Lead – Ancient But Harmful Element For The Atmosphere

Lead is a naturally occurring element found on earth.it is derivative of carbon and its symbol is Pb. Lead is found on the earth’s surface to some ratio and also in the atmosphere.  It has been reported in some areas that lead composed 96 percent of the air. 

Sources of the lead in the atmosphere:

Lead emitted from natural sources like volcanoes, windblown dust, and erosion are fewer as compared to concentration released by the anthropogenic sources. Mining and metal manufacturing is the main source of emanation of lead by human besides, it is emitted in the production of batteries, lead-based paint, and products, it is also being emitted by road vehicles in greater quantity. Lead, an ancient and big natural source is being used by the human since 500 BC in different spheres of life. 

Lead get deposit in soil:

Due to its abundant use and composition in the atmosphere, the lead has an adverse effect on the environment. It is obvious from researches that the lead interacts with the soil and get deposited in it can remain on the soil for at least 200 years unaffected and can be consumed by humans and other living organism causing the malfunction or disorder in their systems.

 How lead effects the plants

Lead get absorbed by the plants from soil and get into the leaves of the plants. The pores of the plants get covered by the lead and this prevents the light reaching the stomata of leaves resulting in a prohibition of the photo syntheses process in the plant. This result in stunting the growth of the plant such effects are studies on the hydroponically grown plants with lead 1-2ppm moisture in the soil.

How lead destroys the organisms:

Concentration of lead has the ability to wipe off some of the bacteria’s in the soil that are necessary for the decomposition of food chain and fertility of the soil it has been reported that it can also replace some microorganism by the organisms of same or different species necessary for the soil., lead also becomes more soluble in some microorganisms and get more easily absorbed by the plants in more concentration affecting the plant’s life,

 Leads causes serous malfunctions on the animal’s life:

Leads effects the animal life also it affects their nervous system leading the Malfunction in their red blood cell production. Grazing animal are affected most their lead source are green plants  they feed on however the concentration of calcium and phosphorous  can reduce the leads intestinal absorption, The US EPA  report states that “a regular diet 2-8 mg lead per kg of animal diet for an extended period of time will result in death in animals”

 

Adverse effects of lead on human health:

Lead effects the human life like wise animal life it move in to human body by food consumption (65%) by intake of water (20%) and by the air (15%)children below the 6 years of age are more susceptible of lead effects in this growing age if they get lead in the body instead of the required nutrition they may face the learning disabilities nervous problems, speech impairment and other malnutrition diseases. In adults, it causes high blood pressure, cancer, Harm to a fetus, fertility disorders in male and females, any sort of memories and nervous disorders. To avert such complications blood lead testing should be repeated conducted after a specific period of time, dust in a house should be reduced clean pure water should be drunk and eating healthy food habits should be brought in practice.

Conservation And Benefits Of Ecosystem

Ecosystem provides us with the components and factors necessary for our survival on the planet Earth. it constitutes abiotic and biotic factor necessary for the survival of living organisms on the Earth .since the population is increasing rapidly and the industrial revolution is bringing up devastating change on the geography of the earth, the natural ecosystem is getting unbalanced. Result of this unbalance is that many of the rare species are getting extinct, the temperature of the earth is rising, ice on the glaciers is melting, sea level is rising, extreme drought is being experienced in some dry land areas and the vegetation yield is getting low. What the need of the hour is that we need to conserve and preserve the ecosystem and its essential components to harmonize the balance of ecosystem to reduce the alarming threats to nature and ecosystem.

Conservation of extinct habitat:

Destruction of forests should be restrained and more and more trees should be planted this will give an evolution to biodiversity; besides the extinction of the species will get ceased. Favorable conditions should be provided to the species that are getting extinct.

 

 Reduce the Eutrophication:

 The chemical substances and fertilizers used during the agriculture cause the eutrophication by supplying excess nitrogen and phosphorous to water bodies. We need to promote organic plantation instead of using fertilizers. Also the water in water bodies should be examined and treated by the swaggers to reduce the organic nutrient components in it.

Protect the ozone layer:

 The ozone layer protects the ultra violet rays of sun that damages the environments  and habitats on earth including  human destruction of ozone layer also tends to raise the temperature of earth that is making the vast glaciers to melt  to making the sea level rise. Ozone layer is getting destroyed by the emission of hydrocarbon gases by combustion of biomass fuels in vehicles and industries. Such activities should be brought in control to avert the rise of such gases in ecosystem.

 

Recycle  of waste material ;

Reduction of waste material is essentially important for securing ecosystem. Instead of using the goods that are to be wasted in future, use the recyclable materials or the materials that can be used again. In this ways the waste material discarded by dumping in earth will reduce. Besides, less expense is made in recycling the used product rather than making a new product from the raw material.

