Hsueh MF et al. Analysis of “old” proteins unmasks dynamic gradient of cartilage turnover in human limbs. Science Advances, October 2019.

Humans may not be able to regrow amputated limbs, but a recent study showed that damaged cartilage may regrow through a process similar to that of animals such as salamanders and zebrafish. Scientists collected 18 specimens of joint tissue from the hips, knees, or ankles of patients who underwent surgery. They then placed the tissue in a mass spectrometer and measured the age of the cartilage proteins in the sample. These analyses showed that the age of cartilage largely depended on where it resided in the body. Cartilage in ankles is young, middle-aged in the knee, and old in the hips. This correlation between the age of human cartilage and its location in the body suggests that limb repair occurs in humans in a similar fashion to certain animals in which tissue regeneration takes place at the furthest tips such as the ends of legs or tails. This finding also helps to explain why injuries to people’s knees and, especially, hips take a long time to recover and often develop into arthritis, while ankle injuries heal quicker and less often become severely arthritic. The researchers further identified the molecules that are instrumental in the regulation of this region-specific regeneration process. They are called microRNAs and, not surprisingly, are present at very high levels in animals that are known for limb, fin, or tail repair including salamanders, zebrafish, and lizards. Scientists believe that these regulator microRNAs can be utilized in the regeneration of degenerated cartilage of an arthritic joint to reverse arthritis. Regeneration of part or all of an injured human limb may even be possible by finding components salamanders have and we don’t. Finally, it is also possible that this could be a fundamental mechanism of repair that could be applied to many tissues, not just cartilage, which might open up many new avenues in the regenerative medicine.

The universe might have many Earth-like exoplanets

Doyle AE et al. Oxygen fugacities of extrasolar rocks: Evidence for an Earth-like geochemistry of exoplanets. Science, October 2019.

New astrophysical and geochemical evidence suggests that Earth may not be that unique, and Earth-like planets may be common in the universe. All of the planets in our solar system orbit around the Sun. Planets that orbit around other stars are called exoplanets.  The first exoplanets were discovered in the early 1990s. Since then, thousands of exoplanets have been revealed with over 4,000 confirmed and a further 4,495 potential candidates. There have been major efforts to narrow down the exoplanets that may have properties similar to Earth with conditions suitable for life. This includes being a rocky planet that is not too hot or cold so that liquid water can exist. When searching for exoplanets that are similar to Earth, astronomers typically look for worlds in orbit around a type of star called a red dwarf or an M-dwarf. These types of stars are somewhat similar to our sun and make up about 70% of the stars in our galaxy. However, a new study shows that rocky exoplanets in orbit around a different type of star, a white dwarf, can have interiors that are surprisingly similar to our planet. White dwarf stars are dense remains of normal stars that have exhausted their nuclear fuel. These stars are typically composed of light elements such as hydrogen and helium, but in some cases they attract heavier elements such as magnesium, iron, and oxygen in their atmospheres due to their extreme gravity. These heavy elements are thought to be introduced when a rocky exoplanet crashes into a star, which gives astronomers evidence of what the exoplanets were like before they were destroyed. In this recent study, scientists looked at six white dwarfs located 200 to 665 light-years from Earth and rocks from the planets that once orbited it. Their analyses showed that five out of the six white dwarfs had sucked up fragments whose chemical composition is similar to rocks on Earth, Venus, and Mars. While the conditions suitable for life depend upon many additional factors, this study points towards the idea that many rocky planets are likely very familiar in terms of their general composition and, therefore, structure and behavior. This study also made a substantial leap forward in being able to make inferences for bodies outside of our own solar system and indicates that it is very likely that there are truly Earth analogs out there.

Artificial leaf points to a sustainable path to carbon-neutral fuels

Andrei V et al. Bias-free solar syngas production by integrating a molecular cobalt catalyst with perovskite–BiVO4 tandems. Nature Materials, October 2019.

An artificial leaf from which a “clean” fuel alternative to petrol could be produced has been developed. Synthetic gas can be obtained from the lead by using only sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water.

Synthetic gas, also called syngas, is typically a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. It is largely produced by exposing fossil fuels such as coal or natural gas to high temperature steam and pressure, and the process releases carbon dioxide. Syngas is broadly used in a wide range of commodities including fuels, plastics, and fertilizers. While the utilization of fossil fuels has enabled large-scale industrial development in human history, the burning of fossil fuels is the largest source of emissions of carbon dioxide, which is one of the greenhouse gases that contributes to global warming. For decades scientists have been trying to discover new ways to produce syngas in order to close the global carbon cycle and to establish a sustainable chemical and fuel industry. In a recent study, researchers got inspired by leaves. These perfect little machines use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into fuel for plants through photosynthesis. An artificial leaf has been designed to have two light absorbers, similar to the molecules in plants that harvest sunlight, and a catalyst made from the naturally abundant element cobalt. When the leaf is immersed in water, one light absorber uses the catalyst to produce oxygen and the other one carries out the chemical reaction that reduces carbon dioxide and water into carbon monoxide and hydrogen, thus forming the syngas mixture. The scientists are now searching for ways to use their technology to produce a sustainable liquid syngas that could serve as an alternative to petrol. Although major efforts to generate renewable energy sources are being made, the development of synthetic petrol is critical as electricity can currently fulfill about 25% of our total global energy demand. There is a huge demand for liquid fuels to power heavy transport, shipping, and aviation sustainably.

White blood cells (leukocytes) are fewer in number and their duty is to fight against germs. How this process works is to be expounded by the immune system under a separate title. The red blood cells are my main building blocks and they are born by the dividing of the main cells in the bone marrow. After passing through a few phases, they lose their nucleus and are filled instead with hemoglobin, a magnificent substance containing iron. Hemoglobin’s most vital function is its binding oxygen and then carbon dioxide after releasing it. Hemoglobin reaches everywhere, traveling with the blood stream. When it comes to the lungs, hemoglobin dumps the carbon dioxide and replaces is with oxygen. Then it supplies this oxygen to the cells and removes the carbon dioxide, which is produced by burning organic compounds. So its short life passes with the same ceaseless cycle to continue your life. Hemoglobin molecules’ longevity is approximately 120 days. They contain no cell elements like ribosome, mitochondria, and nucleus and therefore cannot repair themselves. They simply die when they get old. Sad? Not at all! Red blood cells fulfill the duty they were created for and leave the stage for new ones. They are broken down in the liver and bone marrow and the iron they contain is absorbed. A certain part is transformed into bilirubin, giving bile its yellow color. As you see, nothing is truly wasted.

