Is autism affected by pollution?

 http://healthland.time.com/2012/11/27/autism-and-air-pollution-the-link-grows-stronger/ 

Autism and Air Pollution: The Link Grows Stronger

           

           Autism is a disorder that has confused people because it does not have a know cause. A scientist in California saw a correlation between a rise in autism and more pollution in the air. In the top 25% most polluted places people were more likely to be diagnosed than people in the bottom 25% of most polluted. Data collected today shows the biggest environmental factor in regards to autism is pollution in the air. The effects of pollution begin before children can even breathe on their on. Mothers are more likely to have a child born with this disorder if they live with in 1,000 feet off a freeway during pregnancy. Additionally, when studies took into account parents’ race, ethnicity, education and smoking status; the results where virtually unchanged.  The researchers believe that the way pollution contributes to the disorder of autism is that the pollution effects neurological functioning and inflammation of the brain. It is stressed throughout the article that this in not a singular contributor to autism. There are many other environmental and genetic factors that should be explored.

Reflection

My brother has autism. I would really like to know why he got autism and I did not if we were being exposed to the same amount of pollution at the same time. I think that this theory is something that should be explored more and people should always be looking for an explanation as to why there is increase in autism diagnose.

Question

1)      Do you believe that this study is showing accurate results?

2)      Do you agree with the statement that an increase in pollution has caused an increase in the number of people with autism?

3)      Do you think laws should be put in place to stop or decrease the pollution that may be causing the increase of autism?

 

Pulling Carbon Dioxide Out of Thin Air

Title: "Pulling Carbon Dioxide Out of Thin Air"

Author: Anne Eisenberg

Publication: The New York Times

Date: January 5, 2013

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/business/pilot-plant-in-the-works-for-carbon-dioxide-cleansing.html   

Summary:

Pulling carbon dioxide out of thin air? This sounds a little crazy, but not to some Canadian scientists who are part of the Carbon Engineering Company. Created with a $3.5 million grant from Bill Gates, the company is building a pilot plant to harness carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and use it for possible fuel. Hopefully, by 2014, this plant will be finished and up and running, reducing the carbon footprint of the world. If the cost of this carbon dioxide is used for fuel and lowers its price range of $20-$2,000 a ton to $20-$100 a ton, it would increase the carbon dioxide fuel popularity.  However, until the actual testing of the collection of the gas is performed, we will not know the risks of the process. The pilot plant needs to be up and running in the next few years. The hope is to collect 100,000 tons of gas each year. The average car driver exhausts about five tons a year. Wherever the plant is, it could collect emissions from everywhere on Earth. This is the beauty of the process.

The building of the pilot plant in Canada.

Opinion:

I think that this plan to harness carbon dioxide is great because there is so much of it in the atmosphere and it could be put to good use. It would also help lower the oil dependency in the United States, as the oil reserves, on average, have about 43 years left. We need to start looking at alternative ways to power our cars. If people are not sold on electric cars, this gives them a more natural fuel source, because it is almost the same as gasoline, only it is carbon dioxide.

Questions:

1. Would you purchase this carbon dioxide fuel if you were driving?

2. If you were the United States government, would you allow the building of these carbon dioxide processing plants if the pilot plant was a success? Why or why not?

3. What is your opinion on this type of fuel?

Title: Air pollution in notoriously polluted Beijing at dangerous levels that are expected to linger

Author: The Washington Post 

Date: Saturday, January 12th, 2013

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/air-pollution-in-beijing-reaches-dangerous-levels-and-is-expected-to-linger/2013/01/12/9a0cd9c4-5c9d-11e2-b8b2-0d18a64c8dfa_story.html

        Ever since Beijing, China started keeping records of their air quality a little over a year ago, recently, the air quality is the worst it has ever been. The highest level is color coded as Maroon, or Hazardous, and the particulate count for that level is between 301-500 micro grams per cubic meter. When The Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center measured the AQI on Friday, some monitoring systems were picking up readings upward of 700 micro grams per cubic meter, which is extremely hazardous to human health, due to the fact that it damages lungs. By Saturday at 8 PM, a reading of 886 was recorded, which is off the charts. The government is expecting  these conditions to continue into next week, and advising people to stay indoors. A major source of this pollution is due to the heavy reliance on burning coal for power. Many authorities are blaming foggy weather for the amount of build up of pollutants. 

I think the government should try to evacuate the area because of how dangerous surface level ozone can be for you, especially in very high amounts, like the ones that the citizens of Beijing are being exposed too.

Questions:

1.) What is a possible way to "clean the air" naturally?

2.) What would you do if you were in the government's position?