Introduction: ATMOSPHERIC OXYGEN AND ITS INFLUENCE (Survive the Future)
I am publishing this post , for making an awareness to public about the problems in increasing atmospheric pollution and decrease in oxygen level.
" I have got a small idea to increase O2 level in atmosphere, is to produce O2 artificially to a larger extend where there is larger pollution( example: in factories ) and there is no place to plant trees"
Let me come to the topic :
Around 10,000 years ago, the planet’s forest cover was at least twice what it is today, which means that forests are now emitting only half the amount of oxygen.
Desertification and deforestation are rapidly accelerating this long-term loss of oxygen sources.
The story at sea is much the same. Nasa reports that in the north Pacific ocean oxygen-producing phytoplankton concentrations are 30% lower today, compared to the 1980s. This is a huge drop in just three decades.
Within the past several years, however, scientists have found that oxygen (O2) in the atmosphere has been dropping, and at higher rates than just the amount that goes into the increase of CO2 from burning fossil fuels, some 2 to 4-times as much, and accelerating since 2002-2003 [1-3]. Simultaneously, oxygen levels in the world’s oceans have also been falling [4] (see Warming Oceans Starved of Oxygen, SiS 44).
It is becoming clear that getting rid of CO2 is not enough; oxygen has its own dynamic and the rapid decline in atmospheric O2 must also be addressed. Although there is much more O2 than CO2 in the atmosphere - 20.95 percent or 209 460 ppm of O2 compared with around 380 ppm of CO2 – humans, all mammals, birds, frogs, butterfly, bees, and other air-breathing life-forms depend on this high level of oxygen for their well being [5] Living with Oxygen (SiS 43). In humans, failure of oxygen energy metabolism is the single most important risk factor for chronic diseases including cancer and death. ‘Oxygen deficiency’ is currently set at 19.5 percent in enclosed spaces for health and safety [6], below that, fainting and death may result.
Step 1: Oxygen Concentration for Human Breathing
Normal Air Composition
Each time you take a breath, you inhale more than oxygen. The normal air in our environment is actually made up of a few different gases. Approximately 78 percent of the air is nitrogen gas while only about 20.9 percent is oxygen. The remaining fraction is made up of mainly argon gas, however trace amounts of carbon dioxide, neon and helium are also present.
Safe Oxygen Levels
For humans and many animals to sustain normal functions, the percentage of oxygen in the breathing environment must be within a small range. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, determined the optimal breathing range to be between 19.5 and 23.5 percent oxygen.
Side Effects of Unsafe Oxygen Percentages
Serious side effects will occur if the oxygen levels are outside of the safe zone. At levels at or below 17 percent, your mental abilities become impaired. When levels drop to 16 percent or below, noticeable changes to your beings while levels under 14 percent will cause extreme exhaustion from physical activity. Once levels drop below 10 percent, you may become very nauseous or lose consciousness. Humans won't survive with levels at 6 percent or lower. Higher-than-normal oxygen levels aren't as harmful to life, however there is an increased fire or explosion risk. With extremely high concentrations of oxygen in the breathing zone, humans can experience harmful side effects. Very high levels of oxygen causes oxidizing free radicals to form. These free radicals will attack the tissues and cells of the body and cause muscle twitching. The effects from short exposure can most likely be reversed, however lengthy exposure can cause death.
Altitude Sickness
The safe breathing levels are determined at sea level altitude. As you increase your altitude, such as driving or climbing up a mountain, there is less atmospheric pressure. Lower pressure allows air to expand more than it can at sea level. While the ratio of the oxygen and nitrogen in the air remains the same, there are less molecules within the same space. Therefore, each breath you take at a higher altitude contains less oxygen molecules than breathing at a lower altitude. This can cause an illness commonly referred to as altitude sickness. Most people afflicted with altitude sickness experience nausea, headache and fatigue. However, the condition can become more serious if not properly treated.
Step 2: The Importance of Oxygen Accounting in Climate Policies
The increase in atmospheric pollution causes depletion of Ozone layer which gives the protection from direct UV light from the sun. Change in land use, and increased oxidation of nitrogen could explain the long term steady decline in atmospheric O2, and may well also account for the sharp acceleration of the downward trend since 2002 and 2003.
These years happen to coincide with record rates of deforestation. In Brazil, 10 000 square miles were lost mainly to pasture land, soybean plantations and illegal logging, a 40 percent rise over the previous year . Massive deforestation has continued in the Amazon and elsewhere, spurred by the biofuels boom .It is estimated that nearly 40 000 ha of the world’s forests are vanishing every day.
The crucial role of forests and phytoplankton in oxygenating the earth shows how urgent it is to take oxygen accounting seriously in climate policies. Reductionist accounting for CO2 alone is insufficient, and even grossly misleading and dangerous.
