Environmental Pollution is considered as one of the greatest challenges which world is facing today. Though it has been existing since centuries but significant increase in its level was seen since the commencement of industrial revolution in the 19th century. As the time is passing, world is witnessing its increase day by day, causing irreparable damage to Mother Earth. Now, it has reached to its peak and can’t be overlooked due to its hazardous impact on atmosphere, environment and living beings.
What is Pollution? It is the addition of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) which cause adverse impact on the environment or cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living species. It can be any form of energy (such as heat, sound, or radioactivity) or substance which gets added to the environment at a faster rate than it can be dispersed, diluted, decomposed, recycled, or stored in some harmless form. Pollution occurs when pollutants don’t decompose or eliminate naturally.
We can say that pollution takes place when nature does not know how to decompose pollution causing elements which are offering adverse impact on the environment. It is high time to take pollution seriously as it is offering negative effect on natural elements that are necessary for existence of life on earth such as air and water. Some of the most popular types of pollution that are contaminating earth include air pollution, water pollution and soil pollution.
Causes & Effects of Pollution
Burning of fuels is considered as the major contributor towards pollution. We all require to burn fuel for cooking, driving and other industrial activities. The smoke emitting out from the chimneys of factories, vehicles, or burning of wood causes the emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen, sulphur etc. Some of these gases are responsible for making air toxic. The most highlighted impact of the emission of greenhouse gases is “Global Warming”. These gases have the ability to trap sun’s radiation which would have reflected back otherwise. Due to this, there has been significant increase in the temperatures on earth. This increase in earth’s temperature is further causing several devastating effects like acid rain, warming of oceans, melting of ice caps, suffocation of oceans, extreme weather, etc. Collectively, all these effects are disturbing the earth’s ecosystem, making it tough for the living beings to survive. Pollution is also adversely affecting our health and there has been tremendous increase in asthma and cancer in the lungs.
What we should do
One of the major cause of air pollution or global warming is burning of fossil fuel. It is right time to move towards renewable energy sources like solar energy, wind, tidal, etc. Not only, these sources of energy eco-friendly but are also inexhaustible. Furthermore, the cost incurred in converting energy into usable form is low and the performance is at par with the energy obtained by the burning of fossil fuels. Moreover, we should also start using electric and hybrid vehicles and public transportation systems before it’s too late. The factories should emit their waste after proper treatment in order to limit the adverse effects caused by waste. Last but not least, plant more and more trees.
