What pollutes the nature
What pollutes the nature
The Pollution Problem
Pollution, also called environmental pollution, the addition of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or any form of energy (such as heat, sound, or radioactivity) to the environment at a rate faster than it can be dispersed, diluted, decomposed, recycled, or stored in some harmless form. The major kinds of pollution, usually classified by environment, are air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution. Modern society is also concerned about specific types of pollutants, such as noise pollution, light pollution, and plastic pollution. Pollution of all kinds can have negative effects on the environment and wildlife and often impacts human health and well-being.
History of pollution
Although environmental pollution can be caused by natural events such as forest fires and active volcanoes, use of the word pollution generally implies that the contaminants have an anthropogenic source—that is, a source created by human activities. Pollution has accompanied humankind ever since groups of people first congregated and remained for a long time in any one place. Indeed, ancient human settlements are frequently recognized by their wastes—shell mounds and rubble heaps, for instance. Pollution was not a serious problem as long as there was enough space available for each individual or group. However, with the establishment of permanent settlements by great numbers of people, pollution became a problem, and it has remained one ever since.
By the middle of the 20th century, an awareness of the need to protect air, water, and land environments from pollution had developed among the general public.
Cities of ancient times were often noxious places, fouled by human wastes and debris. Beginning about 1000 CE, the use of coal for fuel caused considerable air pollution, and the conversion of coal to coke for iron smelting beginning in the 17th century exacerbated the problem. In Europe, from the Middle Ages well into the early modern era, unsanitary urban conditions favoured the outbreak of population-decimating epidemics of disease, from plague to cholera and typhoid fever. Through the 19th century, water and air pollution and the accumulation of solid wastes were largely problems of congested urban areas. But, with the rapid spread of industrialization and the growth of the human population to unprecedented levels, pollution became a universal problem.
By the middle of the 20th century, an awareness of the need to protect air, water, and land environments from pollution had developed among the general public. In particular, the publication in 1962 of Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring focused attention on environmental damage caused by improper use of pesticides such as DDT and other persistent chemicals that accumulate in the food chain and disrupt the natural balance of ecosystems on a wide scale. In response, major pieces of environmental legislation, such as the Clean Air Act (1970) and the Clean Water Act (1972; United States), were passed in many countries to control and mitigate environmental pollution.
Pollution control
The presence of environmental pollution raises the issue of pollution control. Great efforts are made to limit the release of harmful substances into the environment through air pollution control, wastewater treatment, solid-waste management, hazardous-waste management, and recycling. Unfortunately, attempts at pollution control are often surpassed by the scale of the problem, especially in less-developed countries. Noxious levels of air pollution are common in many large cities, where particulates and gases from transportation, heating, and manufacturing accumulate and linger. The problem of plastic pollution on land and in the oceans has only grown as the use of single-use plastics has burgeoned worldwide. In addition, greenhouse gas emissions, such as methane and carbon dioxide, continue to drive global warming and pose a great threat to biodiversity and public health.
Written by Jerry A. Nathanson, Professor of Engineering, Union County College, Cranford, New Jersey.
Top image credit: ©Vladimir Melnik/Fotolia
What Is Pollution?
Industrialization has contributed to various types of pollution.
Pollution is the act of introducing harmful substances to the environment that results in harming the natural surroundings. Substances that cause pollution are referred to as pollutants. These polluting substances are so diverse and they include chemical products, waste material, light, heat, and noise among others. Due to the diverse nature of pollutants in the world, there are various types of pollution such as water pollution, noise pollution, air pollution, soil contamination, radioactive pollution, and plastic pollution. While some pollution occurs through natural events such as volcanic eruptions and forest fires, most of the pollution in the world is caused by human activities.
History of Pollution
The issue of pollution is as old as human civilization. In medieval times, air pollution was caused by open fires in caves. The ancient humans also lacked proper waste disposal systems and rubble heaps from ancient times shows evidence of pollution. In the early days when the human population was still quite low, pollution did not pose a significant threat to the environment, however, as human civilization progressed and the human population rose, environmental pollution became a serious problem. Currently, pollution is a monumental problem in the world mainly caused by rapid industrialization and a sharp population increase. Conservationists and environmental campaigners began pushing for environmental protection in the mid-20th century.