The red blood cells in circulation number around 25 trillion, and this number does not vary greatly, as the dying ones are constantly replaced. Their measuring gives doctors an idea about possible diseases. The amount depends on various factors’ reciprocal balance. A hormone (erythropoietin) secreted by the kidneys increases the rate of production of red blood cells, in response to falling levels of oxygen in the tissues. If you lose blood due to an accident or medical operation, the stem cells in the bone marrow receive an emergency alert to produce more red blood cells. On the other hand, if you get a blood transfer, stem cells are ordered to stop producing, due to the excess of red blood cells. You see, even such basic knowledge about bodily systems fills the learner with wonder.

Deficiency of red blood cells, scientifically known as anemia, should not be ignored. It results in pallor and weariness; you feel like sleeping more. In order to avoid this condition, your body needs different things such as group B vitamins (B6, B11, B12), vitamin C, amino acids, and iron. Since it is hard to pinpoint the deficient substance, doctors generally prescribe iron-rich multivitamin supplements.

Red blood cells divide into four types, which determine the blood groups A, B, 0, and AB. In addition to the blood group, another feature known as Rh (rhesus) factor is important to know particularly before a blood transfer. Transferring the wrong type of blood may result in death.

Platelets, which are scale-shaped cells and circulate with me are not independent; they are pieces which came off bigger cells. In a cubic millimeter of blood, 250 to 350 thousand of these little scales are found and their duty is of vital importance. If it weren’t for these pieces, the slightest cut could cause death because your bleeding would not stop. Clotting is a great blessing. It usually blocks the surface of a wound within five minutes, stopping the flow of blood and saving your life. Clotting is realized through particular molecules in these minute scales as a result of a complex chain of reactions using enzymes, vitamins, and salts. Every step of this chain of reactions is another stitch to fix the wound. Other blood cells pile up and stick together behind this net and they dry up. If such clotting occurred inside the blood vessels, it would make a disastrous effect by blocking the bloodstream. I also have enzymes to break down little amounts of such clotting. As you see, everything is splendidly organized.

Peter! A blood test reveals very critical medical data. As I visit every organ, I exchange certain substances with them. Therefore, detection of an unusual substance in me can be an early warning for a disease. Nowadays, it even helps an early diagnosis of cancer.

It is not so easy for me to explain the wisdom behind all of my duties and capabilities. But to give you an idea, there are specialized departments for studying just me at medical faculties and research institutions throughout the world.

Blood is a highly specialized tissue circulating throughout the body to carry out essential functions for an organism. Some of the basic functions of blood can be listed as: warming or cooling the body, protecting it against infectious disease, supplying essential ingredients to the cells, getting rid of harmful and unwanted waste from cells, and carrying messengers to initiate physiochemical events at the cellular level.¹ An average adult has approximately five liters of blood which completes its cycle in several minutes.² Blood can be regarded as a flawless servant to human beings with a perfect design to fulfill delicate needs and tasks to maintain their lives. If blood stopped performing just one of these tasks in some way, the survival of humans would not be possible.

Plasma is one of the main components of human blood in which the red and white blood cells are suspended.³ These two “living cells” are responsible for the crucial job of maintaining the balance of the body. Blood cells have a definite life cycle, just as all living organisms do. The most generous and all-compassionate owner, God, even knows the needs of the tiniest creatures and for Him to recreate these two cells is as easy as resurrecting hundreds of thousands of fruits, vegetables and animals every spring. Interestingly, bone marrow acts as a factory to reproduce new blood cells in place of continuously dying cells.³

In order to generate energy required for all cellular processes, oxygen has to be carried into the cell and the resulting carbon dioxide should be carried away immediately. Red blood cells, known also as erythrocytes, contain an iron-rich protein called hemoglobin which performs this duty in an excellent way. Each red blood cell contains approximately 250 million hemoglobin molecules.⁴

Hemoglobin transports oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body and carries carbon dioxide away from the body to the lungs by consecutive chemical events in harmony. Hemoglobin can bind oxygen and/or carbon dioxide reversibly and the preference for binding to either oxygen or carbon dioxide depends solely on the environment. Upon inhaling the air, the amount of oxygen will increase in the lungs and oxygen will bind to hemoglobin’s iron unit preferentially. Later, the heart pumps oxygen-rich blood all over the body to deliver it to where it is required. As blood travels through the body in artery veins, oxygen will be exchanged with the carbon dioxide, since the amount of carbon dioxide inside cells is higher than oxygen. Then, the bound carbon dioxide will be sent back to the lungs and this process will be cycled over and over again during the course of life.⁵ During these processes a lot of complex chemical and biological changes occur in a systematic way to optimize the speed, effectiveness and quantity of oxygen transportation.

Surprisingly, one hemoglobin unit can carry four oxygen molecules at the same time. However binding of four oxygen molecules does not happen at the same time, they rather prefer binding one after another. One of the most striking discoveries about these processes is that when the oxygen attaches itself to the iron in the hemoglobin, the shape of the hemoglobin changes and this phenomenon facilitates binding other oxygen molecules.⁶

At higher altitudes air contains less oxygen as compared to lower altitudes. In people accustomed to living at higher altitudes the amount of a chemical known as 2,3-BPG in blood was found to be higher than in people living at lower altitudes.6 Researchers showed that this chemical actually binds to hemoglobin to result in easier oxygen delivery in lower oxygen atmospheres. Without this chemical, at high altitudes people would start suffering from oxygen deficiency and some of the vital organs would start dying slowly. It is obvious that this is a decisive and self-evident proof that there is an ultimate power in the universe and He is the one Who is the most Merciful.

Also the hemoglobin in the fetus has a greater affinity for oxygen than its counterpart in adults. Fetal hemoglobin uses maternal oxygen from the mother’s bloodstream and this ability gives the fetus more access to oxygen for better survival.⁷ Otherwise, no baby would be able to grow fully in its mother’s womb. Divine mercy is aware of the need of even an incapable baby in the mother’s womb and His wisdom and generosity provide appropriate tools, decorations and ornaments to whoever is in need of them.

