TECHNOLOGIES THAT ORIGINATED FROM NIGERIA

INTRODUCTION
Etymologically, technology is coiled from the Greek word techne “art, skill, cunning of hand” and logia is the collection of techniques, methods, or processes used in the production of goods and services or in the accomplishment of objectives, such as scientific investigation. Technology can be knowledge of techniques, processes, etc. Technology can be embedded in machines, computers, devices and factories, which can be operated by individuals without detailed knowledge of the working of such things.
The philosophy of technology began when man was in quest for how to improve his environment, how to make life easy, to get shelter for himself, to cure himself of various diseases, and to solve all kind problems facing man and his environment. This brought about the innovations and creativities of man, such like building of thatched and mud house, making of local weapons, building of canoes, using of different plants and herbs to cure diseases, etc. All these inventions started in the antiquity and it enhanced into the development of science and technology of this contemporary period.
Our focus in this paper work is to elaborate on technology that originated from Nigeria

 
TECHNOLOGIES THAT ORIGINATED FROM NIGERIA
The indigenous technology that started in Nigeria are numerous, few of them are; building of houses with mud and palm fronds, molding of eating and kitchen utensils, making of local weapons, building of canoes for easy transportation, making of farm implements, cultivations of lands.

The agricultural sector is one of the major technology that originated from Nigeria. The common crops that are cultivated by Nigerian farmers are; yam, cocoa, orange, melon, palm tree, cassava, etc.

One of the major technology that originated in Nigeria is the production of palm oil. The trees from which the palm oil is obtained are abundant in the South-East and South-South region. Palm tree occupy a pride of place in the economy life of the people and has been used from the pre-colonial era. The production is largely done by farmers. The oil palm tree which grows naturally in the forest and coastal region of tropical Africa produce 2 types of oil namely the palm oil and the kernel oil.

PALM OIL PROCESSING
The indigenous technology of palm oil processing is associated with cutting of the palm fruit when it has ripen and mature. The harvesting was usually carried out by the men folks as it is forbidden for women to climb palm trees. The processing techniques is was however done by the women. The traditional method of processing involve plucking off the fruit from the palm tree bunches and boiling them in a big pot or drum. After boiling, the fruits were transferred into a big dug out hole, well cemented with stones, were continually stamped with the feet from two to three hours until the nuts are separated from the husks. The nuts, after stamped on were washed and the water constantly stirred to produce oil which usually floats on the surface. The floated oil was gently sieved off and boiled together with palm oil earlier extracted.

THE SIGNIFICANCE AND ECONOMIC VALUE OF PALM OIL IN NIGERIA
The palm fruit from which palm oil is pressed was still and still of immense value to the people of Nigeria. It’s important to know that all part of a palm tree has it values; its fruit, branches, nut, all have their various uses in spite of that it has different species. Aside palm oil which seems to be the main yield of the fruit, there are other parts like the sugary sap which the tree produces when cut. This sap is used to produce a certain kind of palm wine for consumption.

The kernels of the palm fruit are also of immense value to the body as it is used to make a local body cream which prevent convulsion in babies and to ward off evil spirit. Palm oil is also used in making local soaps, and crushed and shaft used as cooking fuel. The fronds of the palm tree are used to fence, and protect the wall of houses. Similarly, the palm tree stems make good timber from where wooden chairs and tables are designed while the midribs are used in making ropes and brooms. Dried palm leaves makes excellent crafts like baskets and mats and the palm fruits are used in making palm oil soup commonly known to the Delta and Edo people of southern Nigeria as “banga soup”. Among some communities, the young palm leaves, are used for religious and ritual purposes. Palm oil neutralizes poison when ingested and nullify the potency of charms.

