are in.[1] Pollution can take the form of
chemical substances, or energy, such as noise, heat, or light energy. Pollutants, the elements of
pollution, can be foreign substances or energies, or naturally occurring; when naturally occurring, they
are considered contaminants when they exceed natural levels. Pollution is often classed as point source
or nonpoint source pollution.

Sometimes the term pollution is extended to include any substance when it occurs at such unnaturally
high concentration within a system that it endangers the stability of that system. For example, water is
innocuous and essential for life, and yet at very high concentration, it could be considered a pollutant:
if a person were to drink an excessive quantity of water, the physical system could be so overburdened
that breakdown and even death could result. Another example is the potential of excessive noise to
induce imbalance in a person's mental state, resulting in malfunction and psychosis.
History

Prehistory
Humankind has had some effect upon the environment since the Paleolithic era during which the ability
to generate fire was acquired. In the Iron Age, the use of tooling led to the practice of metal grinding on
a small scale and resulted in minor accumulations of discarded material probably easily dispersed
without too much impact. Human wastes would have polluted rivers or water sources to some degree.
However, these effects could be expected predominantly to be dwarfed by the natural world.

Ancient cultures
The first advanced civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China, Persia, Greece and Rome
increased the use of water for their manufacture of goods, increasingly forged metal and created fires of
wood and peat for more elaborate purposes (for example, bathing, heating). Still, at this time the scale
of higher activity did not disrupt ecosystems or greatly alter air or water quality.

Middle Ages
The European Dark Ages during the early Middle Ages were a great boon for the environment, in that
industrial activity fell, and population levels did not grow rapidly. Toward the end of the Middle Ages
populations grew and concentrated more within cities, creating pockets of readily evident
contamination. In certain places air pollution levels were recognizable as health issues, and water
pollution in population centers was a serious medium for disease transmission from untreated human
waste.
Since travel and widespread information were less common, there did not exist a more general context
than that of local consequences in which to consider pollution. Foul air would have been considered a
nuissance and wood, or eventually, coal burning produced smoke, which in sufficient concentrations
could be a health hazard in proximity to living quarters. Septic contamination or poisoning of a clean
drinking water source was very easily fatal to those who depended on it, especially if such a resource
was rare. Superstitions predominated and the extent of such concerns would probably have been little
more than a sense of moderation and an avoidance of obvious extremes.

Official acknowledgement
But gradually increasing populations and the proliferation of basic industrial processes saw the
emergence of a civilization that began to have a much greater collective impact on its surroundings. It
was to be expected that the beginnings of environmental awareness would occur in the more developed
cultures, particularly in the densest urban centers. The first medium warranting official policy measures
in the emerging western world would be the most basic: the air we breathe.

The earliest known writings concerned with pollution were Arabic medical treatises written between
the 9th and 13th centuries, by physicians such as al-Kindi (Alkindus), Qusta ibn Luqa (Costa ben
Luca), Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi (Rhazes), Ibn Al-Jazzar, al-Tamimi, al-Masihi, Ibn Sina
(Avicenna), Ali ibn Ridwan, Ibn Jumay, Isaac Israeli ben Solomon, Abd-el-latif, Ibn al-Quff, and Ibn
al-Nafis. Their works covered a number of subjects related to pollution such as air contamination,
water contamination, soil contamination, solid waste mishandling, and environmental assessments of
certain localities.[2]

King Edward I of England banned the burning of sea-coal by proclamation in London in 1272, after its
smoke had become a problem.[3][4] But the fuel was so common in England that this earliest of names
for it was acquired because it could be carted away from some shores by the wheelbarrow. Air
pollution would continue to be a problem there, especially later during the industrial revolution, and
extending into the recent past with the Great Smog of 1952. This same city also recorded one of the
earlier extreme cases of water quality problems with the Great Stink on the Thames of 1858, which led
to construction of the London sewerage system soon afterward.

It was the industrial revolution that gave birth to environmental pollution as we know it today. The
emergence of great factories and consumption of immense quantities of coal and other fossil fuels gave
rise to unprecedented air pollution and the large volume of industrial chemical discharges added to the
growing load of untreated human waste. Chicago and Cincinnati were the first two American cities to
enact laws ensuring cleaner air in 1881. Other cities followed around the country until early in the 20th
century, when the short lived Office of Air Pollution was created under the Department of the Interior.
Extreme smog events were experienced by the cities of Los Angeles and Donora, Pennsylvania in the
late 1940s, serving as another public reminder.[5]

Modern awareness
Early Soviet poster, before the modern awareness: "The smoke of chimneys is the breath of Soviet
Russia"Pollution began to draw major public attention in the United States between the mid-1950s and
early 1970s, when Congress passed the Noise Control Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and
the National Environmental Policy Act.

Bad bouts of local pollution helped increase consciousness. PCB dumping in the Hudson River resulted
in a ban by the EPA on consumption of its fish in 1974. Long-term dioxin contamination at Love Canal
starting in 1947 became a national news story in 1978 and led to the Superfund legislation of 1980.
Legal proceedings in the 1990s helped bring to light Chromium-6 releases in California--the champions
of whose victims became famous. The pollution of industrial land gave rise to the name brownfield, a
term now common in city planning. DDT was banned in most of the developed world after the
publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.

The development of nuclear science introduced radioactive contamination, which can remain lethally
radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years. Lake Karachay, named by the Worldwatch Institute as
the "most polluted spot" on earth, served as a disposal site for the Soviet Union thoroughout the 1950s
and 1960s. Second place may go to the to the area of Chelyabinsk U.S.S.R. (see reference below) as the
"Most polluted place on the planet".

Nuclear weapons continued to be tested in the Cold War, sometimes near inhabited areas, especially in
the earlier stages of their development. The toll on the worst-affected populations and the growth since
then in understanding about the critical threat to human health posed by radioactivity has also been a
prohibitive complication associated with nuclear power. Though extreme care is practiced in that
industry, the potential for disaster suggested by incidents such as those at Three Mile Island and
Chernobyl pose a lingering specter of public mistrust. One legacy of nuclear testing before most forms
were banned has been significantly raised levels of background radiation.

International catastrophes such as the wreck of the Amoco Cadiz oil tanker off the coast of Brittany in
1978 and the Bhopal disaster in 1984 have demonstrated the universality of such events and the scale
on which efforts to address them needed to engage. The borderless nature of atmosphere and oceans
inevitably resulted in the implication of pollution on a planetary level with the issue of global warming.
Most recently the term persistent organic pollutant (POP) has come to describe a group of chemicals
such as PBDEs and PFCs among others. Though their effects remain somewhat less well understood
owing to a lack of experimental data, they have been detected in various ecological habitats far
removed from industrial activity such as the Arctic, demonstrating diffusion and bioaccumulation after
only a relatively brief period of widespread use.

Growing evidence of local and global pollution and an increasingly informed public over time have
given rise to environmentalism and the environmental movement, which generally seek to limit human
impact on the environment.

