“Pollution is the process of making land, water, air or other parts of the environment dirty and unsafe or unsuitable to use. This can be done through the introduction of a contaminant into a natural environment, but the contaminant doesn't need to be tangible. Things as simple as light, sound and temperature can be considered pollutants when introduced artificially into an environment.” Pollution is made out of many things, but in the end those many things are harming our environment, our planet. Through the contamination that’s happening on earth, it’s not only effecting human beings, but animals as well. When it comes to pollution the first things that comes to mind is trash, however there is more than one pollution that is occurring such as Water pollution, Air Pollution, Soil Pollution, Thermal Pollution, Radioactive Pollution, Noise Pollution, and Light Pollution. If there is so much pollution going on then who and what are causing these contaminations, how are we being affected by it, and what can we do stop this from going on further.
Water pollution can be caused by Industrial waste, dumping solid wastes, littering, or oil spills getting dumped into the ocean leading to a chemical imbalance effecting our aquatic friends and humans. This pollution affects our aquatic friends greatly because they live in ocean and that’s their habitat causing them an early death and even leading to some animal extinction due to the toxins there taking in. Humans are also affected by this because we share and drink out of the same resource, so we are also in taking those harmful toxins causing many health problems. Some people also like “seafood” which are animals from the oceans, however if those animals are taking in those toxins and then someone else is eating them then them too are effected by the water which is unsafe to eat and causing future health problems.
Why should we care about our water being polluted? Is Water not an essential element to have and be grateful for? We need water to live in the first place, we can be starving for days and still survive, but without water we won’t last a day. Water gives life to every living thing on the earth for example, trees that make your home, plants that help you breathe, the vegetables and fruit that help you get healthier and stronger, the animals who are striving to survive from extinction, and the water that keeps humans alive. Water is everywhere, but is it safe to drink. There’s water coming through our facets when we brush our teeth, take a shower, cleaning our fruits. How do we know if the water in our own home is safe to drink out of or bush our teeth without having the thought there is lead, and mercury.
People can take certain preventable measures to stop water pollution like being more cautious of dumping contaminants onto the water. For the repair of the damage that has already been done, water treatment plants are being constructed with innovative techniques to clean the polluted water. But as always a certain part of the damage can be resolved therefore, it is better to prevent water pollution as water is basic need for the survival of man.
Water Pollution Facts:
•Fourteen billion pounds of garbage, which is mostly plastic, is dumped into the ocean every year.
•The Ganges River in India is one the most polluted rivers in the world with sewage, trash, food, and animal remains.
•According to United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) estimates, 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, stormwater, and industrial waste is dumped into U.S. waters annually.
•About 700 million people globally drink contaminated water.
•Aquatic animals face an extinction rate of five times more than that of terrestrial animals.
•Over 30 billion tons of urban sewage is discharged into lakes, rivers and oceans every year.
•The massive oil spill that was caused by British Petroleum (BP) in the year 2010 caused over 1,000 animals to die. Many of them were on the endangered species list.
•According to UNICEF, more than 3,000 children die every day all over the world due to consumption of contaminated drinking water.
•Pollution is one of the biggest killers in the world, affecting over 100 million people.
•Lack of proper sanitation in water leads to diseases like cholera, malaria and diarrhea.
•At least 320 million people in China do not have access to clean drinking water
Air Pollution
“The contamination of the air present in the atmosphere is known as “Air pollution”. Respiration is an important life process of all living things. We breathe in the air present in the atmosphere. Therefore if the air around us is contaminated with poisonous gases, it would have a fatal effect on us. The air naturally comprises of 78% of nitrogen, 21% of oxygen, 0.9% of oxide gases and 0.1% of inert gases. When this balance is disturbed, it causes disruptions of severe proportions.”
Air Pollution can be caused by gases released from internal combustion engines add poisonous gases into the atmosphere. Some industries releases gases like Sulphur Dioxide and Carbon Monoxide which are harmful gases and when its mixed into the air sometimes can cause acid rains which is not health to breathe in. Air pollution can also be caused of burning plastic, wood, rubber, toxic waste, and the Industrial Plants does help either because chemicals are constantly being release into the air which we are inhaling.
Air Pollution is harmful and can cause serious illness which can lead to death. We need to breathe it’s an involuntary movement that our bodies need to survive. Not only are we being affected by our animals, plants, and beloved home earth are endanger as well. Why should we care? Earth is our home and by having toxins in the atmosphere can cause a ripple in the ozone layer. The Ozone layer protects us from harmful radiation and if the layer thins out it can increase ultraviolet radiation which can cause skin cancer, and weakening of the immune system. It can also cause problems to our crops and animals because of the radiation they can develop normally like they usually do and which is affecting them to reproduce properly can become scares in the near future. Animals and crops are very important to have because we need them to survive, so we can live as well. Without any reproduction going on, we as human and earth will come to an end. Air pollution is very fatal to every living thing since air is an essential element for us to breathe and survive.