The importance of palm oil to socio-economic development in Nigeria cannot be over emphasized. It boosted many southern towns in Nigeria. In Ikom, revenue accrued from palm oil was used in developing educational institutions and building town halls. In ohafia, palm oil merchants bettered or improved on their lives by using the proceeds from palm oil to build more houses and marry more wives who could assist them in their farms. The palm oil trade made coastal town wealthy as well as other hinterland groups that participated in the trade. Women are not left out as they benefitted greatly from palm oil production and trade. This was because proceeds accrued from the trade were used for their upkeep and those of their children, a situation which reduced the burden on their husband.

PROBLEMS FACING THE TECHNOLOGY THAT ORIGINATED FROM NIGERIA
The major problems facing Nigeria technology is lack of development. In the agricultural sector, there are no enough modern implements and machine for easy cultivation of land. This sector needs attention because people need food to survive and grow well. The government policies are also affecting the Nigerian technology because there is lack of continuity in government. The technology developed in Nigeria are not well promoted and appreciated. People depend mostly on technology products of the Western states, and this is one of hindrance to technology originated in Nigeria. If Nigerians would believe in themselves and appreciate the knowledge and power endowed in them, then there would be innovations and more development in our society.

CONCLUSION
In this paper work, we have pointed out the technology that originated from Nigeria. We have discussed the palm oil processing and marketing, how it has enhanced the revenue base of communities which in turn led to the development of infrastructures, provision of scholarships for indigenes, and the empowerment of individual and families.

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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EDUCATION AND POLITICS, AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EDUCATION AND POLITICS, AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION.
INTRODUCTION
Education is generally considered to be among the strongest individual-level predictors of political participation. However, a number of studies points towards a more contextualized understanding of the relationship between education and political participation. The aim of our paper is to examine the effects of educational environments on individual-level political participation. For this purpose we investigate the effects of individual education relative to the level of education in their community. Our analysis is carried out on a Norwegian data set. Municipalities serve as the unit of aggregation for educational environment. We employ a comprehensive citizen survey comprising a total of more than 11.000 respondents covering most Norwegian municipalities as well as key variables characterizing the municipalities included in the survey. We rely on the distinction between individual and collective participatory forms in choosing party membership (mainly collective) and contacting of officials (mainly individual) as our dependent variables. The analyses reveal that the local educational level does have an impact on individual education when it comes to the probability of having contacted a local politician but not for party membership. Less educated individuals seem to become more like educated individuals (and the other way around) if they live in highly educated municipalities. The Norwegian case thus lends support to the relative educational model as we find that the higher the level of education in the environment, the smaller is the effect of individual-level education
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EDUCATION AND POLITICS, AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION.
What affects who participates in politics? In most studies of political behaviour it is found that individuals with higher education participate to a larger extent in political activities than individuals with lower education. According to conventional wisdom, education is supposed to increases civic skills and political knowledge that functions as the causal mechanisms triggering participation. However, recently a number of studies have started dealing with the question of whether education is a direct cause for political participation or merely works as a proxy for other factors, such as pre-adult socialization or social network centrality. This review article provides an introduction and critical discussion of this debate.
What affects who participates in politics? Many studies point out that education is of central importance. In most studies of political behaviour it is found that individuals with higher education participate to a larger extent in political activities than individuals with less education. Why do highly educated persons participate more in political activities? In their seminal work, Verba, Schlozman and Brady explain that: ‘Education enhances participation more or less directly by developing skills that are relevant to politics – the ability to speak and write, the knowledge of how to cope in an organizational setting’. And Lewis-Beck et al. point out that: ‘With more formal education comes a stronger interest in politics, a greater concern with elections, greater confidence in playing one’s role as a citizen, and a deeper commitment to the norm of being a good citizen. Hence, education increases skills and knowledge but might also affect political interest and efficacy; factors that all in turn trigger participation. Moreover, in a classic text, Converse went even further by emphasizing that education ‘is everywhere the universal solvent, and the relationship is always in the same direction. The higher the education, the greater the ‘‘good’’ values of the variable. This idea is, explicitly or implicitly, widely accepted in political behavior research and the relationship between education and political participation is perhaps the most well-established relationship that exists in research on political behavior.
THE CONVENTIONAL VIEW: THE ABSOLUTE EDUCATION MODEL
According to the absolute education model, illustrated by the solid line in Figure 1, education has a direct causal effect on political participation (and for that reason this model is sometimes synonymously referred to as the ‘education as a cause view’). Education increases civic skills and political knowledge, which function as the causal mechanisms triggering participation. This
is also sometimes referred to as ‘the cognitive pathway’, i.e. what individuals learn at school has positive effects on their cognitive ability, which in turn affect participation. In addition to skills
and knowledge, it has also been argued that education triggers political efficacy. Jackson explains this idea in this way: ‘Schooling enhances both the belief that the potential voter can influence what the government does (external efficacy) and the belief that the potential voter has the competence to understand and partici
pate in politics (internal efficacy)’.Hence, education increases citizens’ beliefs that they caneffectively play a role in the political process
According to this conventional view, the more education individuals have, the more likely they are to participate in politics. The model is referred to as the absolute education model since the effects of education are not dependent on the level of education in theenvironment. This model regards education effects as a process on the individual level. Numerous studies of political participation in Western democracies confirm this view.
However, most of these studies draw on cross- sectional data and the causal mechanisms are seldom directly tested. Even those that stick to the view that education is a direct cause have seldom presented evidence on exactly how and through which mechanisms education influences participation. Rather, when it comes to explaining effects of education it is common to describe
the mechanisms at work as ‘remaining hidden’ or as an ‘undeci
phered black box’. It should also be noted that there is no consensus on whether the effect of education is linear or whether it tapers off at some point. While many researchers simply test the
effects of ‘years of education’, others argue that it is in fact only higher education (college or equivalent) that is of major importance for participation. But to make the argument even more complicated, studies on the impact of college education even disagree on whether it is college attendance or college completion that is the relevant variable to study

