International Ozone Day                                                                           Pictorial Highlights

September 16th, The International Ozone Day or Ozone Day celebrated for the past 10 years for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, proclaimed by The United Nations General Assembly on 19th December 1994. In 1987, the Montreal Protocol was signed by many countries on that day that were apprehensive about the depletion of the Ozone Layer. This initiative led to the celebration of World Ozone Day. This commemoration in the whole world brings the opportunity to centre the attention and action in the protection of the ozone layer at global, regional and national levels.

Pakistan Wetlands Programme’s awareness-raising team went to the field and chose the auto-mechanic workshops to provide and address the basic and essential information about hazardous gasses emissions and the impact of smoke and fume produced by the dreadful vehicles on the roads of Rawalpindi. The mechanics showed a deep interest in the information and told us to keep providing this knowledge to them and other workshops owners. Auto mechanic shops deal with many hazardous chemicals. It’s part of the business! But, it can be reduced the amount of waste workshops produce by using pollution prevention tips. But best of all you pollute less! Look at the benefits.

• Save money.
• Protect public health and environment.
• Improve your company image.

• Reduce the risk of liability.

 

Here are few considerations for every workshop business to reduce waste by starting a pollution prevention practices.

• Evaluate your shop's waste. Look around your shop to see how much and what kind of waste is being produced. This will make it easier for you to spot areas where pollution prevention tips can be applied.
• Make a commitment to pollution prevention. This commitment should start from with the owner or manager of workshop, and should extend to every employee.
• Employees Participation. Employees must be aware of the importance of waste reduction through pollution prevention practices.
• Evaluate your shop's waste. Look around your shop to see how much and what kind of waste is being produced. This will make it easier for you to spot areas where pollution prevention tips can be applied.

 

When it comes to wetlands, these hazardous chemicals pollute the water and it causes lot of damage to the whole environment of wetlands and biodiversity. Many pollution prevention practices are low-cost and low-risk alternatives to hazardous waste disposal. Most of the approaches do not require sophisticated technology, and your shop may already be using pollution prevention practices without realizing it

 

The development of ground-level ozone gets in progress early in the morning. As we begin the day's activities practically everything we do, from plugging in the iron to driving our cars to work, causes ozone-forming air pollution. The most considerable among these are unstable natural compound and nitrogen oxides. Vehicular traffic is by far the largest source of originator. After the rush hour is over, nonstop traffic emissions added to the earlier pollution begins to form ozone as the sun's heat and light deepens. Throughout hot summer season, an inversion may develop and trap the pollutants close to the ground (400-500 feet above sea level). If there is little wind, the pollution thinning out may be further restricted. By mid-afternoon, the sun has reached its peak and temperatures hit the highest point. The sun's radiation will cause a chemical reaction between the unstable natural compounds and nitrogen oxides to form ozone. Temperatures in the 90's or above are required for maximum ozone concentrations. As the intensity of the sunlight decreases, the ozone levels also decrease. By late afternoon, most of the ozone formed during the day breaks down into other compounds, and by early evening the ground-level ozone is essentially destroyed.

Conserving energy protects air quality and offers many environmental and economic benefits. By saving energy and reducing our energy intensity (the amount of energy needed to produce a given economic output), we can protect the environment without sacrificing economic growth and our quality of life. We can gain jobs and prosper by leading the way to develop and implement energy-efficient technologies.

Use of more efficient energy to:

• Reduces air pollution.
• Protects our climate by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases saves money and increases our economic productivity.
• Protects our environment by reducing green house gasses emissions leading to climate change.
• Saves money and increase our economic productivity.
• Reduces the need to build additional power plants.
• Reduces the need to import foreign oil and gas (thus reducing emissions at our ports).
• Reduces the need to drill for new domestic sources of fossil fuels in sensitive areas.

There are many ways to conserve energy and to improve our energy efficiency. Some things, like turning off the lights, are direct and obvious. But we also consume energy in many ways that are not so obvious. For example, we use a lot of energy to pump water and to heat water, as well as to process and ship the food we consume. The fact that we use energy in so many ways means that we have opportunities to save energy in many aspects of our lives. When we all do our part, small measures on an individual basis add up to huge savings for society as a whole.

Nasir Iqbal Malik
Coordinator, Awareness Raising and Communication
Pakistan Wetlands Programme WWF - P