Environmental Pollution: Causes, Effects and Solution

Environmental pollution refers to the introduction of harmful pollutants into the Commented [JL1]: nocivos
environment. It has a hazardous effect on the natural world and on the activities of living
Commented [JL2]: contaminantes
beings.

The major types of environmental pollution are air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution,
thermal pollution, soil pollution and light pollution.

Deforestation and hazardous gaseous emissions also leads to environmental

pollution. During the last 10 years, the world has witnessed severe rise in environmental
pollution.

With the dawn of the age of science and technology, there has been huge growth
and development of human potentials. And, it is here that man first began losing control and
became prisoner of his own creations.

Sources and Causes

The sources and causes of environmental pollution includes the following:

 Industrial activities: The industries all over the world that brought prosperity and
affluence, made inroads in the biosphere and disturbed the ecological balances. The
pall of smoke, the swirling gases, industrial effluents and the fall-out of scientific
experiments became constant health hazards, polluting and contaminating both air
and water. The improper disposal of industrial wastes are the sources of
soil and water pollution. Chemical waste resulting from industry can pollute lakes,
rivers and seas and soil too as well as releasing fumes.
 Dumping solid waste: Household and commercial waste pollutes the environment
when not disposed of properly.
 Vehicles: The smoke emitted by vehicles using petrol and diesel and the cooking coal
also pollutes the environment. The multiplication of vehicles, emitting black smoke
that, being free and unfettered, spreads out and mixes with the air we breathe. The
harmful smoke of these vehicles causes air pollution. Further, the sounds produced
by these vehicles produces causes noise-pollution.
 Rapid urbanization and industrialization: The urbanization and the rapid growth of
industrialization are causing through environmental pollution the greatest harm to the
plant life, which in turn causing harm to the animal kingdom and the human lives.
 Population overgrowth: Due to the increase in population, particularly in developing
countries, there has been surge in demand for basic food, occupation and shelter.
The world has witnessed massive deforestation to expand absorb the growing
population and their demands.
 Combustion of fossil fuels: The combustion of fossil fuels pollutes the air, the soil
and the water with noxious gases such as CO2 and CO.
 Agricultural waste: Fertilizers and pesticides used in agriculture are key causes of
environmental pollution.
Effect

Environmental pollution has negatively affected the life of both human-beings and animals.
Almost all of our gains in the fields of industrial progress, science and technology had so far
been realized at the cost of our health. Even our flora and fauna were found to be threatened
with extinction.

 The water we drink and the vegetables are all contaminated to-day. As a result of this
contamination our world is afflicted with a quite a number of incurable diseases.
 Environmental pollution affects water sources which mean that there is less fresh
water available for drinking, washing, cooking and irrigating crops.
 Nothing in this world is immune, no life is safe and the future of this world is bleak.
 The factories are mostly built in populated areas and the smoke-emitting vehicles ply
through the congested areas. Besides causing immense disturbances, there are
increasing case of pulmonary tuberculosis and thrombosis and various sorts of brain
and heart complications.
 Air-pollution may cause severe lungs-diseases, asthma, brain-disorder diseases, etc.
 Soil-pollution may have negative effect on farm output ratio. It can also contaminate
the ground water.
 Noise-pollution have negative effects on hearing or auditory sense organs. It can also
cause deafness, tiredness, and mental losses.
 The heat generated by industries and vehicles causes thermal pollution by raising the
environmental temperature of the nearby areas.
 Many scientists believe that we are living in an era of mass extinction, due to human
made environmental pollution.

Solution

 Researcher may find out how to avoid harmful smoke from running vehicles.
 Deforestation should be stopped and Forestry should be developed.
 Discharge of Factory wastes in rivers should be banned so as to make the river-water
free from pollution.
 Recycle the sewage or in all events it can be disposed of in such a way as to prevent
it from polluting the environment.
 Reducing the amount that we buy, reusing and repairing items wherever possible, and
recycling as much as we can will all help to reduce the amount of waste dumped in
the environment. When we do need to throw away waste we should do so responsibly.
 Organic farming could be one solution for reducing environmental pollution levels.

Initiatives

1. The UN Conference on Human Environment was convened to study the profound

changes in the relationship between man and his environment in the wake of modern
scientific and technological developments.
2. The World Health Organization also set up an international network for the monitoring
and study of air pollution on a global scale and for devising possible remedies.
Environmental Pollution, Its Sources and Effects

Environmental pollution had been a fact of life for many centuries

but it became a real problem since the start of the industrial revolution.

“Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the environment that

cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or that damage the
environment” which can come “in the form of chemical substances, or energy such as
noise, heat or light”. “Pollutants can be naturally occurring substances or energies, but
are considered contaminants when in excess of natural levels.”

