many interacting components of the system must be developed and 

 tested. Advances in technology are needed for measuring and 

 monitoring the system, as well as for ameliorating the deleterious 

 effects of man and nature. Finally, greater understanding of the 

 economic, legal, and social implications associated with changes in 

 weather and climate are needed. 



General References 



The Atmospheric Sciences and Man's Needs, National Academy of Sciences, 1971. 



Inadvertent Climate Modification, Report of the Study of Man's Impact on Climate, MIT Press, 

 1971. 



Environment 



Environmental problems arise from the interaction between man 

 and his activities on the one hand and with resources, biota, and 

 environments on the other. Managing the environment so as to 

 maintain its viability, while satisfying human needs and aspirations, is 

 an increasingly formidable challenge. 



There is a great variety of extant and potential problems of local or 

 temporary contamination of the environment. There are, in addition, 

 two general sets of problems which are of considerable concern: 

 irreversible entry of pollutants into the environment, and the 

 determination of tolerable levels of environmental contaminants. 

 Current knowledge is inadequate for dealing satisfactorily with either 

 set of problems. 



Some materials, either synthetic or naturally occurring, when 

 dispersed in the environment are for all practical purposes 

 irretrievable. Once in the environment, the materials may accumulate 

 to harmful levels. One example of this is the heavy metals and fission 

 products produced in nuclear reactors and in nuclear explosions. 

 Another example of irreversible entry is the dispersion of solid small 

 particles such as fly ash, asbestos, and talc into the atmosphere. If 

 these particles are resistant to destruction, they become a part of the 

 earth's surface solids and are reintroduced continuously into the 

 atmosphere. The extant and potential effects of such atmospheric 

 mixing are not yet known. Most of these particles are probably 

 removed from the atmosphere by settling or in precipitation, but little 

 is known about the threat posed to human health by the particles after 

 they reach the earth's surface. 



Asbestos particles illustrate this problem. They enter the 

 atmosphere in a variety of ways: in mining the material, in building 

 insulation, in the incineration of wastes, in the demolition of old 

 buildings. Asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma afflict workers 



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