Questions tagged [pollution]
any addition of harmful substances or products in the environment (air, water, soil or food). For questions specifically about [air-polution], [greenhouse-gas-emissions] or [toxic-chemicals] please use those tags.
64
questions
6
votes
1
answer
68
views
Does my facial scrub contain microplastics?
I was wondering if my facial scrub contains any microplastics. In particular, the tiny beads that are inside the soap, are they made of plastic? Are they polluting the waste water or they just ...
- 163
1
vote
1
answer
85
views
How to get rid of half a can of durable water repellent spray (similar to 3M Scotchgard)
(Cross-posted, together with additional questions, to a post on the /r/Anticonsumption sub-Reddit.)
I have an 8 ounce (~200 g) can of Foot Locker ultra fabric & leather protector spray. I guess ...
1
vote
0
answers
22
views
Which alternatives to PFAS-contaminated cardboards for vermicomposting?
Vermicomposters add cardboard pieces to their waste in order to provide a source of carbon and to dry/ventilate the medium to avoid any hot fermentation. The amount of cardboard is usually high to ...
- 279
0
votes
0
answers
19
views
why do expected local air pollution patterns not seem to show up on IQAir data?
I check IQAir quite frequently, but also earlier looked at other maps for air pollution data including soot and nitrogen dioxide. For the latter sources there are very clear local patterns based on ...
- 101
1
vote
0
answers
88
views
Is "anti-climb paint" polluting?
Is anti-climb paint polluting?
From what I've been able to find it's:
non-toxic
not for underwater use as it's bad for aquatic life
long lasting
In detail:
It's "non-toxic", such ...
- 111
9
votes
4
answers
199
views
Is plastic recycling mostly green washing?
The general public has been told for years to carefully bin their plastic litter in the proper bin. Most people believe that doing this actually results in protecting the environment from plastic ...
- 213
4
votes
2
answers
92
views
How is "recovered ocean bound plastic" any different from recycled plastic?
I've started to see this phrase on things like credit cards and plastic bags: "contains recovered ocean-bound plastic."
At first, it sounds like something really positive -- this was made ...
- 11.8k
3
votes
1
answer
144
views
Motor oil and environment
I often read, that leaking motor oil is a major risk for the environment. It is also often said, that motor oil leakages can endanger the drinking water supply for communities. So what exactly are the ...
- 133
2
votes
1
answer
110
views
What is the impact of ongoing research of turning plastic into proteins?
I found this story regarding ongoing research of using bacteria to turn plastic into protein:
The team demonstrated that once the plastic is broken down by heat and a reactor, it can be fed to the ...
2
votes
1
answer
749
views
Does 1 container ship really pollute as much as 50,000,000 cars?
I remember seeing many news articles and posts on social media saying that a single container ship pollutes as much as 50 million cars. Is this true? How could that be possible?
https://tech.slashdot....
- 2,849
2
votes
0
answers
33
views
Could synthetic fibers be environmentally-friendly, can you deal with the issue of microfibers?
Synthetic fibers make up the largest share of total apparel production and are expected to become even more common. They also, it seems, contribute to microplastic pollution more than anything else. ...
- 1,653
1
vote
1
answer
95
views
Why not outlaw low density plastics that cause ocean pollution?
I know it costs. But we got rid of chlorofluorocarbons and are preparing to eliminate stuff like coal! This in between.
Proposal: By international agreement get rid of floatable PE, HDPE and PP and ...
- 11
1
vote
2
answers
147
views
What hydrocarbons are produced by a diesel motor?
HC (I assume hydrocarbons) is a column in the euro emission standards for trucks & buses. Which hydrocarbons are produced and at what quantities?
Would the particulate matter emissions be ...
- 667
2
votes
1
answer
44
views
Does a single Euro VI bus really release less NOx than a euro 6 diesel car?
A transport expert claimed that a Euro 6 car has fewer NOx emissions than a Euro VI bus, surely this cannot be correct?!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_emission_standards
Euro 6b (diesel car) -...
- 667
2
votes
0
answers
67
views
Should we use paper, plastic, or reusable bags. If reusable, which kind?
I found this site looking for one specifically geared to picking products based on sustainability. I'm not sure if such a specifically-focused site would actually be more effective than this one.
The ...
- 121
5
votes
2
answers
204
views
Does oil spilled in backyard contaminate groundwater?
A poster near a recycling station mentions that one liter of cooking oil contaminates 1 million liters of water and suggesting cooking oil recycling. If I spill cooking oil in the dirt of the backyard,...
