Which Plastics to Use and Avoid

Plastics are very important in day-to-day lives due to the numerous applications associated with them. Some of the common uses of plastics include packaging of items. Packaging industries must realize which plastics to use/avoid thus protecting the environment from harmful plastics. Generally, plastics are non-biodegradable hence they do not decay. For this reason, plastics fill the earth and cause water run off when they accumulate in soil. Because of this reason, packaging industries must use the appropriate plastic. The advantage of using plastic for packaging is because plastics offer a good barrier to many elements including oxygen and water.

Many governments, because of its pollution effects, ban thin plastic use. Thin polythene is not recycled after use; it thus ends up in the garbage heap thus polluting the environment. On the contrary, high-density plastics do not damage the environment due to recycling; this reduces pollution of the environment. Apart from conserving the environment, many employment opportunities crop up and sparing of raw materials thus boosting the economy. Another vital use plastic is in building and construction however, majority of construction work uses high-density plastic that is renewable. Polyvinyl chloride makes pipes as well as sliding sheets. Insulators, computer hardware as well as many handles are made of high-density plastics. These plastics never damage the environment because they are recycled. Apart from recycling, the plastics are multipurpose.

Industries use high-density plastics to manufacture of automobiles, trucks as well as airplanes seats and bumpers. Another use of plastics is in electric appliances and electric wire coatings. Due to inability of plastics to conduct heat or ectricity, they are widely used as insulators. Majority of these plastics are high-density plastics. Low-density plastics on the other hand lead to flooding. This is so because thin plastic fills the ground, thus no water percolation in the ground. Thin plastics harbor water that is breeding grounds for harmful insects like mosquitoes.

Thin plastics have some advantage because they are very cheap and they are produced fast. Plastics both high and low-density have general benefits to man and they include, flexbility. Tailoring plastics is easy thus attaining many different forms and shapes of products. Plastics have lightweight thus excellent for transporting purposes. This leads to reduced fuel consumption. When well kept, plastics are durable because they do not rust nor rust. Plastics are excellent building materials because they are resistant to water and chemical damage. Medical equipments and foodstuffs are packaged using plastics due to cleanliness of plastics. Plastics contain chemical compounds that are harmful to human body, thus, they are not ideal for food covering. An alternative plastic like bio-plastics solves this problem.

Scientists are researching on a new form of plastic called bio-plastic made from plant polymers. The advantage of this plastic is that microorganisms have the ability of degrading it. Bio-plastic are friendly to the environment thus it has no issues of filling the soil. Bio-plastics are also the ideal plastics because they have no harmful effects to the body due to chemicals present in the synthetic plastics. With these facts in place, an individual must decide which plastics to use/avoid depending on activity on hand.

About the Author

Kevin Bailey loves water bottles, allowing him to drink his water anywhere, if you want to find out more, check outStainless Steel Water Bottles, Sigg Water Bottles, or Nalgene Water Bottles.

Source: www.articopia.com

Ideas On Preparing Healthy Soil For Gardening

Various tests were performed by expert gardeners in order to conclude whether the soil has a good composition.

Some of these are: Compressing it in hand, and if the soil does not hold itself and crumbles without any external force applied in it, then that has a sand component that is a little high. If you compress it to form a shape and when you poke it does not fall apart easily, to much clay contained on that.

If you're still not sure about the soil composition you have, you can separate each ingredient by using this simple method. Put a cup or two of dirt into a jar of water. Shake the water up until the soil is suspended, then leave it for a while until you see it separates into 3 layers. The top layer is clay, the next is silt, and on the bottom is sand. You should be able to judge the presence of each component within your dirt, and act accordingly.

After analyzing the soil composition, and determined what is lacking or what is to be lessen, then,of course, you apply methods you learned to fix it. If you are to treat to much sand or silt, the best option to do is to add some compost or moss. And if you are to deal to much clay, the best thing to do is to add of peat moss and sand because the peat moss when moisten helps to infiltrate the mixture better. You can also consult an expert to have the best done for your gardening.

The amount of water present in the soil is also one of essential things to consider when preparing your garden. Inclined garden or it may be at the lower level, the site will, most likely, absorb to much water and plants will be drowned. If you think your garden will be on this scenario, make your area elevated for few inches (perhaps 4 or 5) from the ground so that it'll not be saturated.