In one word, environmental pollution takes place when the environment cannot process
and neutralize harmful by-products of human activities (for example, poisonous gas
emissions) in due course without any structural or functional damage to its system.

Why does pollution matter?

It matters first and foremost because it has negative impacts on crucial environmental
services such as provision of clean air and clean water (and many others) without which
life on Earth as we know it would not exist.

Introduction to Environmental Pollution

The industrial revolution brought with it technological progress such as discovery of oil and
its virtually universal use throughout different industries.

Technological progress facilitated by super efficiency of capitalist business practices

(division of labour – cheaper production costs – overproduction – overconsumption –
overpollution) had probably become one of the main causes of serious deterioration of
natural resources.

Environmental pollution is a problem both in developed and developing countries.

Factors such as population growth and urbanization invariably place greater demands on
the planet and stretch the use of natural resources to the maximum.

It has been argued that the carrying capacity of Earth is significantly smaller than the
demands placed on it by large numbers of human populations. And overuse of natural
resources often results in nature’s degradation.

Biological Decomposition of Environmental Pollutants

Biodegradable Pollutants
Biodegradable pollutants are the ones that can be broken down and processed by living
organisms, including organic waste products, phosphates, and inorganic salts.

For example, if a pollutant is organic, it can be used by a living organism to obtain energy
and other material from carbohydrates, proteins etc.

Non-Biodegradable Pollutants

Non-biodegradable pollutants are the ones that cannot be decomposed by living

organisms and therefore persist in the ecosphere for extremely long periods of time.

They include plastics, metal, glass, some pesticides and herbicides, and radioactive
isotopes.

Types of Environmental Pollution

Generally speaking, there are many types of environmental pollution but the most
important ones are:

 Air pollution
 Water pollution
 Soil pollution (contamination)

Some of the most notable air pollutants are sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon
monoxide, ozone, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and airborne particles, with
radioactive pollutants probably among the most destructive ones (specifically when
produced by nuclear explosions).

Water pollutants include insecticides and herbicides, food processing waste, pollutants
from livestock operations, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), heavy metals, chemical
waste and others.

Some soil pollutants are: hydrocarbons, solvents and heavy metals.

Sources of Environmental Pollution

Fossil Fuel Sources of Environmental Pollution

 In modern industrialized societies, fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal) transcended virtually all
imaginable barriers and firmly established themselves in our everyday lives.

Not only do we use fossil fuels for our obvious everyday needs (such as filling a car), as
well as in the power-generating industry, they (specifically oil) are also present in such
products as all sorts of plastics, solvents, detergents, asphalt, lubricating oils, a wide range
of chemicals for industrial use, etc. (Ref. 14)

Combustion of fossil fuels produces extremely high levels of air pollution and is widely
recognized as one of the most important “target” areas for reduction and control of
environmental pollution.

Fossil fuels also contribute to soil contamination and water pollution. For example,
when oil is transported from the point of its production to further destinations by pipelines,
an oil leak from the pipeline may occur and pollute soil and subsequently groundwater.
When oil is transported by tankers by ocean, an oil spill may occur and pollute ocean water.

But there is no reasonable doubt that fossil fuels are among the most serious sources of
environmental pollution.

Power-generating plants and transport are probably the biggest sources of fossil fuel
pollution.

Common sources of fossil fuel pollution are: (Ref. 15)

Industry:

 Power-generating plants

 Petroleum refineries

 Petrochemical plants

 Production and distribution of fossil fuels

 Other manufacturing facilities

Transport:

 Road transport (motor vehicles)

 Shipping industry
  Aircraft

Fossil fuel combustion is also a major source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and
perhaps the most important cause of global warming.

Among other pollution sources, agriculture (livestock farming) is worth mentioning as the
largest generator of ammonia emissions resulting in air pollution.

Chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers are also widely used in agriculture, which may
lead water pollution and soil contamination as well.

Trading activities may be another source of environmental pollution.

For example, it’s been recently noted that packaging of products sold in supermarkets and
other retail outlets is far too excessive and generates large quantities of solid waste that
ends up either in landfills or municipal incinerators leading to soil contamination and air
pollution.

Residential sector is another significant source of pollution generating solid municipal

waste that may end up in landfills or incinerators leading to soil contamination and air
pollution.

Environmental Pollution Effects

Some of the effects of air pollution include asthma, reduced energy levels, irritation of
eyes, disruption of the immune system, malfunction of the central nervous system, cancer.

Water pollution can cause skin rashes & allergies, all sorts of water-borne infections,
vomiting & stomach aches, malfunction of the central nervous system and so on.

Soil pollution is, in a way, connected to water pollution and may cause cancer,
headaches, fatigue, skin rashes and so on.