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WORLD EARTH DAY

UNITED FOR A BETTER WORLD

As every year on April 22, is celebrated World Earth Day, the date on which more than holding share feelings and thoughts to assess not only environmental issue, climate change, lack of water and food, the crisis of sustainability, etc., but also to raise awareness of the actions that each of us must take to achieve a better world.

The origin of this day which is celebrated in many countries, since 1970, when environmental activist and U.S. Senator, Gaylord Nelson, summon two thousand universities and more than ten thousand primary and secondary schools, with the aim of creating a collective awareness of the problems facing the Earth.

This call paid off, as from this initiative was created Environmental Protection Agency and a number of laws aimed at protecting the environment. Although it is a good initiative, it was not effective, because America is the most polluting country on earth.

Pollution kills. According to information supplied by the Blacksmith Institute, a nongovernmental organization that studies the environment, more than 10 million people are affected by this problem. (See most polluted cities in the world)

In recent years the world has quadrupled its production of household waste, increasing this figure by three percent per year. Among the toxic pollutants released into the air to cause burning, dioxins and furans are (highly carcinogenic substances, resistant to degradation and tend to bioaccumulate in humans), lead, cadmium, mercury, greenhouse gases, acid gases and fine particles.

The difficulties in the disposal of household and industrial waste can be overcome recycling policies. Recycling means to reuse as a raw material used and discarded items above, to produce new ones. This task allows a considerable reduction of waste, while saving huge amounts of water and energy. In developed countries, the process is facilitated by the selective waste collection. Paper, glass and other materials are easily recyclable.

In Overseas countries that promote recycling, more and more people separate waste into different garbage bags. Once deposited in special containers are sent to sorting and selecting plants from which they will be transferred to various factories for recycling.

The optimal process for waste treatment should be based on three aspects listed by their importance: To prevent, assess and pour.

Prevent: The most important task. It is based on reducing waste at source, trying to minimize the amount generated, and reuse.

Rate: measures will be applied for waste collection, recycling, composting and energy recovery in incinerators. Pour

: The landfill must be considered as the ultimate solution and the least good for the environment. She may only be eligible to waste no longer have value because they have been drained of their substance or usable energy.

Apply a selective waste collection, reduce unnecessary waste production and promote recycling, which is currently the least environmental impact alternative for waste disposal.

Environmental data

The area needed to produce the resources consumed and to assimilate the wastes produced by mankind has doubled since 1961.

Between 1970 and 1999, the natural wealth of forests, freshwater ecosystems and oceans of the Earth decreased 33%.

An average American needs 12.2 hectares of space with capacity, ie 10 hectares more than the rest of humanity that has an average of 2.6 hectares, but if we divide the land into equal parts would get about 2.2 hectares per person, in other words we are spending more than we can replace, and those who spend more are in the U.S..

Unless we reduce our levels of consumption and exploit natural resources more sustainably, simply exhausted.