CONCLUSION
Education is generally considered to be among the strongest individual-level predictors of political participation. However, a number of studies points towards a more contextualized understanding of the relationship between education and political participation. The aim of our paper is to examine the effects of educational environments on individual-level political participation. For this purpose we investigate the effects of individual education relative to the level of education in their community. Our analysis is carried out on a Norwegian data set. Municipalities serve as the unit of aggregation for educational environment. We employ a comprehensive citizen survey comprising a total of more than 11.000 respondents covering most Norwegian municipalities as well as key variables characterizing the municipalities included in the survey. We rely on the distinction between individual and collective participatory forms in choosing party membership (mainly collective) and contacting of officials (mainly individual) as our dependent variables. The analyses reveal that the local educational level does have an impact on individual education when it comes to the probability of having contacted a local politician but not for party membership. Less educated individuals seem to become more like educated individuals (and the other way around) if they live in highly educated municipalities. The Norwegian case thus lends support to the relative educational model as we find that the higher the level of education in the environment, the smaller is the effect of individual-level education

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Vietnam war. AEA Papers and Proceedings, 91(2), 97–102.

CHRISTIAN ETHICS AND LEADERSHIP

CHRISTIAN ETHICS AND LEADERSHIP
INTRODUCTION
Today’s Christian leaders have an urgent message to share as well. It’s one that desperately needs to be heard. Unfortunately, our nation has witnessed too many performances causing them to disregard Christian leaders who are attempting to save lives. While the nation’s media-driven gaze is focused on the Roman Catholic Church’s recent problems, Jack Hayford warns “it would be unrealistic to assume that the public’s hue and cry over this sector’s failure will not develop into a wholesale investigation of the ethical practices of the rest of the church.”
Setting an Example to Follow
The idea of being investigated may sound threatening to Christian leaders in the 21st century, but we are already being watched by our community, congregation, family, and friends. The key question becomes, “Are we setting an example to follow?” The apostle Paul was intentional about answering this question in his own ministry. In Thessalonica he worked to pay for his own food even when it was not necessary (2 Thessalonians 3:6-13). He sent Timothy to Corinth when he was not able to be there (1 Corinthians 4:16-17). In both cases Paul explains the reasoning behind his actions; he wanted to provide the believers with “an example to follow.”
Paul advised other Christian leaders to do the same. To Titus he wrote, “Show yourself in all respects a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, gravity, and sound speech that cannot be censured” (Titus 2:7-8). Timothy was ordered to “set an example for the believers in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).
When Paul told believers to follow him as he followed Christ it was “not out of apostolic arrogance…but rather out of the peculiar nature of gospel ethics. William Willimon explains, “The Christian gospel is inherently performative, meant to be embodied, enacted in the world. To speak the gospel skillfully without attempting to perform the gospel is a false proclamation of the gospel.” Put into more familiar terms, the Christian life is meant to be “caught” as well as “taught.” Christian leaders throw the first pitch when they set an example for others to follow.
Following the Leader
During the editing process, Trail magazine, Britain’s best selling hiking publication, inadvertently erased the first two lines of a trail route that would help climbers descend a 4,406-foot mountain safely. Tragically, the misprinted route would lead hikers straight off the edge of a cliff. Christian leaders bear a similar responsibility as they attempt to lead people safely through the twisted trails of America’s moral landscape. The risk of leading someone astray can be overwhelming and intimidating. In fact, the “difficulties of being certain as a moral guide” can create the temptation “to abdicate responsibility and refuse to lead.”
Some Christian leaders are tempted to relinquish responsibility when they become overwhelmed by the proverbial “fishbowl” life of ministry. When children care for goldfish they tend to overfeed them and knock on the glass to get attention. Sometimes spiritual children behave like that, too. Christian leaders can become exasperated by those who are constantly feeding them negative opinions or those who try to break through the boundaries of church and family life.