The human body can be seen as a perfect machine equipped with state-of-art components that functions magnificently to sustain human life without any conflict. It is designed to such an extent that even its slightest needs are satisfied with an amazing design planned by great wisdom and engineering. This beauty, extreme skill, and utmost perfection testify to the existence of the All-Wise Maker and All-Knowing Inscriber. Claiming that this masterpiece is not the work of a purposeful artist is as foolish as claiming that a beautiful painting is not the art of a good painter. Even in one of the sub-structures of red blood cells (hemoglobin) the highest degree of mastery and the exquisiteness of administration for each process show an irrefutable wise Creator who has utmost knowledge and proficiency. His unique power for marvelous creation is even more visible on the surface of the earth.

“He Who has created seven heavens in harmony. You do not see any fault or incongruity in the creation of the All-Merciful. Look yet again: can you see any rifts?” (Mulk 67:3)

Mutations somehow alter the sequences of genes responsible for producing hemoglobin and as a result of inheriting these genes, some kinds of hereditary diseases may occur in future generations, such as thalassemia and sickle-cell.⁸ Since hemoglobin in these cases does not have the ability to carry oxygen properly, in some extreme cases blood transfusion is necessary to supply healthy hemoglobin for survival of patients. Instead of producing super quality hemoglobin, mutations lead to malfunctioning of the system. No observable mutation can generate meaningful and healthy changes in an organism. Trying to explain the formation of these beautiful, complex, harmonious, and utterly perfect cells by chance or coincidence and attributing the creation of these systems to unconscious nature as their creator is far beyond any reasonable scientific explanation.

“Was he not once a mere drop of semen poured forth? Then he became a clot clinging (to the womb wall), and He created and fashioned (him) in due proportions.” (Qiyama 75:37-38)

Ibrahim Yildiz is a graduate student of chemistry at the Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami.

Notes

1. Previte, J. J. Human Physiology McGraw-Hill, 1982.

2. Cecie, S., Taggart, R. Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life. California: Wadsworth, 1989.

3. Jones, B. D. Delmar’s Comprehensive Medical Terminology. Thomson Delmar Learning, 2000.

4. Roberts, M. B. V. Biology: A Functional Approach Cheltenham: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1986.

5. Mehler, R. E. How the Circulatory System Works Blackwell , 2000.

6. Ganong, W. F. Review of Medical Physiology McGraw-Hill, 2005.

7. Champe, P. C., Richard, A. H. Biochemistry Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005.

8. Steinberg, M. H. Disorders of Hemoglobin: Genetics, Pathophysiology, and Clinical Management. Cambridge University Press, 2001.

There are many identified species of phytoplanktons. Phytoplanktons live for a day or two under normal conditions, and when they die they sink to the bottom. As a single-celled organism, phytoplankton is not only one of the main components of marine food chain, it is also assigned with an important role in carbon cycle which keeps atmospheric temperature in balance and the level of oxygen under control. Because of their significance, scientists have always showed considerable attention to phytoplanktons.

Photosynthesis in phytoplanktons

All living things need energy and organic building blocks in order to grow and maintain their lives. Plants transform sunlight into chemical energy and inorganic materials to organic materials. This process is called photosynthesis. Other living organisms consume plants to meet their food and energy needs. Like terrestrial plants, phytoplanktons also have chlorophyll pigments to process photosynthesis. This is how fish and other animals in the oceans obtain their food.

Global effects

The larger the world’s phytoplankton population, the more carbon dioxide gets pulled from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is responsible for as much as 50% of the total greenhouse effect. There is a divine wisdom behind existence of phytoplanktons in big populations which help with the adjustment of carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere and thereby the greenhouse effect.

Phytoplanktons have an interactive relationship with their environment. This interactive relationship either increases or decreases the population of phytoplanktons in accordance with environmental changes. Scientists have found that a given population of phytoplankton can double once per day. Large populations of this organism, sustained over long periods of time, could significantly lower atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and, in turn, lower average temperatures. Populations of this marine plant will grow or diminish rapidly in response to changes in its environment. Changes in the trends for a given phytoplankton population-such as its density, spatial distribution, and rate of population growth or diminishment-will alert scientists that environmental conditions are changing there.

Phytoplanktons and sulfur cycle

Dimethylsulfide (DMS) is a sulfuric compound which is synthesized by phytoplanktons. This compound has an important role in softening climate and cloud formation. It has a peculiar odor and although it is frequently perceived as a harmfully polluting chemical, it fulfills a very important task within the bio-geo-chemical cycle on Earth. In order to better recognize climate changes on a global scale and to develop smarter environmental politics, we need to know more about this gas compound.

The production of DMS is dependent upon co-existence of various organisms. Some species of phytoplanktons synthesize the dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) molecule, from which DMS is broken down. Bacteria and phytoplanktons participate in this break down which assimilates DMSP into DMS or other compounds. Some of the produced DMS vaporizes into the atmosphere from the salty sea water and become tropospheric sulfate gas after oxidization. Consequently, this gas plays a direct role in the global radiation balance by the upward scatter of solar radiation, and an indirect role as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Clouds affect the Earth’s radiation balance and thereby greatly influence its temperature and climate. DMS represents 95% of the natural marine flux of sulfur gases to the atmosphere, and scientists estimate that the flux of marine DMS supplies about 50% of the global biogenic source of sulfur to the atmosphere.

In order for the sulfuric cycle in nature to continue, it is necessary that sulfuric compounds are transferred from the ocean to land through the atmosphere. DMS, the source for 95% of natural sulfuric gas coming from the oceans, served as cloud condensation nuclei and helps carry sulfuric compounds move to the land with rain.

DMS emissions that originate from phytoplanktons play a significant role in climate formations. One third of the radiation coming from the sun reflects back into the space from the clouds, ice, and snow. The remaining two thirds is absorbed to some extent by the atmosphere, and to a greater extent by oceans and rocks. This energy is converted to heat some of which is later reflected by land and ocean as ultraviolet rays towards the space warming the atmosphere. If the Earth intakes more energy than it loses, the end result is global warming; the opposite is global cooling.

The size of clouds and water driblets indicate global climate changes. The more cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), the smaller the water droplets and the denser a cloud. This, in turn, influences the cloud’s radioactivity.

