Wider Journeys Pollution

Suddenly, from behind the rim cfthe moon, in hn, slow otim moments of immense majesty, there emerges a sparkling blue and white jewel, a light, delicate, sky-blue sphere laced with slowly swirling veils of white, rising gradually like a small pearl in a thick sea of black mystery. 

It takes more than a moment to fully realize this is Earth. 

Alan S. Kolok, Modem Poisons A Brief Introduction to Contemporary Toxicology, DOI 10.5822/ 978-l-61091-609-7 6, 2016 Alan S. Kolok. 

Earth s namral environment can be divided into compartments, much the same way that an organism can be divided into different organs or organ systems. For the biosphere, three of the most relevant compartments are the atmosphere, the water, and the landmass. When toxic and nontoxic molecules are released into the environment, they can move from one compartment to another, with their movements governed by attributes of the chemical as well as attributes of the environment in which it is moving. 

Changes from one compartment to another are known as phase transitions, as compounds can transition from solid to liquid to gas. For elements and small molecules, these transitions are intimately associated with geochemical cycling as elements naturally transition from one phase to another. The common elements carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus have the vast bulk of their matter locked up in solid form within the crust of the Earth, where they may remain stable for eons. A much smaller pool of these molecules may transition from solid to being dissolved in water, to being volatilized into the atmosphere. 

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