Pollution control
Pollution control is a term used in environmental management. It means the control of emissions and
effluents into air, water or soil. Without pollution control, the waste products from consumption,
heating, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, transportation and other human activities, whether they
accumulate or disperse, will degrade the environment. In the hierarchy of controls, pollution prevention
and waste minimization are more desirable than pollution control.
Pollution control devices
Dust collection systems
Cyclones
Electrostatic precipitators
Baghouses
Scrubbers
Baffle spray scrubber
Cyclonic spray scrubber
Ejector venturi scrubber
Mechanically aided scrubber
Spray tower
Wet scrubber
Sewage treatment and Wastewater treatment
API oil-water separators
Sedimentation (water treatment)
Dissolved air flotation (DAF)
Activated sludge biotreaters
Biofilters
Powdered activated carbon treatment
Vapor recovery systems

Major forms of pollution and major polluted areas

The major forms of pollution are listed below along with the particular pollutants relevant to each of
them:

Air pollution, the release of chemicals and particulates into the atmosphere. Common gaseous
air pollutants include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and nitrogen
oxides produced by industry and motor vehicles. Photochemical ozone and smog are created as
nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons react to sunlight. Particulate matter, characterized by size PM10 to
PM2.5, is produced from natural sources such as volcanoes or as residual oil fly ash from power plants.
Diesel particles are another class of airborne particulate matter.

Water pollution, by the release of waste products and contaminants into surface runoff into
river drainage systems, leaching into groundwater, liquid spills, wastewater discharges, eutrophication
and littering.

Soil contamination occurs when chemicals are released by spill or underground leakage.
Among the most significant soil contaminants are hydrocarbons, heavy metals, MTBE[8], herbicides,
pesticides and chlorinated hydrocarbons.
Radioactive contamination, resulting from 20th century activities in atomic physics, such as nuclear
power generation and nuclear weapons research, manufacture and deployment. (See alpha emitters and
actinides in the environment.)
Noise pollution, which encompasses roadway noise, aircraft noise, industrial noise as well as high-
intensity sonar.
Light pollution, includes light trespass, over-illumination and astronomical interference.
Visual pollution, which can refer to the presence of overhead power lines, motorway billboards, scarred
landforms (as from strip mining), open storage of trash or municipal solid waste.
Thermal pollution, is a temperature change in natural water bodies caused by human influence, such as
use of water as coolant in a power plant.
The Blacksmith Institute issues annually a list of the world's worst polluted places. In the 2007 issues
the ten top nominees are located in Azerbaijan, China, India, Peru, Russia, Ukraine and Zambia.

Sources and causes

Motor vehicle emissions are one of the leading causes of air pollution.[9][10][11] China, United States,
Russia, Mexico, and Japan are the world leaders in air pollution emissions; however, Canada is the
number two country, ranked per capita. Principal stationary pollution sources include chemical plants,
coal-fired power plants, oil refineries,[7] petrochemical plants, nuclear waste disposal activity,
incinerators, large livestock farms (dairy cows, pigs, poultry, etc.), PVC factories, metals production
factories, plastics factories, and other heavy industry.

Some of the more common soil contaminants are chlorinated hydrocarbons (CFH), heavy metals (such
as chromium, cadmium--found in rechargeable batteries, and lead--found in lead paint, aviation fuel
and still in some countries, gasoline), MTBE, zinc, arsenic and benzene. In 2001 a series of press
reports culminating in a book called Fateful Harvest unveiled a widespread practice of recycling
industrial byproducts into fertilizer, resulting in the contamination of the soil with various metals.
Ordinary municipal landfills are the source of many chemical substances entering the soil environment
(and often groundwater), emanating from the wide variety of refuse accepted, especially substances
illegally discarded there, or from pre-1970 landfills that may have been subject to little control in the
U.S. or EU. There have also been some unusual releases of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, commonly
called dioxins for simplicity, such as TCDD.[12]

Pollution can also be the consequence of a natural disaster. For example, hurricanes often involve water
contamination from sewage, and petrochemical spills from ruptured boats or automobiles. Larger scale
and environmental damage is not uncommon when coastal oil rigs or refineries are involved. Some
sources of pollution, such as nuclear power plants or oil tankers, can produce widespread and
potentially hazardous releases when accidents occur.

In the case of noise pollution the dominant source class is the motor vehicle, producing about ninety
percent of all unwanted noise worldwide.

Effects
Human health
Adverse air quality can kill many organisms including humans. Ozone pollution can cause respiratory
disease, cardiovascular disease, throat inflammation, chest pain, and congestion. Water pollution causes
approximately 14,000 deaths per day, mostly due to contamination of drinking water by untreated
sewage in developing countries. Oil spills can cause skin irritations and rashes. Noise pollution induces
hearing loss, high blood pressure, stress, and sleep disturbance. Mercury has been linked to
developmental deficits in children and neurologic symptoms. Lead and other heavy metals have been
shown to cause neurological problems. Chemical and radioactive substances can cause cancer and as
well as birth defects.

Ecosystems
Sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen can cause acid rain which reduces the pH value of soil.
Soil can become infertile and unsuitable for plants. This will affect other organisms in the food web.
Smog and haze can reduce the amount of sunlight received by plants to carry out photosynthesis.
Invasive species can out compete native species and reduce biodiversity. Invasive plants can contribute
debris and biomolecules (allelopathy) that can alter soil and chemical compositions of an environment,
often reducing native species competitiveness.
Biomagnification describes a situation where toxins may pass through trophic levels, becoming
exponentially more concentrated in the process.
Ocean acidification, the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's oceans.
Global warming.

Regulation and monitoring

To protect the environment from the adverse effects of pollution, many nations worldwide have
enacted legislation to regulate various types of pollution as well as to mitigate the adverse effects of
pollution.

Regulation and monitoring of pollution

Philosophical recognition
Throughout history from Ancient Greece to Andalusia, Ancient China, central Europe during the
Renaissance until today, philosophers ranging from Aristotle, Al-Farabi, Al-Ghazali, Averroes,
Buddha, Confucius, Dante, Hegel, Avicenna, Lao Tse, Maimonedes, Montesquieu, Nussbaum, Plato,
Socrates and Sun Tzu wrote about the pollution of the body as well as the mind and soul.

Perspectives
The earliest precursor of pollution generated by life forms would have been a natural function of their
existence. The attendant consequences on viability and population levels fell within the sphere of
natural selection. These would have included the demise of a population locally or ultimately, species
extinction. Processes that were untenable would have resulted in a new balance brought about by
changes and adaptations. At the extremes, for any form of life, consideration of pollution is superseded
by that of survival.

For mankind, the factor of technology is a distinguishing and critical consideration, both as an enabler
and an additional source of byproducts. Short of survival, human concerns include the range from
quality of life to health hazards. Since science holds experimental demonstration to be definitive,
modern treatment of toxicity or environmental harm involves defining a level at which an effect is
observable. Common examples of fields where practical measurement is crucial include automobile
emissions control, industrial exposure (eg Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
PELs), toxicology (eg LD50), and medicine (eg medication and radiation doses).

"The solution to pollution is dilution", is a dictum which summarizes a traditional approach to pollution
management whereby sufficiently diluted pollution is not harmful.[13][14] It is well-suited to some
other modern, locally-scoped applications such as laboratory safety procedure and hazardous material
release emergency management. But it assumes that the dilutant is in virtually unlimited supply for the
application or that resulting dilutions are acceptable in all cases.

