Aarambh 2024: The Biggest Event for IIT JEE and NEET UG Aspirants
An organism’s habitat is its immediate surroundings. An organism’s habitat is made up of many components such as air, water, land, and so on. These elements are found in specific amounts in order to maintain a harmonious equilibrium in the organism’s surroundings. Pollution is defined as any undesirable and unwanted change in the proportions of these components. With each passing year, this problem becomes more serious. It’s a problem that causes financial, physical, and social problems. The environmental problem, which is worsening by the day, must be tackled in order to eliminate its adverse impacts on humanity and the earth.
Pollution of the Environment: What Causes It?
With the growth of industry and the migration of people from villages to cities in pursuit of work, the problem of suitable housing and unsanitary living conditions has become increasingly prevalent. These elements have resulted in pollution-causing factors.
There are five types of environmental contamination: air, water, soil, and noise pollution.
Air Pollution:
In today’s world, air pollution is a big problem. The air we breathe is contaminated by smoke from industry chimneys and automobiles. This smoke emits gases like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and sulphur dioxide, which mix with the air and inflict significant harm to the human body, vegetation, and fauna. Our villages’ domestic fuels, such as dry farm waste, dry grass, leaves, and coal, emit dangerous fumes. An overabundance of sulphur dioxide in the air causes acid rain.
The following are the primary sources of air pollution:
- Pollution caused by automobiles
- Air pollution caused by industry
- Garbage burning
- Kilns for making bricks
- Pollution of indoor air
- Animals and vegetation that have decomposed
- Elements that are radioactive
Water Pollution:
One of the most important environmental challenges is water pollution. Waste products from increasing industries and sewage water are not properly processed before being discharged into rivers and other bodies of water, resulting in water contamination. Pollution of water bodies is also caused by agricultural practices that use excessive fertilisers and pesticides.
The Following are the main sources of water pollution:
- Transportation via sea.
- Industrial wastes that end up in the seas and oceans.
- Disposal of radioactive materials in seawater.
- Rivers dispose of sewage into the sea.
- Oil rigs off the coast.
- Recreational pursuits
- Agricultural contaminants are dumped into bodies of water.
Soil or Land Pollution:
Deposition of solid waste, built up of biodegradable material, deposition of compounds with hazardous chemical compositions, and other forms of pollution on open land cause soil or land pollution. Land pollution and soil infertility are caused by waste products such as plastics, polythene, and bottles. Furthermore, the dumping of animal carcasses exacerbates the problem. Cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and other diseases are caused by soil contamination in humans and animals.
The following are the primary causes of soil pollution:
- Waste from industry
- Commercial and household garbage in cities
- Fertilizers with chemicals
- Medical and biomedical waste
- Pesticides
Noise Pollution:
As the world’s population, urbanisation, and industrialization grow, noise pollution is becoming a severe form of pollution that affects people’s lives, health, and daily comfort. Noise pollution is caused by vehicle horns, loudspeakers, music systems, and industrial activity.
The following are the main sources of noise pollution:
- Whistling, crunching, and thunderous sounds are produced by machines in factories and industries.
- Vehicle horns, loudspeakers
- Construction sites include rock and earth blasting, tube well drilling, ventilation fans, and heavy earth-moving machines.
Pollution’s Effects on Human Health and the Environment
Environmental pollution has a direct and indirect impact on the lives of humans and other animals. These biological species have coexisted with humans on the globe for ages.
1. Environmental Effects
When carbon and dust particles in the air bind together, smog forms, producing respiratory issues, haze, and smoke. The burning of fossil fuels in industrial and manufacturing facilities, as well as automobile combustion of carbon fumes, produce these.
Furthermore, these characteristics have an impact on birds’ immune systems, making them virus and disease carriers. It has an effect on the body’s systems and organs as well.