Causes of Pollution
There are numerous causes of pollution all over the world. For example, air pollution may occur from burning waste material, mining, car emissions, agriculture, and warfare. Vehicle emissions are ranked as the leading cause of air pollution in the world. Vehicles also lead to causing noise pollution in the world. Other significant environmental pollutants are chemical factories, oil refineries, big livestock farms, plastic products, pesticides, and heavy metals. Natural disasters such as hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes, and droughts also lead to environmental pollution. In rare instances, pollution leads to considerable environmental damage and fatal consequences like in case of nuclear plant accidents and significant oil spills.
Effects of Pollution
Environmental pollution results in diverse harmful effects on living creatures and the surroundings. Air pollution often leads to health problems in humans such as respiratory diseases, heart diseases, and other ailments. Additionally, polluted air results in acidic rain which is harmful in the soil. Water pollution is a significant cause of death in most developing countries. Noise pollution often results in hearing loss, stress, sleeping problems, and even high blood pressure. Environmental pollution caused by chemicals like lead and mercury mostly lead to developmental problems in children and health complications in adults. On the global scale, pollution often results in an imbalance in the ecosystem and elimination of some endangered species. Research has shown that pollution leads to reduced productivity for workers around the world.
Controlling Pollution
Most countries have adopted measures to control pollution or reduce pollution and therefore lessen the harmful effects. The steps are critical to ensuring the environment is not destroyed through unchecked human activity. Some of the measures taken to control pollution are recycling of reusable materials, treating waste before releasing it into the environment, making compost from waste material, and reducing waste products from industrial activities. Additionally, the use of technology in controlling pollution is picking up in most developed nations.
Environmental Issues Today
In the XXI century, Earth still faces many environmental concerns mostly produced and maintained by the intense human activity on the planet.
Every day, we have to produce a huge amount of energy and heat to ensure a good and continuous development of the human society, but because we still rely on fossil fuels to produce our energy, we are polluting the environment on a massive scale (air, water and soil) and we are destroying habitats, species and the natural resources of the planet.
Environmental Concerns
All environmental issues affecting our planet are mainly created by the human activity.
1. Pollution
Pollution is one of the worst side effects of the human society development on the planet because instead of protecting the natural habitat, we are destroying the air, the water and the soil, which turns the natural environment into a nightmare for both people, animals and birds.
Air Pollution
is produced when harmful chemicals and particulates are released into the atmosphere, producing different types of allergies and diseases that can lead to the death of people, birds and animals.
Air pollution is produced when we burn fossil fuels to generate electricity and heat, and also when we use a car based on fossil fuels such as gasoline or diesel.
Air pollution is also produced by the industry and the manufacturing processes of different goods, but also by agricultural processes and household activities.
Air pollution can be also generated by natural processes such as active volcanoes, tropical storms, dust that is lifted from the ground and carried by the wind, methane produced by humans and animals and smoke produced by wild fires.
Soil and Land Pollution
The number of landfills increases every year in the U.S. because more trash is produced by the growing population and due to the fact that only a small number of products are recycled, the landfills are heavily polluting the soil and the ground water with dangerous chemicals.
Land degradation or land pollution is produced when human activities such as mining, littering, deforestation, construction, industrial and agricultural activities are taking place without taking into account that we are destroying the natural habitats and a large number of species.
Water Pollution
Freshwater and seawater is polluted when we spill dangerous chemical substances into streams, rivers, seas and oceans.
Environmental accidents are produced by the sinking oil tankers, by spilling dangerous chemicals into the water and by depositing barrels filled with nuclear waste on the bottom of the sea.
2. Global Warming
The increased human activity on the planet generates greenhouse gases such as water vapor, carbon oxides (COx), nitrous oxides (NOx), methane (CH4), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other gases, which are increasing the “greenhouse effect” on the planet that leads to global warming.
Global warming increases the average temperature on planet Earth, which melts the glaciers at the pole, and leads to rising sea levels.
Global warming also produces extreme heat during the summer season and extreme cold during the winter.
The extreme heat during the summer can kill many people, produces droughts, which affects crops and animals, and could lead to famine in many countries.
3. Climate Change
Climate change is another major environmental issue on planet Earth that in the last decades has raised many concerns among scientists over the future of the human civilization on the planet.
Raising average temperatures on planet Earth leads to global warming, which is responsible for the change in the climate paths.
4. Overpopulation
The number of people on the planet increases every year mostly due to the fact that the number of people in the undeveloped or developing countries increases at alarming levels.
The increased number of people on the planet would not be an environmental issue if the natural resources would be unlimited.
Sadly, the technology is not capable today to create more natural resources or to create human colonies on other planets.
Planet Earth has limited resources and if the place gets very crowded, we will face very harsh living conditions.
