The litter problem on the coast of Guyana, 2010

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, harm, or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms.^[1] Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light. Pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies or naturally occurring contaminants. Pollution is often classed as point source or nonpoint source pollution. The Blacksmith Institute issues an annual list of the world's worst polluted places. In the 2007 issues the ten top nominees are located in Azerbaijan, China, India, Peru, Russia, Ukraine and Zambia.^[2]

Ancient cultures[link]

Air pollution has always accompanied civilizations. Pollution started from the prehistoric times when man created the first fires. According to a 1983 article in the journal Science, "soot found on ceilings of prehistoric caves provides ample evidence of the high levels of pollution that was associated with inadequate ventilation of open fires."^[3] The forging of metals appears to be a key turning point in the creation of significant air pollution levels outside the home. Core samples of glaciers in Greenland indicate increases in pollution associated with Greek, Roman and Chinese metal production,^[4] but at that time the pollution was comparatively less and could be handled by nature.

Official acknowledgement[link]

King Edward I of England banned the burning of sea-coal by proclamation in London in 1272, after its smoke became a problem.^[5][6] But the fuel was so common in England that this earliest of names for it was acquired because it could be carted away from some shores by the wheelbarrow. Air pollution would continue to be a problem in England, especially later during the industrial revolution, and extending into the recent past with the Great Smog of 1952. London also recorded one of the earlier extreme cases of water quality problems with the Great Stink on the Thames of 1858, which led to construction of the London sewerage system soon afterward.

It was the industrial revolution that gave birth to environmental pollution as we know it today. The emergence of great factories and consumption of immense quantities of coal and other fossil fuels gave rise to unprecedented air pollution and the large volume of industrial chemical discharges added to the growing load of untreated human waste. Chicago and Cincinnati were the first two American cities to enact laws ensuring cleaner air in 1881. Other cities followed around the country until early in the 20th century, when the short lived Office of Air Pollution was created under the Department of the Interior. Extreme smog events were experienced by the cities of Los Angeles and Donora, Pennsylvania in the late 1940s, serving as another public reminder.^[7]

Modern awareness[link]

Pollution became a popular issue after World War II, due to radioactive fallout from atomic warfare and testing. Then a non-nuclear event, The Great Smog of 1952 in London, killed at least 4000 people.^[8] This prompted some of the first major modern environmental legislation, The Clean Air Act of 1956.

Pollution began to draw major public attention in the United States between the mid-1950s and early 1970s, when Congress passed the Noise Control Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.^[9]

Smog Pollution in Taiwan

Severe incidents of pollution helped increase consciousness. PCB dumping in the Hudson River resulted in a ban by the EPA on consumption of its fish in 1974. Long-term dioxin contamination at Love Canal starting in 1947 became a national news story in 1978 and led to the Superfund legislation of 1980. Legal proceedings in the 1990s helped bring to light hexavalent chromium releases in California--the champions of whose victims became famous. The pollution of industrial land gave rise to the name brownfield, a term now common in city planning.

The development of nuclear science introduced radioactive contamination, which can remain lethally radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years. Lake Karachay, named by the Worldwatch Institute as the "most polluted spot" on earth, served as a disposal site for the Soviet Union throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Second place may go to the area of Chelyabinsk U.S.S.R. (see reference below) as the "Most polluted place on the planet".^{[citation needed]}

Nuclear weapons continued to be tested in the Cold War, sometimes near inhabited areas, especially in the earlier stages of their development. The toll on the worst-affected populations and the growth since then in understanding about the critical threat to human health posed by radioactivity has also been a prohibitive complication associated with nuclear power. Though extreme care is practiced in that industry, the potential for disaster suggested by incidents such as those at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl pose a lingering specter of public mistrust. One legacy of nuclear testing before most forms were banned has been significantly raised levels of background radiation.^{[citation needed]}

International catastrophes such as the wreck of the Amoco Cadiz oil tanker off the coast of Brittany in 1978 and the Bhopal disaster in 1984 have demonstrated the universality of such events and the scale on which efforts to address them needed to engage. The borderless nature of atmosphere and oceans inevitably resulted in the implication of pollution on a planetary level with the issue of global warming. Most recently the term persistent organic pollutant (POP) has come to describe a group of chemicals such as PBDEs and PFCs among others. Though their effects remain somewhat less well understood owing to a lack of experimental data, they have been detected in various ecological habitats far removed from industrial activity such as the Arctic, demonstrating diffusion and bioaccumulation after only a relatively brief period of widespread use.

