The slow acting poison of plastic

Man-made plastic has been a boon in many ways and has countless uses, but it is also an environmental time-bomb waiting to explode. These plastics do not decompose easily and, hence, lead to countless health and environmental hazards when disposed of carelessly. Burning of plastic bags and items leads to the creation of noxious fumes, such as carbon monoxide. The increase in the effusion of this gas has led to an upsurge in various respiratory ailments such as asthma and bronchitis. The noxious fumes have also had an injurious effect on the ozone layer, which prevents the harmful rays of the sun from flowing into the atmosphere.
Plastic bottles, plastic bags and food packaging are responsible for most of our plastic waste and environmental concerns.
Statistics show that we are consuming more and more plastics every year. It is estimated that an average individual uses around 130 plastic bags per year.
One of the most common chemicals in plastics is Bisphenol A; more-widely known as BPA. This compound is an endocrine disruptor which can mimic oestrogen and has been linked with an array of afflictions as diverse as diabetes, heart disease, breast cancer, thyroid disorders, ADHD, infertility and obesity. BPA and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) can pass through the placental wall and might also enter infants through breast milk.
More than a 100 million tonnes of plastic is produced world-wide each year. In Asia plastic use in daily exercise is more common. Plastic packaging restrictions are being enacted or proposed across the continent, including in Pakistan, India, Malaysia and the Philippines. China was also among the first Asian countries to restrict plastic bags, in 2008.
According to a study – Pakistan Strategic Environmental Assessment “ the degradation of its resource base and high burden of disease is costing Pakistan about Rs365 billion annually.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

AquaPonics: latest environmental and climate friendly way of gardening

Image
Aquaponic is a combination of two words, Aqua – water and Ponics-Farm in a box. “Aquaponics an environmentally-friendly, natural food growing method to facilitate the cultivation of fish and plants together in a constructed, re-circulating ecosystem utilizing natural bacterial cycles to convert fish wastes to plant nutrients. “So it is also called as recirculation farming. Recirculation farms are a socially responsible farming method and business too; they support the use of renewable energy, recycle water and waste, and provide local food. Aquaponic systems are much more productive and use up to 90 percent less water than conventional gardens. Other advantages include no weeds, fewer pests, and no watering, fertilizing, bending, digging or heavy lifting etc. there are different types of aquaponic like Media Bed - (using a substance such as lave rocks or other medium other than soil for raising plants and bacteria) Raft - (using foam boards with cut outs to place planter pots floati...
Read more

Nipah Virus infection is zoonosis, chicken are also indirectly involve

Image
Now a days various messages on social media warns Pakistani nation to avoid chicken consumption, because its source of Nipah virus, In Pakistan production of poultry products is very high to fulfill the consumption requirements. For Layman it is confusing and  debatable either chicken is source of Nipah virus or not, mostly said no its fake news, chicken is safe its not the cause of spread, other said avoid the chicken consumption because, prevention is better than cure. Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both humans and animals. "Zoonosis means a disease that can be transmitted to humans from animals". Nipah virus was first identified in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malaysia in 1998. The pigs were the intermediate hosts during that outbreak. Around 1.1 million pigs had to be killed to control the outbreak. However, it is not necessary to have an intermediate host during Nipah Virus outbreak. The natural host of ...
Read more

Precautionary measurements in the event of an earthquake-by-Naseem Sheikh

Image
Here are some of the precautions that can be taken to minimize the potential loss of execution. With these measures and premature awareness, we can prevent earthquake damage. [caption id="attachment_media-133" align="aligncenter" width="289"] Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com [/caption] Control your senses if you feel an earthquake. Instead of panicking, jumping from the top floor and screaming without panic, they can easily get out of the building so it is better to stay where they are. Cover your head with your hands with both hands, and sit down in a corner instead of the middle of the room. If there is a strong table or bed, seek shelter under it. If no heavy furniture is nearby, seek shelter under the door frame or under the stairs, as the doors sometimes jam with jerks. When in the kitchen or in the lab, close the valve as soon as the shock is mild, try to get out. If you're on the top floor, don't go down the stairs during the tremors...
Read more