Environmental pollution has existed for centuries but only started to be significant following the industrial revolution in the 19th century. Pollution occurs when the natural environment cannot destroy an element without creating harm or damage to itself. The elements involved are not produced by nature, and the destroying process can vary from a few days to thousands of years (that is, for instance, the case for radioactive pollutants). In other words, pollution takes place when nature does not know how to decompose an element that has been brought to it in an unnatural way.
Pollution must be taken seriously, as it has a negative effect on natural elements that are an absolute need for life to exist on earth, such as water and air. Indeed, without it, or if they were present on different quantities, animals – including humans – and plants could not survive. We can identify several types of pollution on Earth: air pollution, water pollution and soil pollution.
These kinds of environmental pollution can cause aquatic life to suffer or die due to the increased temperature, can cause discomfort to communities dealing with higher temperatures, and will affect plant-life in and around the area. Visual Pollution.
Environmental pollution is an incurable disease. It can only be prevented.
-Barry Commoner
-Barry Commoner
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Causes of Environmental Pollution
Let us first take a look at the causes of environmental pollution:
1. Industries: Industries have been polluting our environment especially since the beginning of the industrial revolution, as mentioned above, notably due to the increasing use of fossil fuels. In the 19th century and for a significant part of the 20th century, coal has been use to make machines work faster, replacing human force. Though pollution by industries mainly causes air pollution, soil and water contamination can also occur. This is particularly the case for power-generating industries, such as plants producing electricity (May they be a dam, a nuclear reactor or some other type of plant).
Also, the transportation of this energy can be harmful to the environment. We can take as an example the transportation of petrol through pipelines; if there is a leak in the pipeline, soil will automatically be polluted. At the same time, if the tanker transporting the petrol from its production plant to the place where it will be consumed leaks or sinks, the water will get contaminated.
2. Transportation: Ever since men abandoned animal power to travel, pollution of the environment has become higher and higher. Its levels have only been increasing until now. Similarly to industries, pollution caused by transport can mainly be attributed to fossil fuels. Indeed, humans went from horse carriages to cars, trains (which, before electricity, used to be propelled by coal), and airplanes. As the traffic is increasing every day, pollution follows that evolution.
3. Agricultural Activities: Agriculture is mainly responsible for the contamination of water and soil. This is caused by the increased use of pesticides, as well as by the intensive character of its production. Almost all pesticides are made from chemical substances and are meant to keep diseases and threatening animals away from the crops. However, by keeping these forms of life away, harm is almost always made to the surrounding environment as well.
Furthermore, as agriculture gets more and more intensive to feed the increasing world population, more environments and ecosystems are destroyed to make space for the crops. Some of them, like rapeseed –used to make oil – demand a lot of space for a relatively small output.
4. Trading Activities: Trading activities including the production and exchange of goods and services. Concerning goods, pollution can be caused by packaging (which often involves the use of plastic, which is made from fossil fuels) or transport, mainly.
5. Residences: Finally, residential areas provide their fair share of pollution as well. First, to be able to build homes, natural environment has to be destroyed in one way or another. Wildlife and plants are driven away and replaced by human constructions. As it requires the work of industries, construction itself is also a source of contamination of the environment. Then, when people settle in, they will produce waste every day, including a part that cannot be processed by the environment without harm yet.
Effects of Environmental Pollution
Now that we have identified the main causes of environmental pollution, let us study the negative effects it has:
1. Effects on Humans: The effects of environmental pollution on humans are mainly physical, but can also turn into neuro-affections in the long term. The best-known troubles to us are respiratory, in the form of allergies, asthma, irritation of the eyes and nasal passages, or other forms of respiratory infections. Notably, these well spread affections can be observed when air pollution is high in cities, when the weather gets hot, for instance. On top of that, environmental pollution has been proven to be a major factor in the development of cancer. This can happen for example when we eat reminiscences of pollutants used in the production of processed foods, or pesticides from the crops. Other, rarer, diseases include hepatitis, typhoid affections, diarrhoea and hormonal disruptions.
2. Effects on Animals: Environmental pollution mainly affects animal by causing harm to their living environment, making it toxic for them to live in. Acid rains can change the composition of rivers and seas, making them toxic for fishes, an important quantity of ozone in the lower parts of the atmosphere can cause lung problems to all animals. Nitrogen and phosphates in water will cause overgrowth of toxic algae, preventing other forms of life to follow their normal course. Eventually, soil pollution will cause harm and sometimes even the destruction of microorganisms, which can have the dramatic effect of killing the first layers of the primary food chain.