Growing evidence of local and global pollution and an increasingly informed public over time have given rise to environmentalism and the environmental movement, which generally seek to limit human impact on the environment.

Forms of pollution[link]

The Lachine Canal in Montreal Canada, is polluted.

The major forms of pollution are listed below along with the particular contaminant relevant to each of them:

• Air pollution:- the release of chemicals and particulates into the atmosphere. Common gaseous pollutants include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and nitrogen oxides produced by industry and motor vehicles. Photochemical ozone and smog are created as nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons react to sunlight. Particulate matter, or fine dust is characterized by their micrometre size PM₁₀ to PM_2.5.

• Light pollution:- includes light trespass, over-illumination and astronomical interference.
• Littering:- the criminal throwing of inappropriate man-made objects, unremoved, onto public and private properties.
• Noise pollution:- which encompasses roadway noise, aircraft noise, industrial noise as well as high-intensity sonar.
• Soil contamination occurs when chemicals are released by spill or underground leakage. Among the most significant soil contaminants are hydrocarbons, heavy metals, MTBE,^[10] herbicides, pesticides and chlorinated hydrocarbons.
• Radioactive contamination, resulting from 20th century activities in atomic physics, such as nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons research, manufacture and deployment. (See alpha emitters and actinides in the environment.)
• Thermal pollution, is a temperature change in natural water bodies caused by human influence, such as use of water as coolant in a power plant.
• Visual pollution, which can refer to the presence of overhead power lines, motorway billboards, scarred landforms (as from strip mining), open storage of trash, municipal solid waste or space debris.
• Water pollution, by the discharge of wastewater from commercial and industrial waste (intentionally or through spills) into surface waters; discharges of untreated domestic sewage, and chemical contaminants, such as chlorine, from treated sewage; release of waste and contaminants into surface runoff flowing to surface waters (including urban runoff and agricultural runoff, which may contain chemical fertilizers and pesticides); waste disposal and leaching into groundwater; eutrophication and littering.

Pollutants[link]

A pollutant is a waste material that pollutes air, water or soil. Three factors determine the severity of a pollutant: its chemical nature, the concentration and the persistence.

Sources and causes[link]

Air pollution produced by ships may alter clouds, affecting global temperatures.

Air pollution comes from both natural and human-made (anthropogenic) sources. However, globally human-made pollutants from combustion, construction, mining, agriculture and warfare are increasingly significant in the air pollution equation.^[11]

Motor vehicle emissions are one of the leading causes of air pollution.^[12][13][14] China, United States, Russia, Mexico, and Japan are the world leaders in air pollution emissions. Principal stationary pollution sources include chemical plants, coal-fired power plants, oil refineries,^[15] petrochemical plants, nuclear waste disposal activity, incinerators, large livestock farms (dairy cows, pigs, poultry, etc.), PVC factories, metals production factories, plastics factories, and other heavy industry. Agricultural air pollution comes from contemporary practices which include clear felling and burning of natural vegetation as well as spraying of pesticides and herbicides^[16]

About 400 million metric tons of hazardous wastes are generated each year.^[17] The United States alone produces about 250 million metric tons.^[18] Americans constitute less than 5% of the world's population, but produce roughly 25% of the world’s CO₂,^[19] and generate approximately 30% of world’s waste.^[20][21] In 2007, China has overtaken the United States as the world's biggest producer of CO₂,^[22] while still far behind based on per capita pollution - ranked 78th among the world's nations.^[23]

