Personal Responsibility in the Eradication of Pollution - Assignment Example

Personal Responsibility in the Eradication of Pollution. Background. Albeit at a slow speed, information on global warming appears to be reaching even the most obstinate of the ignorant. Indeed global warming is a reality and the blame lies squarely on man. As a result of global warming, temperatures will continue to rise and cause glaciers to melt, an increase in sea level and general adverse environmental phenomena. Pollution of the environment which is caused by man is not new; it began with rise of population Europe during the middle ages. As a result of the poor living conditions such as congestion and poor sanitation there was spread of disease conditions hence the occurrence of the Black Plague. The industrial revolution of the 19th century that took place in Europe and America saw people experience pollution of air, soil and water systems to levels that threatened the extinction of some flora and fauna species. Governments the world over responded to the deteriorating environment in the last few decades of the 20th century through imposition of laws aimed at limiting environmental pollution of pollution (Ocean Service, 2008). The current global Situation. There is no doubt that the menace of pollution is today affecting every nation of the world. The burning of fossil fuels for instance is a major cause of air pollution. Daily consumption of fuel through cars releases a lot of CO2 into the atmosphere with result of that that air we are inhaling is not clean and as such poses significant health risks. Nations especially in the developed world are trying to regulate air pollution through the passage of tough laws to govern corporations thought to hold most of the responsibility when it comes to environmental pollution (Gulf Daily News, 2009). The sole aim is to force these companies to behave responsibly in terms of release of chemicals in the atmosphere. Failure on the part of corporations to adhere to environmental laws attracts stiff penalties and increased taxes. This is because pollution affects the environmental adversely and thus bringing about major human health issues with the ultimate rise in the cost of medicine to individuals. Bad air for instance has caused an increase in conditions such as allergies and asthma (Abdi, Ferrera, 205). In the Kyoto protocol for instance, most of industrialised and developing nations of the world committing to the reduction of CO2 emissions by an average of 5% till the year 2012 basing their 1990 emission levels. Unfortunately some major industrial powers of the world such as the US declined to ratify the protocol thus dealing a blow to the efforts. Furthermore as at the end of 2012 most nations were way below target in reducing their emissions. The State of Pollution in Bahrain. Bahrain is one of those economies that rely heavily on oil and industry and as such is at a high risk of environmental pollution due to issues like oil spills and chemical contamination. (Numbeo, 2014). Al Jazair Beach is one area with high levels of pollution in Bahrain. The beach for instance does not have any garbage collection bins and the implication of this is that people can just drop wastes anywhere and leave. To make the situation even worse, there are no laws in Bahrain regarding waste disposal and public sanitation in places of national importance such as beaches. Authorities therefore rely a lot on the local societies, public schools and community efforts at garbage collection to ensure public sanitation. In fact it should be noted the society generally in the state is passionate about the fight against pollution and this explains the existence of very many projects geared at tackling the pollution problem as well as its dangers. (Ali, 2008). Adverse Effects of Pollution. Air pollution is the most widespread and dangerous form of pollution. This form of pollution is largely as a result of the burning of fossil fuels and release of chemicals into the natural atmosphere. The single most dangerous green house gas being release into the atmosphere at alarming rates and with catastrophic effects is CO­2. Human activities such as cooking, industrial process and driving of cars are responsible for the release of the gasses and chemicals in the air. Adverse outcomes include global warming, causation of acid rain, human diseases & allergies and ultimately ozone layer depletion. Water pollution on the other hand involves the release and disposal of industrial wastes into major water bodies. This has a negative effect on the delicate balance of aquatic flora and fauna. Oil spills particularly can endanger or even lead to the complete extinction of certain species of biological significance whereas human intake of polluted water results into many diseases. Pollution of the soil is caused largely through the use of chemicals that are released into the soil such as pesticides used on crops and eventually end in the soil. This type of pollution is responsible for the increasing soil infertility and this has significant economic impacts apart from environmental ones as it affects food production. The same chemicals also find their way into our body systems through the consumption of vegetables and fruits and this can again have bad health effects. Light pollution comes from comes city illumination, road lighting and billboards which make it difficult for space studies since the visibility of heavenly bodies like stars is significantly obstructed. Sound made by departing and landing airplanes, loud vehicles as well as music from discos causes a type of pollution known as sound pollution. This kind of pollution has adverse effects our ears with potential of causing psychological problems like lose of hearing and stress. Radioactive pollution comes from nuclear plants, especially during calamities such as earthquakes, waves or even experiments. This has the most devastating effects on human health as it is responsible for the increasing cases of terminal illnesses like cancer, infertility and also contributes to global warming. The increase in temperature as a result of global warming has affected ecosystems with the extinction of some species and many other risks are at the risk of disappearing. Personal Responsibility. With reality of pollution and its adverse effects we must ask ourselves some very difficult questions. Does the increase in personal consumption have disastrous effects? If yes, where these are disastrous effects being felt and what can we do at the individual levels towards their alleviation. Indeed we cannot afford to underestimate the power of individuals in the war against pollution; there are very many yet simple steps that every individual can implement and contribute to the reduction of pollution in the environment. The first one and which is has been recommended widely throughout the world is for individuals to try as much as possible and use public transport. The alternative to this strategy is that if I know my colleague has a car and I also have one then instead of driving the two cars we could use one for the sake of saving our planet for future generations. The rationale behind this measure is that by having few vehicles on roads reduces the amount of fuel consumed and as such the among of CO2 released into the air. It is has also been suggested that individuals both at home and in offices should try and be as much energy efficient as possible. Simple personal steps include switching off lights when not in use, shutting down our personal computers until just that time when they are being used and using energy saving bulbs. It should also be the responsibility of every individual to recycle and reuse as many items as possible especially plastics so as to minimise their environmental impacts. Careless disposal of wastes especially from homes is emerging as a major cause of pollution and this people are encouraged to practice some level of responsibility when throwing away their domestic wastes. Purchase and use of energy efficient devices like dishwashers and less power intensive bulbs reduces consumption and therefore the need for production of more. These strategies not only help in protecting the planet earth but also reduce bills on individuals (Ali, 2008). Conclusion and Personal Thoughts. I personally believe the effects of pollution though devastating can be reversed with increased personal commitment in addition to efforts by governments and international bodies. It is for instance known that corporations involved sectors such as energy are responsible for the largest portion of greenhouse gas emission. These firms should be compelled to adopt green technologies through laws requiring responsibility of them and to which breaches are heavily penalized. Developed nations should also take up the responsibility of inspiring and educating the developing world as well as society in general on the beneficial effects of reducing environmental pollution. All governments of the world need to come up laws that concern, ethical usage of water systems, and encourage businesses to invest more in technologies that enable household use of sea water. Works Cited. 1. Adi Ferrera. “History.” Pollution Issues, 2015. Available at: http://www.pollutionissues.com/Fo-Hi/History.html 2. Khadija Zainal, Hashim Al-Sayed and Ismail Al-Madany. “Coastal Pollution in Bahrain and its Management. University of Bahrain, 2008. 3. Rebecca Torr. “Poison in the Air we all Breathe.” Gulf Daily, 2009.Available at: http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=241399 4. Mohamed Al A’ Ali. “Recycling: The Why, How and Where in Bahrain.” (2008). Available at: http://www.recyclepointsbh.com/beachseapollution.htm 5. Numbeo. N.d. “Pollution in Bahrain.” (2014). Available at: http://www.numbeo.com/pollution/country_result.jsp?country=Bahrain 6. Ocean Service. “A Brief History of Pollution.” (2008). Available at: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/pollution/02history.html Read More