2.Effects on the Land, Soil, and Food
The deterioration of organic and chemical waste by humans has a negative impact on the land and soil. It also emits pollutants into the environment, both on land and in the water. Land and soil contamination is mostly caused by pesticides, fertilisers, soil erosion, and crop leftovers.
3. Water-related effects
Any pollutant, whether human waste or factory chemical discharge, can easily contaminate water. This water is also used for crop irrigation and drinking. As a result of infection, they, too, become filthy. In addition, an animal dies after drinking the same polluted water.
Furthermore, almost 80% of pollutants from the land, such as chemical, industrial, and agricultural waste, end up in water bodies.
Furthermore, because these water basins eventually connect to the sea, they pollute the biodiversity of the sea indirectly.
4. Reaction to Food
As a result of contaminated soil and water, crops and agricultural produce become poisonous. From the beginning of their lives until harvest, when they reach a mass level, these crops are laced with chemical components. As a result, polluted food affects our health and organs.
5. The Effects of Climate Change
Climate change is a pollutant in the environment as well. It also has an effect on the physical and biological components of the environment.
Environmental contamination includes ozone depletion, greenhouse gas emissions, and global warming. These water basins pollute the sea’s biodiversity indirectly because they eventually connect to the sea. In addition, the ramifications of their actions may be disastrous for future generations. The natural system of the planet is impacted by the unpredictable cold and hot temperature.
Earthquakes, famine, smog, carbon particles, shallow rain or snow, thunderstorms, volcanic eruptions, and avalanches are all caused by climate change, which is totally due to pollution.
How Can Environmental Pollution Be Reduced?
Some preventative steps must be performed to reduce the severity of this problem.
Reuse, Reduce, and Recycle are the three R’s that can be used to conserve the environment.
Reuse products as much as possible. Find a technique to reuse items rather than tossing them away after one usage. Reduce the amount of garbage generated.
Recycle: Paper, plastics, glass, and electronic waste may all be recycled to create new products with less natural resources and less energy.
Better-designed equipment and smokeless fuels should be utilised in homes and industries to avoid and manage air pollution. To balance the environment and control greenhouse gas emissions, more trees should be planted.
Better vehicle design and maintenance can help to reduce noise pollution. Soundproofing equipment, such as generators, can help to reduce industrial noise.
We must eliminate the use of plastic in order to reduce soil pollution. Before being used as fertilisers or landfills, sewage should be adequately processed. Encourage organic farming, which entails the use of biological materials and the avoidance of synthetic chemicals in order to preserve soil fertility and ecological equilibrium.
Water contamination can be controlled using a variety of methods. Some of these are related to water consumption and usage, which can be reduced by changing the procedures used. Water should be reused after being treated.
Because of the world’s environmental degradation, melting icebergs in Antarctica led in rising sea levels, which had become a big problem owing to global warming, which had become a major concern. Natural disasters such as earthquakes, cyclones, and other natural disasters are becoming more common as carbon pollution levels rise.
Humanity has been irreversibly injured by the Hiroshima-Nagasaki and Chernobyl tragedies in Russia. Various governments throughout the world are attempting to respond to these disasters in the most efficient manner possible.
Various governments throughout the world are attempting to respond to these disasters in the most efficient manner possible. More public awareness efforts are being launched to educate people about pollution’s dangers and the necessity of environmental protection. Energy-efficient lighting, new climate-friendly automobiles, and the use of wind and solar power are just a few examples of greener lifestyles that are becoming increasingly popular.
Governments stress the importance of planting more trees, reducing plastic use, improving natural waste recovery, and reducing pesticide use. This environmentally conscious way of life has assisted humanity in saving other species from extinction while also making the Earth a greener and safer environment.
Conclusion
Every citizen has a responsibility to protect our planet from these environmental contaminants. If no preventative actions are done, our future generations will be forced to deal with serious consequences. In addition, the government is taking steps to raise public awareness. Every person should take part in the effort to reduce and regulate pollution.