- 153
1
vote
1
answer
78
views
What is the difference in CO2 emissions between new and old double decker buses?
The Euro 6 bus WHTC test cycle here shows a value of 4.0 carbon dioxide and the Euro 5 ESC & ELR test cycles show a value of 1.5 CO.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_emission_standards
It ...
- 667
1
vote
1
answer
36
views
In what type of location is it likely to find larger or smaller amounts of ozone?
I've been looking at some air quality monitoring results for ozone and trying to understand why there is such difference between locations. Near busy roads, the sea, near factories?
I am quite ...
- 667
5
votes
1
answer
112
views
How effective is a Smoke Control Area at reducing particulates? (UK)
Smoke Control Areas are in place in 195 out of 434 local authorities. 53 of those cover the entire local authority.
Smoke Control Areas make it illegal to burn coal and other smokey fuels and ...
- 667
5
votes
3
answers
175
views
Do electric cars create more particulate pollution than petrol cars?
I have seen some reports saying that electric cars, because they are heavier and put more strain on the tyres, will create more particulate pollution than a petrol car.
Is this true? and if so what ...
- 667
4
votes
1
answer
123
views
My residential colony burns dry grass every year; how can I stop them?
Every year during June-October, it rains and a few months later after the rainy season there is a lot of grass growing in the empty sites in my residential colony. So all the grass is cut, piled up ...
2
votes
0
answers
24
views
What are the most common sources of VOC pollution in outdoor air?
I have a personal pollution monitor that has been recording higher levels of VOCs the last 18 hours or so and I'm trying to understand and consider the reasons for this. I live in a fairly busy city (...
- 667
0
votes
0
answers
52
views
Examples of a city or region with poor economy and environmental pollution that turned to green economy and prospered
I am looking for some examples of cities or regions that initially suffered from poor economy, unemployment, pollution or any environmental problems, but they turned to green technology and ...
5
votes
4
answers
92
views
How to design a taxi rank to charge electric vehicles whilst waiting for fares?
This post deals with the design of a taxi rank and how to reduce the pollution created by idling and edging foroward. A few answers suggested that making the taxis switch to hybrids, or even better ...
- 667
4
votes
5
answers
88
views
How to prevent pollution caused by a taxi rank? Is there a solution to the 'edging forward' cost of cars in a queue?
I am looking at ways in which a heavily polluting taxi rank near a train station could reduce its pollution footprint. My first thought was that the pollution was mostly down to idling and I am ...
- 667
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Preventing idling - ideas to keep warm in a car when the engine is off and it is cold outside
I have asked a few people whose cars are idling if they mind switching them off to reduce pollution. One response I get from quite a lot of people is that they need to keep the car running to enable ...
- 667
3
votes
0
answers
79
views
Is Tawashi really suitable for dishwashing?
As a step to reduce my waste I planned to make a tawashi to replace artificial dishwashing sponges. I had a t-shirt not suitable to be donated, waiting to be upcycled, so I made t-shirt yarn out of it ...
- 251
3
votes
1
answer
406
views
How to mark pavement and grass without harming environment
I'm looking for some kind of paint to make markings on the pavement and on a grassy area, so that the markings are well visible for a day or so.
Spray paint would do the trick but is not very ...
- 313
4
votes
4
answers
179
views
Is there a scientific consensus whether lifestyle or amount of human population the biggest problem
When discussing with a colleague about ecology yesterday, we had agreed on the following premise :
Before industrial age, world population was low, and the environment was not significantly damaged
...
- 289
12
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Which consumes more carbon dioxide: a fully grown forest or a newly planted one that is growing?
I was talking to some friends and one of them claims that it is more efficient to combat global warming by cutting the trees and replanting them because a growing forest consumes more CO2. (Firstly, a ...
2
votes
1
answer
118
views
Comparing train station pollution with smoking
A research done in my city's main train station showed 400,000 UFP particles per cubic centimetre.
I am looking into printing pamphlets and wanted to inquire how does spending half an hour in a 400,...
- 123
3
votes
2
answers
167
views
How do I get rid of numerous small pieces of charcoal?
There's a small piece of land used for burning tree branches on bonfire (because that's the easiest way to get rid of them). Most of the material gets burnt to ashes but some of it only turns into ...
- 551
3
votes
2
answers
77
views
Dealing with waste in countries without waste management infrastructure
In previously sustainable countries, westernization brings unmanageable waste: We get flooded with plastic but don't even have garbage collection. Apparently the result is that 40% of the world's ...