Other factors can come into play as well. Richard Bondi claims, “The temptation not to lead becomes especially powerful through the corrosive dispositions of complacency and wounded pride and through the paralyzing fear of change, failure, success, conflict, disapproval, and isolation.”Those who are called to set an example must be willing to engage in leadership, not withdraw from it. That is why it is crucial for leaders to recognize they were never intended to travel alone.
Gregory Nazianzen, a fourth century bishop of Constantinople, was tempted to remove himself from leadership. He was troubled by the immense responsibility of setting an example and feared leading people off the cliff when it came to making moral decisions. He concluded that pastors were only able to risk leading others because they trusted in the one he called a “Shepherd to shepherds and a Guide to guides.
When the apostle Paul wrote “Follow me as I follow Christ,” he understood the need to model the Christian life as well as the need to follow the “Shepherd to shepherds and Guide to guides.” It was Christ who enabled him to do all things and this included leading other people. “The power to move through entanglements and to resist the paralyzing temptation not to lead begins to come when we admit we are in fact powerless to do it on our own.”Christian leaders gain strength to set an example for others as they themselves follow the leader, Jesus Christ.
“What would Jesus do?”
Four letters, “WWJD,” have infiltrated the Christian marketplace by way of pencils, bracelets, bandanas, and bumper stickers. The question “What would Jesus do?” is an attempt to discern how to follow our leader, Jesus Christ. Believers are publicly expressing a desire to follow in Jesus’ steps. They are also stating their need for an ethical decision-making paradigm.
According to Joe E. Trull and James E. Carter, authors of Ministerial Ethics: Being a Good Minister in a Not-So-Good World, the “WWJD” question has an “idealistic application.” In other words, the standard has been set so high (and perhaps too vaguely) that it is difficult for people to apply. However, Trull and Carter also state that the attempt to use the life of Jesus as a “guiding theme” is accurate because he serves as our “guiding story.” A guiding story allows an individual to “internalize truths” in a way that can be assimilated into daily life.
He did not advocate their adherence to a list of rules while neglecting genuine faith (Matthew 23:1-36). Instead, Jesus reduced “a maze of moral details into a limited set of principles.” He said, “’Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).
Stephen Mott explains, “Commitment to God and the good of the neighbor is what every part of the Law is about. The other commands in Scripture have their moral meaning as they are integral to a total attitude of preparation to love God in everything and of genuine respect for one’s fellow humanity.Devotion to God and love for neighbor provide a two-prong hook on which to hang an ethical framework for Christian leaders.
(1 John 4:21). The believer is called to love as Christ loved us (Ephesians 5:1), love as you would love yourself (Matthew 22:39), love as you want people to do to you (Matthew 7:12), and love for the advantage of others (1 Corinthians 13:5).We also understand that we love God because he first loved us (1 John 4:19).
A Christian ethic must be grounded in love. It cannot be solely preoccupied with devotion to God or even love for others. Rather, devotion to God and love for others function side-by-side leading the Christian toward right behavior. Beach and Niebuhr stated, “Within the variable of Christian ethical theories, there is a constant triadic relation—the ’vertical’ relation of the believing and acting self to God, and the ’horizontal’ relation of the self to other selves—a relation in which God is, so to speak, the ’middle term’.
As Christian leaders strive to set an example to follow, they gain strength and discover a guiding story in the leader, Jesus Christ. Following Jesus’ broadest ethical principle provides the right foundation for Christian living: vertical devotion to God and horizontal love for others. Devotion to God and love for others places God in the center of life. And when God functions as the center or “middle term” an individual’s focus becomes being and doing what pleases him. The Christian leader’s behavior is ethical (i.e. right) when who she is in what she does pleases God.
Character and Conduct: Being and Doing What Pleases God