Air Pollution Facts:
•Air pollution affects kids more than adults due to higher concentrations of polluted air in their systems per body size.
•India is the country with the worst air quality in the world.
•The European Union would save 161 billion euros a year if deaths caused by air pollution were diminished.
•In large cities, over 80% of fatal pollutants that cause lung damage come from cars, buses, motorcycles and other vehicles on the road.
•According to the World Health Organization, there are as many deaths (1.3 million per year) in the world due to air pollution as there are deaths due to car accidents.
•The average adult breathes 3,000 gallons of air every day.
•Each weekend, more than 800 million gallons of gas per year are used in lawn mowers in the United States, producing up to 5% of total air pollution.
•Vehicle exhaust contributes 60% of all carbon monoxide emissions in the United States and can go to over 90% for large cities.
•The Great Smog of London in 1952 was one of the worst air pollution events in history with over 8,000 deaths.
•The largest cause of air pollution in Europe is road transportation with over 5,000 people dying each year from lung cancer and heart attacks caused by vehicle exhaust fumes.
Soil Pollution is stripping the soil of its natural fertility by using artificial chemicals like pesticides, insecticides, ripening agents etc. Plants depend on the nitrogenous compounds in the soil for their nutrition and if chemicals are absorb in the soil it can cause plants not to grow properly. Plants are responsible for holding the soil together firmly so, when the plants can’t grow the soil splits, leading to soil erosion. We need soil and plants, so our crops can grow and with all these chemicals, it can cause harm to our body for in taking those chemicals that were insert into our crops.
Thermal Pollution is a rise in the temperature in the ecosystem due the release of excessive heat energy into the environment by artificial methods or natural disasters. Industries release a lot of heat energy which gets transferred to the air and water bodies. Even vehicles which have combustion engines release a lot of heat energy as they require high temperatures to function. Carbon dioxide has a property of blocking heat from exiting the atmosphere and so the heat coming in from the sun is trapped in the atmosphere. As a result, it can cause melting of the polar ice caps, which is in turn leading to a rise in the water levels. Thermal pollution has increased significantly, since the eighteen hundreds resulting in a hotter earth.
Radioactive pollution occurs when radioactive metals disintegrate releasing dangerous beta rays which can cause cancer and other mutative diseases. This type of pollution can occur by dumping of radioactive waste from nuclear power plants which leads into the water or a damage of nuclear reactors leading to radioactive contamination that would last for many years and many more.
Noise Pollution is sounds that are not pleasant to hear, such as an excessive amount of noise in the outdoors. It can be caused by too many vehicles honking at the roads, heavy machinery being operated in the open, trains, clubs, over populated crowds etc. Noise pollution is known to cause mental stress and depression. It can also cause damage to the ear drum which can cause deafness. Noise pollution has more of a psychological effect rather than a physical one.
The reason why I picked Pollution is because I feel like it’s a social issue that everyone needs to be more aware of and more intuitive of what’s going on with our home, earth. I have a deep love and respect for earth, plants, and animals. It saddens me that they are being punish for our mistakes and taking things for granted. Air, water, and soil are essential to survive and it’s becoming tainted because we fail to take care of our beloved home. If we don’t make a difference right now who knows what well become of us and earth. It takes one to be an example and others will follow. I ask to be mindful of our earth and animals since we are not the only living species here on earth. Let’s make our earth wholesome and a beautiful place to live in, lets stop polluting and littering because not only does our street, land, ocean, and sky look ugly, but it also makes our earth suffer and it causes health problems to everyone who is living. I hope this gives you a little more insight of what’s going on and to make a difference at home. Recycle, stop littering (there’s literally a trash can everywhere), stop pollution (there a proper ways of disposing of things), and be mindful to our air and ocean.
Pollution. (2008, November 16), from http://www.encyclopedia.com/science-and-technology/biology-and-genetics/environmental-studies/pollution
Bradford, A. (2015, March 10). Pollution Facts & Types of Pollution. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/22728-pollution-facts.html
H. (2014, June 13). What are the different types of pollution? Retrieved from http://readanddigest.com/what-are-different-types-of-pollution
Rinkesh. (2009, March 08). Causes and Effects of Soil Pollution - Conserve Energy Future. Retrieved from http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-and-effects-of-soil-pollution.php
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