DMS containing chemical reactions from poles to tropical waters are important for us to estimate man-based and natural effects on the chemistry of atmosphere and the climate more accurately. It sounds somewhat weird for us that we first destroy the environmental balance God has established before we try to discover what we have done using the natural laws He has enjoined.

References

• Norris, K.B., 2003. “Dimethylsulfide emission: Climate control by marine algae?” ASFA: Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts, http://www.csa. com/discoveryguides/dimethyl/overview.php
• http://www.oceansonline.com/phytoplankton.htm
• http://www.sciencephotolibrary.com
• http://www.cedareden.com/phyto.html

Greenhouse Gases and the Greenhouse Effect

A greenhouse is a place that is usually covered with glass or plastic walls where early season vegetables and house-plants are cultivated. Rays from the Sun can easily penetrate a greenhouse, but once they hit the ground they are transformed into thermo-energy, with the wavelength of the beams shortening and their energy diminishing. As a result, these beams with a shorter wavelength cannot leave the greenhouse due to the glass or plastic walls. Therefore the warming of the greenhouse increases as more and more rays enter. We call this process the greenhouse effect.

Similarly, some gases in the strata of the atmosphere are called greenhouse gases since these gases cause the same greenhouse effect for the Earth. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxide, ozone, chlorofluorocarbon, and water vapor. These gases have been created with a property that does not prevent (or prevents to a very small extent) the light energy that comes from the Sun from reaching the Earth and that prevents the infrared heat energy waves that are formed after this energy reaches the Earth from radiating to the higher layers of the atmosphere. Both the Earth and the layers of the atmosphere close to the Earth are heated by these gases. If there were not any of these gases surrounding the Earth it is estimated that the Earth would be 33° C colder. Although there is a delicate balance and measure among the gases in the atmosphere that allows the maintenance of the Earth’s temperature at a sensible level, human beings are carrying out practices that can ruin this balance. We, as human beings, are responsible for the global warming that is perceived as a danger today.

Carbon Dioxide

Carbon dioxide is half the reason for the total greenhouse effect. This gas is formed as a result of the use of fossil fuels, the respiration of humans, animals, and plants, and the disintegration of organic substances. Industrial development has caused a rapid increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is known that 85% of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere comes from fossil fuels, with 15-20% stemming from the respiration of living beings and the other ecological continuous cycles.

In the last 150 years, a total of 389 Gt of carbon dioxide has been emitted into the atmosphere. 265 Gt of this carbon dioxide comes from the consumption of fossil fuels and the production of cement. 124 Gt comes from changes in land use. 214 Gt of this total has been reabsorbed by land and sea ecosystems and the oceans. This means that there is a surplus of 175 Gt of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The Importance of the Forests

Forests play an essential role in lowering the diffusions of greenhouse gases that are emitted into the atmosphere and in forming “carbon absorption” by occluding greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Thus, except for sedimentary rocks, 67% of the carbon kept on the land is stored in the forest ecosystem. 75% of the carbon kept by vegetation is stored in the forests. In addition, as long as some long-lived wooden products (wooden houses, furniture, etc.) decay or are burnt they remain as carbon storages.

As we all know, during photosynthesis the carbon dioxide that is taken from the atmosphere is separated into carbon and oxygen molecules. Then the carbon is stored in the roots, trunks, branches, and leaves of plants, being used in order to form carbon hydrates. Therefore carbon dioxide, the most essential greenhouse gas, becomes balanced. We can compare this to a huge factory that works very quietly and causes no waste. It is such an efficient factory that it transforms harmful substances into useful ones. We cannot say that we human beings appreciate this factory or protect its resources. Although today forests cover 3.7 billion hectares, comprising 30% of all land, between the years 1990–2000 on average 9.4 million hectares of forest were annually removed. That means that during this period the forest regions of the world diminished by 2%. As a result of such negative occurrences, because the carbon balance of vegetation, soil and organic substances had been destroyed, the forests, one of the means of God’s mercy upon us, have become sources of carbon dioxide and a tragedy due to our exploitation.

Ligneous living masses increase each year, while falling leaves add to the carbon storage. As a result, forest ecosystems contain carbon. After the growth of trees, most of the carbon dioxide they occlude each year goes toward developing the biomass of the tree. This means that in the first 30-40 years a high rate of carbon storage occurs. As the forest ecosystem develops, the organic substance of the soil and the total respiration in the ecosystem (occlusion of carbon dioxide) increase. When the ecosystem has fully developed, it no longer has the characteristics of “carbon absorption” anymore. In this case, the amount of carbon taken from the atmosphere is equal to the carbon emitted back by the biomasses of the trees and is kept in the soil. The time it takes for a tree to fully develop depends on the type of tree and the climate zones. However most of the carbon storage occurs in the first 60-100 years. It has been determined by research that a well-developed 100 year-old beech tree absorbs 40,000,000 m_ of air with its leaves for photosynthesis and binds 1,200 m_ of carbon dioxide in the air as 6 tons of carbon.

As well as being a community of trees, forests are environmental systems and living communities, with soil that was created over a thousand years, with millions of plants, animals, and microorganisms, and their reciprocal relationships. It is very difficult for this system to be restored once destroyed by human beings. Forests provide an essential service in a consistent and balanced carbon flow between the biosphere and the atmosphere with respiration that is dependent on photosynthesis and the activities of life in the soil and the plants. Forests are the lungs of the Earth.

In the light of these facts, the duty of human beings is to protect the vegetation and to reforest the treeless lands, to decrease human pressure on existing forests and to improve forests that have been damaged. Oxygen, nitrogen, water vapor, and carbon dioxide were created as continuous cycles for the continuation of the life. When these treasures have been damaged as a result of the greed of human beings, the costs are too high for us to reverse the trend. Billions of people are victimized; yet they are nor directly responsible for such acts. These delicate balances can be revived if we lead a simple and modest life, where we consume less and we produce less. Those who ought to understand this first must promise to be more respectful to God and to change themselves. Even if we fulfill our responsibilities, we can do nothing today but hope that those whose destructive powers are great may desire such a spiritual revolution.