In a report entitled, “Morality Continues to Decay,” the Barna organization presented their findings on the percentage of adults who consider behaviors such as gambling, abortion, adultery, cohabitation, and drunkenness to be morally acceptable. In the past two years researchers found an increase in the percentages of those who “condone sexual activity with someone of the opposite gender other than a spouse, abortion (up by 25%), and a 20% jump in people’s acceptance of ’gay sex.’” Researcher George Barna predicted, “The data trends indicate that the moral perspectives of Americans are likely to continue to deteriorate….Until people recognize that there are moral absolutes and attempt to live in harmony with them, we are likely to see a continued decay of our moral foundations.
(Genesis 6:9). Three times we are told that Noah did all that God commanded (Genesis 6:22; 7:5, 16). Most importantly, Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8).
Characteristics such as violence, tendency to quarrel, rebelliousness, arrogance, and impatience disqualify a person for leadership in the church. Being hospitable, gentle, respectable, and kind are all prerequisites to Christian leadership (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 2:5-9). Moreover, all believers are encouraged to take on the mind-set of Jesus who esteemed others as better than himself (Philemon 2:1-8). When it comes to being a leader who pleases God, attitude is everything and motives matter.
Conduct: Doing What Pleases God
John 14:15 states, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Doing what pleases God will always coincide with what He has asks of us in His Word. “When loving God is our orienting principle in life, we are always adjusting to what he requires from us.
This is one reason a pastor must be able to preach and teach sound doctrine (Titus 1:9). She is responsible for knowing what the Word of God says and must carefully correct those who oppose it (2 Timothy 2:24-25). She must also respond to it believing that “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16).
According to a recent study conducted by the Barna organization, only 51 percent of Protestant pastors in America have a biblical worldview. Barna’s definition for a biblical worldview includes, “believing that absolute moral truth exists, that it is based upon the Bible, and having a biblical view on six core beliefs (the accuracy of biblical teaching, the sinless nature of Jesus, the literal existence of Satan, the omnipotence and omniscience of God, salvation by grace alone, and the personal responsibility to evangelize (John 14:16-17).
Constructing a Code of Ethics
Recently a couple in our church went away on a weekend visit to see family. Due to an early evening snowfall they decided to extend their stay another night and head for home the next morning. They traveled close to two hours before they found themselves gaining speed down a snow-covered mountainous incline. Their minivan began sliding and swerving into other lanes. Finally, the van veered to the left side of the road crashing into a guardrail.
Our friends related that the guardrail continued for only a short distance. If they had veered off further down the road, they would have plunged down a steep mountainside. It was the guardrail that kept them, as well as the people in the surrounding vehicles, from devastating injury and possibly even death.
This is the primary purpose for constructing a ministerial Code of Ethics – to put safeguards in place that will help to prevent the damaging of people’s lives. For when a Christian leader fails the effects are felt by the entire community of faith, the minister’s family, and wider community. Rebekah Miles aptly refers to this as “ricochet.
A Code of Ethics helps to preserve relationships, provide accountability, and define the minister’s moral perimeters. Of course, a code can only serve as a framework. Lovett Weems contends, “Integrity has far more to do with consistency between articulated values and behavior than it does with some prescribed code
A Christian leader must feel free to construct a code of ethics with her specific situation in mind. However, there are key elements such as purpose, personal and family relationships, ministry relationships, collegial relationships, and community relationships that should be included. Taking some time to review sample codes of ethics will help a person identify areas that might otherwise have been overlooked. (See examples in the appendix of Joe E. Trull and James E. Carter’s book Ministerial Ethics: Being a Good Minister in a Not-So-Good World.)
Guiding questions can help with the construction process as well. For instance, answering the question “What is the purpose of your code?” defines why you are writing the code and provides an opening purpose statement. A purpose statement might read, “As a Christian leader who is called to set an example for other believers, I am establishing these specific safeguards to help me to be and do what pleases God in the contexts of home, ministry, and community.” Some codes are written with a focus on inspiration, boundaries, standards, or ministry definitions.