In February 2007, a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), representing the work of 2,500 scientists, economists, and policymakers from more than 120 countries, said that humans have been the primary cause of global warming since 1950. Humans have ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions and avoid the consequences of global warming, a major climate report concluded. But to change the climate, the transition from fossil fuels like coal and oil needs to occur within decades, according to the final report this year from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).^[24]

Some of the more common soil contaminants are chlorinated hydrocarbons (CFH), heavy metals (such as chromium, cadmium–found in rechargeable batteries, and lead–found in lead paint, aviation fuel and still in some countries, gasoline), MTBE, zinc, arsenic and benzene. In 2001 a series of press reports culminating in a book called Fateful Harvest unveiled a widespread practice of recycling industrial byproducts into fertilizer, resulting in the contamination of the soil with various metals. Ordinary municipal landfills are the source of many chemical substances entering the soil environment (and often groundwater), emanating from the wide variety of refuse accepted, especially substances illegally discarded there, or from pre-1970 landfills that may have been subject to little control in the U.S. or EU. There have also been some unusual releases of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, commonly called dioxins for simplicity, such as TCDD.^[25]

Pollution can also be the consequence of a natural disaster. For example, hurricanes often involve water contamination from sewage, and petrochemical spills from ruptured boats or automobiles. Larger scale and environmental damage is not uncommon when coastal oil rigs or refineries are involved. Some sources of pollution, such as nuclear power plants or oil tankers, can produce widespread and potentially hazardous releases when accidents occur.

In the case of noise pollution the dominant source class is the motor vehicle, producing about ninety percent of all unwanted noise worldwide.

Effects[link]

Human health[link]

Overview of main health effects on humans from some common types of pollution.^[26][27][28]

Adverse air quality can kill many organisms including humans. Ozone pollution can cause respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, throat inflammation, chest pain, and congestion. Water pollution causes approximately 14,000 deaths per day, mostly due to contamination of drinking water by untreated sewage in developing countries. An estimated 700 million Indians have no access to a proper toilet, and 1,000 Indian children die of diarrhoeal sickness every day.^[29] Nearly 500 million Chinese lack access to safe drinking water.^[30] 656,000 people die prematurely each year in China because of air pollution. In India, air pollution is believed to cause 527,700 fatalities a year.^[31] Studies have estimated that the number of people killed annually in the US could be over 50,000.^[32]

Oil spills can cause skin irritations and rashes. Noise pollution induces hearing loss, high blood pressure, stress, and sleep disturbance. Mercury has been linked to developmental deficits in children and neurologic symptoms. Older people are majorly exposed to diseases induced by air pollution. Those with heart or lung disorders are under additional risk. Children and infants are also at serious risk. Lead and other heavy metals have been shown to cause neurological problems. Chemical and radioactive substances can cause cancer and as well as birth defects.

Environment[link]

Pollution has been found to be present widely in the environment. There are a number of effects of this:

• Biomagnification describes situations where toxins (such as heavy metals) may pass through trophic levels, becoming exponentially more concentrated in the process.
• Carbon dioxide emissions cause ocean acidification, the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's oceans as CO₂ becomes dissolved.
• The emission of greenhouse gases leads to global warming which affects ecosystems in many ways.
• Invasive species can out compete native species and reduce biodiversity. Invasive plants can contribute debris and biomolecules (allelopathy) that can alter soil and chemical compositions of an environment, often reducing native species competitiveness.
• Nitrogen oxides are removed from the air by rain and fertilise land which can change the species composition of ecosystems.
• Smog and haze can reduce the amount of sunlight received by plants to carry out photosynthesis and leads to the production of tropospheric ozone which damages plants.
• Soil can become infertile and unsuitable for plants. This will affect other organisms in the food web.
• Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides can cause acid rain which lowers the pH value of soil.

Environmental health information[link]

The Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program (TEHIP)^[33] at the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) maintains a comprehensive toxicology and environmental health web site that includes access to resources produced by TEHIP and by other government agencies and organizations. This web site includes links to databases, bibliographies, tutorials, and other scientific and consumer-oriented resources. TEHIP also is responsible for the Toxicology Data Network (TOXNET)^[34] an integrated system of toxicology and environmental health databases that are available free of charge on the web.