References

• Cepel, N., Ekolojik Sorunlar ve Cozumleri, Tubitak Populer Bilim Kitaplar›, Ankara: 2003.
• Roulet, N.T., Freedman, B., What Trees Can Do to Reduce Atmosferic CO2, Tree Canada Foundation, Ontario: 2003.
• Report by the Commission of Climate Change Experts, DPT (Turkey’s Official Planning Organization), Ankara: 2001.
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2001, Global Forest Resources Assesment 2000, ISSN 0258-6150, FAO Forestry Paper:140.

In our world, the most practical solutions exist for the most complicated matters; the simplest things have important duties and splendid mechanisms are developed from these to carry out the same. Thanks to these mechanisms, there is a moderate climate and there are ideal values of air, pressure, heat and precipitation. Let us briefly consider a few of these systems that contribute to maintaining the average temperature in the world. The exact amount of solar energy we need reaches the Earth, and the distance between the sun and the earth plays an important role in this. If we think about the freezing cold on Mars, which is farther away from the sun, or the burning heat – a heat which melts even lead – of Venus, which is nearer to the Sun, we can appreciate the special status of the Earth and how carefully chosen its position is. If the solar energy that reaches the Earth were to decrease by only 10%, the average temperature of the Earth would decrease, and subsequently our planet would be iced over with an ice layer measuring a couple of meters in depth. A slight increase of solar energy, however, would burn everything and eradicate life on Earth. 

We should not ignore the fact that our planet is of such a size that it is able to keep its gases within the atmosphere in ideal amounts and proportions. Our planet could have been created as small as Mercury (1/8 the Earth’s size) or as big as Jupiter (318 times bigger than Earth). A smaller planet with lower gravity would disperse gases into space and therefore would have no atmosphere. A bigger planet would keep all the gases within the atmosphere, including poisonous gases, due to its high gravity. Furthermore, the Earth would be uninhabitable due to high atmospheric pressure and density. The fact that carbon dioxide and water molecules are scattered throughout the air in sufficient amounts means that they absorb heat from the sunlight during the daytime, thanks to their highly absorbent potential. At night, when there is no sunlight at all, the air keeps the previously absorbed heat in, just like a greenhouse, preventing it from being released into cold space. During the day, the atmosphere serves as a curtain protecting the world from the harmful effects of the rays of the sun; at night, it serves as a blanket preserving the heat. Devoid of such a protective shield, the moon is scorched by the rays of the sun during the day and it freezes at night.

Do we owe the small difference in temperature between day and night only to the gases in the atmosphere, which function like a thermos flask? Of course not! We can observe that the time span (24 hours) in which our world completes its rotation is so perfectly adjusted that the difference in heat is kept at a minimum. If the nights were longer, the Earth would get too cold; if the days were longer, it would become too hot. Mercury, rotating very slowly, is a good example, the heat difference between day and night can reach up to 1,000 degrees.

Seas constitute one of the systems which help to adjust the climate. At first, we may find it strange that seas cover a far greater area than land. We have named the planet that plays host to us “the Earth”. The word “earth” also means soil. However, most of the Earth’s surface (70%) is covered by water, not soil. Thanks to this reality, neither polar cold, nor boiling tropical heat prevails on our planet. The land, which is heated by the rays of the sun during the day, radiates the heat it has absorbed, just like a radiator. As for the sea, which is a huge mass of water, it only warms up a few degrees, despite the millions of solar calories it takes in. Nevertheless, once it warms up, it does not grow cold easily. The oceans, which cover a larger area than land, supply water to the land through evaporation, as well as serving as a thermostat that regulates the climate and prevents it from becoming too hot or cold. If the oceans were to occupy a smaller area, there would be less evaporation and less precipitation; the land would turn to desert.

The air that is heated by the sun rises to be replaced by cold air. In this way, low pressure centers appear where there is hot weather and high pressure centers appear where there is cold weather.

The tilting axis of the Earth plays a significant role in keeping the average heat within tolerable limits. On the other hand, the way the mountain ranges are arranged and the 100 difference in temperature between the equatorial and polar regions lead to the creation of winds. If such a heat difference were to appear on a planet that had an even surface, nothing would stand in the way of the storms, and they would reach a speed up to 600mph. The Earth however, is provided with natural barriers that block powerful air currents. These barriers begin at the Himalayas and continue as mountain ranges through the Taurus Mountains and the Alps, ending with the Atlantic Ocean in the west and the Pacific in the east. Another mechanism that helps regulate the heat in the atmosphere is that of the ocean streams. Overheating generated in the equatorial region is transferred to the north and south by the ocean streams, balancing the heat in different parts of the world.

This is not the only way in which the Exalted Creator Who has absolute control over the systems balancing the heat in the atmosphere manifests His Power. He assigned the clouds a similar job. Hot weather causes evaporation, which leads to formation of clouds. Clouds prevent some of the sunlight from reaching the Earth, reflecting it like a mirror.

The Proportion of Gases

The atmosphere consists of approximately 77% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% argon and other gases. The majority of living organisms, including human beings have been created with a metabolism that needs oxygen. When carbon compounds react with oxygen, the outcome is energy, with by-products being water and carbon dioxide. When such a reaction takes place in our body, the energy obtained is transferred to the energy packs (tiny accumulators) called ATP, which we use in our cells. Since all metabolic activities require ATP energy, we constantly need oxygen and this need is met through respiration.

Given that oxygen is a vital substance for us, we might think that it would be better for us if there were more oxygen in the atmosphere. Fortunately, our Lord did not create the universe in accordance with such simple logic. It is estimated that every oxygen increase of 1% over a level of 21% will also increase the possibility of forest fires by 70%, owing to the high inflammability of oxygen. An oxygen rate over 25% would cause the majority of our greenery to be burned to ashes. All the tropical forests and arctic tundra would be destroyed and it would be impossible to prevent great fires. This all goes to demonstrate that the present oxygen rate in the atmosphere is at equilibrium.

In spite of constant consumption, the rate of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is maintained thanks to a wonderful transformative mechanism which runs smoothly without failure (that is if we do not damage it). While animals consume oxygen, they continually release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere; carbon dioxide is a poisonous gas for animal life. Plants however, perform just the opposite activity, transforming carbon dioxide into oxygen, and producing nutrients as well, the most common being sugar. In this way, billions of tons of oxygen are produced and released into the air everyday.

