Factories and power plants have started using coal again, despite the fact that it can emit particles that contribute to lung and heart diseases and also emits greenhouse gases. One reason is the upcoming oil shortage, but another is homeland security. Coal is mined right here in the U.S. and does not have to be imported from hostile Middle Eastern countries.
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Columbia University researchers have found that the New York City subway produces a large amount of steel dust, composed of iron, manganese and chromium, all of which is breathed in by subway riders in amounts 100 times greater than the levels in other nearby indoor and outdoor settings.
Geochemist Steven Chillrud says, “This study in no way suggests that people should avoid riding the subway. There are no known health effects at the levels that we observed in the NYC subway system. Furthermore, reducing subway ridership would just increase surface traffic emissions.
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Scientists have long tested the air, earth and water for pollutants?now they’re testing human bodies. They’ve discovered that no matter how healthy a life you try to live, you can’t help the fact that your body is filled with pesticides, flame retardants and other toxic chemicals.
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NASA scientists can observe greenhouse gases from space, and they say soot, mostly from diesel engines, is causing as much as 25% of all global warming, by reducing the ability of snow and ice to reflect sunlight. “We suggest that soot contributes to near worldwide melting of ice that is usually attributed solely to global warming,” say NASA’s James Hansen and Larissa Nazarenko.
They say soot has twice the effect on global warming as carbon dioxide. This is actually not bad news, because while it will take money, replacing diesel engines is a possibility, while doing without fossil fuels is not?at least not for the near future. Besides diesel engines, other sources of soot come from the burning of wood, animal dung, and vegetable oil.
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