TOXMAP is a Geographic Information System (GIS) that is part of TOXNET. TOXMAP uses maps of the United States to help users visually explore data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Toxics Release Inventory and Superfund Basic Research Programs.

Regulation and monitoring[link]

To protect the environment from the adverse effects of pollution, many nations worldwide have enacted legislation to regulate various types of pollution as well as to mitigate the adverse effects of pollution.

Pollution control[link]

A litter trap catches floating rubbish in the Yarra River, east-central Victoria, Australia

A dust collector in Pristina, Kosovo

Gas nozzle with vapor recovery

A Mobile Pollution Check Vehicle in India.

Pollution control is a term used in environmental management. It means the control of emissions and effluents into air, water or soil. Without pollution control, the waste products from consumption, heating, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, transportation and other human activities, whether they accumulate or disperse, will degrade the environment. In the hierarchy of controls, pollution prevention and waste minimization are more desirable than pollution control. In the field of land development, low impact development is a similar technique for the prevention of urban runoff.

Practices[link]

• recycling
• reusing
• reducing
• mitigating
• preventing
• compost

Pollution control devices[link]

• Dust collection systems
  • Baghouses
  • Cyclones
  • Electrostatic precipitators
• Scrubbers
  • Baffle spray scrubber
  • Cyclonic spray scrubber
  • Ejector venturi scrubber
  • Mechanically aided scrubber
  • Spray tower
  • Wet scrubber
• Sewage treatment
  • Sedimentation (Primary treatment)
  • Activated sludge biotreaters (Secondary treatment; also used for industrial wastewater)
  • Aerated lagoons
  • Constructed wetlands (also used for urban runoff)
• Industrial wastewater treatment
  • API oil-water separators^[15][35]
  • Biofilters
  • Dissolved air flotation (DAF)
  • Powdered activated carbon treatment
  • Ultrafiltration
• Vapor recovery systems
• Phytoremediation

Perspectives[link]

The earliest precursor of pollution generated by life forms would have been a natural function of their existence. The attendant consequences on viability and population levels fell within the sphere of natural selection. These would have included the demise of a population locally or ultimately, species extinction. Processes that were untenable would have resulted in a new balance brought about by changes and adaptations. At the extremes, for any form of life, consideration of pollution is superseded by that of survival.

For humankind, the factor of technology is a distinguishing and critical consideration, both as an enabler and an additional source of byproducts. Short of survival, human concerns include the range from quality of life to health hazards. Since science holds experimental demonstration to be definitive, modern treatment of toxicity or environmental harm involves defining a level at which an effect is observable. Common examples of fields where practical measurement is crucial include automobile emissions control, industrial exposure (e.g. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) PELs), toxicology (e.g. LD₅₀), and medicine (e.g. medication and radiation doses).

"The solution to pollution is dilution", is a dictum which summarizes a traditional approach to pollution management whereby sufficiently diluted pollution is not harmful.^[36][37] It is well-suited to some other modern, locally scoped applications such as laboratory safety procedure and hazardous material release emergency management. But it assumes that the dilutant is in virtually unlimited supply for the application or that resulting dilutions are acceptable in all cases.

Such simple treatment for environmental pollution on a wider scale might have had greater merit in earlier centuries when physical survival was often the highest imperative, human population and densities were lower, technologies were simpler and their byproducts more benign. But these are often no longer the case. Furthermore, advances have enabled measurement of concentrations not possible before. The use of statistical methods in evaluating outcomes has given currency to the principle of probable harm in cases where assessment is warranted but resorting to deterministic models is impractical or infeasible. In addition, consideration of the environment beyond direct impact on human beings has gained prominence.

Yet in the absence of a superseding principle, this older approach predominates practices throughout the world. It is the basis by which to gauge concentrations of effluent for legal release, exceeding which penalties are assessed or restrictions applied. One such superseding principle is contained in modern hazardous waste laws in developed countries, as the process of diluting hazardous waste to make it non-hazardous is usually a regulated treatment process.^[38] Migration from pollution dilution to elimination in many cases can be confronted by challenging economical and technological barriers.

