Table of Contents
Pollution is the addition of harmful substances into the environment at a rate faster than it can be dispersed, decomposed, diluted or recycled. Major types of pollution are air pollution, water pollution, land pollution. There are concerning pollutions which are noise pollution, light pollution and plastic pollution. Pollutions have negative effect on both environment and wildlife and it often impact on human health and well-being.
Types of pollution
Air pollution
It is mixture of solid particles and gases in the air. Some air pollutants are poisonous, inhaling them increase health problems. People with heart or lung disease, elderly people and children are more at risk.
Water pollution
It is the contamination of a stream, river or lake, depleting water duality and making it toxic for the environment and humans.
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Land pollution
It is the destruction of lands, often directly and indirectly as a result of man’s activities and misuse of land resources. It mainly occurs when chemicals are thrown into soil in the form of pesticides and fertilizers during agricultural practices
Noise pollution
Regularly exposed to elevated sound level that may lead to health hazard in both animal and human. Exposed to noise beyond 85 dB for more than 8 can be hazardous.
Light pollution
Excessive obstructive artificial light. It washes out starlight in the night sky, interferes with astronomical researches, disrupts ecosystem and has adverse health effects and wastes energy.
Causes for Environmental Pollution
Causes of environmental pollution are many, including oil, air pollutants, and soil erosion:
- Industries: due to increase in use of fossil fuels, soil and water contamination and air pollution keeps increasing as well. When oil is spilled in water, it kills many aquatic animals causing decomposition which will lead to further pollution. Smokes and fumes from industries produces smoke that may limit oxygen supply. These chemicals pollute the environment and affects the respiratory activities of aquatic organism since it contains heavy metals and also accumulate alone with food chains, become lethal at higher tropic level.
- Transportation: ever since humans abandoned animal power to travel, environmental pollution keeps increasing as transport mainly be attributed to fossil fuels. As traffic is increasing every day, pollution follows.
- Agricultural activities: they are mainly responsible for contaminating water and soil by increased use of pesticides which are made from chemical substances to keep threatening animals away. Furthermore, environment and ecosystem are destroyed to make space for the corps. Some of them demands lots of space but only provide a small output.
- Residences: to build homes environment has to be destroyed for space. Wildlife and plants are driven away and replaced by humans, when people settle in, they produce waste every day.
Effects of Pollution
Effects on human: it effects on human mainly physical, but can also turn into neuro-affections in the long term. Best-known troubles are respiratory, in the form of allergies, asthma, irritation of eyes and nasal passages or respiratory infections.
Environment pollution has been proven to be a major factor in development of cancer. This can happen when we eat reminiscences of pollutants used in production of food.
Effect on animals: it can affect them by harming their living environment and making it too toxic for them to live in. Acid rain changes composition of river and sea, making it toxic for fishes. Nitrogen and phosphate in water causes overgrowth of toxic algae, preventing other forms of life to survive. It eventually destruction of microorganisms which kills the first layer of primary food chain
Effect on plants: ozone in the lower atmosphere block the plants respiration and harmful pollutants can be absorbed from water or soil.
Effect on the ecosystem: all human activities has a negative effect on the ecosystem, destroying crucial layer of it and causing an even more negative effect on upper layer.
Soil erosion: top layer of soil is very light which can be easily carried by wind or water. It occurs most commonly by natural forces. Cutting down trees on a large scale for different purpose prevents the roots from holding the soil together. The top soil gets eroded by wind. It leads to soil erosion.
Prevention of Pollution
- Use reusable water bottles: using disposal bottles end up in trash or street, filling the land or floating on river or lake or ocean.
- Don’t wash cars in the driveway, wash it on the lawn: plants can absorb the chemicals and decrease the pollutants that make it to the streams
- Dispose of hazardous chemicals properly.
- Recycle used motor oil: some auto shops and filling stations will recycle used motor oil for you.
- Reduce, reuse, recycle: reduce number of items we use. Always reuse items rather than use disposal. If it is something we can make use of, recycle it.
- Reduce auto emissions: make sure vehicle is working properly and not leaking any chemical.
- Use insecticides and fertilizers and other garden chemicals sparingly: these chemicals should only be use if there is a specific issue that need the use of insecticide and fertilizers.
- Start a compost pile: can decompose leaves and food waste into great fertilizer and also minimize amount of waste material from the lawn.
- Soil test before fertilizing: if soil is in good condition, there is no need to use fertilization.
- Don’t sweep dirt and fertilizers from sidewalks into drains: drains lead into streams. Fertilizers goes to streams and pollutes it.
- Carpool, take public transportation, bike or walk whenever its possible.
- Use environmentally safe paints and cleaning products whenever possible.
- Reduce or eliminate fireplace and wood stove uses.
- Avoid burning leaves, trash and other materials.
- Make people aware of pollution.
- Buy biodegradable products.
- Do organic gardening.
- Build noisy places(airports) away from residential area.
- Wear earplugs whenever exposed to elevated noise level.
- Avoid prolonged use of earphones, especially at elevated sound level.
- Place motion sensors on essential outdoor lamps.
- Avoid taking corals from reef.
- Grow grass which can help to avoid soil erosion as strong wind can be often carrying soil away
