Global Environmental and Pollution Issues

Contents: Foreword. 1. Ozone depletion. 2. Global climate change: an international perspective. 3. Sea level rise. 4. Antarctica: environmental politics and resource development regimes. 5. Marine resources: an international perspective on exclusive economic zone of India. 6. Environmental management of offshore oil and gas development. 7. Sustainable development: an international perspective. Bibliography. Index.

“Pollution has not boundaries. It is in this context that the pollution caused in one part of the world reaches everywhere.

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat, or light. Pollutants, the elements of pollution, can be foreign substances or energies, or naturally occurring; they are considered contaminants when they exceed natural levels. Pollution is often classed as point source or nonpoint source pollution. The Blacksmith Institute issues annually a list of the world’s worst polluted places. In the 2007 issues the ten top nominees are located in Azerbaijan, China, India, Peru, Russia, Ukraine and Zambia.

Air pollution has always been with us. Soot found on ceilings of prehistoric caves provides evidence of the high levels of pollution associated with inadequate ventilation of open fires. The forging of metals appears to be a key turning point in the creation of significant air pollution levels outside the home. Core samples of glaciers in Greenland indicate increases in pollution associated with Greek, Roman and Chinese metal production.

The earliest known writings concerned with pollution were written between the ninth and thirteenth centuries by Persian scientists such as Muhammad ibn Zakariya Razi (Rhazes), Ibn Sina (Avicenna), and al-Masihi or were Arabic medical treatises written by physicians such as al-Kindi (Alkindus), Qusta ibn Luza (Costa ben Luca), Ibn Al-Jazzar, al-Tamimi, Ali ibn Ridwan, Ibn Jumay, Isaac Israeli ben Solomon, Abd-el-latif, Ibn al-Quff and Ibn al-Nafis.

This book will be of immense help to all those contemplating to acquire expert knowledge of global environment and pollution related issues.” (jacket)