A case in point is the proposal of the International Biochar Initiative (IBI). ‘Biochar’ is charcoal produced to be buried in the soil that IBI has been promoting worldwide over the past several years as a means of sequestering carbon from the atmosphere to save the climate and enhance soil fertility. It involves planting fast growing tree and various other crops on hundreds of millions of hectares of ‘spare land’ mostly in developing countries, to be harvested and turned into charcoal in a process that could produce crude oil and gases as low grade fuels. There are many excellent arguments against this initiative , but the most decisive is that it will certainly further accelerate deforestation and destruction of other natural ecosystems (identified as ‘spare land’). In the process, it could precipitate an oxygen crisis from which we would never recover .
Step 3: SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM!
The only solution to this problem is to decrease the pollution in the atmosphere.I know it is not simple as we think. It is the ultimate solution .
" Why don't we Think Differently "
" Can we produce oxygen artificially ? "
" Does it increase Oxygen level in atmosphere ? "
Sure it will !
Then What are you waiting for ? Try to think method to crease artificial oxygen to large extend using natural energy , I mean from solar power ! and plat more trees ,
Make artificial O2 maker compulsory in all factories which make air pollution.
Just see an article about artificial leaf which supply oxygen.
Man-made 'breathing' leaf is an oxygen factory for space travel
One of the persistent challenges of manned space exploration is that pesky lack of oxygen throughout much of the universe. Here on Earth, trees and other plant life do us a real solid by taking in our bad breath and changing it back to clean, sweet O2. So what if we could take those biological oxygen factories into space with us, but without all the land, sun, water, soil, and gravity that forests tend to require? This is the point where NASA and Elon Musk should probably start paying attention. Royal College of Art graduate Julian Melchiorri has created the first man-made, biologically functional leaf that takes in carbon dioxide, water, and light and releases oxygen. The leaf consists of chloroplasts -- the part of a plant cell where photosynthesis happens -- suspended in body made of silk protein.
"This material has an amazing property of stabilizing (the chloroplast) organelles," Melchiorri says in the video below. "As an outcome I have the first photosynthetic material that is living and breathing as a leaf does."
In addition to its potential value to space travel, Melchiorri also imagines the technology literally providing a breath of fresh air to indoor and outdoor spaces here on Earth. The facades of buildings and lampshades could be made to exhale fresh air with just a thin coating of the leaf material. But perhaps best of all, a man-made breathing leaf could be the key to not just space travel but space colonization. No need to figure out how to till that dry, red Martian dirt to get some nice leafy trees to grow; we could just slap them on the inside of the colony's dome and puff away.
My suggestion is that make use of this artificial plant to increase the O2 level in the earth.
Step 4: What Would Happen If the Amount of Oxygen Were Doubled Instantly?
Paper airplanes now fly further.
With all that extra air, the air pressure near the surface increases significantly. Gliders, parachutists, birds and paper-plane hobbyists enjoy greatly improved performance.
Everyone gets better gas mileage.
Oxygen-enriched air improves engine performance by producing hotter reactions and reducing the proportion of nitrogen, which reduces heat transfer.
Higher elevation Biomes become inhabited by more vertebrates.
Areas such as the high Himalayas or high Andes are no longer off-limits to animals without special adaptations to increase their levels of hemoglobin.
Insects of unusual size.
Many insects rely on gaseous diffusion to for respiration, therefore the maximum body size depends on the proportion of oxygen gas in the atmosphere. Most bugs get bigger, some smaller (see Atmospheric oxygen level and the evolution of insect body size)
Everyone feels more alert, active, and happier.
All that fresh oxygen improve our cognition, alertness, and physical performance. As a result, most athletic records would likely be broken by oxygen-enriched athletes.
We get sick less often.
Neutrophils, soldiers of the immune system, destroy bacteria by using NADP oxidase to pump ions into, and disrupt, intruding cell's membranes causing rupture. More oxygen, more oxidase. (Page on Nih.gov)
We may die younger.
Free radicals (i.e. O2-) are thought to exacerbate the aging process through Oxidative stress, which interferes in numerous cellular processes: protein production, DNA replication, intercellular communication, and are also thought to contribute to MS, Alzheimers, Parkinsons, and a host of other ailments.
So over production of oxygen is also cause problem , so we need to frequently monitor the atmospheric oxygen level and produce oxygen accordingly.
Step 5: Food , Water and Air Are the Three Basic Requirements. for Our Bodies.
The food we eat is not free of cost , the water is also we buy from shop , if the pollution level increases then the day we buy Air(Oxygen ) from market is not that much far away.
******************************Think about it!**************************************************
You may think that this is a stupid Idea..., If any of may suggestion inspire anyone which may cause a small change that give us a few more nano second to survive ... This is the only thing I am expecting from this instructable.