5. Deforestation
The forests on planet Earth are considered the lungs of the planet because the large number of trees and plants in these forests consume the carbon dioxide produced by people, animals and birds, but also by the power plants that burn fossil fuels to generate electricity and heat.
Carbon dioxide is considered a greenhouse gas that increases the “greenhouse effect” on the planet, which raises the average temperatures and produces droughts.
If you want to fight climate change in real life you need to start by planting a tree because only trees and green plants are capable to reduce the level of CO2 in the atmosphere, and the effects of global warming.
6. Genetically Modified Crops and Foods
Genetic engineering is used today to produce genetically modified crops and foods, which is good for farmers because creates a better and healthier, but also a more useful product.
At the same time, genetically modified crops are bad for the environment because it changes the landscape of croplands, is not capable of providing an economic benefit, and can cause allergic reactions and other health issues including deadly diseases such as cancer.
7. A Large Carbon Footprint
An increased carbon footprint shows that people still don’t understand that fossil fuels are not the answer in terms of electricity and heat generation, there are other cleaner and more reliable energy sources available on the planet such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass etc. that can be used to produce electricity and heat generating less emissions.
If you want to decrease your carbon footprint you need to replace at least one energy or heat source used at home.
By replacing your old and heavily polluting vehicle with a newer one that produces less emissions, by replacing your old appliances with newer and greener ones, and by starting to recycle, you can say that you have decreased your carbon footprint and you have become a protector of the environment.
8. Natural Sources Depletion
Mankind has already used many of the natural resources of the planet and needs to learn to use the other resources (which are cleaner), and which were not used very much in the past.
Fossil fuels are close to depletion, the forests of the planet need to be protected not used in the industry or in the energy sector (forests are the lungs of the planet).
Mankind will need to use in the future other natural resources available on the planet such as: solar, wind, geothermal, hydro, etc. because only such resources, are capable of keeping the atmosphere, the soil and the water in clean and protected from any type of pollution.
9. Waste Disposal
Many people are not capable of understanding that the garbage produced by them every day needs to be properly disposed (recycled), in order to allow the energy and the industry sector to reuse the natural resources contained by these products.
Recycling can save many natural resources, which otherwise would be consumed faster to satisfy the increased demand of energy and new products of the today’s society.
10. Ozone Depletion
Chemicals contained in spray aerosols have been responsible in the past for the destruction of the ozone layer, but luckily, these harmful chemicals have been already banned.
However, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) released today, by refrigerants, aircraft halon and aerosols are still producing damage in the ozone layer.
11. Public Health Issues
Air, water and soil pollution are responsible for public health issues because a polluted atmosphere will produce cardiovascular and lung diseases among the population, polluted rivers and underground waters are toxic for people that are using them for drinking and cooking, and a polluted soil will produce toxic crops and veggies.
12. Biodiversity Loss
The expansion of the human civilization is destroying habitats (urban sprawl, deforestation, pollution, global warming, climate change, etc.), which leads to the loss of species (animals and birds).
More people on the planet will occupy a larger territory (to the detriment of the wild environment), which will lead to a larger number of lost species.
13. Invasive Species
Plants, fungus and animal species that are not native to a specific location are considered an invasive species that are harming the environment, the economy, and even the human health in the area.
These invasive species can modify the habitat of the area by killing the native species.
14. Effects of Ocean Pollution on Marine Life
30% of the carbon emissions produced by the human activity on the planet is absorbed by the oceans, plastic, waste substances, nuclear waste are all disposed in the world’s oceans, which creates dead zones, which kills fishes and other forms of marine life.
15. Urban Sprawl
People tend to move to peripheral areas of the city or even in rural areas where the air is cleaner and the place is more silent because is pretty far away from the crowded city.
This trend is healthy and relaxing for people, but harmful for the environment because animals and birds will move away from the human settlements and their habitat will be restrained even more.
16. Mining Activities
Mining activity is required to extract metals and minerals from the earth, which is very useful for the economy of any nation, but isn’t useful for the environment.
Almost all extraction processes require large forest areas to be cleared (which leads to deforestation), harmful chemicals are used in the process and get into water bodies affecting the underwater life.
These harmful chemicals used in the mining process are often poisoning the groundwater sources, which affects the people and the environment close to the mining site.
17. Loss of Endangered Species
Overpopulation and people that move from a crowded city at the boundaries of the city where the air is cleaner and full of wildlife can lead to the loss of numerous species of plants and animals.
Endangered species are often killed by poachers, which are ruthless and can kill even the rangers that protect the habitat where those animals and birds are living.