What if plants, like animals, were to carry out the same reaction, consuming oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide? In a short time, our planet would turn into an uninhabitable place. We would use up the oxygen in the atmosphere in a short time and all life forms would be eradicated. And how about a world where both animals and plants produce oxygen? The atmosphere would have such a flammable quality that even the tiniest spark would cause great fires.

Like the other gases in the atmosphere, oxygen is kept at an ideal rate, its benefit and harm being precisely balanced. This is nothing more than the result of a perfect adjustment made by ‘Him’. There can be no coincidence in such splendidly created systems and nor can these things happen on their own.

A Breath of Air

The fact that the density of the atmosphere is ideal for respiration also indicates the impossibility of ‘coincidence’ in this delicate arrangement. No matter whether we feel it or not, we continue breathing every moment of our life.

We constantly inhale and exhale the air. The reason why we need to breathe so much is that there are billions of biochemical reactions taking place in our body all the time which can only be realized with oxygen. Oxygen is even helping you to read this article, for the millions of cells in your retina need to be supplied with oxygen. If the oxygen rate in your blood decreases, your vision blurs. All the cells that make up the muscles in our body have energy generating centers which function by burning carbon; in other words, they react with oxygen.

When we inhale, nearly 300 million tiny spherical bags (alveols) are filled with high-pressure oxygen. The oxygen in the capillaries that cover the cell walls is reduced and then is at a low pressure. This allows the oxygen in the air to be absorbed by the capillaries and to be carried away by the hemoglobin found in the red blood cells – the magnificent servants of our body. Then it begins to serve our entire body, starting with the heart.

The red blood cells which travel to the lungs from different parts of the body carry oxygen from the lungs to the energy centers of the cells and they carry the waste material – carbon dioxide – back again to the lungs. In this process, clean air (with oxygen) is inhaled and is exhaled with carbon dioxide. Obviously, both inhalation and exhalation are vital functions for which we should be thankful. The words we utter can be considered the fruit of the carbon dioxide we exhale. On the other hand, this waste gas is recycled into oxygen and sugar by plants.

The fact that 300 million tiny bags in our lungs have been constructed to fit into a limited area clearly indicates God’s infinite knowledge and the fact that He is Omniscient. If these were to be spread out over the ground, they would cover an area as big as a tennis court. They should, logically, require a gigantic organ to carry them; think about how we would carry this organ around with us…

In spite of being so tiny, the alveols and alveolar tubes in our lungs are large enough to let air move freely, which is another sign reflecting His wisdom.

The atmospheric pressure at sea level is 1 atm. This means that 1 kilogram of pressure is applied over a square centimeter, an area that is only as large as the tip of one’s finger. At sea level, 1 liter of air weighs 1 gram. As it is seen, the air has an immense pressure, in spite of its lightness.

The fluidity of air is fifty times greater than that of water. As a matter of fact, these values are very accurate and the fact that they are so is critical for our life. If the density of the atmosphere were to be slightly increased, breathing would become as difficult as sucking honey through a straw. Do not even think of saying “make the straw wider”, i.e, making the alveolar tubes in our lungs wider. In such a case, the area contacting the air would be diminished and the lungs would be unable to receive a sufficient amount of oxygen to meet the needs of our body. The resistance of the air would be too great and it would be impossible to design a respiratory system capable of supplying the oxygen we need.

Several conditions that make life possible are only realized at certain values, and the atmosphere possesses precisely all of these values. All these only go to show how delicate His adjustments are.

What if the atmospheric pressure was lower, for instance, just 20% lower than it is at present? Given that the conditions of evaporation and boiling depend on the air pressure, more water would evaporate from the oceans and eventually the high humidity of the atmosphere would create a greenhouse effect on the Earth. In other words, there would be excessive heat in the world. And if the atmospheric pressure was twice as great, the humidity would be so low that there would be terrible drought, turning almost all of the land into desert.

Several conditions that make life possible are only realized at certain values, and the atmosphere possesses precisely all of them.

Who are all these things balanced for?

The air that is in front of our nose, ready to be of use to us, the ground under our feet, the night and day that follow one another in succession… the sun, the honey bee covering miles for us… When we contemplate all these, we realize that all their activities are directed to serve us.

The beings in this universe do not serve us from their own free will. It is crystal clear that all things point to a Creator Who takes care of us.

Our Creator has bestowed us with ears, providing the world of sounds for us. He has created a brain in our skull, a heart in our chest and a tongue in our mouth; these serve as devices by which we sense and appreciate His blessings that overflow from His treasures of Mercy. He has presented various fragrances, tastes and colors for our senses; He has created numerous species in order to help such devices fulfill their true duty. Only the atmosphere and what it covers will suffice as signs that indicate the ultimate truth. Study the following Qur’anic verse, that reminds us of the divine grace: “And He subjected to you what is in the heavens and the earth all together, (as a grace) from Him.” The rest of the verse counsels us to reflect: “There are in that signs for a people who reflect.” (45:13)

Photosynthesis

To fully gain an insight into these interactions’ complexity, we must conduct an in-depth study and observation of the processes taking place. Initially, the sun’s released energy must be made useful to our body’s cells, for direct sunlight on its own is not useful. Energy from the sun, along with water from the soil and carbon dioxide released from all living organisms, synthesizes oxygen and sugars (including glucose) within the leaves of green plants. This seemingly simple but very complex process is called photosynthesis. Without the oxygen and glucose required to generate usable energy (in the form of ATP* molecules), no human or plant cells could survive, although some exceptions are known.(2) Hence, all photosynthetic organisms on Earth an indispensable sources of oxygen for all life-forms.

The two main sources of oxygen are rain forests and oceans, where green algae and photosynthetic bacteria live.(3) In fact, algae lying 120 meters beneath the Antarctic ice is fully equipped to serve life. These algae have been found in sponges with a system of fiber optics that allows them to gather the minute amount of light reaches the Antarctic Ocean’s murky depths and direct it to photosynthetic algae.(4) Given this, we must say that photosynthetic life-forms are in complete submission to and serve other life-forms, among them humanity.

Plant and tree leaves are optimally designed, both physically and biochemically, to generate vital oxygen and sugars. A leaf’s large surface area is required for the optimal interception of solar energy, while the thin cross-section is essential for the fast transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide in and out of the leaf.

