Analysis of Protecting the Environment - Essay Example

 Analysis of Protecting the Environment Environmental issues have always been a hot topic that is highly debated not only by researchers and scientists but even by the common man because it is directly connected to healthy living. Creating awareness about protecting the environment seems to be a step in the right direction. In this research paper, we intend to discuss the pros and cons about how we can go about protecting the environment and find try to find solutions to sustainable utilization in our daily lives. This research project attempts to explore and make an investigation about how people in the society can raise their standard of living by protecting the environment. The research will focus on the factors that contribute towards the elements that cause damage to the environment and thereby increase the liability of spreading various diseases especially through pollution and contamination of the atmosphere and the water bodies around us. The paper will also focus on cleanliness in the environment, which is a major problem that paves the way for bigger problems in our society. (Water Pollution, Edu. Green) Importance of the Research (Rationale) Protecting the environment is crucial to healthy living in the society and since humanity is the principle user of nature, it is vitally important to ensure our environment is protected well enough, to conserve our natural resources, and to control various hazards that may have adverse impacts on all living things. The conservation of our natural resources and curtailing of environmental degradation is crucially important to promote a healthy lifestyle for people in any society. This research paper attempts to discuss the importance of environmental conservation, cleanliness of habitats, and protection against environmentally caused diseases, creating awareness about the environment and methods used to safeguard against environmental degradation. This research paper attempts to give us a better understanding on Environmental issues and serves to highlight the best possible way of protecting it, so it can benefit mankind by paving the way to good, healthy living. First of all, understanding the problems we face in the environment would be a good step in the right direction, to create awareness regarding the hazards all around us. In this review, we would be discussing the following salient features to ensure a better understanding towards protecting our environment. Problems of Air Pollution – Air pollution has always been a hazard where health is concerned because it has a great impact on all living things. (NRDC, Natural Resources Defence Council) Bernstein J.A. (2004) in his journal on ‘Health Effects of Air Pollution’ sheds light on the subject , defining air pollution to be ‘the emission of particulate toxic elements into the atmosphere by natural anthropogenic sources.’ (Zell, et al., 2010.) According to the author, pollution density is characterized by the escalating amounts of emission pollutants through sources which are man- made. These pollutant emissions come from motorized traffic, factories and from the burning of fuels. The WHO gives us the top ten causes of death by air pollution in their Fact Sheet No. 310 discussing the impact of air pollution on human health and environment. (WHO, Fact Sheet, The Top 10 Causes of Death.) a) Problems of Water Pollution Water pollution is a human problem and one that needs to be streamlined. In his article on water pollution Chris Woodford highlights the fact that water pollution has become worse, ever since the Industrial revolution and this has impacted upon the water resources on our planet. (Chris Woodford, 2013.) In his article he discusses the various types of water pollution and its harmful effects on all living things because of the harmful substances present in it. Woodford (2013) also states that it is vital to know if a source of water is polluted or not and this can be carried out through chemical and biological indicators. (Chris Woodford, 2013) The other topics to be discussed in water pollution would be – a) Harmful substances that contaminate water, b) Cleanliness and Hygiene of our surroundings, c) Waste disposal and d) Planting of trees. Global Warming- Global warming is another contributor to pollution and as such needs our attention. Long tern emissions of CO2 result in a gradual change in climate. (Peters G.P, 2012) Highlighting facts on Global warming, Van Vuuren, D. et al., (2010) as cited in (Peters, 2012) tells us that if Global warming is not checked in time it would continue to rise and keep our surrounding polluted. b) Government Agencies in relation to the Environment Government agencies are beginning to understand and investigate the impact of pollution on our environment and are trying to identify ways to lessen this impact. Keeping this in mind our government has implemented and ‘Environmental Management System (EMS) to help safeguard the environment. The EMS is a structured system or tool that helps to reduce the negative impacts in the environment and make it more viable to all living things. EMS comprises of a checklist that helps to evaluate any given place and professional environmental management consultants are appointed to find strategies to reduce pollution and make our environment more friendly. (Australian Government, Environmental Management, Dept. of Sustainability) In this discussion we would be highlighting all the dangers brought about by pollution and the diseases caused by them. It also aims to find strategies that would help us to control the situation and solutions to help us eliminate pollution at least to a good extent. (Water Pollution, Edu. Green, Web, May, 2013 and (Air Pollution, Causes, Facts and Solutions to air- NRDC, 2013) Works Cited Air Pollution Causes, Facts, and Solutions to Air Pollution (NRDC) Natural Resources Defence Council. The Earth’s Best Defence. Web, May 2013 http://www.nrdc.org/air/default.asp Australian Government Environmental Management. Department of Sustainability. Environment, Water Pollution. And Communities, Commonwealth of Australia. Web, 14th May, 2013 www.environment.gov.au Bernstein JA, Alexis N, Barnes C, Bernstein IL, Bernstein JA, Nel A, Peden D, Diaz-Sanchez D, Tarlo SM, Williams PB: Health Effects of Air Pollution. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2004, 114(5):1116-1123 Chris Woodford. Article on ‘Water Pollution’. Web, Feb., 2013 www.explainthatstuff.com WHO Fact Sheet No. 310, The Top 10 Causes of Death http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310/en/index.html Peters G.P (2012) Climatic Change. The Challenge to keep Global Warming below 2 degrees C, 103, 635–642 (2010). www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/.../nclimate1783.ht Water Pollution. Edu. Green, Web, May, 2013 www.edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/water/pollu.html ‎ Zell, H. et al. Air Pollution Research. Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology 2010, 5:5 http://www.occup-med.com/content/5/1/5 . Read More