Annual Congress on Environmental Pollution and Sustainable energy July 20-22, 2017 Melbourne, Australia

Certain activities of human beings release several pollutants in air, such as carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO2), hydrocarbons (HC), oxides of nitrogen (NO_x), lead, arsenic, asbestos, radioactive matter, and dust. The major threat comes from burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and petroleum products. Thermal power plants, automobiles and industries are major sources of air pollution as well. Due to progress in atomic energy sector, there has been an increase in radioactivity in the atmosphere. Mining activity adds to air pollution in the form of particulate matter. Progress in agriculture due to use of fertilizers and pesticides has also contributed towards air pollution. Indiscriminate cutting of trees and clearing of forests has led to increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in atmosphere. Global warming is a consequence of Greenhouse effect caused by increased level of carbon dioxide (CO2). Ozone (O₃) depletion has resulted in UV radiation striking our earth. Acid rain is also a result of air pollution. This is caused by presence of oxides of nitrogen and sulphur in the air. 

The effects of air pollution on the environment, impact human health. Air pollution control district and air quality control agency are owed to reduce the environmental damage caused by the nonpoint source pollution.

The main sources of pollution are definitely industry and vehicles. Heavy industries based on fossil fuels are especially dangerous for our environment, and if we take a look at China and India for instance we can see that rapid economic development actually has rather high environmental price. Heavy pollution not only makes our environment ugly but is also the source of many respiratory and waterborne diseases across the south-east Asia that is taking many human lives year after year.

Human impact  on environment in several ways. Common effects include decreased water quality, increased pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, depletion of natural resources and contribution to global climate change. Some of these are the direct result of human activities, whereas others are secondary effects that are part of a series of actions and reactions. Though, technology is making lives of humans easier and comfortable. It poses a great threat to the environment. The threat is due to pollution, radiation hazards, exploitation of natural resources etc. Greenhouse gases and aerosols affect climate by altering incoming solar radiation and out-going infrared (thermal) radiation that are part of Earth’s energy balance. Changing the atmospheric abundance or properties of these gases and particles can lead to a warming or cooling of the climate system.

Marine pollution refers to a range of threats from land-based sources, and it generally involves contamination of bodies of water such as rivers, streams and oceans. Major causes of marine pollution include oil spills, untreated sewage, marine litter, radioactive substances, and heavy metals from mine tailings, persistent organic pollutants, eutrophication and heavy siltation. It also encompasses overfishing and marine habitat destruction. Agricultural run-off, especially Nitrogen, is heavily discharged into rivers and is eventually carried to oceans. This presents a serious threat to marine ecosystems and also human health. Most of these pollutants accumulate at the depths of oceans and are ingested by small marine organisms, thereby entering the global food chain.

Under the pollution control perspective, waste is regarded as an undesirable by-product of the production process which is to be contained so as to ensure that soil, water and air resources are not contaminated beyond levels deemed to be acceptable. In response to extensive evidence of the serious contamination associated with unrestricted management of waste, governments have established standards for acceptable practices for collection, handling and disposal to ensure environmental protection. Particular attention has been paid to the criteria for environmentally safe disposal through sanitary landfills, incineration and hazardous-waste treatment.

To avoid the potential environmental burden and costs associated with the disposal of waste and promote a more thorough stewardship of scarce resources, waste minimization and recycling have received growing attention.

Pollution can harm us when it accumulates in the air in high enough concentrations. People exposed to high enough levels of certain air pollutants may experience Irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, Wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and breathing difficulties, Worsening of existing lung and heart problems, such as asthma, increased risk of heart attack.

In addition, long-term exposure to air pollution can cause cancer and damage to the immune, neurological, reproductive, and respiratory systems. In extreme cases, it can even cause death.

The health effects of pollution include premature mortality, and lung and heart problems.  A recent review has also found that particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) causes lung cancer.

The control of the emission of various contaminants into the environment which brings down the level of the pollution is done by various updated methods. The various technologies which control the pollution are Bioremediation laser methods, chemical methods, nanotechnology etc. Phytoremediation is a way to mitigate environment pollutions, such as in air, water and soil pollution in virtue of plants, more often than not, combined with their associated microorganisms. This concept has been widely applied to treat pollutants in soil and water. Vapour recovery is the process of recovering the vapours of gasoline or other fuels, so that they do not escape into the atmosphere. 

