6B Traffic and urban waste in the Basque country

• TRAFFIC IS THE MAIN ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM IN THE BASQUE COUNTRY

• Vizcaya produces 65 % of pollutants emissions in the Basque Country

The traffic and the gas emission that carries with it are the principal environmental problems of the Basque Country. According to some reports, Biscay is the responsible of the 65% of the atmospheric contamination that haves the Basque Country. The worst gas emissions of Biscay are the sulfur dioxide (SO2), which the manufacture industry mainly produces(for example the industry” Smurfit Kappa Nervión” located in Iurreta, generally known as “La Papelera”), and the carbon monoxide (CO), that it’s emitted by the traffic. 

Probably you already know that the gases emitted by traffic or by the industries are not good for any living organism. However, we have investigated more deeply and these are some of the consequences that, at some point, the emission of SO2 or CO could have in us:

• IN HUMANS: Deterioration in human health , cardiovascular problems , conjunctivitis, bronchial diseases, lung cancer, skin cancer, vision problems, blood diseases , problems in mental development of the unborn, among others.
• IN PLANTS: Great repercussions in the evolutionary process of plants , preventing photosynthesis in many cases, with serious consequences for the purification of air that we need to breathe.
• IN THE ATMOSPHERE: These gases causes the known environmental problems and their consequences in each individual case, such as smog, acid rain, reducing the ozone layer, global warming, the greenhouse effect, etc ..

We have found some solutions to reduce these gas emissions. On the one hand, you have to control you speed at the time of driving because the faster we drive, the more CO2 we emit into the atmosphere. In fact, a study by researchers from the Netherlands argues that if the speed limit to 80 km/h on motorways were reduced, decreasing CO would be 30%. On the other hand, we have to try to use the car less, and go walking, cycling or traveling in public transport.

With this information, we want you to think about more solutions to control those unnecessary and harmful emissions, that are affecting our province and in the future, it could affect you and the people that you have around. So think about it!

SOURCES:

• http://elpais.com/diario/1998/06/06/paisvasco/897162008_850215.html 
• http://en.eustat.eus/idioma_i/indice.html#axzz3xoVTGvmY 
• http://en.eustat.eus/ci_ci/elementos/ele0009300/tbl0009368_i.html#axzz3xoVTGvmY