18. Acid Rain
Acid rain is a side effect of air pollution.
Coal and oil products often contain sulfur compounds, which are released during burning of these fossil fuels.
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) released during the burning of fossil fuels will react with oxygen, water and other chemical substances in the atmosphere and will form nitric acid (HNO3) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and will lead to the formation of acid rain.
19. Noise and Light Pollution
The presence of human settlements creates light pollution that harm the wildlife in the area.
Human activities such as construction, mining, industrial process, etc. are all creating noise pollution, which affects both other people and the environment (wildlife).
20. Littering and the Lack of Respect for Nature
People that have no respect for other people and for the environment are often polluting the visited place in nature with plastics and other types of waste products.
These people can also produce unauthorized fires in the forest that spread fast and destroy a large number of plants and trees and also wild animals.
21. Medical Waste
All types of waste produced by hospitals and medical centers, dental clinics, medical research centers, etc. are considered harmful products for the environment.
Medical waste is often disposed in landfills (like regular trash) and can affect people and animals with which they come into contact.
22. Agricultural Pollution
Products used in agricultural processes such as fertilizers and pesticides are used to destroy local pests, but they also affect the environment in the area (plants and crops and also the microorganisms in the soil).
These chemical substances can also pollute water bodies, which can be used by farmers to irrigate the land where they have planted new crops.
23. Pollution with Nuclear Waste
Mankind relies on nuclear power that produces not only carbon free energy, but also radioactive waste that is hazardous for the environment and for any living being.
Disposing nuclear waste in the environment creates a very dangerous threat in the area.
Disposing nuclear waste in the world’s oceans is another harmful activity for the environment because creates dead zones in the ocean.
24. Nuclear Disasters
The first commercial nuclear power plant was built in the ’50s, and since then, a large number of nuclear power plants were built in many developed and developing countries to produce “clean” energy using the power of the atom.
Sadly, the technology used to generate electricity in nuclear reactors is pretty new, so the the accidents were not very far away.
Several major nuclear disasters in the history of mankind have severely affected a large number of people and the environment.
25. Ocean Acidification
The ongoing decrease of the pH of the Earth’s oceans is called ocean acidification (OA) and is caused by the fact that the ocean water uptakes the carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.
By producing more CO2 due to our activity on the planet (energy and heat generation) the pH of the planetary ocean will decrease even more and will have an impact on marine life.
Final conclusion
Mankind doesn’t seem to be aware yet of the fact that planet Earth is the cradle of our civilization and if we continue to destroy our natural habitat, life on the planet will become a nightmare for us and the future generations.
Keeping the planet clean is not a very difficult task, producing energy without polluting and recycling trash will keep the place clean and will make life easier for all nations.
Article written by: Danny Ovy
I am a writer and reporter for the clean energy sector, I cover climate change issues, new clean technologies, sustainability and green cars. Danny Ovy
What is pollution? What are the factors that cause pollution?
The word “Pollution” is much familiar for us as we live in a much polluted environment and in a place where there is lot of hues and cries regarding pollution. Do you know what exactly pollution is and the factors that cause pollution. Let us discuss and debate over it.
What is pollution?
Pollution is the contamination of a substrate when harmful and foreign substances are added to it. This substrate can be air, water or soil. The additive substances can be of any form –solid, liquid or gases. This leads to poisoning of the medium, making it unfit to be used.
Pollution occurs in all media. In this series we will consider the pollution of the environment. This is a very important subject as it affects all aspects of life not just of humans but of plants animals and above all the reveals the forbearing and sensitive nature of our planet- Earth
How is pollution caused? When did it begin? What were the indications that started to ring alarm bells? What can be done to bring things back to the natural order? Many questions for which answers have to be given
As you have heard there is air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, noise pollution, thermal and nuclear pollution and lots more. Let’s begin with the most common causes
Burning of Fossil fuels
Industrialization
Industries that are into manufacturing, steel and iron industries, oil refineries, and plastic and textiles factories, dyeing plants are few industries that budded during the industrial revolution. The numbers just go on. These deal with so much chemicals and fossil fuels that their waste products and end products are released into the surrounding air, water, and land causing large scale contamination.
Mining
Mining industries strip the ground of its strong structure, cause contamination of surrounding water bodies, release huge amounts of particulate matter in to the air that it end up choking the living beings including humans.
Transport
Infrastructure of towns and cities
In towns and cities where a large number of people stay there is always scope for contaminating the environment.
Waste water treatment plants, correct forms of garbage disposal, sewage treatment plants- these are essential to maintain a good equilibrium in city life. If these are not running properly, are ill maintained or not even available, there will always be disease and death.