Greenhouse gases and global warming[link]

Historical and projected CO₂ emissions by country.
Source: Energy Information Administration.^[39][40]

Carbon dioxide, while vital for photosynthesis, is sometimes referred to as pollution, because raised levels of the gas in the atmosphere are affecting the Earth's climate. Disruption of the environment can also highlight the connection between areas of pollution that would normally be classified separately, such as those of water and air. Recent studies have investigated the potential for long-term rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide to cause slight but critical increases in the acidity of ocean waters, and the possible effects of this on marine ecosystems.

See also[link]

Environment portal

• Environmental health
• Hazardous Substances Data Bank
• Regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pollution

Look up pollution in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

	Book: Pollution
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• OEHHA proposition 65 list
• OSHA limits for air contaminants
• National Toxicology Program – from USA National Institutes of Health. Reports and studies on how pollutants affect people
• TOXNET – NIH databases and reports on toxicology
• TOXMAP – Geographic Information System (GIS) that uses maps of the United States to help users visually explore data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxics Release Inventory and Superfund Basic Research Programs
• EPA.gov – manages Superfund sites and the pollutants in them (CERCLA). Map the EPA Superfund
• Toxic Release Inventory – tracks how much waste USA companies release into the water and air. Gives permits for releasing specific quantities of these pollutants each year. Map EPA's Toxic Release Inventory
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry – Top 20 pollutants, how they affect people, what USA industries use them and the products in which they are found
• Toxicology Tutorials from the National Library of Medicine – resources to review human toxicology.
• Pollution Information from, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• World's Worst Polluted Places 2007, according to the Blacksmith Institute
• The World's Most Polluted Places at Time.com (a division of Time Magazine)
• Chelyabinsk: The Most Contaminated Spot on the Planet Documentary Film by Slawomir Grünberg (1996)
• Kids' Lower IQ Scores Linked To Prenatal Pollution by Lindsey Tanner, The Huffington Post, July 20, 2009
• Nieman Reports | Tracking Toxics When the Data Are Polluted

Look up guide in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Austrian mountain guides Anselm Klotz (left) and Josef Frey (right), 19th century

A guide is a person who leads anyone through unknown or unmapped country. This includes a guide of the real world (such as someone who conducts travellers and tourists through a place of interest), as well as a person who leads someone to more abstract places (such as to knowledge or wisdom).

Guide - meanings related to travel and recreational pursuits[link]

There are many variants of guides in this context, and guides are often employed in any aspect of travel or adventure, or wherever there is an advantage to the client in terms of knowledge provided in improving the overall travel experience or making the client feel more safe due to the presumed expertise of the guide.
These days guides will normally possess an area and field-specific qualification usually issued and/or recognised by the appropriate Guide's Association or licensing authority. However this is not always the case, and it is advisable for travellers paying a premium to go on an organised tour or journey because they think this will mean they will have a better experience to check the guide's qualifications beforehand.
Explorers in the past venturing into territory unknown by their own people invariably hired guides. American West explorers Lewis and Clark hired a Shoshone Indian woman Sacagawea, and Wilfred Thesiger hired guides in the deserts that he ventured into, such as Kuri on his journey to the Tibesti Mountains in 1938.
Aside from knowing the way or the area geographically, modern guides are usually hired to act as interpreters for those travellers who do not speak the local language and provide cultural, historical or other information on the area visited. Travel companies organising tours of large groups often have a guide or tour leader accompany the group. They might also be trained in First Aid and have other skills that reduce the risk for the tour operator to conduct these tours or the travel agency selling them.
Here are some examples of guide professions:

Tourist guide[link]

A tour guide at the Centre Block in Canada.

