Blog-7: Air quality

https://enviroequipmentinc.wordpress.com/2015/03/13/u-s-bringing-its-foreign-air-quality-monitoring-to-india-vietnam-mongolia/

Air quality is an important factor to living a long and healthy life. There are six levels of air quality index health concerns. The first level is good with a numerical value of 0 to 50. This means air quality is considered satisfactory and air pollution does little to no risk. The second level is moderate with a numerical value of 51 to 100. This means air quality is considered to be acceptable, but some health concerns may be present for people with unusual allergies due to some pollution. The third level is unhealthy for sensitive groups with a numerical value of 101 to 150. This means that the air quality is considered to be unhealthy for certain sensitive groups, but good for the normal public. The fourth level is unhealthy with a numerical value of 151 to 200. This means that the air quality is considered to be bad enough that all groups will begin to see health effects. The fifth level is very unhealthy with a numerical value of 201 to 300. This means the air quality is considered to be at the point that all people will be affected, and it is an emergency conditions. The sixth level is hazardous with a numerical value of 301 to 500. This means the air condition will cause serious health problems for everyone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati

The air quality forecast in Cincinnati, Ohio is 60 with tomorrows high being 65. Both these numbers are moderate.

http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Greater_Cleveland

The air quality forecast in Cleveland/Akron/Lorain, Ohio does not have a number, but both today’s high and tomorrow’s high is considered good. The air quality forecast in Columbus, Ohio today was 50, which is considered good. The high forecast tomorrow is 46, which is also considered good. The Dayton, Ohio air quality forecast today was 53, and tomorrow’s high is 57. Both these numbers are considered moderate. The air quality forecast in Youngstown, Ohio today is 55, which is moderate. The high forecasted tomorrow is 46, which is considered to be good. A State Implementation Plan is a set of plans that will demonstrate how areas not yet meeting National Ambient Air Quality Standards, will meet these standards. These plans will also outline the ways that area can maintain standards. The plans will also be sent to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The United States Environmental Protection Agency will then revise, modify or update all existing plans. The National Ambient Air QualityStandards are carbon monoxide at a level of 9 ppm for every eight-hour and for every one-hour 35 ppm, lead at 0.15 ug/m³ for every three-month average and 1.5 ug/m³ for a quarterly average, nitrogen dioxide at a level of 0.053 ppm annually and 100 ppb for every one-hour, particulate matter at a level of 150 ug/m³ for 24 hours, ozone at a level of 0.075 ppm for every eight-hour and 0.12 ppm for every one-hour, and sulfur dioxide at the level of 75 ppb for every one-hour. Ohio has met the standards for each one of these.

https://www.oar.net/network/100gbps

Blog-6: Potential adverse health affects from cell phone use

http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2015/12/thorner-cell-phone-dangers-public-deception-trumps-public-health-part-1.html

Cell phones have helped people since their invention. Cell phones have made the world smaller and have helped make communication easier between people through calling, texting and specifically through IPhone’s invention of FaceTime. Smartphones have also made the cell phone a necessity like one’s wallet or keys. With all these phones can do, it makes it hard to go somewhere without a phone, and it has now become difficult to find someone that doesn’t have a phone. With all the prevalence cell phones have in society, few people know the dangers cell phones pose to their health. Cell phone creators have listed warnings, and ways to prevent these health risks on their cell phones, but the public often does not see or pay attention to these warnings and ways of operation. Most cell phones are not supposed to be held directly next to the users head while talking. Cell phone companies normally put in the phone’s manual how far away the phone should be held so that radiation does not affect the user’s head. The iPhone 4 states that the phone should be held 15 mm away from the user’s head during calls. Cell phone companies also recommend that their phones not be held close to the body because of the radiation. The iPhone 4 also recommends that the phone should be held 15 mm away from the body, and that the phone should be held in clips or holders without metal parts. This would contrast the vast majority of people’s handling of cell phones. People tend to always have the phone up to their head while talking on it, and when cell phones are not being used, they are most often found in the person’s pocket. Cell phones also become hot while being used because of the radiation emitted. Phones much like other electronic devices will look to vent the radiation out, and the phone will heat up if it is being used so much that it cannot vent enough radiation to keep cool. This heat makes the radiation more prevalent in the area where the phone is, so the person nearby is more susceptible to the effects of the radiation. When the phone is cool there still is some radiation, but there is not enough as much because it is being ventilated better. All this radiation that enters the body can cause abnormal cell growth and lead to cancer from EMFs that enter the body through cell phones or Wi-Fi routers. 

