Environmental Pollution
What is the Environment?
The grand total and inclusion of all living and nonliving elements and their effects on human life is referred to as the environment. Water, land, sunlight, rocks, and air are examples of non-living or abiotic elements, while all living or biotic elements are animals, plants, forests, fisheries, and birds.
Healthy living and the existence of life on Earth are greatly influenced by the environment. We all heavily rely on the environment for food, water, and other necessities of life because the Earth is home to many different species of living things including human beings.
As a result, conserving and safeguarding our environment is critical for all of us including animals and other living organisms.
What is the Pollution?
The introduction of hazardous substances into the environment is pollution. The term "pollutant" refers to these harmful substances. Natural pollutants include ash from volcanoes. They can also be produced by human activity, like factory runoff or trash. Air, water, and land quality are harmed by pollutants.
The leading environmental factor in illness and premature death is pollution. More than 11 million premature deaths are caused by pollution. That's a lot more deaths than AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria put together.
The COVID-19 pandemic and other global health crises serve as reminders of the strong links between health and the environment and the need to address these links in a systematic way. The pandemic's negative effects on health are being exacerbated by air pollution, a risk multiplier.
Environmental health risks and pollution have gotten worse as a result of industrialization, the use of pesticides and nitrogen-based fertilizers, crop residues from agriculture, urbanization, forest fires, desert dust, and poor waste management, particularly in low- and middle-income nations.
Air pollution, exposure to lead and other chemicals, hazardous wastes, and improper e-waste disposal all contribute to debilitating and fatal illnesses, unhealthy living conditions, and ecosystem destruction.
Economic growth is stifled, poverty and inequality are exacerbated in both urban and rural areas, and pollution has a significant impact on climate change. People who can't afford to protect themselves from pollution's negative effects suffer the most.
How Pollution damages Environment?
There are many ways that pollution harms our environment, one of which is that it causes global warming, which is one of the most important issues facing the world right now. Additionally, there are numerous ways in which pollution harms crops and trees. On the other hand, pollution is harming the ozone layer and causing a number of deadly diseases.
Which are the main types of Pollution?
Research suggests different forms of pollution that are very bad and constantly damaging our environment. However, as per my research, there are the following 10 major types of pollution.
- Air Pollution
- Light Pollution
- Litter Pollution
- Noise Pollution
- Plastic Pollution
- Radioactive Contamination Pollution
- Soil Pollution
- Thermal Pollution
- Visual Pollution
- Water Pollution
Air Pollution
The contamination of the air caused by the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are hazardous to human and other living things' health, the environment, or materials is known as air pollution. Air pollutants include gases, particulates, and biological molecules.
The primary sources of human-caused air pollution are vehicle emissions, fuel oils and natural gas used to heat homes, byproducts of manufacturing and power generation, particularly coal-fueled power plants, and chemical production fumes.
Light Pollution
The presence of excessive, inappropriate, or unwanted artificial lighting is known as light pollution. The effects of any poorly implemented lighting, either during the day or at night, are referred to as "light pollution" in a descriptive sense. Numerous animals, including humans, amphibians, birds, mammals, insects, and plants, are adversely affected by artificial light at night, according to scientific evidence.
Litter Pollution
Paper, cans, and bottles that have been left in an open or public place are all examples of litter. Land-based activities, such as littering beaches, tourism and recreational use of the coasts, activities in the fishing industry, ship-breaking yards, and dumpsites close to the coast or river banks, are the primary sources of it.
Pollution of the air, water, and soil can result from litter. Insects and rodents may use the trash along our Raleigh roads as breeding grounds. Litter can be made up of materials that are flammable and could start a fire right away. Accidents can occur due to trash on our highways and roads.
Noise Pollution
The propagation of noise that has adverse effects on the activity of humans or animals, the majority of which are to some degree harmful, is known as noise pollution, which is also referred to as environmental noise or sound pollution. The wellspring of open-air commotion overall is mostly brought about by machines, transport, and spread frameworks.
Noise pollution is defined as noise above 65 dB by the World Health Organization (WHO).To be more specific, noise becomes harmful when it exceeds 75 dB and is unpleasant above 120 dB. Every day, millions of people are affected by noise pollution. Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) is the most common health issue it causes.
Stress, high blood pressure, irregular sleep patterns, and heart disease can all be brought on by exposure to loud noise. Children, but people of any age can experience these health issues.
Plastic Pollution
Plastic pollution, also known as plastic waste, is "the accumulation of plastic objects," such as plastic bottles, and a great deal more) in the Earth's environment that harms humans, wildlife, and their habitats. Synthetic plastic products accumulate plastic pollution in the environment to the point where they harm wildlife and their habitats as well as human populations.
One garbage truck's worth of plastic is dumped into our ocean every minute. Plastic pollution is a worldwide issue. Between 1950 and 2022, approximately 7 billion of the 9.5 billion tonnes of plastic produced were recycled into waste, either dumped or dumped in landfills.
Radioactive Contamination Pollution
The deposition of radioactive substances into the environment where their presence is unintended or the levels of radioactivity are undesirable is referred to as radioactive contamination. When radioactive material is deposited on or in an object or a person, it causes radioactive contamination.
Air, water, surfaces, soil, plants, buildings, people, and animals can become contaminated by radioactive materials released into the environment. Acute health effects like skin burns and acute radiation syndrome can result from exposure to extremely high levels of radiation, such as being close to an atomic blast.
It also has the potential to cause long-term health problems like cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Soil Pollution
The contamination of soil with unusually high concentrations of toxic substances is referred to as soil pollution. Due to its numerous health risks, it poses a serious threat to the environment.
The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) lists industry, mining, military activities, waste, including technological waste, wastewater management, farming, stock breeding, and the construction of urban and transportation infrastructures among the most common causes of soil contamination. Thermal Pollution
The discharge of heated water into water bodies is known as thermal pollution. Thermal or nuclear power plants are the primary sources of thermal heat pollution; modern effluents like petrol treatment facilities, mash, paper factories, substance plants, steel factories, and smelters; sewage runoff; and activity in biochemistry.
Organisms' metabolic rates rise as enzyme activity rises as a result of thermal pollution, leading them to consume more food than they would normally need if their environment remained unchanged. It alters the equilibrium of species composition and disrupts the stability of the food chain.
Visual Pollution
The study of secondary effects of man-made interventions, also known as the visible deterioration and negative aesthetic quality of the natural and man-made landscapes surrounding people, is known as visual pollution. People's visual areas are impacted by visual pollution, which alters the natural environment in a negative way.
Visual pollution is frequently referred to as open trash bins, antennas, electric wires, buildings, and automobiles. Visual pollution is caused when an area is overcrowded.
Water Pollution
The contamination of water bodies that has a negative impact on their uses is known as water pollution. It typically occurs as a result of human activities. Lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs, and groundwater are all examples of water bodies. When contaminants are introduced into these water bodies, they cause water pollution.
Bacteria, viruses, parasites, fertilizers, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, nitrates, phosphates, plastics, feces, and even radioactive substances are the most common water contaminants.
Poor water quality is responsible for more than 60 different diseases, and it is linked to 80% of diseases and 55% of child deaths worldwide. However, diarrhea, skin conditions, malnutrition, and even cancer are all outcomes of water pollution-related diseases.
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