How do different forms of pollution including increased nutrients and changes in the trophic dynamics of marine ecosystems affect the oceans ability to regulate climate?

Oceans are the key driver of climate change globally, yet pollution into marine and coastal waters continues as does over-exploitation – if we are to address all of these issues in an integrated way, then we need to know how these activities impact on climate change processes now and in the future.

Do endogenous pollutants modify human nuclear receptors (other than the well documented oestrogen modulation)?

As nuclear receptors make a switch (eg lipids on/off, energy conversation on/off) and the receptor ligands are small lipophilic molecules that can cause ligand-specific and tissue specific changes (a nightmare, or an opportunity, for a quantitative pharmacologist) – how can we be sure that the epidemic of obesity is not partly due to endogenous lipophilic (e.g.PPAR) common pollutant modulators that switch metabolism, rather than just eating fast food and not exercising, although this undeniably contributes. There are more than 300 compounds in our bodies now compared with prior to the industrial environment.

Pr Michael Spedding,
Chairman NC-IUPHAR,
Experimental Sciences
Institute of Research Servier
11 Rue des Moulineaux
92150 Suresnes
France
michael.spedding@fr.netgrs.com

With rapidly increasing industrialisation, pollution and green house gases, how we shall protect the mother earth from ultra violet radiations coming from the sun? Is there some way to produce Ozone artificially to save the earth?

Increasing industrial zones globally producing harmful green house gases in to atmosphere. Due to certain gases such as CFC, even perfume spay gases etc. ozone is getting destroyed. At some places such as Siberia (north pole), near south pole and certain other places ozone holes already created due to industrial pollution and deforestation, as a result UV radiations directly attacking earth. Direct penetration of UV radiation may create health hazards such as skin cancer etc. Ozone layer in the atmosphere is a protective shield of our mother earth. If it is lost we may have to loose earth in future. Hence I think time has come to think very seriously how to protect mother earth from UV radiations and to produce ozone artificially.

How can an environmental audit be conducted globally?

To cover up certain areas such as waste management, energy conservation, water conservation, green cover, pollution level, recycling processes, etc. are needed to be tackle on top priority level in order to sustain earth system. Such type of works should be encourage and make available for public. Which is possible by global environment audits.

Had all technologically feasible measures been employed in the U.S. beginning in 1960 to control criteria pollution to a level that meets U.S. federal ambient air quality standards established under the first and subsequent federal clean air act, what would our GHG contribution be in 2009?

Answering this question would help determine whether we should be spending more or less time and resources reducing criteria pollutants to help address climate change. It would help determine whether the broader consequence of NOT aggressively reducing criteria pollutants over the last several decades in response to powerful political forces (e.g. auto industry, oil industry, etc.) even though technology has existed, is that we are now facing a much more serious climate change situation.

An answer might help guide how policy makers should be investing time and resources. As it is, the drive to address CO2 has distracted policy makers and regulators in recent years from driving harder to reduce criteria pollutants.