World is too big for pollution but too small for a solution

    World is too big for pollution but too small for a solution

(By Taniya Kalgaonkar)

Image By:-Kanishka Sharma

Pollution refers to the mixing or the introduction of harmful materials called pollutants in our environment. These pollutants mix in the environment and cause its degradation. It affects land, air, water, soil.

Pollution can be of many types such as land, air, water, soil, sound, radioactive, thermal, nuclear, etc.

Let’s talk about pollution:-

Pollution has been a major problem for a long time. Air pollution has majorly affected the health of people across the globe. Due to air pollution, 5 million deaths occur each year across the whole world, i.e 9% of the deaths. According to the research of Greenpeace and AirVisual Gurugram, a suburb of the Indian capital New Delhi is the most polluted city in the whole world. The air quality index is very low there. Air pollution is caused due to the increase of pollutants in the air. Smog, an increase in the number of greenhouse gases in the environment, soot are some results of air pollution. It also causes problems like cardiovascular damages, respiratory diseases, fatigue, nervous system damage, irritation, headache, anxiety, etc.

Pollution can also be caused by the dumping of chemical waste, untreated sewage into water bodies. By doing, so the water bodies are also getting polluted making the water unfit for drinking. It not only pollutes the water bodies but also affects marine life adversely. Reports state that 2 million tons of sewage, industrial waste in water bodies. It also causes lots of diseases like jaundice, malaria etc.  

The dumping of waste on the ground causes land pollution. Land pollution refers to the misuse of land resources. It causes the degradation in the soil quality and disturbs the Ph level of the soil which makes the soil unfit for cultivation and growing plants. It also causes groundwater poisoning, loss of topsoil, increase the risk of wildfire. Land pollution can be caused due to using fertilizers and pesticides during cultivation, landfilling, mining, dumping of non-renewable resources in the soil. Reports state that the planet loses 24 billion tonnes of topsoil each year due to land pollution.

Nuclear pollution:-

   

It is one of the most dangerous kinds of pollution since it refers to the dumping of radioactive waste. If the waste is not dumped carefully it may lead to problems like cancer, genetic mutation. It can survive in the environment for several years and cause damage to the human body. Reports state that in 2010, 250,000 tons of nuclear HLW was stored globally. Therefore, it is very important to dump radioactive waste carefully.

Measures that are taken to save the planet:-

Several measures have been taken across the world to reduce pollution. Several awareness programs have been started and rules have been established to generate awareness among people and guide them to adopt practices to reduce pollution. 

But some people do not follow the rules and guidelines stated by the government and are unaware, therefore, the process to reduce pollution is slow.

Since there are very few people following the guidelines stated by the government. Therefore, progress seems negligible.

 

Disclaimer:-

The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Light de Literacy and LDL does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.