Such simple treatment for environmental pollution on a wider scale might have had greater merit in
earlier centuries when physical survival was often the highest imperative, human population and
densities were lower, technologies were simpler and their byproducts more benign. But these are often
no longer the case. Furthermore, advances have enabled measurement of concentrations not possible
before. The use of statistical methods in evaluating outcomes has given currency to the principle of
probable harm in cases where assessment is warranted but resorting to deterministic models is
impractical or unfeasible. In addition, consideration of the environment beyond direct impact on human
beings has gained prominence.

Yet in the absence of a superseding principle, this older approach predominates practices throughout
the world. It is the basis by which to gauge concentrations of effluent for legal release, exceeding
which penalties are assessed or restrictions applied. The regressive cases are those where a controlled
level of release is too high or, if enforceable, is neglected. Migration from pollution dilution to
elimination in many cases is confronted by challenging economical and technological barriers.

Greenhouse gases and global warming

Historical and projected CO emissions by country.

2

Source: Energy Information Administration.[15][16]Carbon dioxide, while vital for photosynthesis, is

sometimes referred to as pollution, because raised levels of the gas in the atmosphere are affecting the
Earth's climate. Disruption of the environment can also highlight the connection between areas of
pollution that would normally be classified separately, such as those of water and air. Recent studies
have investigated the potential for long-term rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide to cause slight
but critical increases in the acidity of ocean waters, and the possible effects of this on marine
ecosystems.

Global warming
INTRODUCTION
Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and
oceans in recent decades. The Earth's average near-surface atmospheric temperature rose 0.6 ± 0.2
°Celsius (1.1 ± 0.4 °Fahrenheit) in the 20th century [1].
The current scientific consensus is that "most of the observed warming over the last 50 years is likely
to have been attributable to human activities"[2]. The extent of this consensus was the subject of a
study—published in December 2004 in the journal Science—that considered the abstracts of 928
refereed scientific articles in the ISI citation database identified with the keywords "global climate
change". This study concluded that 75% of the 928 articles either explicitly or implicitly accepted the
consensus view — the remainder of the articles covered methods or paleoclimate and did not take any
stance on recent climate change[3] [4].
The primary causes of the human-induced component of warming are the increased amounts of carbon
dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs)[5]. They are released by the burning of fossil fuels,
land clearing and agriculture, etc. and lead to an increase in the greenhouse effect. This effect was first
described by Joseph Fourier in 1824, and first investigated quantitatively in 1896 by the Swedish
chemist Svante Arrhenius[6], although the greenhouse effect did not enter into popular awareness until
the 1980's.
Climate sensitivity is a measure of the equilibrium response to increased GHGs, and other
anthropogenic and natural climate forcings. It is found by observational [7] and model studies. This
sensitivity is usually expressed in terms of the temperature response expected from a doubling of CO2
in the atmosphere. The 2001 IPCC report estimates a likelyhood between 66% and 90% for a climate
sensitivity in the range 1.5–4.5 °C (2.7–8.1 °F)[8]. This should not be confused with the expected
temperature change by a given date, which also includes a dependence on the future GHG emissions
and a delayed response due to thermal lag, principally from the oceans. Models referenced by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), using a range of SRES scenarios, project that
global temperatures will increase between 1.4 and 5.8 °C (2.5 to 10.5 °F) between 1990 and 2100.
An increase in global temperatures can in turn cause other changes, including a rising sea level and
changes in the amount and pattern of precipitation. These changes may increase the frequency and
intensity of extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, heat waves, hurricanes, and tornados.
Other consequences include higher or lower agricultural yields, glacial retreat, reduced summer stream
flows, species extinctions and increases in the ranges of disease vectors. Warming is expected to affect
the number and magnitude of these events; however, it is difficult to connect particular events to global
warming. Although most studies focus on the period up to 2100, warming (and sea level rise due to
thermal expansion) is expected to continue past then, since CO2 has an estimated atmospheric lifetime
of 50 to 200 years. [9]. Only a small minority of climate scientists discount the role that humanity's
actions have played in recent warming. However, the uncertainty is more significant regarding how
much climate change should be expected in the future, and there is a hotly contested political and
public debate over implementation of policies that deal with predicted consequences, what, if anything,
should be done to reduce or reverse future warming, and how to deal with the predicted consequences.
Historical warming of the Earth
See also: Temperature record of the past 1000 years

Two millennia of mean surface temperatures according to different reconstructions, each smoothed on
a decadal scale. The unsmoothed, annual value for 2004 is also plotted for reference.
Relative to the period 1860–1900, global temperatures on both land and sea have increased by 0.75 °C
(1.4 °F), according to the instrumental temperature record. Since 1979, land temperatures have
increased about twice as fast as ocean temperatures (0.25 °C/decade against 0.13 °C/decade (Smith,
2005). Temperatures in the lower troposphere have increased between 0.12 and 0.22 °C per decade
since 1979, according to satellite temperature measurements. Over the one or two thousand years
before 1850, world temperature is believed to have been relatively stable, with possibly regional
fluctuations such as the Medieval Warm Period or the Little Ice Age.
Based on estimates by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, 2005 was the warmest year since
reliable, widespread instrumental measurements became available in the late 1800s, exceeding the
previous record set in 1998 by a few hundredths of a degree Celsius. Similar estimates prepared by the
World Meteorological Organization and the UK Climatic Research Unit concluded that 2005 was still
only the second warmest year, behind 1998 [11] [12].
Depending on the time frame, a number of temperature records are available. These are based on
different data sets, with different degrees of precision and reliability. An approximately global
instrumental temperature record begins in about 1860; contamination from the urban heat island effect
is believed to be small and well controlled for. A longer-term perspective is available from various
proxy records for recent millennia; see temperature record of the past 1000 years for a discussion of
these records and their differences. The attribution of recent climate change is clearest for the most
recent period of the last 50 years, for which the most detailed data are available. Satellite temperature
measurements of the tropospheric temperature date from 1979.
Causes
Carbon dioxide during the last 400,000 years and the rapid rise since the Industrial Revolution; changes
in the Earth's orbit around the Sun, known as Milankovitch cycles, are believed to be the pacemaker of
the 100,000 year ice age cycle.
The climate system varies both through natural, "internal" processes as well as in response to variations
in external "forcing" from both human and non-human causes, including solar activity, volcanic
emissions, and greenhouse gases. Climatologists agree that the earth has warmed recently. The detailed
causes of this change remain an active field of research, but the scientific consensus identifies
greenhouse gases as the primary cause of the recent warming. Outside of the scientific community,
however, this conclusion can be controversial.
Adding carbon dioxide (CO2) or methane (CH4) to Earth's atmosphere, with no other changes, will
make the planet's surface warmer; greenhouse gases create a natural greenhouse effect without which
temperatures on Earth would be an estimated 30 °C (54 °F) lower, and the Earth uninhabitable. It is
therefore not correct to say that there is a debate between those who "believe in" and "oppose" the
theory that adding carbon dioxide or methane to the Earth's atmosphere will, absent any mitigating
actions or effects, result in warmer surface temperatures on Earth. Rather, the debate is about what the
net effect of the addition of carbon dioxide and methane will be, when allowing for compounding or
mitigating factors.
One example of an important feedback process is ice-albedo feedback. The increased CO2 in the
atmosphere warms the Earth's surface and leads to melting of ice near the poles. As the ice melts, land
or open water takes its place. Both land and open water are less reflective than ice, and so absorb more
solar radiation. This causes more warming, which in turn causes more melting, and the cycle continues.
Due to the thermal inertia of the earth's oceans and slow responses of other indirect effects, the Earth's
current climate is not in equilibrium with the forcing imposed by increased greenhouse gases. Climate
commitment studies indicate that, even if greenhouse gases were stabilized at present day levels, a
further warming of perhaps 0.5 °C to 1.0 °C (0.9–1.8 °F) would still occur.
Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