Tourist Guides are representatives of the cities, regions and countries for which they are qualified. It depends largely on them if visitors feel welcome, want to stay longer or decide to come back. They therefore contribute considerably to the perception of the destination. Tourist Guides are able to help travellers understand the culture of the region visited and the way of life of its inhabitants. They have a particular role on the one hand to promote the cultural and natural heritage whilst on the other hand to help ensure its sustainability by making visitors aware of its importance and vulnerability. [EN 13809:2003]

Mountain guide[link]

Mountain guides are those employed in mountaineering; these are not merely to show the way but stand in the position of professional climbers with an expert knowledge of rock and snowcraft, which they impart to the amateur, at the same time assuring the safety of the climbing party. This professional class of guides arose in the middle of the 19th century when Alpine climbing became recognized as a sport.

In Switzerland, the central committee of the Swiss Alpine Club issues a guides’ tariff which fixes the charges for guides and porters; there are three sections, for the Valais and Vaudois Alps, for the Bernese Oberland, and for central and eastern Switzerland.

In Chamonix (France) a statue has been raised to Jacques Balmat, who was the first to climb Mont Blanc in 1786. Other notable European guides are Auguste Balmat, Michel Cros, Maquignay, J. A. Carrel, who accompanied Edward Whymper to the Andes, the brothers Lauener, Christian Almer and Jakob and Melchior Anderegg.

Adirondack guides (carrying and rowing guideboats on the Raquette River, 1888

Wilderness guide[link]

A wilderness guide is a person who takes a number of individuals to visit some part of wilderness, such as forest, bogs, hills, on or off marked paths, and ensure the safety of the group while leading them through the wilderness which the guide has knowledge of.

The first priority is the safety of the group, which is why wilderness guides are expected to have a command of basic survival skills (such as making shelters, fire-making, hiking, orienteering and first-aid) as well as experience in survival in extreme conditions and all seasons, and how to deal with an emergency. The guide is also expected to have a deep understanding of the nature of the place he is guiding in, and able to answer questions of the group concerning the local flora and fauna, ecology, geological morphology, as well as cultural history of the place visited.

Other skills may include traditional handicrafts and cooking methods, fishing, hunting, bird watching, nature conservation and animal specialties.

These wilderness guided tours usually take place on foot (or skis or snowshoes if there is snow) but may also involve other vehicles such as cars, snowmobiles, canoes/kayaks, or sledges (traditionally pulled by huskies or reindeers in countries such as Sweden, Finland and Canada).^[1]

Hunting guide[link]

Guides employed by those seeking to hunt wildlife, especially big game animals in the wild. Hunting guides have been important in many areas of the world, including the American west, the Adirondacks, and Africa, etc. Hunting guides in Africa of European descent are commonly referred to as White hunter, although this is becoming a less fashionable term these days, as in most African countries today there are also native African "hunters" or hunting guides.

Safari guide[link]

Guides employed on safari, usually for "photographic safaris", although the term can also refer to a "hunting guide" or Professional Hunter. Safari guides who are self-employed, working on their own account with their own marketing and clientele (in contrast with those who work for an employer) sometimes refer to themselves as "professional safari guides".

Military guides and development of Guides Regiments[link]

In European wars up to the time of the French Revolution, the absence of large-scale detailed maps made local guides almost essential to the direction of military operations. In the 18th century the stricter organization of military resources led in various countries to the special training of guide officers who had the primary duty of finding, and if necessary establishing, routes across country. In the history of the American west, Native Americans and mountain men were important in leading military units and settlers alike.

The genesis of the "Guides" regiments may be found in a short-lived Corps of Guides formed by Napoleon in Italy in 1796, which appears to have been a personal escort or body guard composed of men who knew the country. Following the unification of Italy in 1870-71, the new national army included a regiment designated as Guides - the 19th Cavalleggieri (Light Horse).

In the Belgian Army the two Guides regiments, created respectively in 1833 and 1874, constituted part of the light cavalry and came to correspond to the Guard cavalry of other nations. Until the outbreak of World War I, they wore a distinctive uniform comprising a plumed busby, green dolman braided in yellow, and crimson breeches. Mechanised in October 1937, both regiments form armoured battalions in the modern Belgian Army.