Landfills which are usually considered as waste disposal solution in fact lead to seepage of many poisonous products into the ground and are a breeding ground for microorganisms
Agricultural practices
Most chemicals like insecticides, ripening agents, pesticides weedicides and fertilizers are often sprayed on the farms to increase yield. All these chemicals are not used up but most are carried away by the wind and run off water to adjacent areas polluting the air, land and surrounding water bodies
Increased Livestock
Funny but true! Cattle and other livestock are now said to be causing an increase in methane in the atmosphere with their natural digestive functions. But this doesn’t stop their rearing because of the huge economic factors behind this industry.
Radioactive waste
This is a very important factor in causing pollution because of the sheer increase in the number of nuclear plants. In order to reduce dependency on fossil fuels, we now turn to nuclear energy calling it clean. But there is radioactive waste that is produced which is difficult to dispose of.
Unnecessary and excessive use of diagnostic Xrays is a form of pollution
Plastic waste disposal
A mind boggling puzzle! What do you do with all the plastic waste that is generated each day? This is non-biodegradable, which means it will not rot, melt or disappear. In cities and towns garbage dumps are an eyesore, above all a breeding ground for disease causing organisms.
If you thought burning all this plastic waste would be a solution, this leads to more trouble as by-products settle in the ground literally eliminating the fertility of the soil and poisonous fumes are released into the air.
Electronic Waste Disposal
Have not each one of us worried about how to dispose of our spent batteries or cells. Now as we get a new mobile what do we do with the old one? What about old TVs Refrigerators, Washing machines and other machines that have reached a state of disrepair?
Disposal of e- waste must be arranged in an organised manner. Many of these gadgets contain heavy metals, chemicals and plastics which are harmful for the surroundings.
Deforestation
Though not directly causing pollution, By cutting down trees the basic anchorage of the soil is removed and it facilitates soil erosion.
Removing green cover also facilitates pollution because trees help to clean up the atmosphere to a good extent. Planning cities with green spaces will help to keep the air relatively cleaner.
Indoor Pollution
Improper storage of cleaning products, over use of insect repellents, overuse of air conditioning or over heating without sufficient ventilation cause indoor pollution. When the house has been painted, notice the lingering smell as the paint dries. This is release of the paint chemicals which pollute the indoors.
Passive smoking ie non-smokers inhaling the smoky vapours of a burning cigar or cigar rete are also subject to indoor pollution. Passive smoking also is a leading cause of lung cancer
Sometimes even growing inappropriate green plants indoors depletes the rooms of usable oxygen, which is a form of pollution
Synthetic fibres in furnishings release by products slowly into the air and also absorb heat more than natural fibres.
Natural causes of pollution
These are far less frequent and do not contribute immensely to pollution. Nevertheless it is important to mention these. Volcanic eruptions, forest fires, methane from swamps and marshes are some of the natural occurrences where toxic substances are released into the environment.
Conclusion
The list above is in no way exhaustive. There are many processes and materials that are invented and produced on a daily basis that can be wonderful and terrifying at the same time
The main reason behind pollution is basically the over consumptive and wasteful nature of man that does not allow him to enjoy what he has to a limit. Rather than take a walk in the park one prefers to be seated before the TV /computer /mobile. It’s time to decide for ourselves which is more harmful for us and the environment
You are going to give a talk about the protection of the environment. You will have to start in 1,5 minutes and speak for not more than 2 minutes (10-12 sentences). Remember to say:
— what the word «ecology» means;
— what pollutes the Nature;
— what the main ecological problems are;
— what measures should be taken to protect the Nature.
You have to talk continuously.
Ответ:
Ecology is a form of science that studies the living, the environment, and their interactions together. It’s a form of environmental issues, and like in any science, it is an official form. Nature is part of ecology’s studies. Nature is often polluted by our ordinary everyday things, such as our car’s engine’s gasses. It’s often unseen about how much humans affect the ecosystem really, even though we just keep studying and learning everything new, forgetting old. There are way too many problems to count with current situation, though. Global warming (or climate change), air pollution (well, cars that work on gasoline and so on, airplanes), waste disposal, water pollution and so much more. We’d need to get rid of these problems to protect Earth, and we’ll achieve this in due time if we’d just start acting. The problem with this is that not everybody is ready to act accordingly. One good measure would, for example, to stop driving cars if it’s possible to take a public transportation.
Объяснение:
Пройдись разок, хватит ли этого на 1,5 минут.