Plots of atmospheric Carbon dioxide and global temperature during the last 650,000 years.
Greenhouse gases are transparent to shortwave radiation from the sun. However, they absorb some of
the longer infrared radiation emitted as black body radiation from the Earth, thereby slowing
radiational cooling and raising the 'equilibrium' temperature of the Earth. How much they warm the
world by is shown in their global warming potential.
The atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane have increased by 31% and 149%
respectively above pre-industrial levels since 1750. This is considerably higher than at any time during
the last 650,000 years, the period for which reliable data has been extracted from ice cores. From less
direct geological evidence it is believed that carbon dioxide values this high were last attained 40
million years ago. About three-quarters of the anthropogenic (man-made) emissions of carbon dioxide
to the atmosphere during the past 20 years is due to fossil fuel burning. The rest of the anthropogenic
emissions are predominantly due to land-use change, especially deforestation.
The longest continuous instrumental measurement of carbon dioxide mixing ratios began in 1958 at
Mauna Loa. Since then, the annually averaged value has increased monotonically by approximately
21% from the initial reading of 315 ppmv, as shown by the Keeling curve, to over 380 ppmv in 2006 .
The monthly CO2 measurements display small seasonal oscillations in an overall yearly uptrend, with
the maximum reached during the northern hemisphere's late spring (the growing season in the northern
hemisphere temporarily removes some CO2 from the atmosphere).
Methane, the primary constituent of natural gas, enters the atmosphere both from biological production
and leaks from natural gas pipelines and other infrastructure. Some biological sources are natural, such
as termites, but others have been increased or created by agricultural activities, such as the cultivation
of rice paddies. Recent evidence suggests that forests may also be a source (RC; BBC), and if so this
would be an additional contribution to the natural greenhouse effect, and not to the anthropogenic
greenhouse effect (Ealert).
Future carbon dioxide levels are expected to continue rising due to ongoing fossil fuel usage, though
the actual trajectory will depend on uncertain economic, sociological, technological, and natural
developments. The IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios gives a wide range of future carbon
dioxide scenarios [17], ranging from 541 to 970 parts per million by the year 2100. Fossil fuel reserves
are sufficient to reach this level and continue emissions past 2100, if coal and tar sands are extensively
used.

Anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases broken down by sector for the year 2000.
Globally, the majority of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions arise from fuel combustion. The
remainder is accounted for largely by "fugitive fuel" (fuel consumed in the production and transport of
fuel), emissions from industrial processes (excluding fuel combustion), and agriculture: these
contributed 5.8%, 5.2% and 3.3% respectively in 1990. Current figures are broadly comparable. [18]
Around 17% of emissions are accounted for by the combustion of fuel for the generation of electricity.
A small percentage of emissions come from natural and anthropogenic biological sources, with
approximately 6.3% derived from agriculturally produced methane and nitrous oxide.
Positive feedback effects, such as the expected release of methane from the melting of permafrost peat
bogs in Siberia (possibly up to 70,000 million tonnes), may lead to significant additional sources of
greenhouse gas emissions. [19]. Note that the anthropogenic emissions of other pollutants—notably
sulfate aerosols—exert a cooling effect; this partially accounts for the plateau/cooling seen in the
temperature record in the middle of the twentieth century [20], though this may also be due to
intervening natural cycles.
Alternative hypotheses
The extent of the scientific consensus on global warming—that "most of the observed warming over
the last 50 years is likely to have been attributable to human activities"[21]—has been investigated: In
the journal Science in December 2004, Dr Naomi Oreskes published a study of the abstracts of 928
refereed scientific articles in the ISI citation database identified with the keywords "global climate
change". This study concluded that 75% of the 928 articles either explicitly or implicitly accepted the
consensus view — the remainder of the articles covered methods or paleoclimate and did not take any
stance on recent climate change. The study did not report how many of the 928 abstracts explicitly
endorsed the hypothesis of human-induced warming, but none of the 928 articles surveyed explicitly
endorsed an alternative hypothesis. [22] [23]
Contrasting with the consensus view, alternative hypotheses have been proposed to explain all or part
of the observed increase in global temperatures. Some of these hypotheses (listed here without
comment on their validity or lack thereof) include:
• The warming is within the range of natural variation.
• The warming is a consequence of coming out of a prior cool period, namely the Little Ice
Age.
• The warming is primarily a result of variances in solar irradiance, possibly via modulation of
cloud cover [24]. It is similar in concept to the operating principles of the Wilson cloud chamber, but
on a global scale where earth's atmosphere acts as the cloud chamber and the cosmic rays catalyze the
production of cloud condensation nuclei.
• The observed warming actually reflects the Urban Heat Island, as most readings are done in
heavily populated areas which are expanding with growing population [25].
Solar variation theory

30 years of solar variability.

Modeling studies reported in the IPCC Third Assessment Report (TAR) did not find that changes in
solar forcing were needed in order to explain the climate record for the last four or five decades [26].
These studies found that volcanic and solar forcings may account for half of the temperature variations
prior to 1950, but the net effect of such natural forcings has been roughly neutral since then [27]. In
particular, the change in climate forcing from greenhouse gases since 1750 was estimated to be eight
times larger than the change in forcing due to increasing solar activity over the same period [28].
Since the TAR, some studies (Lean et al., 2002, Wang et al., 2005) have suggested that changes in
irradiance since pre-industrial times are less by a factor of 3 to 4 than in the reconstructions used in the
TAR (e.g. Hoyt and Schatten, 1993, Lean, 2000.). Other researchers (e.g. Stott et al. 2003 [29]) believe
that the effect of solar forcing is being underestimated and propose that solar forcing accounts for 16%
or 36% of recent greenhouse warming. Others (e.g. Marsh and Svensmark 2000 [30]) have proposed
that feedback from clouds or other processes enhance the direct effect of solar variation, which if true
would also suggest that the effect of solar variability was being underestimated. In general the level of
scientific understanding of the contribution of variations in solar irradiance to historical climate
changes is "very low" [31].
The present level of solar activity is historically high. Solanki et al. (2004) suggest that solar activity
for the last 60 to 70 years may be at its highest level in 8,000 years; Muscheler et al. disagree,
suggesting that other comparably high levels of activity have occurred several times in the last few
thousand years [32]. Solanki concluded based on their analysis that there is a 92% probability that solar
activity will decrease over the next 50 years. In addition, researchers at Duke University (2005) have
found that 10–30% of the warming over the last two decades may be due to increased solar output [33].
In a review of existing literature, Foukal et al. (2006) determined both that the variations in solar output
were too small to have contributed appreciably to global warming since the mid-1970s and that there
was no evidence of a net increase in brightness during this period. [34]

