Art is a diverse range of human activities in creating visual, auditory or performing artifacts (artworks), expressing the author's imaginative or technical skill, intended to be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power. In their most general form these activities include the production of works of art, the criticism of art, the study of the history of art, and the aesthetic dissemination of art.
In European academic traditions, fine art is art developed primarily for aesthetics or beauty, distinguishing it from applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork.
Pesticides are used around the world but can persist in the environment, contaminating drinking and irrigation water with toxic organic compounds. One example is Vietnam where herbicides and dioxins applied during the Vietnam war entered the water cycle, possibly leading to cancers and abnormalities in newborn babies.