You should spend the couple of weeks prior to the planting by adding fertilizer to your site because adding nutrients to the soil is also essential for plants to grow healthy. Mix your fertilizer well and once you have done this, you will surely have a soil that is ideally poised for planting.

Essentially, the procedure to soil preparation and care can be summarized in these steps: Ensuring the soil composition is satisfactory; ensuring the proper drainage for the site and putting fertilizer on the soil before it is planted. Once it is planted, you can add some more to ensure the growth of your plants. Following these steps will surely bring out the best of your home garden fueled by your essential care.

About the Author

Bercle George is an expert gardener and has published an excellent rose growing and gardening resource at http://www.rosegrowingguide.com/

Source: www.articopia.com

Fertility and Cell Phone Radiation

No one can deny that people are having more and more trouble having babies these days. Just look at the explosion in the number of fertility clinics across the United States and Western Europe. What's the cause; environment, diet, pollution? Well, recent research points to electromagnetic radiation as a key factor.

It's known that electromagnetic radiation, in high doses, can serious affect your body. After all, an x-ray can see right through you! So, were always told to avoid exposure to high levels of any kind of radiation. Yet, what about repeated exposure to low levels; what are the long term health risks associated with that? That's where the problem with cell phones comes into play.

Lots of people use them these days, and you can spend hours with one pressed up to her head or strapped to your waist, or even hooked to your ear all the time! As a result, you are getting a constant influx of radiation pumped into your body. You may think that such a minute amount of radiation is nothing, but the next time you're done with a long phone call, run your hand over the side of your head. More than likely, it's going to feel a bit warm. That is due solely to the radiation emanating from your phone!

Think about that; your skin made warm just from that. And, if your skin is warm, what's going on beneath it? The radiation is heating your blood and bones, and the gray matter of your brain. None of that is good for you and your overall health.

So, what does this mean in terms of fertility? Doctors warn that pregnant women should not wear a cell phone unit at their waist as their developing fetus can be at risk for birth defects. Beyond that, the radiation can affect their ovaries and uterus, thus decreasing their chances of even conceiving. For men, the risks are similar. Keeping a cell phone clipping at the waist can adversely affect the testicles and a man's sperm count.

When you consider that undeveloped nations are not having trouble with fertility as evident by their burgeoning populations the fertility problem is something related to our modern high-tech world. Some people will point to the foods we eat, to the chemicals in our water, and so on.

Yet, not everyone is having trouble having babies. More and more data supports the theory that electromagnetic radiation is the chief culprit. Check out the information available through various websites, and you'll come to learn about the steps you can take to reduce the health dangers associated with cell phone use.

About the Author

Educational Cell Phone Digital Book by Paul Fitzgerald, EMF expert, graduated from NJIT in Newark, NJ. He has been studying EMF's for over 15 years. He has done over 100 radio shows in 2006 and released his book CellPhone Lies To learn more go to EMF Radiation News.

Source: www.articopia.com

 

Do You Know These Things About Lung Cancer?

Our lung is one of the main "motors" of our body. Yet, often it is not given due attention and care, and it remains in the background when it comes to issues of the hearth or brain.

The main function of our lung is to exchange the gases between the air we breathe and our blood. It is through our lung that carbon dioxide is emptied from our body and oxygen is transported to our blood vessels. It is not widely known that the two sides of our lung are not identical to each other. The right lung has three lobes, whereas the left lung has two lobes, and an additional portion which is called the lingula which is like the middle lobe.

Lung cancer is the leading type of cancer causing death among men and women of the world. It is only since the 1930s that cases of lung cancer started to increase. This is mainly due to tobacco consumption, and the much disputed pollution and smog around the globe. 90% of lung cancers are caused by smoking. Recently, governments and states around the globe have raised the price of tobacco dramatically, having some significant effect on societies in cutting down on tobacco smoking.

Some people mistakenly believe that pipe and cigar smoking do not have such a harmful effect on the lungs as cigarettes. Cigar and pipe smokers are at 5% higher risk to die of lung cancer than non-smokers. This ratio is 25% for people smoking cigarettes.

Passive smokers, i.e., smokers who do not smoke themselves but stay in an environment where others smoke, and inhale smoke, are at 24% higher risk of developing cancer (only 1% less than a cigarette smoker.)

Other danger factors in developing cancer are asbestos fibres, radon gas, familial predispositions (genetic), and other lung diseases, along with air pollution.