In the Swiss army prior to 1914 the squadrons of "Guides" acted as divisional cavalry. In this role these light cavalry units were called upon, on occasion, to lead columns.

The "Queen’s own Corps of Guides" of the British Indian Army consisted of a unique combination of infantry companies and cavalry squadrons. After World War I the infantry element was incorporated in the 12th Frontier Force Regiment and the Guides Cavalry formed a separate regiment - the 10th Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides Cavalry (Frontier Force).

In drill, a "guide" is an officer or non-commissioned officer who regulates the direction and pace of movements.

Guide - metaphysical meanings[link]

Trip sitter[link]

A psychedelic guide is someone who guides a drug user's experiences as opposed to a sitter who merely remains present, ready to discourage bad trips and handle emergencies but not otherwise getting involved. Guides are more common amongst spiritual users of entheogens. Psychedelic guides were strongly encouraged by Timothy Leary and the other authors of The Psychedelic Experience: A Guide Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Trip sitters are also mentioned in the Responsible Drug User's Oath.

Guided meditation[link]

Jim Bridger served as guide and army scout during the first Powder River Expedition against the Sioux and Cheyenne

In Islam[link]

In Islam "Ar-Rashid", one of the 99 Names of Allah, means The Guide. From this is derived the common Arabic name Rashid.

References[link]

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.  Original text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.

1. ^ Tampere College. "International Wilderness Guide program". http://www.tao.tampere.fi/tao/TAOWWWAIKUISET/era-_ja_luonto-oppaan_at_%28international_wilderness_guide%29.html. Retrieved 2011-10-13. 

Mark Farmer is a British comic book artist. He is best known as an inker, often working with Alan Davis.

Biography[link]

Farmer got his start in the UK comics industry before becoming part of the British Invasion, the wave of UK creators that were an integral part of the DC Comics "new look" of the 1980s

He is primarily known these days as an inker, although he has done some pencilling as well (for instance, collaborating with writer Len Wein on an early 1980s run on Green Lantern). Like nearly all those involved in the British Invasion, Farmer got his start at the British weekly comic 2000 AD, where he pencilled such series as Judge Dredd and Anderson: Psi Division.

Farmer usually forms a team with writer/pencil er Alan Davis. The pair, who first teamed on 1987's D.R. and Quinch for 2000 AD, have worked together on such titles as Marvel Comics' Excalibur, Avengers, Fantastic Four and Uncanny X-Men. For DC their work includes Superman and JLA as well as cover work on Green Lantern. He also helped co-write Gen¹³: Bootleg.

In 2004, Farmer inked John Byrne's pencils on Superman: True Brit a graphic novel written by former Monty Python member John Cleese and Kim Johnson. It reimagines the origin of Superman, by considering how Clark Kent's upbringing would be different if his spaceship had crashed in England instead of the fictional town of Smallville.^[1]

Farmer has also inked other pencillers, such as Dale Keown and Brandon Peterson.

Bibliography[link]

Comics work includes:

• Tharg's Future Shocks:
  • "Uncommon Sense" (with Alan Hebden and Mike Collins, in 2000 AD #372, 1984)
  • "Letter to Ernie" (with Win Wiacek, in 2000 AD #544, 1987)
  • "Bliss" (with Alan McKenzie, in 2000 AD #571, 1988)

• Rogue Trooper: "Killothon" (inks, with Pat Mills and pencils by Mike Collins, in Dice Man #3, 1986)

• Slaine (with Pat Mills and Mike Collins):
  • "Spoils of Annwn" (in 2000 AD #493-499, 1986)
  • "The Ring of Danu" (in Dice Man #4, 1986)

• Judge Dredd:
  • "The Taxidermist" (inks, with John Wagner/Alan Grant and pencils by Cam Kennedy, in 2000 AD #507-510, 1987)
  • "Heatwave" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant and Mike Collins, in 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 1987)
  • "The Horsemen of the Apocalypse" (with John Wagner/Alan Grant and Mike Collins, in 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 1987)
  • "The Stunning Stunts Club" (with Alan Grant, in Judge Dredd Annual 1990, 1989)