CONCLUSION
Those who are called to leadership are also called to set an example for others to follow. Modeling the Christian life and the decision-making process may seem a daunting task. However, the Christian leader is not expected to set the example without a guide. Leaders set an example by following the leader, Jesus Christ. While the question “What Would Jesus Do?” will not direct the leader through specific moral mazes, Jesus’ life does provide a guiding story.
Jesus also provided a two-prong hook on which to hang an ethical framework: devotion to God and love for others. Jesus’ heart-soul-mind devotion to God coupled with love for others means that a Christian ethic must be grounded in love and focus on pleasing God in the areas of both being (motive and attitude) and doing (obedience to God’s Word and the Holy Spirit). Finally, constructing a Code of Ethics will help the Christian leader build safeguards into her life so that she might be kept blameless before the Lord.

REFERENCE
[1] Qtd. in Lovett Weems, Jr., Church Leadership: Vision, Team, Culture, Integrity, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993), 13.
[2] Jack W. Hayford, “Practicing What We Preach,” (Ministries Today, November/December 2003), 22.
[3] 1 Cor. 11:1
[4] William Willimon, Calling and Character, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2000), 49.
[5] —-, Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002), 302.
[6] CNN.com, “Magazine directs climbers over cliff,” January 22, 2004,

[7] Rebekah L. Miles, The Pastor as a Moral Guide, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999), 8.
[13] Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Toward Old Testament Ethics, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1983), 81.

