Is the statutory ban against idling motor vehicle engines is helpful in improving the air quality of Hong Kong free essay sample

Although the statutory ban against idling motor vehicle engines is helpful in improving the air quality of Hong Kong, there are some exemptions which cannot be avoided. For example : traffic jams occur and all the vehicles will remain stationary but have their engines on. This situation cannot apply to the ban because the drivers are forced to idle their cars and they are not willing to do that, so they are not considered to violate the law. Another exemption is that some vehicles need to keep their engines on in order to prevent the deterioration of their goods, such as vehicles which their owners sell their ice-cream and the engines are needed to turn on in order to provide the refrigerative function. Therefore, can we say that the ban is effective? In our group, we all agree that it is ineffective in lowering the API of Hong Kong because there are many exemptions in the ban and a lot of drivers can escape from the law. We will write a custom essay sample on Is the statutory ban against idling motor vehicle engines is helpful in improving the air quality of Hong Kong? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Furthermore, the sources of air pollutants are not only from the vehicles, but also from the operations of factories and power stations, so only establishing law to prevent the drivers from idling the motor vehicle engines is not enough to protect our living environment. We need to have other possible solutions to help meliorating the problem. In order to reduce the air pollutants emitted by the vehicles, we suggest installing a 3-way catalytic converter, which can oxidize carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide 2CO + O2 2CO2, unburnt hydrocarbons to carbon dioxide and water CxH2x+2 + (3x+1)/2 O2 xCO2 + (x+1) H2O and reduce nitrogen oxides to nitrogen and oxygen 2NOx ï ¹ ¥N2 ï ¼â€¹ xO2. Nevertheless, the catalytic converter cannot be used on leaded petrol vehicles because Lead will poison the catalyst such as Platinum inside the converter. Indeed, there are more possible solutions to solve the problem. Expanding the rail network or using public transports instead of private cars can also improve the air quality because the amount of cars used can be reduced and the emission of pollutants from cars can also be diminished. The usage of environment-friendly cars are also effective due to the use of electricity instead of hydrocarbons to provide fuels for motion, but these types of cars have a higher cost and inconvenient for charging the batteries frequently. Moreover, planting trees not only can help absorbing the excess carbon dioxide emitted from power stations or vehicles, this method can also help regulating the temperature because carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas which can cause global warming. To conclude, all people should have the responsibilities to take part in improving the air quality. The statutory ban is not sufficient to improve the air quality, so other methods which have mentioned before should be introduced. If people in Hong Kong can have more concern about our poor living environment, we are sure that they will contribute for improving it throughout their daily lives. We hope that people can pay more attention to this situation and thus Hong Kongs API can be lowered

History of the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp

History of the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp The 1920 Olympic Games (also known as the VII Olympiad) closely followed the ending of World War I, being held from April 20 to September 12, 1920, in Antwerp, Belgium.  The war had been devastating, with massive destruction and monstrous loss of life, leaving many countries unable to participate in the Olympic Games. Still, the 1920 Olympics went on, seeing the first use of the iconic Olympic flag, the first time a representative athlete took the official Olympic oath, and the first time white doves (representing peace) were released. Fast Facts: 1920 Olympics Official Who Opened the Games:  King Albert I of BelgiumPerson Who Lit the Olympic Flame:  (This was not a tradition until the 1928 Olympic Games)Number of Athletes:  2,626 (65 women, 2,561 men)Number of Countries: 29Number of Events:  154 Missing Countries The world had seen much bloodshed from World War I, which made many wonder whether the wars aggressors should be invited to the Olympic Games. Ultimately, since the Olympic ideals stated that all countries should be allowed entrance into the Games, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Hungary were not forbidden to come, they were also not sent an invitation by the Organizing Committee. (These countries were again not invited to the 1924 Olympic Games) In addition, the newly formed Soviet Union decided not to attend. (Athletes from the Soviet Union did not reappear at the Olympics until 1952.) Unfinished Buildings Since the war had ravaged throughout Europe, funding and materials for the Games was difficult to acquire. When the athletes arrived in Antwerp, construction had not been completed. Besides the stadium being unfinished, the athletes were housed in cramped quarters and slept on folding cots. Extremely LowAttendance Though this year was the first that the official Olympic flag was flown, not many were there to see it. The number of spectators was so low- mainly because people could not afford tickets after the war- that Belgium lost over 600 million francs from hosting the Games. Amazing Stories On a more positive note, the 1920 Games was notable for the first appearance of Paavo Nurmi, one of the Flying Finns. Nurmi was a runner who ran like a mechanical man - body erect, always at an even pace. Nurmi even carried a stopwatch with him as he ran so that he could evenly pace himself. Nurmi returned to run in the 1924 and the 1928 Olympic Games winning, in total, seven gold medals. The Oldest Olympic Athlete Although we normally think of Olympic athletes as young and strapping, the oldest Olympic athlete of all time was 72 years old. Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn had already participated in two Olympic Games (1908 and 1912) and had won five medals (including three gold) before appearing at the 1920 Olympics.   At the 1920 Olympics, 72-year-old Swahn, sporting a long white beard, won a silver medal in the 100-meter, team, running deer double shots.