Turkey
ozone
destruction of, 204–5
oxygen-ozone, 204—5
ultraviolet rays, 203–4
PAHs (polyaromatic hydrocarbons), 156, 165, 267
paleolithic humans
in Africa, 68–71
and slash-and-burn agriculture, 167–68
toolmakers, 68–69
Paleozoic Era, end of, 230
Palm Beach Hotel (Varosha, Cyprus), 91–92, 93–95
Constantia Hotel Palmyra Atoll (Line Islands), 264–65
as munitions dump, 258–59
Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (AZ), 209–11, 212, 213
Panama Canal, 173–75, 177–79, 178
Culebra Cut, 176–77
electricity and, 175, 177
engineering and building, 175–77
Lake Gatun, 176, 177, 179–80
Lake Alajuela, 177
Madden Dam, 177, 179
Rio Chagres, 175–76, 177–79
and wildlife, 199–200
without humans, 176–77, 178–70
Panama City, 179
paper, survival of, 248
pavement
deterioration of, 26–27
Pazar, Michael, 238
PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), 125–26, 156, 267
and hermaphroditic polar bears, 159
Perez, Abdiel, 175–77
permafrost
thaw of, 219–20, 220–21
methane deposits, 220–21
Permian Extinction, 229–31
Peters, Chuck, 29, 32
Petexbatun (Mayan kingdom), 226, 227–28
petrochemical industry
accidents, 136, 138–40
Houston and, 132–33
storage, 135–36
petrochemicals
butadiene, 132
styrene, 132
synthetic rubber, 131–32
chemicals; petroleum; plastics; polymer
petroleum
BP, 135
pipelines, 132–33
and plant life, 31
salt dome storage caverns, 133
synthetic rubber, 131–32
Valero, 135, 136
plant life
extreme conditions, tolerance to, 159–60
genetic modification, 159, 160–62
Ice Age and, 61–62
nonnative invaders, 29–30, 30–31, 32
threats to, 29
plant resurgence
in New York City, 27, 27–28
in Chernobyl, 215–56
plaster walls
deterioration of, 18
plastic
Bakelite, 115, 118, 237
biodegradation of, 17–18, 18, 125–26, 127–28
consumption after 1945, 118–19
ecological damage from, 119–20
natural polymers, 118
particles polluting the oceans, 113–14, 114–16, 116–18, 118–19, 119–20, 120–23, 123–24, 124–25, 125–26, 126–28
photodegradation of, 126
Styrofoam, 118, 131
polymer
plastic bags
ecological damage from, 116–17
plastic particles
polluting the oceans, 113–14, 114–16, 116–18, 118–19, 119–20, 120–23, 123–24, 124–25, 125–26, 126–28, 264
sources of, 116–17
Pliny, 247
plutonium, 202
Chernobyl, 214–15
half-life, 202
Plym River (U.K.), 112, 113
Plymouth (U.K.), 112–13
World War II, 112
Poland
Bialowieza Puszcza, 9–10, 10, 11, 12–13, 13–14, 217
and World War II, 22
polymer
Bakelite, 115, 118, 237
