Environmental Pollution

Environmental Pollution

            The most common and challenging environmental pollution throughout the world is air pollution. It refers to the degradation in the quality of air because of pollutants such as harmful chemicals, gases and particles. There would be no existence of human beings, animals and plants on this earth without air. Therefore, it is very essential to have a fresh quality of air in the environment but the quality of air is degrading day by day. The foremost cause of air pollution is the emission of smoke from motor vehicles and factories which contain harmful gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, and sulfur oxide which are very harmful for living beings. The population is increasing significantly throughout the world. As population increases, the demand for food and the need for transportation increase. In order to fulfill this demand, there will be a rise in the establishment of industries and factories; the usage of vehicles goes up. This leads to excessive emissions of smoke and chemicals in the environment that contribute to air pollution.

            The other major environmental pollution is water pollution which is the mixture of harmful chemicals, gases and wastes in the water bodies that decrease the quality of water. Similar to air, living beings need fresh and pure water to drink and survive. Besides that, water serves various purposes such as cleaning, bathing, irrigation and it even helps in transportation. The carelessness of people increases along with the increase in population. The factories and industries are not paying attention to proper waste management. Most of the factories in the world lack proper drainage systems and as a result the discharge or wastes flow out and eventually merge with the water bodies that impact the quality of water. The same process implies to the household too. Every person in this world craves fresh and pure water but they do not care about the source of water. People think it is the responsibility of the government in a country to provide its citizen with qualitative water but they forget their responsibility as a citizen to protect the water bodies that give them safe water. Therefore, the carelessness of both industries and households causes the pollution of water.

The last but not the least, environmental pollution is the land or soil pollution which is the mixture or addition of detrimental elements in the surface and soil of the earth. The main cause of land pollution is the improper disposition of waste. People dump their waste and garbage wherever they want and most of our waste comprises of plastics, cans, bottles and metals which are not eco-friendly. They are really hard to recycle and most of them are not biodegradable which ultimately pose a threat to the health of people. The use of harmful chemicals and animal wastes in the agricultural industries is the other cause of land pollution. Farmers use pesticides and insecticides excessively in the agricultural processes which severely impacts the quality of a soil which may hamper the productivity and fertility of a soil in the long run. The increasing population results in industrialization and urbanization which is also the cause of land pollution. The consumption of land increases along with the increase in the population that demands more industries and infrastructures such as houses and roads. This sooner or later creates wastes that deplete the quality of a soil.

            The problem of environmental pollution has unsympathetically affected the health of billions of people all around the world. It results in the disorders of health that eventually cause the loss of life. What can be more awful than this? When the air is polluted with poisonous gases, people are likely to inhale those gases which can make them suffer from dreadful respiratory diseases like asthma, cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive and pulmonary diseases. It is estimated that air pollution causes approximately two million premature deaths worldwide per year (WHO). The health cost of air pollution is also significantly high. In the United States, Los Angeles County spent the most on air pollution disorders and polluted air in California cost health insurers $193 million in hospital costs in a three year period from 2005 to 2007 (Shevory).

            It is impossible even to imagine surviving even a single day without water. A major portion of the earth’s surface is covered with water but the problem is that it is really hard to find good source of drinking water because of colossal pollution. When the sources or bodies of water are polluted, it is obvious that people consume water contaminated with germs and bacteria that makes them suffer from alarming water-borne diseases like diarrhea, dysentery, belly ache and pneumonia. According to World Health Organization, diarrhea causes four percent of all deaths and kills 2.2 million people world-wide per year. Also, people are facing a big problem doing their daily work because of the increasing water pollution. No one would like to take a shower with dirty water nor do they like to wash their dishes. This makes people feel really unhygienic and create anxiety in the people.

            Land pollution affects humans, plants and wildlife severely. Living beings need food to survive and the food comes from the land. The fertility of the soil is degrading day by day because of the use of pesticides and insecticides. The massive use of plastic and its improper dumping into the ground created a significance addition of venomous chemicals in the soil. This has drop off the productivity of the land. If the productivity of the soil decreases, where do living beings get food from? Also, the plants and foods that are grown on the polluted land are more likely to be poisonous because of the noxious chemicals. When people consume these foods, they are more likely to get allergies and other dreadful diseases that hinder their respiratory and reproductive systems. Similarly, the poisonous chemicals in the soil are more likely to get washed in the water bodies during the rain. This makes both land and water hazardous.

            Besides affecting health, the environmental pollution has a significant impact on the economy of a country. When there is contamination in the natural resources such as air, water and land, it is obvious for people to be sick. The economy of a country rests in the hand of manpower. When most of the manpower is unhealthy, how can a country prosper? The degradation in the environment also results in the financial loss of a country. When citizens are suffering from illness, the government has to take steps to eliminate the problem which simply means more spending. Similarly, when the natural resources are depleted, the numbers of tourists entering a country will definitely go down. This has a severe impact in the revenue of a country. Also, the economic standard of local businesspeople who survive in the tourism industry goes drastically down. It also costs a lot of money for a country to control the environmental. Therefore, pollution is not only responsible for worsening the revenue and economic growth of a country but also for more spending.