• D.R. and Quinch: "DR & Quinch's Agony Page" (inks, with Jamie Delano and co-author and pencils by Alan Davis, in 2000 AD #525-534, 1987)

• Action Force: "Old Scores" (with Grant Morrison, in Action Force Monthly, Marvel UK, 1988)^[2]

• Anderson: Psi Division (with Alan Grant, in 2000 AD #607-609, 1989)

• Doctor Who (inks, with pencils by Lee Sullivan):
  • "Darkness Falling/Distractions/The Mark of Mandragora" (with Dan Abnett, in Doctor Who Magazine #167-172, 1989)
  • "The Chameleon Factor" (with Paul Cornell, in Doctor Who Magazine #174, 1989)

• Excalibur
• Animal Man: Origin of the Species (with Grant Morrison, tpb collects Animal Man #10-17 and Secret Origins #39, Vertigo, 2002 ISBN 1-56389-890-X)^[3]

• JLA:
  • The Nail (with script and pencils by Alan Davis, 3-issue mini-series, DC Comics, 1998)
  • JLA: Another Nail (with script and pencils by Alan Davis, 3-issue mini-series, DC Comics, 2004)
  • Classified
  • Crisis of Conscience

• The Avengers
• Batman: Year Two: Fear The Reaper
• Nightwing: On the Razor's Edge
• Gen¹³: Bootleg
• Superboy's Legion (inker and writer; pencils by Alan Davis, 2-issue mini-series, DC Comics, 2001)*The Legion (2003)
• Superman: True Brit (inks, with John Cleese and Kim Johnson, and pencils by John Byrne, DC Comics Elseworlds, 2004)
• Fantastic Four: The End (inks, written and drawn by Alan Davis, Marvel Comics, 2007)
• ClanDestine #1-5 (inks, written and drawn by Alan Davis, Marvel Comics, 2008, tpb, ClanDestine: Blood Relative Premiere, hardcover, 120 pages, October 2008, ISBN 0-7851-2740-2)

Awards[link]

• 1992 nominated for "Best Inker" Eisner Award, for The Incredible Hulk
• 2000 nominated for "Favourite Comic Book Artist (inking)" Eagle Award
• 2001 won "Favourite Comic Book Artist (inks)" Eagle Award
• 2006 nominated "Favourite Comic Book Artist (inks)" Eagle Award
• 2007 nominated "Favourite Comic Book Artist (inks)" Eagle Award

Notes[link]

References[link]

Karyn Parsons
Born	(1966-10-08) October 8, 1966 (age 45)[1] Hollywood, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, model, producer
Years active	1987–present
Spouse	Randy Brooks (divorced) Alexandre Rockwell (2003-present) 2 children

Karyn Parsons (born October 8, 1966)^[2] is an American television and film actress and model best known for the role of Hilary Banks on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Early life[link]

Parsons was born in Los Angeles, California to a White father, Kenneth B. Parsons, and Black mother Louise Hubert. Her father is White and of French-Canadian descent her mother is black Trinidadian. She talked about her parentage in an interview 2008 with Essence. ^[3]She attended Santa Monica High School.^[4]

Career[link]

Parsons is known for her role as Hilary Banks on the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which ran from 1990 to 1996. She co-created, co-produced and co-starred in the sitcom Lush Life in 1996, which was later canceled. In 2001, she starred in the critically acclaimed but short-lived television series The Job with Denis Leary.

Besides television, Parsons has also starred in several films, particularly in comedies such as Late Nights (1992), Major Payne (1995) and The Ladies Man (2000). Parsons' current project is Sweet Blackberry, producing a line of animated films about unsung black heroes. The first in the series is about Henry Box Brown, a slave who mailed himself to freedom.^[5]

Personal life[link]

Parsons' first marriage was to The Young and the Restless actor Randy Brooks, but they later divorced in the '90s. Parsons remarried to director Alexandre Rockwell in 2003. Together they have a daughter named Lana (born March 2003) and a son named Nico (born May 2007).^[6]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Karyn Parsons at the Internet Movie Database