Pollution
graphic

Waste products from urbanisation can influence ecosystems at a great distance. The above map of part of the Eastern European seabord indicated the variations in biodiversity of mosses and lichens in the Netherlands.  The transitions from fine to coarse stippling indicates the decline in biodiversity related to air pollution.  Some of this is locally associated with the urban sities of Amserdam and the Hague (A&H)) and Rotterdam (R).  However, the heaviest pollution on the coasts and higher land to the west is caused by polluted air reaching them on prevailing westerly winds across the North Sea.
Long-distance air pollution requires international strategies to activate national management plans for industrial and domestic waste outputs.
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