What Effect Has Industrialization Had on the Environment - Essay Example

What effect has industrialization had on the environment? Industrialization is a term that is used to refer to the developments that have been made in the manufacturing and processing sectors. Industries are used to create new products that are of very important use to the average human being. Without industries, the advancements and improvements in the living conditions of people would not be noticed as of now. Some of the products are like cars that ease the movements of people from one location to the other. There are also machines that are used in farms to assist in farming and such hard activities. However, despite the positive attributes credited to the concept of industrialization, there are also the negativities related to it. One of the major negativities involved with it is regarding the effect that it has on the environment and the diverse disadvantages that it causes. There are very many effects industrialization causes. The major effect that the concept of industrialization has on the environment is pollution. Pollution which is generally referred to as the negation of the environment by causing harmful effects is very dangerous for human beings and other thriving people in the environment (Sigman 97). There are very many types of pollution caused by industries. They range from water pollution, soil pollution and the major one of all, air pollution. In terms of water pollution, the people who work at the industries do not dispose of the wastes of their processes in the right manner. When the manufacture of products is happening, there is the creation of by products. By-products are known to be very dangerous and are mostly toxic. They are supposed to be disposed off in a clear and concise manner but most of the industries do not follow the right procedures. They just let the solid wastes and liquid ones get off into the drainage systems. As they are let off, they get to major water bodies and this is very problematic as the water bodies are used by human beings in many ways. The water in major rivers and streams is used by human beings as a source of household satisfaction. Some of the areas in a certain region may have the use of the water in diverse manners. There are the people that use the water as a means of bathing. There are also the people that use the water for cooking. Some areas are as poorly developed as they do not have the ability to boil and distill the water to make it clean. There are also the areas that may use the water for drinking. These are major household activities that subsequently determine the health of the people using them. The industries are hence seen to be a major influence in these families depending on how well they preserve the environment. There is also the effect that the industries have on the environment physically. Very many known areas have been destructed for the building of industries. Some of the areas are for example forests. The forests are very imperative for the development of people. The trees in forests serve as habitats for many animals. There are birds that live in these areas and by deforestation, they lack a place to live and thus this serves as a very great disadvantage to them. The trees also serve as wind breakers. This is due to the fact that they control the amount of wind running in an environment. A lot of wind is not proper for factors such as the destruction of crops in farms and lands merging with other related factors like building destruction. There is also the aspect of soil pollution. This is the kind of pollution brought about by mainly the disposition of chemical wastes. Chemical waste from industries is characteristic of very many places and this is very dangerous for the health of human beings. Soil pollution from industries comes around when companies dispose off their wasted through underground networks or even the artificial throwing of some products that bear chemical compounds on the ground. In the case of draining the chemical compounds in an underground manner, the pipes or other transmission means may be as poor as the pipes may get broken. When the pipes break, they dispose and transmit the chemicals to the soil. They travel at a very fast rate and even reach as far as the roots of the various plants around. The effect that this has on the plants is that it reduces the compatibility and stunts their growth (Khanna 311). This is seen to lead to slow growth and this is associated subsequently with other negativities such as poor market value and subsequently there is poor income for the people. Furthermore, the chemicals from the industries lead to the destruction of nutrients. The nutrients in the soil are very important for plants as they are the ones that give them their economic and health value. Another effect that the chemicals have on the soil is that they make it infertile. Fertility of the soil is important as it ensures that the plants are able to survive through harsh weather conditions and increases the capability of the soils to hold more plants. The type of pollution that is brought on to the environment in the greatest manner of all from the industries is air pollution. Air pollution is known to be the greatest form of pollution due to the manner through which the air gets spoiled. It gets spoiled as most of the chemicals from industries are in gaseous form and when released to the environment, the effects are diverse. The most and actually major effect on the environment caused by the pollution is global warming. Global warming has been turned as a disaster to human life both present and of the future. The process through which global warming happens is very concise. This is due to the fact that scientists and environmentalists have always had argument and at times even share points of view of the issue (Harrison 257). As the industries set their base camps, they usually do so in a certain location and configure together. As soon as they start running, they do not have a proper manner of disposing off their gaseous products. Most of the products contain aerosols that are very dangerous to the environment. A part of the environment is the atmosphere. The atmosphere is majorly affected by the gases in that there is the chemical aspect that the atmosphere bears. The sun is the major source of life for many organisms. However, when the rays from the sun hit the earth in an uncontrolled manner, they are bound to have diverse harsh effects on the environment. The atmosphere through a layer called the Ozone layer does the work of controlling the amount of light energy that passes down to the earth. However, when industries emit chemicals into the environment in an uncontrollable manner, they head for the Ozone layer and perforate it. Upon the layer getting perforated, there is the transmission of light directly to the earth. This is known to have a lot of diverse effects on the environment. One of the effects that this has is the indirect reduction in environmental preservation done by people. The light strikes the earth and the rate at which people die from light related diseases is constantly on the rise. For example, many people in the recent past have been found to die of cancer. Cancer is caused by increased amount of Ultra Violet rays from the sun heating the earth and thus there is reduction of people who take care of the environment (Gifford 156). Another effect that industries cause on the earth through global warming is the reduction in the amount of water in various water bodies. This is due to the fact that the water dries up and this is known to have a great effect on the people that live around the water bodies. The animals that live in the water are mostly affected by the issue. This is due to the fact that the reduction of the water is a negative impact on them. The water is the determiner of their lives. The animals comprise such as fish and dolphins. These animals cannot live on land as it does not support their living conditions. When the water reduces, the animals die; moreover, the plants that depend on the water for survival are also affected by the aspect of global warming. The plants are a very major part of the environment. This is due to the fact that they provide food for the animals in the water environment. The plants are also known to produce certain gases that are very effective in maintaining the purity of the water in the water bodies. This is found to be very imperative as some people use the water for their domestic needs. There is also the effect that global warming has on people. This is due to the fact that they depend on the animals that live in water for feeding. When the animals die due to a reduction in the amount of water in the environment, they live many of the people that live on islands and other water areas dying of hunger. The reduction of the amount of water is also very influential on the other plants that do not live in the water environment but on the land environment. This is due to the fact that the plants require to be watered regularly but without the water to do so; they naturally wither (Hill 49). All these effects are tied to the production of industries to the environment. Despite the fact that scientists argue that the environment is affected for a greater cause as the people dwelling in it generally benefit from the industries. This is due to the fact that the many machines that make work easier for human beings come from the industries. However, environmentalists argue that despite that fact stated by scientists, the environment should be protected by the people running the industries taking more care of the manner in which they dispose off wastes. Work Cited Gifford, Cate. Pollution. Massachusetts: Heinemann Library. 2006. Print. Harrison, Roy. Pollution: causes, effects and control. New York: Royal Society of Chemistry.      2011. Print Hill, Marquita. Understanding Environmental Pollution. Cambridge: Cambridge University          Press. 2010. Print. Khanna, Madhu. Adoption of Pollution Prevention Techniques: The Role of Management Systems and Regulatory Pressures. Environmental and Resource Economics, 44, 85-106.           (2009). Sigman, Hilary & Chang, Howard. The Effect of Allowing Pollution Offsets with Imperfect Enforcement. American Economic Review, 101, 268-272. (2011). Read More