Monday, 28 September 2015

POLLUTION

WHAT IS POLLUTION?



We hear the word "pollution" every day at school, college and read about it in newspapers. So what is it? Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials, called pollutants, into the environment. Pollutants can be natural, such as volcanic ash. They can also be created by human activity, such as trash or run-off produced by factories. Pollution disturbs our ecosystem and the balance in the environment.
Pollution occurs in different forms; air, water, soil, and light, among others. Let us discuss the different types of pollutions, their causes and effects on mankind and the environment as a whole.

TYPES OF POLLUTION:
LAND POLLUTION
     Soil/land pollution is caused by the presence of xenobiotic (human-made) chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment.
Land pollution means degradation or destruction of earth’s surface and soil, directly or indirectly as a result of human activities. 

 CAUSES
  • Industrial activity: The products are not disposed in a safe way.
  • Agricultural activity: Fertilizers and pesticides are full of harmful chemicals.
  • Waste disposal: Includes both industrial and personal waste disposal.
  • Accidental oil spills: Chemicals present in fuels deteriorates the quality of soil.
  • Acid rain: This polluted water can dissolve important soil nutrients.
EFFECTS
  • Human health: Crops and plants grown on polluted soil absorb much of the pollution and then pass these on to us. 
  • Growth of plants: Most plants are unable to adapt when the chemistry of the soil changes in a short period of time.
  • Changes in soil structure: The death of many soil organisms (e.g. earthworms) in the soil can lead to alteration in soil structure. 
Over 80% of the items buried in landfills could be recycled






WATER POLLUTION
Water Pollution has taken toll of all the surviving species of the earth. Almost 60% of the species live in water bodies.
Water pollution is any chemical, physical or biological change in the quality of water that has a harmful effect on any living thing that drinks or uses or lives in it.


 CAUSES
  • Sewage and wastewater: Domestic households, industrial and agricultural practices produce wastewater that can cause pollution of many lakes and rivers.
  • Marine dumping: Dumping of litter in the sea can cause huge problems. 
  • Industrial water and water pollution: Sulfur dioxide emissions form clouds with sulfuric acid, resulting in acid rain.
  • Oil pollution: Oceans are polluted by oil on a daily basis from oil spills, routine shipping, run-offs and dumping.
  • Underground storage leakages: A tank or piping network that has at least 10 percent of its volume underground is known as an underground storage tank (UST). They often store substances such as petroleum, that are harmful to the surrounding environment should it become contaminated.
  • Atmospheric: Water particles mix with carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, this forms a weak acid. This acid combined with rain is what we called acid rain.
  • Global warming: An increase in water temperature can result in the death of many aquatic organisms.
  • Nuclear waste: Any material produced from industrial, medical and scientific processes that use radioactive material have serious effects on marien life.
  • Eutrophication: It occurs due to daily activities like washing clothes, utensils near lakes, ponds or rivers; this forces detergents to go into water which blocks sunlight from penetrating, thus reducing oxygen and making it inhabitable. Another cause of eutrophication is  when the environment becomes enriched with nutrients.
EFFECTS
  • Death of aquatic (water) animals
  • Disruption of food-chains: Pollutants such as lead and cadmium are eaten by tiny animals. Later, these animals are consumed by fish and shellfish, and the food chain continues to be disrupted at all higher levels.
  • Diseases: Eventually, humans are affected by this process as well. People can get diseases such as hepatitis by eating seafood that has been poisoned.
  • Destruction of ecosystems: Oil, detergents, phosphate and nitrogen fertilizers can stimulate plant growth and cause the death of fish due to suffocation resulting from lack of oxygen.
  • Economic cost: It can cost a lot more to purify drinking water that takes its source from nutrient polluted water bodies.









AIR POLLUTION

Air Pollution is the most prominent and dangerous form of pollution.

Air pollution occurs when the air contains gases, dust, fumes or odour in harmful amounts. That is, amounts which could be harmful to the health or comfort of humans and animals or which could cause damage to plants and materials.

CAUSES
  • Traffic: Cars are powered by gasoline and diesel engines that burn petroleum to release energy. In practice, fuels aren't pure hydrocarbons and engines don't burn them cleanly. 
  • Power plants: The overwhelming majority of electricity is still produced by burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas, and oil, mostly in conventional power plants. 
  • Industrial plants and factories: Most plants that pollute release small amounts of pollution continually over a long period of time, though the effects can be cumulative.
  • Other causes: burning wood for cooking or heating and incinerated garbage. 


EFFECTS
  • Human Health: Air pollution can cause a variety of lung diseases and other respiratory problems.
  • Agricultural effects: Crops can be injured when exposed to high concentrations of various air pollutants.
  • Other effects: Apart from blackening buildings with soot, air pollution also contribute to acid rain that can wear away stonework in a matter of years or decades.


LIGHT POLLUTION
Light pollution is the unwanted illumination of the night sky created by human activity.

Light pollution, also known as photopollution or luminous pollution, is excessive, misdirected, or obtrusive artificial light.

CAUSES
  • In big cities, on advertising boards and billboards.
  • Sports or entertainment events at night.
  • Improperly designed lights with no shielding.
  • Lightning schemes used in commercial estabishments, streets and buildings.


EFFECTS
  • Waste of resources: It costs a lot of money to light up homes, public places, sports and commercial places.
  • Loss of historical and cultural value: We are loosing the wonderful dark sky view with stars and other space objects that we used to enjoy.
  • Health implications: Disability glare, eye strain, loss of vision and stress that people get from glare and spillovers are worth mentioning.
  • Wildlife: Many insects, birds, mammals and reptiles are photoperiodic in nature. Artificial lights, even in small amounts can distort their natural operations and cycle.


WHAT CAN WE DO TO REDUCE POLLUTION?
AIR POLLUTION
  • Use public mode of transportation
  • Conserve energy: Switch off fans and lights when you are going out. Large ammounts of fossil fuels are burnt to produce electricity.
  • Emphasis on clean energy resources
  • Use energy-efficient devices: CFL lights consume less electricity as against their counterparts.

WATER POLLUTION

  • Dispose of toxic chemicals properly
  • Avoid plastics 

LIGHT POLLUTION
  • Only turn on outdoor lights when needed—or install motion sensors.
  • Point the lights downward and outfit them with "shields"
  • Lower the wattage of your bulbs and put them on dimmers.
  • Close curtains at night to keep indoor light in.

LAND POLLUTION

  • Reuse any items that you can. 
  • The greatest prevention to land pollution and also all types of pollution is in the three ‘R's’: Reduce Waste, Re-use things and Recycle things. 

LEARN MORE...

Sweden recycles 99% of their rubbish...



Bibliography

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1 comment:

  1. YG15 October 2015 at 11:50

    I find this post very interesting and appealing. Nice pics! I also think that the video you have included is very relevant. Projects like this should be carried out in other parts of the world, as well.
    Good sources.
    Great work! Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete

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