Expected effects
Effects of global warming
The expected effects of global warming are many and various, both for the environment and for human
life. These effects include sea level rise, repercussions to agriculture, reductions in the ozone layer,
increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, and the spread of disease. In some cases,
the effects may already be manifest, although it is difficult to attribute specific incidents of natural
phenomena to long-term global warming. Since the mid-1970s, the total annual power of hurricanes
has increased markedly because their average intensity and duration have increased; in addition, there
has been a high correlation of hurricane power with tropical sea-surface temperature[35][1]. In spite of
such strong evidence, the relationship between global warming and hurricanes is still being debated.
[36][37] A draft statement by the World Meteorological Organization acknowledges the differing
viewpoints on this issue [38].
The extent and probability of these consequences is a matter of considerable uncertainty. A summary of
probable effects and recent understanding can be found in the report of the IPCC Working Group II
[39]. Some scientists have concluded global warming is already causing death and disease across the
world through flooding, environmental destruction, heat waves and other extreme weather events.
(Reuters, February 9, 2006; archived)
Effects on ecosystems
Both primary and secondary effects of global warming — such as higher temperatures, lessened snow
cover, rising sea levels and weather changes — may influence not only human activities but also
ecosystems. Some species may be forced out of their habitats (possibly to extinction) because of
changing conditions, while others may flourish. Similarly, changes in timing of life patterns, such as
annual migration dates, may alter regional predator-prey balance. The effect of advanced spring arrival
dates in Scandinavia of birds that over winter in sub-Saharan Africa has been ascribed to evolutionary
adaptation of the species to climatic warming [40].
Ocean pH is lowering as a result of increased carbon dioxide levels. Lowering of ocean pH along with
changing water temperature and ocean depth will have a damaging effect on coral reefs.
Another suggested mechanism whereby a warming trend may be amplified involves the thawing of
tundra, which can release significant amounts of the potent greenhouse gas methane that is trapped in
permafrost and ice clathrate compounds [41].
There are also ecological effects of melting polar ice: for example, polar bears use sea ice to reach their
prey, and they must swim to another ice floe when one breaks up. Ice is now becoming further
separated, and dead polar bears have been found in the water, believed to have drowned[42]. More
recently, some scientists have suggested that the observed cannibalistic behavior in polar bears may be
the result of food shortages brought on by global warming (Amstrup et al. 2006).

Effect on glaciers

Global glacial mass balance in the last fifty years, reported to the WGMS and the NSIDC. The
increased downward trend in the late 1980s is symptomatic of the increased rate and number of
retreating glaciers.
Global warming has led to negative glacier mass balance, causing glacier retreat around the world.
Oerlemans (2005) showed a net decline in 142 of the 144 mountain glaciers with records from 1900 to
1980. Since 1980 global glacier retreat has increased significantly. Similarly, Dyurgerov and Meier
(2005) averaged glacier data across large-scale regions (e.g. Europe) and found that every region had a
net decline from 1960 to 2002, though a few local regions (e.g. Scandinavia) have shown increases.
Some glaciers that are in disequilibrium with present climate have already disappeared [43] and
increasing temperatures are expected to cause continued retreat in the majority of alpine glaciers
around the world. Upwards of 90% of glaciers reported to the World Glacier Monitoring Service have
retreated since 1995 [44].
Of particular concern is the potential for failure of the Hindu Kush and Himalayan glacial melts. The
melt of these glaciers is a large and reliable source of water for China, India, and much of Asia, and
these waters form a principal dry-season water source. Increased melting would cause greater flow for
several decades, after which "some areas of the most populated region on Earth are likely to 'run out of
water'" (T. P. Barnett, J. C. Adam and D. P. Lettenmaier 2005) [45]
Miniature rock glaciers
Rock glaciers — caches of ice under boulders — are among other water signs such as drying meadows
and warming lakes that scientists are studying in the Sierras in the western United States [46]. Connie
Millar searches for the rock glaciers in the Yosemite area of the Sierra crest. She hypothesizes that rock
glaciers will be predictors of how ecosystems change with rising temperatures. Millar is leading an
effort (the Consortium for Integrated Climate Research in Western Mountains [47]) to co-ordinate the
work of many scientists to see how the pieces of the Global Warming puzzle may fit.
Destabilization of ocean currents
Main article: Shutdown of thermohaline circulation
There is also some speculation that global warming could, via a shutdown or slowdown of the
thermohaline circulation, trigger localized cooling in the North Atlantic and lead to cooling, or lesser
warming, in that region. This would affect in particular areas like Scandinavia and Britain that are
warmed by the North Atlantic drift.

