Air and Water Pollution in Birmingham, Alabama Essay Example
Water and Air Pollution in Birmingham,Al
SCI 270 Environmental Science
Jeffrey Snider
November 2, 2005
Water and Air Pollution According to the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy website (2005), Birmingham ranks #15 in the United States for haze pollution. Obviously this indicates that there is a very serious problem here. Birmingham is somewhat located in a valley coming off of Red Mountain located nearby. The location here leads to temperature inversions and therefore worsens the smog. The temperature also plays a part in the situation of worsening air pollution. It is warm here most of the year. This warm air mixes with the pollutants and rises, mixing it with the cooler air which creates turbulence and disperses the pollutants. The fact that Birmingham is also a major industrial, heavily populated city also adds to pollution. This affects not only air, but also water pollution. Metal contamination from junkyards and landfills is one major problem. There are also problems with many industrial businesses contaminating water knowingly or unknowingly by leaking harmful substances into nearby streams or rivers. The company that I work for just actually went through a lawsuit from years ago where there were metal and lead contaminants being put into a nearby water source. They have spent millions to clean up this water since that time, not to mention millions on the lawsuit itself. Water pollution is nothing to play about. Air pollution has direct impacts on our health. It can lead to things such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, lung cancer, lung disease, and also shortened lives. The environment suffers as does local economies. Water pollution also has harmful effects. It can lead to poisoned drinking water, which can lead to people developing liver or kidney illnesses. It can also lead to diseases in fish and birds. Air and water pollution not being controlled can ultimately lead to the shut down of many industrial organizations due to
SCI 270 Environmental Science
Jeffrey Snider
November 2, 2005
Water and Air Pollution According to the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy website (2005), Birmingham ranks #15 in the United States for haze pollution. Obviously this indicates that there is a very serious problem here. Birmingham is somewhat located in a valley coming off of Red Mountain located nearby. The location here leads to temperature inversions and therefore worsens the smog. The temperature also plays a part in the situation of worsening air pollution. It is warm here most of the year. This warm air mixes with the pollutants and rises, mixing it with the cooler air which creates turbulence and disperses the pollutants. The fact that Birmingham is also a major industrial, heavily populated city also adds to pollution. This affects not only air, but also water pollution. Metal contamination from junkyards and landfills is one major problem. There are also problems with many industrial businesses contaminating water knowingly or unknowingly by leaking harmful substances into nearby streams or rivers. The company that I work for just actually went through a lawsuit from years ago where there were metal and lead contaminants being put into a nearby water source. They have spent millions to clean up this water since that time, not to mention millions on the lawsuit itself. Water pollution is nothing to play about. Air pollution has direct impacts on our health. It can lead to things such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, lung cancer, lung disease, and also shortened lives. The environment suffers as does local economies. Water pollution also has harmful effects. It can lead to poisoned drinking water, which can lead to people developing liver or kidney illnesses. It can also lead to diseases in fish and birds. Air and water pollution not being controlled can ultimately lead to the shut down of many industrial organizations due to