Specific photosynthetic cells are arranged in between the leaf’s two protective epidermal layers. Carbon dioxide and oxygen molecules, under specific guidance, leave the leaf through specific pores flanked by cellular gates or guard cells situated underneath each leaf, as the leaf’s upper layer is covered with a protective waxy layer. This waxy layer is essential, for without it the leaf would dry up. For example, on hot days 100 gallons of water are lost from cottonwood trees.(5)

All evaporated water is collected as clouds (water vapor near the condensation point), from which pure, condensed water falls as rain. Likewise, all animals’ breath contains water vapor (released during the breakdown of glucose for energy release), which is also created as clouds and recruited as a moving source of potential water for all needy plants and living organisms.

Water’s continual recycling between the land and oceans to the clouds prevents wastage and provides a continually renewed source of fresh water to synthesize oxygen during photosynthesis. It also serves as a medium in which all biochemical reactions must take place in living cells.

Moreover, a leaf has no knowledge or power to generate oxygen and sugars, which are vital for all living cells, for it has never seen or experienced any direct contact. For carbon synthesis to occur, oxygen atoms must be torn from water and carbon dioxide molecules. This requires knowledge and power, since neither solar energy nor a leaf possess these. Also sugars, an indispensable food source for all life-forms, cannot be synthesized by coincidence in a weak and powerless leaf.

This complementary relationship indicates that all these simultaneous interconnections could only take place according to a program dictated through an all-pervading knowledge, willpower, and mercy. Likewise, only One with such attributes could subject, direct, and allowing these processes to continue.

Breathing

Moving at extremely high speeds (around 346m per second),(6) oxygen molecules released from such photosynthetic life-forms as plant and tree leaves, and bacteria and algae in the oceans, must reach the lungs of all living organisms. They also must be dissolved in water so that fish and other marine organisms can breathe. In fact, all of these processes must take place continuously so that each organism can live until its appointed time. This means that the oxygen molecules must be guided through the atmosphere and into each living organism so that each molecule’s optimal and perfect function may be carried out. Thus, although moving at extremely high speeds, each molecule’s function remains in the best and optimal manner.

Each lung is a highly delicate organ composed of millions of microscopic tunnels ending in tiny sacs (alveoli) encapsulated with a dense capillary (thin artery) network.(7) Oxygen molecules in the atmosphere are inhaled and brought to the sacs, which send oxygen (from within the sac) into the bloodstream, and carbon dioxide is diffused from the bloodstream into the sacs. Although the air we breathe contains a large proportion of nitrogen, it is mainly oxygen that is pulled through the sac’s wall, across the thin arterioles’ microscopic walls, and into the bloodstream’s red blood cells. Each oxygen molecule is then complexed and surrounded by a huge molecule of hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells). Although these processes take place very quickly, every step occurs with exceptional precision and accuracy.

To reach the trillions of functionally different cells, the red blood cells must be pumped there with a great force. Therefore, all oxygenated red blood cells coming from the lungs are directed immediately to the heart. This masterpiece works continuously from birth until death, pumping fresh blood from the lungs to the tissues, and simultaneously pumps oxygen-deprived blood from the tissues to the lungs.(8)

Red blood cells flow through the arteries with great force. When they reach the thinnest arteries (capillaries) at tissues that are only one-cell thick, they almost align in a single queue within the capillaries and move carefully until the oxygen they carry is diffused to the surrounding needy tissue cells. At the same time, the waste gas of carbon dioxide is diffused quickly from the tissue cells into the blood plasma. The red blood cells then are directed into the veins, loaded with waste gas, and sent back to the heart (this requires great energy, as the blood returns to the heart at a very low pressure). From here, the oxygen-deprived red blood cells are pumped back to the lungs to be oxygenated. In the lungs, carbon dioxide is directed out to the sacs and exhaled into the atmosphere.

As creation contains no waste and every existence is useful, this waste gas is recaptured during photosynthesis to create vital oxygen, thereby displaying an unprecedented example of complementarity. Thus solar energy is harnessed to generate oxygen and provides a means of generating energy beneficial to cells (chemical energy). The oxygen created in this process is taken through multiple steps and stages until it is made available to the cells.

Conclusion

Here, we see a clear manifestation of perfect bounty and grace, for the cells needs are brought to them from afar and with extreme care after going through multiple ordered steps that easily could be disturbed. One insight we acquire is that each step takes place rapidly yet accurately, and so must require an infinite power and knowledge to occur.

We, Earth’s most intelligent creatures must admit our relative inability and impotence to understand fully or even to control any of these perfect processes. Rather than behave according to our vested interests and suppose Earth to be under our control, we should seek to understand our responsibility to know that all of these processes are somehow connected with us and subjected for our benefit in so many ways that conscious gratitude and faithfulness are required.

Footnotes

1. http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/sol.html.
2. Richard Monastersky, Deep Dwellers: Microbes Thrive far below Ground, Science News 151 (29 Mar. 1997):192-93.
3. http://gened.emc.maricopa.edu/bio/bio181/BIOBK/.
4. http://www.sciam.com/0297issuehttp://0297scicit3.html.
5. http://gened.emc.maricopa.edu/bio/bio181/BIOBK/.
6. http://fermi.bgsu.edu/~stoner/p201/idealg/tsld009.html.
7. http://biology/01.ux.com/MiraCosta/HumanResp.html.
8. http://www.atlcard.com/pump.html.

The natural environment contains a mosaic of species (groups of interacting organisms). They do not live in isolation but live in association with one another. It is the arrangement of a particular set of living organisms (plants, animals, bacteria, etc.) and their interaction with each other and with their environment which forms the ecosystem. An ecosystem can be identified on different scales.

On a large scale, the whole world can be considered an ecosystem, while on a smaller scale an ecosystem can be a pond or a wood. The components of an ecosystem (organisms, plants, soil) are linked together by transfers of energy and nutrients (ions).

The environment touches everyone. The air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink and bathe in, the countryside we walk in–all these are affected in one way or another by mankind’s polluting activities. As the results of these activities come to light and the pressures on the environment increase, so does the concern with which we view the world about us.

What are the most important of our common environmental problems?

The greenhouse effect is the greatest environmental threat facing mankind and there are only a limited number of strategies that can be adopted to delay its onset and attempt to reverse the trend. One lesson, which is being recognized increasingly, is that the world uses too much energy of the wrong sort. The most obvious way of attempting to combat global warming is to cut down on our use of fossil fuels. For it is this major source of energy, with its release of carbon into the atmosphere, which is the single biggest cause of the greenhouse effect.