AIR POLLUTION

AIR POLLUTION
INTRODUCTION
Air pollution is a mixture of solid particles and gases in the air. Car emissions, chemicals from factories, dust, pollen and mold spores may be suspended as particles. Ozone, a gas, is a major part of air pollution in cities. When ozone forms air pollution, it’s also called smog.
DEFINITION
Air pollution is the introduction of particulates, biological molecules, or other harmful materials into Earth’s atmosphere, causing disease, death to humans, damage to other living organisms such as food crops, or the natural or built environment. Air pollution may come from anthropogenic or natural sources.
The atmosphere is a complex natural gaseous system that is essential to support life on planet Earth. Stratospheric ozone depletion due to air pollution has been recognized as a threat to human health as well as to the Earth’s ecosystems.
WHERE IT OCCURS
There are various locations, activities or factors which are responsible for releasing pollutants into the atmosphere. These sources can be classified into two major categories.
Anthropogenic (man-made) sources:
These are mostly related to the burning of multiple types of fuel.
• Stationary sources include smoke stacks of power plants, manufacturing facilities (factories) and waste incinerators, as well as furnaces and other types of fuel-burning heating devices. In developing and poor countries, traditional biomass burning is the major source of air pollutants; traditional biomass includes wood, crop waste and dung.[7][8]
• Mobile sources include motor vehicles, marine vessels, and aircraft.
• Controlled burn practices in agriculture and forest management. Controlled or prescribed burning is a technique sometimes used in forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. Fire is a natural part of both forest and grassland ecology and controlled fire can be a tool for foresters. Controlled burning stimulates the germination of some desirable forest trees, thus renewing the forest.
• Fumes from paint, hair spray, varnish, aerosol sprays and other solvents
• Waste deposition in landfills, which generate methane. Methane is highly flammable and may form explosive mixtures with air. Methane is also an asphyxiant and may displace oxygen in an enclosed space. Asphyxia or suffocation may result if the oxygen concentration is reduced to below 19.5% by displacement.
• Military resources, such as nuclear weapons, toxic gases, germ warfare and rocketry
Natural sources:
• Dust from natural sources, usually large areas of land with few or no vegetation
• Methane, emitted by the digestion of food by animals, for example cattle
• Radon gas from radioactive decay within the Earth’s crust. Radon is a colorless, odorless, naturally occurring, radioactive noble gas that is formed from the decay of radium. It is considered to be a health hazard. Radon gas from natural sources can accumulate in buildings, especially in confined areas such as the basement and it is the second most frequent cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking.
• Smoke and carbon monoxide from wildfires
CAUSES OF AIR POLLUTION
1. Burning of Fossil Fuels: Sulfur dioxide emitted from the combustion of fossil fuels like coal, petroleum and other factory combustibles is one the major cause of air pollution. Pollution emitting from vehicles including trucks, jeeps, cars, trains, airplanes cause immense amount of pollution. We rely on them to fulfill our daily basic needs of transportation. But, there overuse is killing our environment as dangerous gases are polluting the environment. Carbon Monooxide caused by improper or incomplete combustion and generally emitted from vehicles is another major pollutant along with Nitrogen Oxides, that is produced from both natural and man made processes.
2. Agricultural activities: Ammonia is a very common by product from agriculture related activities and is one of the most hazardous gases in the atmosphere. Use of insecticides, pesticides and fertilizers in agricultural activities has grown quite a lot. They emit harmful chemicals into the air and can also cause water pollution.
3. Exhaust from factories and industries: Manufacturing industries release large amount of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, organic compounds, and chemicals into the air thereby depleting the quality of air. Manufacturing industries can be found at every corner of the earth and there is no area that has not been affected by it. Petroleum refineries also release hydrocarbons and various other chemicals that pollute the air and also cause land pollution.
4. Mining operations: Mining is a process wherein minerals below the earth are extracted using large equipments. During the process dust and chemicals are released in the air causing massive air pollution. This is one of the reason which is responsible for the deteriorating health conditions of workers and nearby residents.
5. Indoor air pollution: Household cleaning products, painting supplies emit toxic chemicals in the air and cause air pollution. Have you ever noticed that once you paint walls of your house, it creates some sort of smell which makes it literally impossible for you to breathe.
EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION
1. Respiratory and heart problems: The effects of Air pollution are alarming. They are known to create several respiratory and heart conditions along with Cancer, among other threats to the body. Several millions are known to have died due to direct or indirect effects of Air pollution. Children in areas exposed to air pollutants are said to commonly suffer from pneumonia and asthma.