Sea level rise and environmental refugees

The termini of the glaciers in the Bhutan-Himalaya. Glacial lakes have been rapidly forming on the
surface of the debris-covered glaciers in this region during the last few decades. According to USGS
researchers, glaciers in the Himalaya are wasting at alarming and accelerating rates, as indicated by
comparisons of satellite and historic data, and as shown by the widespread, rapid growth of lakes on the
glacier surfaces. The researchers have found a strong correlation between increasing temperatures and
glacier retreat.
Rising global temperatures will melt glaciers and expand the water of the seas through the mechanism
of thermal expansion, leading to sea level rise. Even a relatively small rise in sea level would make
some densely settled coastal plains uninhabitable and create a significant refugee problem. If the sea
level were to rise in excess of 4 meters (13 ft) almost every coastal city in the world would be severely
affected, with the potential for major damage to world-wide trade and economy. Presently, the IPCC
predicts sea level rise is most probable to be just short of half a metre, and at least between 9 and 88 cm
through 2100 [48] - but they also warn that global warming during that time may lead to irreversible
changes in the Earth's glacial system and ultimately melt enough ice to raise sea level many meters
over the next millennia. It is estimated that around 200 million people could be affected by sea level
rise, especially in Vietnam, Bangladesh, China, India, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Nigeria and
Egypt.
An example of the ambiguous nature of environmental refugees is the emigration from the island
nation of Tuvalu, which has an average elevation of approximately one meter above sea level. Tuvalu
already has an ad hoc agreement with New Zealand to allow phased relocation [49] and many residents
have been leaving the islands. However, it is far from clear that rising sea levels from global warming
are a substantial factor - best estimates are that sea level has been rising there at approximately 1–2
millimeters per year (~1/16th in/yr), but that shorter timescale factors—ENSO, or tides—have far
larger temporary effects [50] [51] [52] [53].
Spread of disease
One of the largest known outbreaks of Vibrio parahaemolyticus gastroenteritis has been attributed to
generally rising ocean temperature where infected oysters were harvested in Prince William Sound,
Alaska in 2005. Before this, the northernmost reported risk of such infection was in British Columbia,
1000 km to the south (McLaughlin JB, et al.).
Global warming may extend the range of vectors conveying infectious diseases such as malaria. A
warmer environment boosts the reproduction rate of mosquitoes and the number of blood meals they
take, prolongs their breeding season, and shortens the maturation period for the microbes they disperse
[54]. Global warming has been implicated in the recent spread to the north Mediterranean region of
bluetongue disease in domesticated ruminants associated with mite bites (Purse, 2005). Hantavirus
infection, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, tularemia and rabies increased in wide areas of Russia
during 2004–2005. This was associated with a population explosion of rodents and their predators but
may be partially blamed on breakdowns in governmental vaccination and rodent control programs.[55]
Similarly, despite the disappearance of malaria in most temperate regions, the indigenous mosquitoes
that transmitted it were never eliminated and remain common in some areas. Thus, although
temperature is important in the transmission dynamics of malaria, many other factors are influential
[56].
Financial effects
Financial institutions, including the world's two largest insurance companies, Munich Re and Swiss Re,
warned in a 2002 study (UNEP summary) that "the increasing frequency of severe climatic events,
coupled with social trends" could cost almost US$150 billion each year in the next decade. These costs
would, through increased costs related to insurance and disaster relief, burden customers, taxpayers,
and industry alike.
According to the Association of British Insurers, limiting carbon emissions could avoid 80% of the
projected additional annual cost of tropical cyclones by the 2080s. According to Choi and Fisher (2003)
each 1% increase in annual precipitation could enlarge catastrophe loss by as much as 2.8%.
The United Nations' Environmental Program recently announced that severe weather around the world
has made 2005 the most costly year on record [57]. Although there is "no way to prove that [a given
hurricane] either was, or was not, affected by global warming" [58], global warming is thought to
increase the probability of hurricanes emerging. Preliminary estimates presented by the German
insurance foundation Munich Re put the economic losses at more than US$200 billion, with insured
losses running at more than US$70 billion.
Nicholas Stern in the Stern Review has warned that one percent of global GDP is required to be
invested in order to mitigate the effects of climate change, and that failure to do so could risk a
recession worth up to twenty percent of global GDP [59]. Stern’s report[2] suggests that climate change
threatens to be the greatest and widest-ranging market failure ever seen. The report has had significant
political effects: Australia reported two days after the report was released that they would allott AU$60
million to projects to help cut greenhouse gas emissions[60]. Tony Blair said the Stern Review showed
that scientific evidence of global warming was "overwhelming" and its consequences "disastrous"[61].

Biomass production
The creation of biomass by plants is influenced by the availability of water, nutrients, and carbon
dioxide. Part of this biomass is used (directly or indirectly) as the energy source for nearly all other life
forms, including feed-stock for domestic animals, and fruits and grains for human consumption. It also
includes timber for construction purposes.
A rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide can increase the efficiency of the metabolism of most plants,
potentially allowing them to create more biomass.[citation needed] A rising temperature can also
increase the growing season in colder regions. It is sometimes argued that these effects can create a
greener, richer planet, with more available biomass. However, there are many other factors involved,
and it is currently unclear if plants really benefit from global warming. Plant growth can be limited by a
number of factors, including soil fertility, water, temperature, and carbon dioxide concentration.
IPCC models currently predict a possible modest increase in plant productivity. However, there are
several negative ramifications: decreases in productivity may occur at above-optimal temperatures;
greater variation in temperature is likely to decrease wheat yields; in experiments, grain and forage
quality declines if CO2 and temperature are increased; and the reductions in soil moisture in summer,
which are likely to occur, would have a negative effect on productivity. [62]
Satellite data show that the productivity of the northern hemisphere did indeed increase from 1982 to
1991 [63]. However, more recent studies [64][65] found that from 1991 to 2002, widespread droughts
had actually caused a decrease in summer photosynthesis in the mid and high latitudes of the northern
hemisphere.

NOAA projects that by the 2050s, there will only be 54% of the volume of sea ice there was in the
1950s.
Opening up of the Northwest Passage in summer
Melting Arctic ice may open the Northwest Passage in summer in approximately ten years, which
would cut 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km) from shipping routes between Europe and Asia. This would
be of particular relevance for supertankers that are too big to fit through the Suez Canal and currently
have to go around the southern tip of Africa. According to the Canadian Ice Service, the amount of ice
in Canada's eastern Arctic Archipelago decreased by 15% between 1969 and 2004 [66][67]. A similar
opening is possible in the Arctic north of Siberia, allowing much faster East Asian to Europe transport.

Adverse effects of the melting of ice include a potential increase in the rate of global warming, since
ice reflects 90% of solar heat, while open water absorbs 90% [68].
Further global warming (positive feedback)
Some effects of global warming themselves contribute directly to further global warming:

Soil pollution
Soil contamination is caused by the presence of man-made chemicals or other alteration in the natural
soil environment. This type of contamination typically arises from the rupture of underground storage
tanks, application of pesticides, percolation of contaminated surface water to subsurface strata, oil and
fuel dumping, leaching of wastes from landfills or direct discharge of industrial wastes to the soil. The
most common chemicals involved are petroleum hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides, lead and other
heavy metals. This occurrence of this phenomenon is correlated with the degree of industrialization and
intensity of chemical usage.

The concern over soil contamination stems primarily from health risks, both of direct contact and from
secondary contamination of water supplies[1]. Mapping of contaminated soil sites and the resulting
cleanup are time consuming and expensive tasks, requiring extensive amounts of geology, hydrology,
chemistry and computer modeling skills.
It is in North America and Western Europe that the extent of contaminated land is most well known,
with many of countries in these areas having a legal framework to identify and deal with this
environmental problem; this however may well be just the tip of the iceberg with developing countries
very likely to be the next generation of new soil contamination cases.

The immense and sustained growth of the People's Republic of China since the 1970s has exacted a
price from the land in increased soil pollution. The State Environmental Protection Administration
believes it to be a threat to the environment, to food safety and to sustainable agriculture. According to
a scientific sampling, 150 million mi (100,000 square kilometres) of China’s cultivated land have been
polluted, with contaminated water being used to irrigate a further 32.5 million mi (21,670 square
kilometres) and another 2 million mi (1,300 square kilometres) covered or destroyed by solid waste. In
total, the area accounts for one-tenth of China’s cultivatable land, and is mostly in economically
developed areas. An estimated 12 million tonnes of grain are contaminated by heavy metals every year,
causing direct losses of 20 billion yuan (US$2.57 billion). [2].

The United States, while having some of the most widespread soil contamination, has actually been a
leader in defining and implementing standards for cleanup[3]. Other industrialized countries have a
large number of contaminated sites, but lag the U.S. in executing remediation. Developing countries
may be leading in the next generation of new soil contamination cases.

Each year in the U.S., thousands of sites complete soil contamination cleanup, some by using microbes
that “eat up” toxic chemicals in soil[4], many others by simple excavation and others by more
expensive high-tech soil vapor extraction or air stripping. At the same time, efforts proceed worldwide
in creating and identifying new sites of soil contamination, particularly in industrial countries other
than the U.S., and in developing countries which lack the money and the technology to adequately
protect soil resources.
Health effects
The major concern is that there are many sensitive land uses where people are in direct contact with
soils such as residences, parks, schools and playgrounds. Other contact mechanisms include
contamination of drinking water or inhalation of soil contaminants which have vaporized.

