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Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words smoke and fog [ 1 ] to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odor. [ 2 ] The word was then intended to refer to what was sometimes known as pea soup fog, a familiar and serious problem in London ...
Fire ecology is a scientific discipline concerned with the effects of fire on natural ecosystems. [1] Many ecosystems, particularly prairie, savanna, chaparral and coniferous forests, have evolved with fire as an essential contributor to habitat vitality and renewal. [2] Many plant species in fire-affected environments use fire to germinate ...
Vog. Vog is a form of air pollution that results when sulfur dioxide and other gases and particles emitted by an erupting volcano react with oxygen and moisture in the presence of sunlight. The word is a portmanteau of the words "volcanic" and "smog". [1] The term is in common use in the Hawaiian Islands, where the Kīlauea volcano, on the ...
Control of fire by early humans. The control of fire by early humans was a critical technology enabling the evolution of humans. Fire provided a source of warmth and lighting, protection from predators (especially at night), a way to create more advanced hunting tools, and a method for cooking food. These cultural advances allowed human ...
e. Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances called pollutants in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. [ 1 ] It is also the contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment either by chemical, physical, or biological ...
A natural hazard [18] is a natural phenomenon that might have a negative effect on humans and other animals, or the environment. Natural hazard events can be classified into two broad categories: geophysical and biological. [19] Natural hazards can be provoked or affected by anthropogenic processes, e.g. land-use change, drainage and ...
Smoke can obscure visibility, impeding occupant exiting from fire areas. In fact, the poor visibility due to the smoke that was in the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire in Worcester, Massachusetts was the reason why the trapped rescue firefighters could not evacuate the building in time. Because of the striking similarity that each floor ...
Radium, like radon, is radioactive and is found in small quantities in nature and is hazardous to life if radiation exceeds 20-50 mSv /year. Radium is a decay product of uranium and thorium. [ 2 ] Radium may also be released into the environment by human activity: for example, in improperly discarded products painted with radioluminescent paint.