Impact of pollution Since the industrial revolution, the problem of environmental pollution had become worse. The development of companies brought the hazardous chemicals in the environment which caused damage to the streams, air and land. Pollution occurs when pollutants such as metals, organic compounds and chemicals infect the environment. At present, the problem of pollution had become worse where it is adversely affecting human health. The most shocking part is that there is high amount of pollution in urban areas than rural areas due to high population and more industries. In urban areas, human exposure to pollutants is easier because the residential areas are very close to industries. The environmental pollution has major consequences on the urban environments: the human health is in danger due to the exposure of harmful gases, aquatic animals become unhealthy source of food for humans due to being contaminated by toxic substances, the urban soil is contaminated with heavy metals which are harmful to humans. However, one of the solution to fight with pollution is to use technology to regularly monitor concentration of urban waters and maintain them on daily basis. Air pollution releases harmful gases in the environment which causes childhood respiratory allergies. The worst kind of pollution at present is air pollution which makes the air very impure that is very unhealthy for humans to breath. Parker mentions, “A possible factor affecting respiratory allergic symptoms is exposure to ambient air pollution, particularly traffic pollutants” (Parker 1). The pollutants released by the vehicles exacerbate the effects of respiratory allergies. In urban areas, there are lots of vehicles on road due to high population so the environment contains high percent of pollutants. Many people in cities do not even service their cars regularly which causes their cars to emit high amount of smoke and harmful chemicals into air. In addition, the air pollution is indirectly affecting children's development in polluted areas. An article mentions “However, a significant proportion of children are affected by respiratory conditions, including allergies, which are associated with missed school days and activity
“Asthma is a chronic respiratory illness often associated with familial, allergenic, socioeconomic, psychological and environmental factors.” (Rhodes 2002) Traffic related air pollution at home and school has been associated with adverse health effects, specifically on the respiratory system, resulting in an increased prevalence of asthma in children. The Southern California Children’s Health Study was designed to look at the chronic effects of air pollution on respiratory health. Previous research has shown an association of asthma with those that live in residential areas in close proximity to major roadways and exposure to traffic pollutants.
For many years scientists, along with concerned patrons, have been contemplating climate change and what dangers it presents to human kind. Climate change refers to the variation in normal weather patterns caused due to pollution. “Environmental pollution refers to the contamination of ecosystem and the surrounding atmosphere by different forms of pollutants (Chemicals and energies)” (omcis.org). Environmental pollution and climate is becoming a more substantial concern worldwide as the years go on. Numerous studies have been ran throughout the years showing statistical reasoning behind the environmental changes. Environmentalists debate about what the leading cause is and what we are able to do to stop such turmoil.
the residents, including residents in nearby towns that may rely on the company for employment. Individuals and communities are further victimized in cases of pollution due to the damage to our eco-system. Pollution damages living and non living elements of the eco-system and resources are impacted by pollution. Furthermore the wildlife and even family pets are impacted which in turn re victimizes the individual people (given the limited definitions to consider nature and wildlife "victims").
Pollution has not only been the driving force in global climate change, but has also propelled organisms into making structural and functional adaptations. Numerous areas of the Earth have been destroyed by the runoff and wastes of humans. Much of this degradation of ecosystems comes from industrial activity that favors profits over environmental protection. The article These fish evolved to survive the most poisoned places in America, displays a national issue that occurred in Virginia’s Elizabeth River. This river has recently became a, “toxic cocktail of industrial pollutants” (Kaplan). This area used to be home to a wood treatment facility and a Navy sewage dump. Harmful chemicals like PCBs, PAHs, heavy metals, and creosote have been found in these waters. Experts found that the pollution levels are 8,000 times higher than the lethal limit. This has placed this river on the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund list and made it nearly uninhabitable for all species. As harsh as the water quality is, thousands of Atlantic killifish continues to reside in this river. The pollution of this water should have been either fatal to the species or forced it to emigrate. Instead, this species underwent a genetic adaptation to survive the detrimental water. It was found that four separate killifish communities experienced this adaption in water sites all found on EPA’s Superfund list. Scientists sequenced the genomes of 384 killifish from the polluted waters and from four
Environmental pollution is one of the main threats to the destruction of our planet. Pollution destroys the existing environment and endangers the human existence on this Earth. Toxic emissions due to factories, transportation, and construction sites pollute the environment significantly. Undoubtedly, the economy may find countless benefits in such technological development; however, the risk is far greater than the reward. Climate change and global warming, pollution to the air and water, and acid rain are a few of the existing dangers to the environment.
