The Dangers of Oil Spill

(Source: Google Image)

What is Oil Spill?

The reason why oil spills happen is because people carelessly causes an oil tanker to leak oil into the ocean. There are a few ways an oil spill can occur as well. For example, equipment breaking down may cause an oil spill. If it breaks down, the tanker may get stuck on land. When people start to drive the tanker again, they have to put a hole in the tanker which is why it is causing the oil to spill out.

Illegal dumpers are also contributing to oil spills. These people dump crude oil into the oceans because they are not willing to spend money on decomposing their waste oil. By dumping oil into the oceans is illegal. This is a very inconsiderate way as it will cause many problems to the marine life as well as human health.

Another way of oil spill is that terrorists may also cause it by dumping oil into a country’s ocean. The reason why they will do this is because they are trying to get the country’s attention, before they start on any terrorist activities.

Lastly, natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes, can also cause an oil spill. If a hurricane were to happen in a country, the winds from the hurricane can cause the oil tanker to flip over,  thus pouring oil out to the sea causing an oil spill.

What are the dangers/effects of Oil Spill?

(Source: Google Image)

Seabirds and sea mammals are at risk when facing oil spills because they are the most likely of all sea life to run into oil floating on the water. Oil reduces the amount of insulation an animal can get from its fur or feathers, so seabirds and sea mammals often die of hypothermia. Birds that get a lot of oil on them also cause them to have trouble flying thus, leading them to drown to death. Also, these animals often end up ingesting oil when they try to hunt for food, which can kill them quickly or can cause them to become very ill and die slowly.

An oil spill may appear to clear up after a bit of time, but some spills cause oil to remain in the water for many years. Even if the immediate visible effects of an oil spill dissolve, a single spill leaves a very strong and lasting impact on the creatures' habitat in the ocean. Therefore, its affecting the entire food chain, which causes population structures to shift and species' diversity and abundance to change forever. Oil spill can lead to extinction of animals as well.

(Source: http://en.rian.ru/infographics/20100505/158885245.html)

There are also significant health risks caused by oil spill and the risks aren't just to marine life, they are also to us, humans.

- Health and safety issues related to the people involved in the clean-up

- Potential exposure to the general public

- Potential contamination of the food supply (such as seafood)

(Source: http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/638945.html)

The following table was quoted from http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215471/oil_spills.htm.

It shows the animals that are not recovering, recovered, recovering, and that the recovering is unknown. Oil spills sometimes are the reason for animals becoming endangered. This means that a certain type of animal is in danger of becoming extinct.

The Gulf of Mexico Oil spill 2010 

The Dangers of E-Waste

photo source: http://www.step-initiative.org/initiative/what-is-e-waste.php

What is e-waste?

E-waste is basically a term used to describe all types of electrical and electronic equipment with circuitry component or electrical components with power or battery supply (e.g. televisions, washing machines, computers, handphones) that are being disposed. As we enter the digital age, whereby everyone become fully dependent on technology, the amount of e-waste also continues to grow. Although there are no official figures on how much e-waste are produced and recycled here, Singaporeans are known to be big users of electrical and electronic products, thus we can imagine how extensive the problem of e-waste here.

photo source: http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/crazy-e-waste-statistics-explored-in-infographic.html

Why is e-waste dangerous?

Many people are unaware of the disastrous effects of throwing old electronics in the garbage. These waste are causing an environmental problem as most of the waste products contain toxic chemicals such as lead and mercury that can affect the environment as well as our health if they are incinerated or landfilled. In addition, there is also the problem of e-waste being discarded in developing countries such as China and India and are recycled in a harmful and pollutive manner. Here is a video on the problem of e-waste:

photo source: http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/crazy-e-waste-statistics-explored-in-infographic.html

What can we do?

Electronic gadgets such as handphones and laptops are constantly coming up with newer models. Try asking yourself whether it is a need to buy the latest or newest gadgets especially when the one you own is in good working condition. Do not give in to your want of owning the latest shiny gadget in the market. Remember to buy and only use what you need.

Instead of disposing the electrical and electronic items you do not want, you can try to give it away. There are many charities that are willing to accept your items and give it to those in need. Another way is to sell the items for cash. Like they always say; "One man's trash is another man's treasure!"

Instead of throwing away your gadgets or devices, you can actually bring them to an e-waste recycling collection centre. Some of the centres that participate in recycling e-waste is Nokia, Dell, HP, Toshiba and Canon. Here's a video of Nokia recycling their mobile phones:

photo source: http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/crazy-e-waste-statistics-explored-in-infographic.html

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References:

Date Visited: 10 July 2012

StEP - Solving the E-Waste Problem

<http://www.step-initiative.org/initiative/what-is-e-waste.php>

Zero Waste Singapore Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Your Waste. 08 December 2008.

<http://www.zerowastesg.com/2008/12/08/electrical-and-electronic-waste-recycling/>

TreeHugger. 27 May 2011.

<http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/crazy-e-waste-statistics-explored-in-infographic.html>

AsiaOne.com - Asia's leading news and information mall. 14 September 2010.

<http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20100914-237035.html>

5 simple ways to help the planet

Everyone and anyone can help create a healthier environment! 

Start by making simple changes in the way we eat, play and get around!

Here are some simple step to make a difference!


1. CHANGE YOUR LIGHT
If every household in the United State replaced one regular lightbulb with one of those new compact fluorescent bulbs, the pollution reduction would be equivalent to removing one million cars from the road.
Don't like the color of light? Use these bulbs for closets, laundry rooms and other places where it won't irk you as much.

 2. TURN OFF COMPUTERS AT NIGHTBy turning off your computer instead of leaving it in sleep mode, you can save 40 watt-hours per day. That adds up to 4 cents a day, or $14 per year. If you don't want to wait for your computer to start up, set it to turn on automatically a few minutes before you get to work, or boot up while you're pouring your morning cup 'o joe.

 3. DON'T RINSESkip rinsing dishes before using your dishwasher and save up to 20 gallons of water each load. Plus, you're saving time and the energy used to heat the additional water.

 4. DO NOT PRE-HEAT THE OVENUnless you are making bread or pastries of some sort, don't pre-heat the oven. Just turn it on when you put the dish in. Also, when checking on your food, look through the oven window instead of opening the door.

 5. RECYCLE GLASSRecycled glass reduces related air pollution by 20 percent and related water pollution by 50 percent. If it isn't recycled it can take a million years to decompose.



References: http://www.50waystohelp.com/