Renewable energy is energy that is generated from natural processes that are continuously replenished.  It is a form of energy that meet our today’s demand of energy without putting them in danger of getting expired or depleted and can be used over and over again.  Renewable energy should be widely encouraged as it do not cause any harm to the environment and is available widely free of cost. This includes sunlight, geothermal heat, wind, tides, water, and various forms of biomass. This energy cannot be exhausted and is constantly renewed.

There are many forms of renewable energy sources that can be incorporated by countries to stop the use of fossil fuels. Renewable energy does not include any sources that are derived from fossil fuels or waste products. This energy is replenish able and helps us to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and causes no damage to the environment. If we are going to use fossil fuels at a steady rate, they will expire soon and cause adverse effect to our planet.

Bioenergy is the single largest renewable energy source today, providing 10% of world primary energy supply. It plays a crucial role in many developing countries, where it provides basic energy for cooking and space heating, but often at the price of severe health and environmental impacts. The deployment of advanced biomass cook stoves, clean fuels and additional off-grid biomass electricity supply in developing countries are key measures to improve the current situation and achieve universal access to clean energy facilities by 2030.

Biofuels are produced from living organisms or from metabolic by-products (organic or food waste products). In order to be considered a biofuel the fuel must contain over 80 percent renewable materials. Bio-hydrogen may be a potential biofuel available from each cultivation and from waste organic materials. Although element is created from non-renewable technologies like steam reformation of gas (~50% of worldwide H2 supply), rock oil processing (~30%) and chemical change of coal (~20%), chlorophyte and cyanobacteria supply another route to renewable H2 production. Steam reforming of methane (biogas) made by anaerobic digestion of organic waste, are often used for bio-hydrogen also. Bio-plastics are any plastic material that's either bio based, perishable, or options both properties. They’re derived from renewable biomass sources, like vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, or micro-biota. Organic phenomenon is that the production of electrical potentials and currents within/by living organisms. Bioelectric potentials area unit generated by a range of biological processes and customarily zero in strength from one to some hundred millivolts.

Environmental sustainability is defined as responsible interaction with the environment to avoid depletion or Environment degradation of natural resources and allow for long-term environmental quality. The practice of environmental sustainability helps to ensure that the needs of today's population are met without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The three pillars of sustainability are Economic development, Social development and Environmental protection.

Environmental Performance Index (EPI) is one of the most widely used measures of well-being. The weak point of this index is that it does not take into account the concept of sustainability and, more precisely, it is lacking in the environmental component specification. On the other side of the spectrum, some indicators provide useful information about the environmental health of countries but not about human development, such as the Environmental Performance Index (EPI)

The activities which aim at raising awareness and improving access to scientific information on adaptation, so that decision-makers can better integrate climate change issues in development planning and poverty reduction measures. The activities include national science-policy dialogues, regional knowledge sharing strategies, and regional trainings. The science-policy dialogues are designed to address the need for better two-way interaction and communication at the science-policy interface on climate change issues, particularly on adaptation. The course explores the roles of energy in social and economic development, the environmental impacts of energy supply and use, patterns and trends in energy supply and use, energy policies and policies influencing energy supply and use at the national, state and local level. Energy efficiency opportunities, which are of particular importance to cities, are buildings and district energy systems. To build a regulatory strategy, establish enabling legislation and regulatory standards, and set up enforcement mechanisms.

Risk assessment is the determination of quantitative or qualitative estimate of risk related to a well-defined situation and a recognized threat (also called hazard). Quantitative risk assessment requires calculations of two components of risk (R): the magnitude of the potential loss (L), and the probability (p) that the loss will occur. An acceptable risk is a risk that is understood and tolerated usually because the cost or difficulty of implementing an effective countermeasure for the associated vulnerability exceeds the expectation of loss. "Health risk assessment" includes variations, such as risk as the type and severity of response, with or without a probabilistic context.

In all types of engineering of complex systems sophisticated risk assessments are often made within safety engineering  and reliability engineering when it concerns threats to life, environment or machine functioning. The nuclear, aerospace, oil, rail and military industries have a long history of dealing with risk assessment. Also, medical, hospital, social service and food industries control risks and perform risk assessments on a continual basis. Methods for assessment of risk may differ between industries and whether it pertains to general financial decisions or environmental, ecological, or public health risk assessment.