As the worlds population rises, the earths environmental condition continues to worsen because of our wasteful careless ways. The waste that we produce can be very harmful to the environment because it degrades water quality, soil quality, air quality, and affects human health in very negative ways as well. The impact that human pollution has caused and continues to cause on the earth is very sad to see. For example, big industries pollute the air, soil, and water. These industries are also guilty of using large amount of our earths fossil fuels. Our agricultural methods are also damaging to the environment; pesticides are the main offenders when it comes to farming. Transportation, energy use and a number of other things contribute to the pollution in the environment; but waste and hazardous chemicals generated by everyday citizens at home also affect the environment as well.
The behaviour of pollutants in the environment can depend on the type and use of the pollutant, for example, atmospheric pollutants, such as oxides of sulphur and nitrogen, will behave differently than water pollutants, such as petroleum from an oil spill, because their compounds and the environment in which they pollute are different. Every pollutant has a source, pathway and sink. The source determines where the pollutant came from, the pathway is the route that the pollutant takes to reach different parts of the environment and the sink is the place of distribution or accumulation (Holdgate, 1979). A pollutant can have a single source or multiple sources and could take several pathways. Pollutants can have acute or chronic effects, which depend on the concentration and type of pollutant and also the duration in which an organism has been exposed to the pollutant. The pollutants effects, such as asbestos, could take a long time to arise, for example, a person exposed to asbestos could develop a chronic lung condition as the asbestos could accumulate in their lungs and the effects of this could occur for a long time (Doll and Peto, 1985). In comparison, a pollutant, for example, could have a severe but brief effect. Ultimately the material properties of the pollutant determine the pollutants behaviour, especially in regards to where the pollutant travels and for how long the pollutant acts, for example, Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in water have low solubility and are
Pollution is a serious global issue that has occurred for as long as humans have inhabited the planet. There are several different varieties of pollution, as well as an abundance of materials, both natural and synthetic, that the earth is contaminated with. Shifrin (2005) states: “To date, wastes remain a fact of life and there are only three places to dispose of wastes-air, water, or land. Waste management always involves tradeoffs” (p. 676). Even though Shifrin is correct in his analysis, it does not excuse the amount of environmental poison that continues to exist today, nor the amount of environmental problems that it has caused throughout history. The “tradeoffs” of pollution have devastated entire communities, causing waves of
One health is a very important initiative that Delaware Valley University has taken a part of. It’s a program that aims to help the health of people, animals, and the environment. This is a very important initiative especially now due to the rise of water pollution.
The ecosystem provides its own bio-indicator called a lichen. Lichens consist of two organisms, a fungi and a cyanobacteria (algae) which grow symbiotically. Lichens while they grow symbiotically their relationship of interaction can be described as mutualism. Three basic types of lichens include foliose, crustose, and fruticose. Lichens are durable and can grow in harsh environments where there is little or no soil. Lichens can tolerate severe temperatures both hot and cold. Despite their durability lichen are not impervious, many are sensitive to air pollution because they are dependent on moisture from rain for growth. Smog is a common air pollution which is the result of the burning fuels like coal and gasoline which releases sulfur
Major air pollutants are directly released into the atmosphere and might affect both directly or as precursor of secondary air pollutants.
1. Air pollution : Air pollution can be defined as the presence of toxic chemicals or compounds in the air, at levels that pose a health risk. In an even broader sense, air pollution means the presence of chemicals or compounds in the air which are usually not present and which lower the quality of the air or cause detrimental changes to the quality of life (such as the damaging of the ozone layer or causing global warming).Air Pollution is the most prominent and dangerous form of pollution. It occurs due to many reasons. Excessive burning of fuel which is a necessity of our daily lives for cooking, driving and other industrial activities; releases a huge amount of chemical substances in the air everyday; these pollute the air.
In this modern age, we are slowly losing our accessibility to conventional oil. Conventional oil is such an important resource to us. We can observe this by even walking down a simple street. The roads contain concrete which are composed with oil, clothing worn by the people walking down the street are made of oil, the fuel to power a car, etc. Oil can be used in many various ways. We are not only losing oil in resources, we are also exhausting most of our resources today. Pollution is the main reason resources are becoming inaccessible and unusable. Pollution means, “The presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects.” Pollution mostly occurs when
One of the biggest problems that the world faces today is environmental pollution. The increasing demand for goods and resource consumption are destroying this world. The environment is deteriorating fast along with its ability to support life for future generations. Therefore, who is responsible for the deterioration of the world? Industrialized nations who contribute tons of toxic waste per day or individuals who are not aware of their impact on the environment. According to Derrick Jensen in his essay, “Forget Shorter Showers” (p.564), industries cause more harm to nature by consuming resources and producing waste; nevertheless, Margaret Lundberg writes in her essay, “Eating Green” (p.570) that individuals’ demand for resources and unhealthy habits are contributing to the earth pollution.
These smokes contain many harmful chemicals and vitiate the air. Big cities have been the most affected by air pollution because of presence of large number vehicles. The air in the metropolitan cities of Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai is so much polluted that many people suffer from diseases like asthma, cancer, eye burning, skin rashes, etc.