The Dangers Of Environmental Pollution

Do people pollute? In the United States, we contribute to 30% of the world’s waste(“Pollution Facts”). Because of that, the effects of pollution are killing humans and the environment around us. If we tend to be oblivious to this problem any longer it could be our downfall. Therefor, Pollution is a problem that is constantly overlooked and something needs to be done about it.

The doubt surrounding possible threats to environment has often been used as a reason to avoid taking action to protect the environment. However, it is not always possible to have clear evidence of a threat to the environment before the damage happens. The Precautionary Principle has been widely incorporated, in various forms, in international environmental agreements and declarations and further developed in a number of national laws. An element common to the various formulations of the Precautionary Principle is the recognition that lack of certainty regarding the threat of environmental harm should not be used as an excuse for not taking action to avert that threat. The Precautionary Principle recognizes that delaying action until there

The decline of the environment due to natural and human exertion is known as the degradation of the environment. The natural weather occurrences such as heavy rain, flooding, storms, earthquakes, volcanoes etc. are not administered under human control. These meteorological phenomenon’s wreak devastation on the environment from time to time causing the land to become unsuitable to cultivate. On this subject matter, the human population does not contain the power to stop the wrath of Mother Nature. Rather, we are forced to sit back and watch. Nevertheless, humans engage in a crucial role towards the degradation of the environment in which we live in. Unavoidably, the degradation of the environment is a rising and utmost worldwide subject. I accept that the root cause to environmental degradation is the excessive use of resources on our land utilized by the processes under capitalism. As Jensen wrote in Endgame, “The global industrial economy is the engine for massive environmental degradation and massive human and (nonhuman) impoverishment.

How many times have you heard someone talk about pollution? Or even hear someone bring up the topic of pollution.What about global warming? That involves pollution. In fact that is caused because of pollution. Pollution is one of the biggest global killers, affecting over 100 million people. That is comparable to global diseases such as malaria and HIV (“11 Facts About Pollution” ). Most people do not understand the impact of pollution on themselves and the environment. Pollution can spread through soil, air, and water. Pollution is one of the biggest problems in everyday life. It affects all of the plants and animals.

Pollution is the action of contaminating air, water or land by harmful substances which are natural and man-made wastes. Such wastes degrade the air, water or land which reduces is quality and usage. Sources of pollutions are automobiles, increased chemical wastes, nuclear wastes and accumulation of garbage in landfills. Air pollution is one type of environmental contamination which has remained as a main problem in the society. Major contaminants include carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), hydrocarbons (HC) and particulates. These contaminants pose critical environmental and health threats. These are not only experienced locally but internationally as well. Other parts of the globe experience worse cases than the other due to certain conditions of the environment. (Baje, Calong & Cudiamat, 2014)

As a Florida resident, the concern regarding current legislation prohibiting contamination of Florida’s natural resources is alarming. It is quite simple to comprehend that pollution is ‘bad’ and that it has long term ill effects on the human population and the natural eco system alike. Many people have heard of lead contamination in drinking water or have observed pictures of sea creatures entangled in plastic, so a broad level of awareness is a non-issue. However, occurrences such as contaminated drinking water are believed to only exist in ‘other states’ or ‘in other countries’ because people conveniently believe that our government has our best interest in mind and feel that it is government obligation to injunction a healthy environment. The issue lies within the confines of government and the exacting measures of how legislation is defined and carried forth. Acknowledgement of substandard practices shall promote the needed sense of urgency to reverse damaging environmental practices and such urgency will only develop through action of government, pursued by the people. In the great state of Florida, environmental regulation should be held in the highest regard, as the ocean and waterways are the main providers of Florida’s flora and fauna. Exploration of federal and state government, as well as the dire necessity for a cleaner environment, will bring forth clarity and will generate momentum toward a flourishing and sustainable environment.

Since the very first textile production line in the 1700s to Apple products being made overseas in  China, factories have plays a significant role in our world since the beginning and continues to do so. The Industrial Revolution was a stepping stone in Americas history and opened a door to new inventions to make lives easier. It began with the invention and application of machinery for production and peak in the production of machines made by machines. Factories have indeed made production efficient and increased the number of jobs. However, like all good things there is a negative side. Factories are a source of nonpoint pollution, meaning the pollution affects  a water body from sources such as polluted runoff from agricultural areas draining into a river, or wind-borne debris blowing out to sea. Non-point source air pollution affects air quality from smokestacks. Which is a problem because factories contribute to both water and air pollution harming our environment as it still continues to operate all over the world. So how do we know if factories are doing more harm than benefits for our environment?

Climate change has become a major concern for environmentalists, and society alike, during the past few decades. Climate change is the disturbance of the natural fluctuation pattern of the weather caused by humans. One significant component of climate change is pollution. Pollution occurs when contaminants are introduced to the natural environment, causing unfavorable effects to the environment. Three major types of pollution are air, water, and light pollution.