2. Global warming: Another direct effect is the immediate alterations that the world is witnessing due to Global warming. With increased temperatures world wide, increase in sea levels and melting of ice from colder regions and icebergs, displacement and loss of habitat have already signaled an impending disaster if actions for preservation and normalization aren’t undertaken soon.
3. Acid Rain: Harmful gases like nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides are released into the atmosphere during the burning of fossil fuels. When it rains, the water droplets combines with these air pollutants, becomes acidic and then falls on the ground in the form of acid rain. Acid rain can cause great damage to human, animals and crops.
4. Eutrophication: Eutrophication is a condition where high amount of nitrogen present in some pollutants gets developed on sea’s surface and turns itself into algae and and adversely affect fish, plants and animal species. The green colored algae that is present on lakes and ponds is due to presence of this chemical only.
5. Effect on Wildlife: Just like humans, animals also face some devastating affects of air pollution. Toxic chemicals present in the air can force wildlife species to move to new place and change their habitat. The toxic pollutants deposit over the surface of the water and can also affect sea animals.
6. Depletion of Ozone layer: Ozone exists in earth’s stratosphere and is responsible for protecting humans from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. Earth’s ozone layer is depleting due to the presence of chlorofluorocarbons, hydro chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere. As ozone layer will go thin, it will emit harmful rays back on earth and can cause skin and eye related problems. UV rays also have the capability to affect crops.
METHOD OF PREVENTION
1. Use public mode of transportation: Encourage people to use more and more public modes of transportation to reduce pollution. Also, try to make use of car pooling. If you and your colleagues come from the same locality and have same timings you can explore this option to save energy and money.
2. Conserve energy: Switch off fans and lights when you are going out. Large amount of fossil fuels are burnt to produce electricity. You can save the environment from degradation by reducing the amount of fossil fuels to be burned.
3. Understand the concept of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle: Do not throw away items that are of no use to you. In-fact reuse them for some other purpose. For e.g. you can use old jars to store cereals or pulses.
4. Emphasis on clean energy resources: Clean energy technologies like solar, wind and geothermal are on high these days. Governments of various countries have been providing grants to consumers who are interested in installing solar panels for their home. This will go a long way to curb air pollution.
5. Use energy efficient devices: CFL lights consume less electricity as against their counterparts. They live longer, consume less electricity, lower electricity bills and also help you to reduce pollution by consuming less energy.
Several attempts are being made world wide on a personal, industrial and governmental levels to curb the intensity at which Air Pollution is rising and regain a balance as far as the proportions of the foundation gases are concerned. This is a direct attempt at slacking Global warming. We are seeing a series of innovations and experiments aimed at alternate and unconventional options to reduce pollutants.
CONCLUSION
Pollution is now a common place term, that our ears are attuned to. We hear about the various forms of pollution and read about it through the mass media. Air pollution is one such form that refers to the contamination of the air, irrespective of indoors or outside. A physical, biological or chemical alteration to the air in the atmosphere can be termed as pollution. It occurs when any harmful gases, dust, smoke enters into the atmosphere and makes it difficult for plants, animals and humans to survive as the air becomes dirty.
Air Pollution is one of the larger mirrors of man’s follies, and a challenge we need to overcome to see a tomorrow.

REFERENCES
• “Reports”. WorstPolluted.org. Archived from the original on 11 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
• • “7 million premature deaths annually linked to air pollution”. WHO. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
• • Evidence growing of air pollution’s link to heart disease, death at the Wayback Machine (archived June 3, 2010) // American Heart Association. May 10, 2010
• • “Newly detected air pollutant mimics damaging effects of cigarette smoke” (PDF). Retrieved 2010-08-29.
• • “Infant Inhalation Of Ultra-fine Air Pollution Linked To Adult Lung Disease”. Sciencedaily.com. 2009-07-23. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
• • “The Effect of Changing Background Emissions on External Cost Estimates for Secondary Particulates” (PDF). Open environmental sciences. 2008.
• • David Pennise and Kirk Smith. “Biomass Pollution Basics” (PDF). WHO.
• “Indoor air pollution and household energy”. WHO and UNEP. 2011.

RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION. A TERM PAPER