 Benefits of ecosystem ;

Interaction of organism in an ecosystem has great benefits on human being in term of health and well-being of human beings.

Ecosystem provides life support to all of its living components it provides them with foods and nutrient necessary for their life. The residue of living being in an ecosystem serves as nutrients for the soil and gases for the air in atmosphere. Human get medicine, energy sources, fresh water and natural minerals from the ecosystem. Besides, all that ecosystem lends human with spiritual enrichment and cognitive development,. Healthy ecosystem has recreational effects on the human beings along with meditative healing effects on him.

You Don’t Need To Be A Farmer To Grow Food At Home

                     “Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.”

We people depend on plants to get food. Most of the things we eat like rice, wheat, vegetables and fruits come from trees and plants. Apart from these blessings all our luxuries like chocolate, nuts, spices and herbs wouldn’t be available to us without plants and trees. Growing trees and plants is not that much tricky as we think. There is no rocket science involved. All of us can grow plants and trees at our home. Growing healthy and edible plants at home not only give us the fresh and healthy food but also an attractive landscape and a refreshing air. Though it’s not tricky to grow plants at home but there are some tips that we have to know to get the best.

Helpful plant growing tips for indoor plants:

Sunny window is a must: 

All you need is to have a sunny window in your kitchen or living room and some extra time for plantation, and then you will be able to grow your own food right at your home. Here are some other tips to grow healthy plants indoor.

Plants need well-draining soil: 

Almost all types of edible plants need a well-draining soil. So make sure that the pot or window box you are using has holes in the bottom. Another way is to make a layer of stones at the bottom of your pot under the soil. Use some kind of container to place under the pot for drainage, if you are using a pot with holes. 

Sunlight is very much important for indoor plants: 

Sunlight is another important factor. Choose the area that receives lot of sunlight and remain warm all the day. For this purpose, the sunny windows are the best option. But, if you don’t have a sunny window, you can use grow lights. Grow lights are a better option for indoor plants to provide them optimum light and temperature.

Potting mix can be a better option for plants:

Potting mix can be a better option for healthy houseplants. If you don’t have a fertile soil available in your area, you can use potting mix in pots of you indoor plants. Potting mix contains peat, bark, sand, per lite and small amount of fertilizers which are essential to grow healthy indoor plants. Moreover, water the plants and prune the shoots regularly to keep your plants healthy. Soil should remain moist but not mushy.Grow your own food at your home, contribute in reducing the environmental pollution, have a healthy life style.

 

Importance of Tree Plantation

Plantation has a lot of meanings in many aspects, but to me, the plantation is simply growing plants and trees. Apart from all other benefits of growing plants, one of the important components is that growing plants just give you an insight to feel nature. Watching to the green plants and the beautiful flowers gives a soothing effect to your eyes and mind. Most of the people plant trees to decorate their land and to provide the shed. But there is a lot more than this.

Health Beneficiary Landscape: 

From environmental impact to economics to health, to beautify the landscape and even to psychology, there are lots of benefits of a plantation.  Due to the fast-growing technology and industrial development, the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) is increasing rapidly in our atmosphere. This increase is changing our climate and mounting the pollution. This increase in carbon dioxide in our environment is very dangerous for earth’s life. If we say that trees and plants are the life saviors, it wouldn’t be wrong. They absorb the CO2 and release the oxygen.

Absorbents of Different Pollutants:

With advancements in everything, pollution is also increasing day by day, which is the biggest cause of spreading dangerous diseases. Trees and plants are the absorbents of different pollutants and dangerous gases. They filter out the odors and toxins from air to reduce pollution.

Global Warming, Earth’s Temperature:

Due to one of the biggest issues of our time, global warming, the earth’s temperature is rising very quickly. Plants and trees cool the homes and streets by providing shed, purifying air and releasing water vapors in the atmosphere. So, do plantation to save your planet from pollution, heat, diseases and many other bad effects produced by pollution.

Reduce the Exposure of Unhealthy Gasses:

Ultraviolet rays are the biggest cause of skin cancer. Most of the working people and the children at school or in playgrounds are highly affected by these rays. Plants and trees provide a shelter from ultraviolet rays. They reduce the exposure of these gases to about 50%, thus providing a great protection from the dangerous rays coming from the sun.

Providing Fruits and Vegetables:

There are a lot more benefits like providing fruits and vegetables, wood, home to the wildlife, prevent soil decay and many more. World planting day is also celebrated on 21st March. The purpose of the day is to give people knowledge of the importance of plantation. This plantation is of very much importance to save us, to save our planet.

By: Tarbia Iftikhar, BS Engineering(Punjab University, Lahore. Pakistan ) MS Engineering University of Lahore, Pakistan