- 41
3
votes
1
answer
127
views
How can we all together clean up the vast plastic carpets in our oceans? [closed]
It is mind-boggling to me that there is still so much plastic out in our oceans, floating around for years and ever growing and nothing is being done about it. Governments should work together, ...
- 47
3
votes
0
answers
521
views
Ammoniacal Nitrogen (NH3-N) test and sources of ammonia in natural bodies of water
One parameter that's involved in water quality assessment is ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N), a measure of ammonia. Where does ammonia come from in natural water sources, such as a river? What factor ...
- 31
2
votes
0
answers
31
views
For the exactly same income, does a person pollutes more when living in a big city or in a small town? [duplicate]
I had a recent argument with a coworker (we are both engineers) that the amount of pollution (trash+water+air) generated by a person increases with the person's income (we both agreed on that) but my ...
- 191
6
votes
3
answers
205
views
For the exactly same income, does a person pollute more when living in a big city or in a small town?
I had a recent argument with a coworker (we are both engineers) that the amount of pollution generated by a person increases with the person's income (we both agreed on that)... but my coworker ...
- 191
10
votes
5
answers
8k
views
Dishwasher or paper plates: which are worse?
After running the dishwasher last night it struck he how much energy it must consume: from heating large amounts of water to the motorized pumps and spinners to the heated plate drying. Then there's ...
- 249
6
votes
1
answer
760
views
Types and quantities of air pollutants by fuel, per kWh, for electricity generation?
An often repeated claim is that transitioning from coal to natural gas reduces air pollution... but what pollutants? and by how much? how is the potential reduction calculated?
While natural gas (...
- 11.8k
3
votes
1
answer
79
views
Soot from factories?
If soot was filtered from power plants, are there any trees or plants that would love to grow in it if mixed in the soil, if it is a sulfur substance?
Could it also be filtered and used in the ...
- 31
5
votes
1
answer
434
views
Are The Great Lakes Getting Cleaner or Worse?
I live in Hamilton Ontario which a major city right on the shore of Lake Ontario, and I was just doing some personal research on the pollution levels in lake Ontario. Generally the water here has a ...
- 59
-5
votes
2
answers
339
views
What impact do CFCs have on ozone? [closed]
I have read that Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are detrimental to the Ozone layer. How exactly? Wasn't Mount Erebus shooting thousands of tons of chlorine per day into the upper atmosphere and over to ...
- 1
4
votes
0
answers
70
views
Any sustainability difference between anionic/cationic/nonionic detergents?
Are any of these three types of detergents more or less damaging to manufacture and/or use or dispose of than the others?
I realise these are rather broad classes, but this is usually the only detail ...
- 1,042
6
votes
3
answers
98
views
Why refrigerant cooler is more popular than evaporative cooler?
When I look at how houses/offices are cooled in my area I see that refrigerant cooler is far more popular than evaporative cooler. I did not find any company which serves evaporative cooler services/...
- 723
8
votes
5
answers
752
views
What measures could be taken to decrease the air pollution in a big city?
I live in Madrid, where like in most big cities there is a high level of air pollution, especially due to the traffic. The levels of pollution reached the maximum allowable level a couple of months ...
- 1,492
4
votes
1
answer
88
views
How do leaves trap or block particulate pollution?
This article talks about how urban trees reduce particulate pollution. In particular, a study showed that a row of trees in front of houses reduced the level of pollution detected in the houses.
...
- 8,755
6
votes
3
answers
177
views
Is using copper for gutters and roofs a sustainable choice?
I see with some high end housing construction the use of copper for gutters and drain pipes as well as roofs and flashing. Is using copper where it will be exposed to water runoff from rain a good ...
- 4,311
7
votes
2
answers
119
views
Curbing non-exhaust (non-tailpipe) transport emissions of particulates
Small particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5) is a nasty pollutant that is prevalent in a lot of cities.
Some of these emissions come from exhausts (tailpipes); regulation has spurred on technological ...
- 14.7k
7
votes
1
answer
670
views
Does burning used motor oil to generate heat on-site have a lower impact than sending it for recycling?
The service station next to my office saves the used oil from oil changes to burn in a special heater in the colder months.
It is my understanding that used motor oil can be recycled in a number of ...
- 1,478
4
votes
1
answer
47
views
From a sustainability perspective, what is a method by which a city can set priorities regarding pollution? [closed]
From a sustainability perspective, what is a method by which a city can set priorities regarding pollution. In other words, which pollutants are the most important to reduce. So many pollutants are ...
- 41