Friday, 14 June 2019

A is for Ammonia

It is reported that the only air-pollutant that is on the increase in the UK is ammonia. They toxic material is largely generated by the keeping of farm animals (especially cattle) and it can combine with other chemicals in the air to generate particulates that can lodge in the lungs of people and have been associated with thousands of premature deaths (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/13/revealed-uk-government-failing-to-tackle-rise-of-ammonia-serious-air-pollutant). It consequently seems all the more remarkable that UK agencies apparently have no plan for dealing with this material or mitigating its effects. Perhaps they are waiting for animal generated meat to be replaced (round 2040) by laboratory-grown or vegan alternatives (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/12/most-meat-in-2040-will-not-come-from-slaughtered-animals-report ).

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Birder's Bonus 241

Noted a Curlew ( Numenius arquata ) on the Loughor estuary at Bynea.