There is a very large set of health consequences from exposure to soil contamination depending on
pollutant type, pathway of attack and vulnerability of the exposed population[citation needed].
Chromium and obsolete pesticide formulations are carcinogenic to populations[citation needed]. Lead
is especially hazardous to young children, in which group there is a high risk of developmental damage
to the brain, while to all populations kidney damage is a risk.

Chronic exposure to at sufficient concentrations is known to be associated with higher incidence of

leukemia .Obsolete pesticides such as mercury and cyclodienes are known to induce higher incidences
of kidney damage, some irreversible; cyclodienes are linked to liver toxicity .Organophosphates and
carbamates can induce a chain of responses leading to neuromuscular blockage.

Many chlorinated solvents induce liver changes, kidney changes and depression of the central nervous
system. There is an entire spectrum of further health effects such as
headache,nausea,fatigue(physical),eye irritation and skin rash for the above cited and other chemicals.

Ecosystem effects
Not unexpectedly, soil contaminants can have significant deleterious consequences for ecosystems[5].
There are radical soil chemistry changes which can arise from the presence of many hazardous
chemicals even at low concentration of the contaminant species. These changes can manifest in the
alteration of metabolism of endemic microorganisms and arthropods resident in a given soil
environment. The result can be virtual eradication of some of the primary food chain, which in turn has
major consequences for predator or consumer species. Even if the chemical effect on lower life forms
is small, the lower pyramid levels of the food chain may ingest alien chemicals, which normally
become more concentrated for each consuming rung of the food chain. Many of these effects are now
well known, such as the concentration of persistent DDT materials for avian consumers, leading to
weakening of egg shells, increased chick mortality and potentially species extinction.

Effects occur to agricultural lands which have certain types of soil contamination. Contaminants
typically alter plant metabolism, most commonly to reduce crop yields. This has a secondary effect
upon soil conservation, since the languishing crops cannot shield the earth's soil mantle from erosion
phenomena. Some of these chemical contaminants have long half-lives and in other cases derivative
chemicals are formed from decay of primary soil contaminants.

Regulatory framework
United States of America
Until about 1970 there was little widespread awareness of the worldwide scope of soil contamination or
its health risks. In fact, areas of concern were often viewed as unusual or isolated incidents. Since then,
the U.S. has established guidelines for handling hazardous waste and the cleanup of soil pollution. In
1980 the U.S.Superfund/CERCLA established strict rules on legal liability for soil contamination. Not
only did CERCLA stimulate identification and cleanup of thousands of sites, but it raised awareness of
property buyers and sellers to make soil pollution a focal issue of land use and management practices.

While estimates of remaining soil cleanup in the U.S. may exceed 200,000 sites, in other industrialized
countries there is a lag of identification and cleanup functions. Even though their use of chemicals is
lower than industrialized countries, often their controls and regulatory framework is quite weak. For
example, some persistent pesticides that have been banned in the U.S. are in widespread uncontrolled
use in developing countries. It is worth noting that the cost of cleaning up a soil contaminated site can
range from as little as about $10,000 for a small spill, which can be simply excavated, to millions of
dollars for a widespread event, especially for a chemical that is very mobile such as perchloroethylene.

China
China, an economy that regularly records double digit annual economic growth, has little or no
legislation to protect the environment. Currently, given the amount of land in question (up to one-tenth
of China's cultivatable land may be polluted), the degree of the pollution in specific locations is
unclear, making both prevention and remedy difficult. There are no laws or environmental standards
regarding soil. Funding is limited, too, so there is little advanced scientific study of China’s soil taking
place. The severity of the pollution is not known by the public or business population, and the situation
is most likely worsening as a result.
United Kingdom
Generic guidance commonly used in the UK are the Soil Guideline Values published by DEFRA and
the Environment Agency. These are screening values that demonstrate the minimal acceptable level of
a substance. Above this there can be no assurances in terms of significant risk of harm to human health.
These have been derived using the Contaminated Land Exposure Asseeement Model (CLEA UK).
Certain input parameters such as Health Criteria Values, age and land use are fed into CLEA UK to
obtain a probablistic output[citation needed].
Guidance by the Inter Departmental Committee for the Redevelopment of Contaminated Land
(ICRCL) has been formally withdrawn by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(DEFRA), for use as a prescriptive document to determine the potential need for remediation or further
assessment. Therefore, no further reference is made to these former guideline values.
Other generic guidance that exists (to put the concentration of a particular contaminant in context),
includes the United States EPA Region 9 Preliminary Remediation Goals (US PRGs), the US EPA
Region 3 Risk Based Concentrations (US EPA RBCs) and National Environment Protection Council of
Australia Guideline on Investigation Levels in Soil and Groundwater.

However international guidance should only be used in the UK with clear justification. This is because
foreign standards are usually particular to that country due to drivers such as political policy, geology,
flood regime and epidemiology. It is generally accepted by UK regulators that only robust scientific
methods that relate to the UK should be used.

The CLEA model published by DEFRA and the Environment Agency (EA) in March 2002 sets a
framework for the appropriate assessment of risks to human health from contaminated land, as required
by Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. As part of this framework, generic Soil
Guideline Values (SGVs) have currently been derived for ten contaminants to be used as “intervention
values”[citation needed]. These values should not be considered as remedial targets but values above
which further detailed assessment should be considered.

Three sets of CLEA SGVs have been produced for three different land uses, namely
residential (with and without plant uptake)
allotments
commercial/industrial

It is intended that the SGVs replace the former ICRCL values. It should be noted that the CLEA SGVs
relate to assessing chronic (long term) risks to human health and do not apply to the protection of
ground workers during construction, or other potential receptors such as groundwater, buildings, plants
or other ecosystems. The CLEA SGVs are not directly applicable to a site completely covered in
hardstanding, as there is no direct exposure route to contaminated soils.

To date, the first ten of fifty-five contaminant SGVs have been published, for the following: arsenic,
cadmium, chromium, lead, inorganic mercury, nickel, selenium ethyl benzene, phenol and toluene.
Draft SGVs for benzene, naphthalene and xylene have been produced but their publication is on hold.
Toxicological data (Tox) has been published for each of these contaminants as well as for
benzo[a]pyrene, benzene, dioxins, furans and dioxin-like PCBs, naphthalene, vinyl chloride, 1,1,2,2
tetrachloroethane and 1,1,1,2 tetrachloroethane, 1,1,1 trichloroethane, tetrachloroethene, carbon
tetrachloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, trichloroethene and xylene. The SGVs for ethyl benzene, phenol and
toluene are dependent on the soil organic matter (SOM) content (which can be calculated from the total
organic carbon (TOC) content). As an initial screen the SGVs for 1% SOM are considered to be
appropriate.