3. Effects on Plants: As for animals, plants, and especially trees, can be destroyed by acid rains (and this will also have a negative effect on animals as well, as their natural environment will be modified), ozone in the lower atmosphere block the plant respiration, and harmful pollutants can be absorbed from the water or soil.
4. Effects on the Ecosystem: In short, environmental pollution, almost exclusively created by human activities, has a negative effect on the ecosystem, destroying crucial layers of it and causing an even more negative effect on the upper layers.
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Hani Amir , Hani Amir
Rinkesh
A true environmentalist by heart ❤️. Founded Conserve Energy Future with the sole motto of providing helpful information related to our rapidly depleting environment. Unless you strongly believe in Elon Musk‘s idea of making Mars as another habitable planet, do remember that there really is no 'Planet B' in this whole universe.
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There are actually SEVEN different kinds of environmental pollution. Most people can name air, water and land...do you know the other four? Or examples of what constitutes actual pollution in each category?
Listed below are each kind and examples to help you understand just how we can affect the environment and each other.
Air Pollution
According to the dictionary, air pollution is the contamination of air by smoke and harmful gases, mainly oxides of carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen. (And maybe by that smelly uncle.) Some examples of air pollution include:
- Exhuast fumes from vehicles
- The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, or gas
- Harmful off-gasing from things such as paint, plastic production, and so on
- Radiation spills or nuclear accidents
Air pollution is linked to asthma, allergies and other respiratory illnesses. You can more about how the environment affects human health here.
Land Pollution
Land pollution is the degradation of the Earth's surface caused by a misuse of resources and improper disposal of waste. Some examples of land pollution include:
- Litter found on the side of the road
- Illegal dumping in natural habitats
- Oil spills that happen inland
- The use of pesticides and other farming chemicals
- Damage and debris caused from unsustainable mining and logging practices
- Radiation spills or nuclear accidents
Land pollution is responsible for damage done to natural habitat of animals, deforestation and damage done to natural resources, and the general ugly-ing up of our communities. (So stop being a litterbug, eh?)
Light Pollution
Light pollution is the brightening of the night sky inhibiting the visibility of stars and planets by the use of improper lighting of communities. Some examples of what causes light pollution:
- Street lamps that shine light in all directions, instead of with a hood to point light downward toward the street.
- Extra, unnecessary lights around the home
- Cities that run lights all night long
Light pollution uses more energy (by shining more light up instead of down, meaning you need brighter bulbs for the same amount of light), may affect human health and our sleep cycles, and most importantly, corrupts our kids telescopes and their curiosity. (I grew up in a city. My first no-light night in the country blew my mind. Let's not make that such a rare occasion!)
Noise Pollution
Noise pollution is any loud sounds that are either harmful or annoying to humans and animals. Some exmaples of noise pollution:
- Airplanes, helicopters, and motor vehicles
- Construction or demolition noise
- Human activities such as sporting events or concerts
Noise pollution can be disruptive to humans' stress levels, may be harmful to unborn babies, and drives animals away by causing nervousness and decreasing their ability to hear prey or predators.
Thermal Pollution
Thermal pollution is the increase of temperature caused by human activity. A few examples of this include:
- Warmer lake water from nearby manufacturing (using cool water to cool the plant and then pump it back into the lake)
- Included in thermal pollution should also be the increase in temperatures in areas with lots of concrete or vehicles, generally in cities
These kinds of environmental pollution can cause aquatic life to suffer or die due to the increased temperature, can cause discomfort to communities dealing with higher temperatures, and will affect plant-life in and around the area.
Visual Pollution
Visual pollution is what you would call anything unattractive or visualing damaging to the nearby landscape. This tends to be a highly subjective topic. Some examples of visual pollution:
- Skyscrapers that blocks a natural view
- Graffiti or carving on trees, rocks, or other natural landscapes
- Billboards, litter, abandoned homes, and junkyards could also be considered among three kinds of environmental pollution
Mostly, visual kinds of environmental pollution are annoying and ugly, although some may say they are also depressing, and they of course affect the surrounding landscape with the changes they cause.
When a man throws an empty cigarette package from an automobile, he is liable to a fine of $50. When a man throws a billboard across a view, he is richly rewarded. - Pat Brown
Water Pollution
Photo Source: Alan Liefting
Water pollution is the contamination of any body of water (lakes, groundwater, oceans, etc). Some examples of water pollution:
- Raw sewage running into lake or streams
- Industrial waste spills contaminating groundwater
- Radiation spills or nuclear accidents
- Illegal dumping of substances or items within bodies of water
- Biological contamination, such as bacteria growth
- Farm runoff into nearby bodies of water
These kinds of environmental pollution are linked to health issues in humans, animals and plant-life. You can read more about how the environment is affecting our health here.