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Pollutions of our World
Definition: Pollution occurs when an amount of any substance or any form of energy is put into the environment at a rate faster than it can be dispersed or safely stored. The term pollution can refer to both artificial and natural materials that are created, consumed, and discarded in an unsustainable manner.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "What is pollution?". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Feb. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/question/What-is-pollution. Accessed 27 October 2024.
Why Prevent Pollution?
Although there are some natural occurrences that cause pollution we need to focus on human caused pollution which occurs much more often and in significantly greater quantity.
The prevention of pollution will decrease economic and environmental costs, which are significant. Pollution prevention aids the environment by protecting our natural resources while strengthening prosperity through efficiency in production and less need for dwellings, businesses and communities to dispose of waste.
Most of us are aware of the three main types of pollution that are air, water and land/soil. There are other types of pollution which include light, noise, thermal and radiation. We will discuss these pollutants below and tips to reduce them.
Air Pollution
Land and Soil Pollution
Water Pollution
Air pollution is the biggest global environmental risk for early death, causing more than 6 million premature deaths each year from heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, and respiratory diseases.
Currently, 9 in 10 people are breathing overly polluted air.
Water Pollution
Land and Soil Pollution
Water Pollution
Environmental Education: Water Pollution
About 2 billion people in the world live without access to safe water at home.
Water pollution is also a major health risk, especially in developing countries, where it causes 1.8 million deaths annually from diseases like cholera and typhoid.
Land and Soil Pollution
Land and Soil Pollution
Land and Soil Pollution
Three-quarters of the Earth's land is degraded, and predictions suggest it could hit 90% by 2050
Around 3.2 billion people, or 40 percent of the global population, are adversely affected by land degradation.
Light Pollution
Thermal Pollution
Land and Soil Pollution
The retina of the eye can naturally adjust its light-sensing cells to acclimate to very low-light conditions, to allow some sort of night vision, according to Duke University.
Due to light pollution, 37% of people living in America don’t use their night vision, according to the BBC.
Light pollution also adversely affects wildlife whom need to use the dark to survive.
Noise Pollution
Thermal Pollution
Thermal Pollution
Noise or sound pollution is the presence of excessive, harmful sound or sounds that have disastrous effects on human, wildlife and environmental health.
- Contributes to 48,000 new cases of ischaemic heart disease a year and 12,000 premature deaths.
- Causes sleep deprivation which leads to lack of productivity and accidents in daily life
- Noise pollution can interfere with breeding cycles and rearing of flying, land, and marine species, and even hasten the extinction of some species.
Thermal Pollution
Thermal Pollution
Thermal Pollution
Thermal pollution, or thermal enrichment, is a form of water pollution. It is a rapid change in water temperature. Ambient water temperature is essential to the survival of aquatic life, but thermal pollution makes natural water bodies dangerous to them.
Radiation pollution
Radiation pollution
Radiation pollution
Radioactive Pollution is defined as the increase in the natural radiation levels caused by human activities. It is estimated that about 20% of radiation we are exposed to is due to human activities. The human activities that can release radiation involve activities with radioactive materials such as mining, handling and processing of radioactive materials, handling and storage of radioactive waste, as well as the use of radioactive reactions to generate energy (nuclear power plants), along with the use of radiation in medicine (e.g. X-rays) and research. But what about microwaves, cell phones, radio transmitters, wireless devices, computers, and other common commodities of today’s life?
Helpful solutions to reduce pollution
Air Pollution
- Move towards renewable energy like solar, wind, geothermal, and hydropower .
- Sustainable transportation such as rollerskating, biking , segway, public transportation, and moving towards hybrid/all electric vehicles.
- Sustainable agriculture (hydroponics, verticle farming) agricuture that doesn't use or pollute vast amounts of resources
Water Pollution
- Waste Reduction
- Recycling
- Reduce water travel
- Minimize the use of chemicals, find eco-friendly or natural alternatives to chemicals and dispose of them ,properly
- Compost yard and natural food scraps
- Don't flush medical or harmful chemicals down the toilet.
Land and soil pollution
- Waste Reduction
- Recycling
- Sustainable agriculture (hydroponics, verticle farming) agricuture that doesn't use or pollute vast amounts of resources
Light Pollution
- Practice unplugging or turning out lights out regularly (once a day, week or month) for at least 1-2 hours.
- Utilize hours of daylight as much as possible.
Noise Pollution
- Soundproof or well insulate buildings
- Use electric vehicles
- Turn off appliances
- Plant trees
- Create "no horn zones" within cities to not use automotive horns unless necessary
Thermal Pollution
- Commercial or large buildings need to use cooling mechanisms; such as towers and ponds to cool heating processes.
- Promoting water recycling within industrial processes can dramatically reduce the volume of discharged heated water.
- Planting trees and maintaining buffer zones along waterways Trees provide shade, reduce solar radiation on the water, and help to stabilize soil, preventing erosion and sedimentation. These buffer zones also slow down runoff from urban areas, allowing it to cool before entering the water body.
Radiation Pollution
- Waste should be stored in heavy and thick concrete containers to avoid any chances of seepage but it cannot be perfectly contained.
- Whether diluting or storing radiation, professional assistance should always be sought.
- Containers should be well labeled to make one use protective gear when handling them.
- Radioactive tests should be banned.
- Focus on alternative energy sources –solar, hydroelectric, and wind power.
- Containers carrying radioactive material must be stored properly. in radiation-proof containers to ensure no seeping or leakage during handling.
- Waste can be diluted or recycled and used for other purposes.
- If living near radioactive products make necessary safety precautions such as checking the level of radon gas in your building.