Cleanup options
Microbes can be used in soil cleanupCleanup or remediation is analyzed by environmental scientists
who utilize field measurement of soil chemicals and also apply computer models for analyzing
transport[6] and fate of soil chemicals. Thousands of soil contamination cases are currently in active
cleanup across the U.S. as of 2006. There are several principal strategies for remediation:

Excavate soil and remove it to a disposal site away from ready pathways for human or sensitive
ecosystem contact. This technique also applies to dredging of bay muds containing toxins.
Aeration of soils at the contaminated site (with attendant risk of creating air pollution)
Thermal remediation by introduction of heat to raise subsurface temperatures sufficiently high to
volatize chemical contaminants out of the soil for vapour extraction. Technologies include ISTD,
electrical resistance heating (ERH), and ET-DSPtm.
Bioremediation, involving microbial digestion of certain organic chemicals. Techniques used in
bioremediation include landfarming, biostimulation and bioaugmentation soil biota with commercially
available microflora.
Extraction of groundwater or soil vapor with an active electromechanical system, with subsequent
stripping of the contaminants from the extract.
Containment of the soil contaminants (such as by capping or paving over in place).

Sacred Groves
Sacred Groves is a ten acre forest sanctuary located on Bainbridge Island, in Washington state, home to
a small intentional community living in harmony with each other, nature and spirit. We welcome guests
and clients to the land for rituals, healing work, music, learning, prayer and retreat time in the woods. It
is a place to deepen your relationship with Mother Earth and your personal spirituality, a place for
ceremony and a sense of connection. We offer season’s change rituals, sweatlodges, grief-work,
communication classes, a monthly drum circle and Women’s Moon Ceremony and more. Women’s
Mysteries School events are geared especially towards women’s healing and empowerment.

Sacred Groves is not affiliated with any particular religion. The events here include elements of ritual
from earth-based spiritual traditions in North America, Africa and pre-Christian Europe. They have
also been inspired by mentors like Sobonfu Some, Joanna Macy, Starhawk, and co-creative
experiences in drumming and ritual groups for the past couple of decades. We welcome people from
all races and cultures who share our beliefs that the earth is sacred and that music, dance, prayer,
ceremony, and time in the natural world are essential for personal and community health.

Events at Sacred Groves are most often facilitated by owner-director Therese Charvet whose spiritual
practices and offerings have been shaped by 25 years of Buddhist meditation practice, her deep
connection to Mother Earth, and her love of drum, dance and song. Some events (like the Grief Ritual
and Wailing Lodge) are co-facilitated with Kendra E. Thornbury of SpiritAlive who also occasionally
offers her own workshops at the Groves. Occasionally Therese invites other teachers to the Groves to
share their gifts with the land and the people who love to come here.

Activities at Sacred Groves occur in the natural setting of 10 acres of Pacific Northwest rainforest. It is
a small wilderness park where you can feel the sacredness of the earth. It’s a place to settle into the
quiet, listen to the birds, watch the trees sway in the wind, re-establish connection with God, Goddess,
Great Spirit, Great Mystery or whatever it is you call that ineffable power that underlies all of life.

Sacred Groves in India

Sacred groves in India refer to forest fragments of varying sizes, which are communally protected, and
which usually have a significant religious connotation for the protecting community. Hunting and
logging are usually strictly prohibited within these patches. [1] Other forms of forest usage like honey
collection and deadwood collection are sometimes allowed on a sustainable basis. Sacred groves did
not enjoy protection via federal legislation in India. Some NGOs work with local villagers to protect
such groves. Traditionally, and in some cases even today, members of the community take turns to
protect the grove. [2] However, the introduction of the protected area category community reserves
under the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2002 has introduced legislation for providing
government protection to community held lands, which could include sacred groves.
Indian sacred groves are sometimes associated with temples / monasteries / shrines or with burial
grounds (which is the case in Shinto and Ryukyuan religion-based sacred groves respectively in Japan).
Sacred groves may be loosely used to refer to other natural habitat protected on religious grounds, such
as Alpine Meadows.
Historical references to sacred groves can be obtained from ancient classics as far back as Kalidasa's
Vikramuurvashiiya.

Beliefs
Typically, such groves are associated with the concept of a "presiding deity". While most of these
sacred deities are associated with local Hindu gods, sacred groves of Islamic and Buddhist origins, and
some based on smaller local religions and folk religions (like the folk deities ayyanar and amman ) are
also known of. There are over 1000 deities associated with sacred groves in the states of Kerala and
Karnataka alone.

Locations
Sacred groves are scattered all over the country, and are referred to by different names in different parts
of India. Sacred groves occur in a variety of places - from scrub forests in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan
maintained by the Bishnois, to rain forests in the Kerala Western Ghats. Himachal Pradesh in the North
and Kerala in the South are specifically known for their large numbers of sacred groves.

Around 14,000 sacred groves have been reported from all over India, which act as reservoirs of rare
fauna, and more often rare flora, amid rural and even urban settings. Experts believe that the total
number of sacred groves could be as high as 100,000. [4] [5]
It is estimated that around 1000 km² of unexploited land is inside sacred groves. Some of the more
famous groves are the kavus of Kerala, which are located in the Western Ghats and have enormous
biodiversity; and the law kyntangs of Meghalaya - sacred groves associated with every village (two
large groves being in Mawphlang and Mausmai) to appease the forest spirit.
Among the largest sacred groves of India are the ones in Hariyali, near Ganchar in Chamoli District of
Uttarakhand, and the Deodar grove in Shipin near Simla in Himachal Pradesh.
All numbers are quoted from the records of the C.P.R. Environmental Education Centre of the
Government of India. Starred numbers are likely to increase. The centre also maintains a complete list
of identified sacred groves in India, most of which is online. [20]

Uses
Traditional uses: One of the most important traditional uses of sacred groves was that it acted as a
repository for various Ayurvedic medicines. Other uses involved a source of replenishable resources
like fruits and honey. However, in most sacred groves it was taboo to hunt or chop wood. The
vegetation cover helps reduce soil erosion and prevents desertification, as in Rajasthan. The groves are
often associated with ponds and streams, and meet water requirements of local communities. They
sometimes help in recharging aquifers as well.
Modern uses: In modern times, sacred groves have become biodiversity hotspots, as various species
seek refuge in the areas due to progressive habitat destruction, and hunting. Sacred groves often contain
plant and animal species that have become extinct in neighboring areas. They therefore harbor great
genetic diversity. Besides this, sacred groves in urban landscapes act as "lungs" to the city as well,
providing much needed vegetation cover.

Threats
Threats to the grove include urbanization, over-exploitation of resources (like overgrazing and
excessive fuelwood collection), and environmental destruction due to religious practices. While many
of the groves are looked upon as abode of Hindu gods, in the recent past a number of them have been
partially cleared for construction of shrines and temples. [4] Other threats to the sacred groves include
invasion by invasive species, like the invasive weeds Chromolaena odorata, Lantana camara and
Prosopis juliflora.

Traditions
A large number of distinct local art forms and folk traditions are associated with the deities of sacred
groves, and are an important cultural aspect closely associated with sacred traditions. Ritualistic dances
and dramatizations based on the local deities that protect the groves are called Theyyam in Kerala and
Nagmandalam, among other names, in Karnataka. Often, elaborate rituals and traditions are associated
with sacred groves [21], as are associated folk tales and folk mythology.