The hole in the ozone layer is not something which most people can witness for themselves and so they rely on experts to tell them it is important. But one aspect of the pollution of the atmosphere, of which people are all to aware, is the smoke and gasses that come from power stations, factories, and car exhausts. Air pollution is a danger which affects us all. Worldwide, more than a billion people–a fifth of the world’s population–live in communities which do not meet the basic air quality standards set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). For example, in Bombay, simply breathing is equivalent to smoking ten cigarettes a day. In the United States of America it is said that air pollution causes as many as 50,000 deaths a year.

Indeed, there are serious environmental pollution problems in many countries in the world caused mainly by the burning of coal by heavy industries. The discharge from these coal-burning plants goes into the air and water without treatment. Technology for environmental protection is not advanced and legislation, where it exists, is either poorly operated or not operated at all.

Air pollution is not only a problem of industrialised countries. In the Third World, air pollution of a different sort is causing ill-health. In some regions–for example, in Africa– smoke from indoor cooking fires causes severe lung disease in infants. Carbon monoxide in the air reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen and this is liable to pose a risk for people suffering from heart disease. Another component, the oxides of nitrogen, are powerful lung irritants and can reduce resistance to infections like flu. In addition, one of the most important consequences of air pollution is the production of acid rain.

In one way or another man is now producing so much waste that he is in danger of being swamped by it. New York has the world’s biggest rubbish dump. Cranes as tall as six storey buildings work round the clock emptying barges of waste from the city–26,000 tonnes of it a day–creating literally a mountain of rubbish. Also, the United Kingdom is producing 80 million tonnes of rubbish each year. In theory, one tonne of rubbish can produce 400 cubic metres of landfill gas–60 per cent of it is methane and around 40 per cent carbon dioxide with a few other trace gasses like nitrogen and hydrogen. Typically, landfill gas is produced fairly quickly over the first few years and then production slowly tails off. On average it takes about 15 years for about a quarter of the waste to rot down, so the danger is long lasting. At most landfill sites the methane and carbon dioxide diffuse into the air. But landfill gas can represent a real hazard. Methane, for example, can explode when concentrations in air reach 5 to 15 per cent. However, if waste tips were properly managed it would be possible for more energy to be extracted from them but that would mean controlling more precisely what goes into them. There is another reason why collecting and burning the gas from landfill sites is worthwhile and environmentally friendly: it reduces the greenhouse effect. Methane is about 27 times less effective as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. That means that if the methane is collected and burnt to form carbon dioxide the net impact on the greenhouse effect is reduced. Burning the landfill gas also breaks down some of the CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) which are in the rubbish and so reduces still further the greenhouse effect.

Methane is not the only problem associated with rubbish tips. Another risk is that noxious substances can leak away, poisoning rivers and aquifers.

Dumping waste is not the only option. There are two other possible ways of dealing with it; it can be incinerated or recycled. Though currently only a small proportion of waste is dealt with that way.

Water is one of the most basic necessities of life. We drink it, wash in it and cook in it. Animals and plants cannot do without it. But increasingly over the last hundred years water has become prone to pollution as the effluent from towns and cities, from industries and from agriculture is discharged into rivers, seas and lakes and contaminations seep down to underground aquifers. Over the years pollution has killed animals and plants and has left many rivers biologically dead. River-borne pollution has brought with it disease and death for man.

In the last twenty years or so man has woken up to the damage being done and slowly, national and international controls over what can be allowed into rivers, seas and lakes are being implemented. Cleaning up the world’s rivers and seas will be a painfully long and expensive business but all those who have studied the problem agree that it is essential. The three main materials dumped at sea are dredgings, industrial waste and sewage sludge. In addition to the accidental contamination of water-ways and land with chemicals from waste disposal, there have been serious problems in some countries as a result of chemicals which have been purposely used on the land–notably pesticides and fertilisers. Both nitrate containing fertilisers and chemical pesticides can contaminate water, and pesticides can contaminate food. There has been increasing concern among environmentalists about the effect of nitrates and pesticides on people. Though the concern about nitrates may be overstated, the problem of pesticide use, notably in developing countries, is very worrying.

One of the prime concerns is the destruction of tropical forests. In 1950 tropical forests covered nearly 25 percent of the world’s land masses. Today they cover less than 7 percent.

Having reviewed some of the significant threats to the environment, the question has to be posed: Is it too late to save the planet? The message is clear. We must act now if we are to attempt to correct the damage which has already been done to our environment. We must reassess our values and priorities before it is too late. We must, in fact, heed the warnings. Today, we must start to choose clean and green technology. Clean and green technology does not mean only clean-up technology. We will try to develop our technology but it should be environmentally friendly.

If we look carefully at the universe, we see in it an ecological balance, a harmonious interrelation and interdependence. Do you believe that this is random? So the balance of the universe created by God must be preserved. ‘Everything with Him is measured’ (13:8). Also, ‘There is not anything, but its stores are with Us and We send down each thing in an appointed measure’ (15:21). ‘God is the One who created everything in due proportion’ (54:49).

Environment is not merely an inheritance from our forefathers, for us to waste; it is a trust and an investment we make for our children. Protection and conservation of the environment is an important and vital human issue. As such, it is also an Islamic issue because the human being is the answerable creature of God, who carries the burden of using and understanding the resources of the creation; within the creation, the human being is both means and end. No other creature can perform the task of protecting the environment.

God gives us some guidance in the Qur’an:

‘He has created you from earth and made you dwell in it’ (11:61).

‘And do not withhold the things of the people unjustly and do not make mischief on the earth’ (26:183).

‘Corruption has overtaken [them] in hand and sea, for what the hands of the people have earned, that He may let them taste some of what they have done, in order that they may return’ (30:41). 

References

• Peter H. Collin (1989), Dictionary of Ecology and Environment, Collins, Middlesex, UK.
• James Wilkinson (1990), Green or Bust, BBC Books, London.
• Jonathon Porritt (1990), Friends of the Earth Handbook, MacDonald Optima, London.
• World Commission on Environment and Development (1989), Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
• Ahmet Zidan and Dina Zidan (1991), Translation of The Glorious Qur’an, Biddles Ltd., Guildford, UK.