https://www.vecteezy.com/technology/13630-free-iphone-4-vector

Wi-Fi routers act in a similar way to cell phones. They emit radiation as used. Wi-Fi routers are very dangerous because the radiation is low frequency and acts a lot like the signals the router gives off. The radiation can pass through walls much like the internet signal, and most Wi-Fi routers operate all day and all night, so the people in the house are exposed to the radiation all day and all night. All Wi-Fi routers emit this powerful radiation, so if you see a Wi-Fi signal in your network, you can receive radiation from that Wi-Fi router.

https://www.techworm.net/2015/08/wifi-router-vulnerable-to-hacking-default-hard-coded-vulnerability.html

The type of radiation that is emitted from cell phones and Wi-Fi routers is called electric and magnetic fields (EMFs). These EMFs come in a non-ionizing form that is emitted from a cell phone or Wi-Fi router, or in an ionizing form that is found in ultraviolet light or x-rays.

http://quwave.com/EMF-Pollution.html

Blog-5: Glyphosate

http://www.whenthenewsstops.org/2014/03/glyphosate-what-you-dont-know-might-be.html

Glyphosate was introduced by Monsanto in 1974 for the commercial use of killing weeds by blocking proteins needed for plant growth. Glyphosate is sold under the name Roundup.

http://www.monsanto.com/pages/default.aspx 

In 2015, Roundup was ranked the second most used lawn and garden weed killer in the United States. 160 countries around the world in 2015 used glyphosate leading to 1.4 billion pounds being applied. Roundup is advertised for use to easy kill dandelions, kudzu, poison ivy and other types of weeds. The primary use for glyphosate in the United States is in agriculture because nearly all cotton, corn and soy plants in United States are treated with glyphosate.

https://theintercept.com/2016/05/17/new-evidence-about-the-dangers-of-monsantos-roundup/

The United States government does not test for glyphosate in the blood and tissues of humans, so there is no way to tell how much glyphosate people are exposed to by living near farms that use Roundup, eating foods that have been treated with Roundup, or even using Roundup in their own lawns. Glyphosate binds to the soil, so when groundwater was tested, not much glyphosate was found. Glyphosate was found in the majority of rivers, streams, ditches and wastewater treatment plant outfalls that were a part of the waterways tested in 38 states in a 2014 study done by the United States Geological Survey. Glyphosate was also found in 70 percent of the rainwater that was collected in a study done by the United States Geological Survey. Glyphosate residues were not prevalent in food at the outset of use, but when genetically modified crops were created, glyphosate became more prevalent in humans. Roundup Ready crops were first created in 1996 when soybean plants that were resistant to Roundup was developed. This then spread to corn, cotton, canola, alfalfa, sorghum and wheat. These crops are known as Roundup Ready because they have a resistance to glyphosate, so Roundup can be sprayed on these crops and they will not die. This allows farmers to spray Roundup on the entire field to control pests, and they will not have to worry about the crops dying. This may have harmful effects on humans, however. Glyphosate residue in food has increased since the creation of Roundup Ready crops.

http://www.ecowatch.com/how-widespread-is-the-use-of-glyphosate-in-our-food-supply-1891128520.html 

Glyphosate when consumed by humans or other types of mammals raises the risk of cancer according to International Agency for Research on Cancer. The group that is a United Nations agency did studies on humans, animals and cells. The International Agency for Research on Cancer found glyphosate in the blood and urine of farmworkers. Animals had some tumor formation. Chromosomal damage was found in cells, which could signal non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Separate studies have shown that glyphosate is the cause of gluten allergies and kidney failures. It has also been called an endocrine disrupter, which can lead to an increase in weight. Monsanto disputes these claims along with CorpLife America, the American Soybean Association and the National Corn Growers Association saying that glyphosate only attacks an enzyme that is only in plants. Monsanto does its own safety research on all its products.

https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2015/01/22/gmo-myth-farmers-drown-crops-in-dangerous-glyphosate-fact-they-use-eye-droppers/

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has ruled that there is not enough evidence to show that glyphosate causes cancer. Other countries have made their own decisions about glyphosate, however, Mexico and the Netherlands have restrictions on the chemical, while Sri Lanka has banned it. As of 2015, Brazil was considering banning glyphosate, and Canada was considering new rules.