Lung cancers are categorized into two types. Small cell and non-small cell lung cancer. This distinction is based on the appearance of the cells under microscopic examination and the appearance of tumor cells. The two types of cancers spread and grow in different ways, thus the distinction.

Small cell cancer is the most aggressive and rapidly growing type of cancers, and it makes up 20% of related cancers. It tends to grow first in the larger breathing tubes and grows very fast spreading around a large area. In its initial stage, it is more sensitive to chemotherapy, but it often bears worse prognosis. This type of cancer is mainly related with smoking.

On the other hand, for non-small cell lung cancer, the prognosis is poor. Patients treated with chemotherapy live generally only three months longer than those who do not get treatment. This type is divided into further two types, one starting from the larger breathing tubes but spreading around slower. This means that the size of these tumors varies when diagnosed. 50-60% of non-small cell cancer starts growing around the gas-exchanging surface of the lung. This form is most common for smokers, and along these there are female non-smokers who are mainly affected.

Our lung is a very sensitive organ, it is often the landing place for metastasis (when cancer cells break away from the primary tumor) of cancer originating from other parts of the body. In this case, we name it by the originating part of the body, for example breast cancer.

Cancer is a sly disease. Women can develop ovary cancer from the originating stomach cancer. It strikes the most innocent, the best sportsman, the firmest vegetarian, anyone without mercy. If it takes your lungs, it takes your breath. Do not give it a chance.

About the Author

For more information on cancer try visiting http://www.cancercondition.com - a website that specializes in providing cancer related information and resources including information on lung cancer.

Source: www.articopia.com

Global Warming: Causes, Consequences And Remedies

 

What is global Warming?: Global warming is the process of a gradual increase in the earths atmospheric and ground temperatures throughout the entire planet. Studies have shown that global temperature has risen by 1 degree Fahrenheit over the last century. Day-to-day activities by humans since the beginning of the industrial era have resulted in the increased emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere, causing a trend of warming at a distressing pace.

Causes of global warming

Carbon emissions - Carbon dioxide traps the heat of the sun on the globe, much like a veritable balloon filled with warm air. On an average day, humans add to the atmospheric level of carbon dioxide in several ways, from power plants to vehicles. Air pollution from industrial plants is increasing at an alarming level despite steps taken to enforce environmentally friendly practices.

Deforestation - Following carbon emissions by humans, deforestation is the next most important cause of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Millions of acres of tropical rain forests are lost each year causing climate change. Temperate forests which serve to absorb billions of tons of carbon are also being cut down at a tremendous rate.

The dire consequences

Weather patterns - Apart from the wildfires caused by scorching hot and dry weather which burns millions of acres of land worldwide, the main cause for concern is drought, which also increases the risk of wildfires. Drought causes crops to fail, causing starvation and diseases in less developed countries where agriculture is the main source of food and income. Conversely, warm temperatures can also cause heavier rainfall and floods. More energy in the climatic system causes hurricanes and tsunamis. Balance of ecology is disturbed.

Health - Smog in certain parts of the world is causing allergies and asthmatic conditions to worsen. The poor air quality also results in weakened respiratory system. Droughts and other eco disruptions lead to the rapid spread of infectious diseases and food and waterborne illnesses such as malaria, cholera and dengue fever.

Wildlife - With ecosystems unable to adapt to the pace of climatic changes, several species are reaching near extinction. From decreasing numbers of polar bears to the danger of extinction of penguins in the Antarctic, this threat has roots in the vast reductions of their natural habitats.

What measures you can take?

Stop pollution! - Cutting down pollution from car emissions and power plants will decrease the rate of global warming to a great extent. Varied technologies for use of alternative energy have already been developed. And, more technology is being developed regularly. We need to continue to make use of current alternative energy resources like wind power and solar power, and we can adopt new technologies as they are developed.

Changes to the legal system - With public support on the rise, laws must be imposed worldwide to cap emissions of carbon dioxide and other green house gasses from industrial and power plants. Tighter standards for appliances such as air conditioners and heat pumps will also strengthen the efforts to reduce emissions.

Make it YOUR problem. - Energy conservation should be addressed in a right way. Reduce your energy bills by opting for little changes such as fluorescent lights and environmentally friendly refrigerators. Make an effort in every little way you can to sustain the planet for future generations. Let us embrace sustainable development

About the Author

Ranju kumar an editor of the website SustainGreenPower.com which briefs all about Sustainable Development, Environment, Renewable Energy, and important information and news on many more Green Earth topics.

Source: www.articopia.com