Environmental Pollution Essay – 1400 Words
The worst of all humans activities on this planet is the act of contaminating and polluting his surroundings. The modern man’s attitude has proved disastrous to environmental safeguard. Pollution has brought ugliness to our beautiful earth by poisoning air, water, and soil beyond endurance. Today, it has virtually become a constant threat to mankind, its abode, and the entire civilization.
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Environmental Pollution Causes & Facts
Our environment is really unique because it sustains life and growth. On other planets, there is no environment and, therefore, no life. Environment means all that surrounds us. It is a very complex and comprehensive phenomenon. It consists of the climate, geography, geology and all the natural resources that nature has provided us. There is a life on this planet because of a certain balance between these various elements. Without this balance, our planet would have been just another lifeless planet revolving around the sun.
“We won’t have the society if we destroy the environment.” Margaret Mead
Should we allow environment deterioration to continue, mans fate may be worse than extinction. Ron S. Boster
[the_ad id=”17141″]Pollution, means the process of making air, water, soil etc. dangerously dirty and not suitable for people to use them. Human beings, in spite of amazing scientific progress, have not so far learned to respect nature and the mother earth. Man is totally ignorant towards the balanced relationship between him and his environment. Mans wild desire to build bigger and wider industrial states and the brutal exploitation of natural resources have given birth to the problem of pollution.
The earth has the capacity to provide enough to satisfy every mans need, but not for everybody’s greed. Even the sun, the moon, and the stars would have been destroyed or polluted, if they had been within the reach of greedy human hands. The dark and disappointing aspect of the problem is that man is still not ready to believe that there will not be any society or civilization if he destroys the environment. So the things are going from bad to worse day by day.
Man has lost the capacity to foresee and to foretell. He will end by destroying the earth. Albert Schweitzer
The modern and developed countries often blame the underdeveloped countries for polluting the environment. But the truth is that it is the developed nations who are increasing pollution by nuclear tests, ever-growing industry throwing nuclear wastes into the rivers and oceans. But as the rich and advanced countries have total control over the world media and most of the poor countries cannot do without the help of western countries, the poor and under-developed countries have no option but to accept all the blames.
[the_ad id=”17142″]If we look into the past, we see that we did not have any pollution problem. This issue got the attention of the peoples in 1969 when the first report of the United Nations on the problem of the human environment was published. Pakistan took it seriously in 1973 when a subject entitled Environmental Pollution and Ecology was included in the 1973 constitution. Then the ministry of environment was set up in 1976. The first environmental protection ordinance was issued by the government of Pakistan in 1983. Since then the masses have been conscious about this serious problem.
Types of Environmental Pollution
There are various causes of air, water, soil and noise pollutions. Let us discuss these causes and their possible solutions. Industrialization is the main cause of this issue. Many of our power and industrial projects are still running without proper environmental clearance. Our thermal power projects, based on coal, should be located away from cities, towns, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, lakes. The burning of various fuels in the factories and mills and the release of a great amount of sulphur dioxide in the air cause serious pollution. The people of industrial areas usually suffer from respiratory disorders. Since many of our cities are on the banks of the rivers or the coast, our rivers and sea too have turned dirty and polluted. Fishes and other creatures living in them are usually found rotting on the banks and shores. The toxic chemicals, industrial wastes and effluents discharge into rivers and sea from the mills and factories have proved fatal to marine life. The sewerage has seriously damaged the health of our water resources. The discharges contain a variety of poisonous effluents which cause the outbreak and spread of different diseases and epidemics. The detergents, fertilizers, pesticides, oil spills are some other major pollutants of water. Waste form slaughterhouses, dairy and poultry farms, tanneries, paper and sugar mills have also caused havoc in this respect.[the_ad id=”17150″]
In order to check water pollution, the sewerage and factories effluents and waste should be properly treated and cleaned before being discharged into streams, rivers and seas.
Noise is also counted among great pollutants. The general noise level in the cities is rising alarmingly. It is causing many mental and physical diseases. Noise coming from factories, vehicles, trains, public address system, T.V. sets, aircrafts and sirens, etc. is really too much. Frequently loud noise may cause a decreased flow of blood in the small vessels, the tension of muscles, digestive upsets, nervousness, anxiety and irritation. It lowers the working efficiency. The most unwanted effect of noise is the gradual loss of hearing. The ever-increasing vehicles on the roads have aggravated the situation manifold. We can reduce this menace to some extent by planting more and more trees. Vehicles emitting smoke and din should not be allowed to run on the roads of the city.