Pollutants are impacting aquatic organisms disposed by daily human activities and natural occurrences. An extensive amount of pollutants such as pesticides, heavy metals, and hydrocarbons can result in direct significant damage, e.g. death. However lower levels of these harmful substances can be stored in an organism and increase as it continues and follows up the food chain, a process called biomagnification or bioaccumulation, having the greatest effect on the top predator of that food chain. A common result of the pollutants can lead to stress, changing of the immune system, inhibit lysozyme activity, damage gills, metabolism, and growth. Other factors include an excessive amount of nutrients in the environment. Nitrogen can make its way into aquatic ecosystems when there is an increase in nitrous oxide in the air, allowing eutrophication. Algae and bacteria feed off the nitrogen, so a high number of these organisms appear and use oxygen around them as the feed, causing hypoxic zones, or dead zones. Acidification, an increase in the ecosystem’s pH acidity from acid rain, which occurs from an increase in CO2 from air pollution. Aquatic organisms have a range of tolerance, and water with high acidic pH will lead the organism out of the range of tolerance, resulting in stress of the organism, and eventually death. Further studies are being pursuited to see larger impacts of globalized pollution on aquatic species and their ecosystems.

Individuals have a moral responsibility to reduce their greenhouse gas emission. First, the pollution from various parts of the universe can negatively impact people living in areas far from the point of contamination. In this case, it is unethical to make other individuals suffer because of engaging in reckless behavior that can be avoided. Humans are social beings, and therefore, they have the obligation of protecting each other from harm of any kind. In extreme cases, climate changes, such as prolonged drought and floods caused by the accumulation of greenhouse gases result in death. Life is precious, and individuals have a moral obligation to protect it by all possible means. Second, the effects of releasing toxic gases into the atmosphere are felt after several years. In this case, when people produce toxic emission into the environment today, they put the survival of future generations at risk. Individuals fail to realize that if the ancestors engaged in irresponsible behaviors that the current generation seems to take part in fearlessly, today the world would not be fit for human survival. In this light, people have the accountability of reducing their greenhouse gas emission.

Not only has climate changed the natural habits of weather in the world, it has also started to melt the fresh water ice caps which is causing the sea levels to rise. Globally sea levels rose by eight inches in the past century. Within two decades sea levels have increased more than twice of the increases recorded in the last century. This has caused many cities and countries to slowly sink into the ocean for an example Virginia’s Tangier Island. The ocean has reclaimed about 70% of the island in the past century. To make things better the President of the United States “Donald Trump” told the mayor ‘Your Island has been there for hundreds of years, and I believe your island will be there for hundreds more.’ The denial of climate change has been around for a century now but that should not be a cause to not continue to improve the way things are done to reduce the pollutants released into the atmosphere. If people in many of these advanced countries started to use public transportation most of the emissions created by vehicals can be drastically decreased. If gas guzlers were swapped for something more eco the release of these harmful fumes can be decreased. If these guzzling cars are changed for cars with electricity and hydro fuel can also help the earth. Venice, Italy is another city that is in the state of panic. The City of Venice will flood time to time like it is a natural occurrence. This flooding issue hasn’t just been a recent issue it started since the beginning

The detrimental pollution issue regarding the Lake of the Ozarks is one that has been floating among the Ozarks for about a decade or two. The water quality has gone down the drain in recent years due to numerous factors such as leaking sewage and trash pollution. This issue is an environmental concern because it makes the Escherichia coli (E. coli) levels in the water go up, which can lead to illnesses and deaths of people and animals across the area. There was said to have been as much as 15,000 gallons of sewage that led directly into the Lake of the Ozarks (DNR). This is a problem because it is affecting the health of landowners near the area, fishermen, and local businesses, native wildlife, and aquatic organisms; however, people are asking why it may matter.

Throughout the years we as a society have considered the problems within our environment and the social problems we face completely unrelated issues. Technological advances have recently shown us that this is untrue, linked through human intervention our environmental and social issues have a lot more in common than originally thought. The social and environmental issue of pollution is one of the more pressing issues of our time. Our air, water and food supplies are all vulnerable to being heavily polluted by our mishandling of our environment and natural resources. Whether as a consequence of improper disposal or ignorance pollution has become one of our society's biggest complications.

Did you know the air we breathe on a daily basis can be harmful to our health? According to a study published in The Journal of Environmental Research Letters, “Air pollution kills more than 2 million people each year” (Bradford). One of the most significant problems the world is facing today is pollution. It has affected many lives of humans and animals, and is still continuing to do so. Pollution can be fixed by people being educated on what it is doing to the lives of many people. Understanding what the sources of pollution are, realizing what illnesses it causes to animals and humans, and coming up with a solution for stopping it at its source will reduce the effects of pollution greatly.

These types of sources we us in our everyday lives like cars, trucks, and buses, and many that we use but don’t realize like when we us electricity made from a power plant.