A nation without the means of reform is without means of survival. Edmund Burke
Polluted air contains sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide. A dangerous rise in the levels of these gases or chemicals leads to nausea, suffocation, vomiting and even, death. The deadly viruses and bacteria of Hepatitis B, TB, lungs and chest infections, polio, hay fever etc. are also the result of this pollution. Air is usually polluted by vehicles, factories generators, pharmaceutical industries, and thermal plants. The food products which are produced or cooked in the presence of such air water are surely polluted. Numerous cases of cholera, viral fever, gastro, and typhoid are being noted in hospitals every day due to contaminated food. Air pollution can also cause asthma, respiratory diseases, eye defects, skin problems, and lung cancer. More trees and vegetation should be grown in the urban areas in order to keep the air clean.
Effects of Environmental Pollution
[the_ad id=”17144″]The loss of forest cover has caused some serious environmental problems. The man has cut down the vast forest reserves in the name of urbanization. Moreover, the rural masses depend upon wood from the forests to keep their kitchens alive. The cutting of forests has resulted in the reduction of rainfall. This factor has also given rise to pollution. Nuclear tests and the dumping of nuclear waste have also affected the environment in an adverse manner. Floods and earthquakes also cause environmental pollution. People are fully aware of the fact that pollution has caused a hole in the ozone layer. Ozone layer surrounds the atmosphere of the earth and protects us from harmful solar radiation. It also protects the earth from overheating. If this damage to ozone layer continues, the polar ice caps would melt. All this would mean the worst ocean floods ever experienced by mankind.
The population explosion and urbanization in the country have caused a tremendous increase in all kinds of pollution. Now our cities are full of smoke, noxious fumes, dirt, dust, heaps of rubbish, poisonous gases, foul smell and noise pollution due to the ever-growing needs of our ever-increasing population.
The magnificence of mountains,
the serenity of nature, nothing is safe from
the idiot marks of man’s passing. WainWright
The solution must be devised for this problem at the earliest. These solutions would demand strict laws by the judiciary and then strict implementation by the government. Time is now ripe, for protecting Pakistani habitat and environment form serious disaster. Pakistani environment is vulnerable to serious decay and we should manage the same through concerted efforts of the public and the state. We all know very well that there is no second mother earth to protect us. We have only one Mother Nature for ensuring*our survival on this planet.
Nature never did betray the heart that loved her. Ibid
Environmental Pollution Essay – 350 Words
Outline:
- Introduction
- Health’s effect
- Global warming
- Use of chemical
- Conclusion
Pollution, In the last two or three centuries of science, has made great progress. It has given man the knowledge and power to control to resources of the earth, and use them as he wishes. We are living in the age of a continuous industrial revolution. We have built vast industries that are producing large quantities of goods and machines.
We like to think that we have achieved what no previous age was able to attain. There is much truth in this claim. We produce all sorts of goods, from chewing gum to space ships. We are ready to conquer other planets. Is this the golden age man has been dreaming of for centuries?
A little thinking however, will tell us that it is not. We have certainly made a great progress, but let us consider the cost of this progress.
Millions of factories in all parts of world are sending huge quantities of carbon dioxide and poisonous gasses in to the atmosphere. This is not the whole story. They are pouring continuous streams of harmful chemicals in to the rivers of the world. Every hour our cars, buses and airplanes are discharging deadly poisons into our atmosphere.
The result is that our atmosphere, especially over large industrial areas has more poison than oxygen. Fish and other forms of life living in water are dying fast. The food crops irrigated with poisonous waters also become poisonous. From them the poison enters into the bodies of human beings and causes various diseases.
The toxic chemicals we release in the atmosphere are damaging the ozone layer above the earth. It is the ozone gas that protects us from certain very harmful rays of the sun. These rays cause skin cancer and many other diseases. The most horrible form of pollution is produced by nuclear waste. This is only a brief account of what we have done to this earth and its atmosphere.