Environmental Issues and the Industrial Revolution - Essay Example

The negative effects of the industrial revolution on the environment al affiliation The negative effects of the industrialrevolution on the environment The industrial revolution began in Britain during the 19700s before spreading to the rest of the world, beginning with America. Essentially, the industrial revolution was characterised by the introduction of heavy machinery to work in the factories. The factories were producing goods on large scale, meaning that the machines were constantly working. The mass production led to the development of numerous environmental hazards whose effects were to be felt many decades later. This paper analyses the negative effects that the industrial revolution had on the environment. In particular, issues related with air pollution, disposal of hazardous wastes, and the depletion of natural resources are analysed together with related environmental protection laws. Air pollution Towns that were built around iron and steel industries suffered from extreme air pollution caused by dense fog and soot. According to Dunlap & Jorgenson (2002), the excessive fog and soot in the air lead to severe environmental and health problems, for example, the emergence of respiratory diseases. The problem of carbon emissions only grew worse considering that the trees which could have emitted oxygen and balanced the levels of carbon and oxygen had already been cut down. The direct consequence of carbon emissions into the environment is global warming. Basically, global warming refers to the rise in air temperatures, causing the glaciers to melt, and the oceans to rise. Prior to the industrial revolution, greenhouse gases had remained relatively stable for over 1,000 years. However, the industrial revolution led to the increase of greenhouse gases which have gone up by 30 per cent (Chiras, 2010). Many animals have consequently had their natural habitats disrupted thus rendering many species endangered. In addition to global warming, the concentration of gases in the air, particularly gaseous chloride has led to the depletion of the ozone layer. Once the ozone layer becomes depleted, Ultra-Violet (UV) radiation penetrates the earth’s surface thus causing health issues on humans and animals, particularly increased risk of contracting non-melanomia skin cancer (Khan, 2013). Depletion of natural resources Deforestation is the leading cause of desertification, reduction in rainfall, and soil erosion. In particular, desertification involves the clearance of wood vegetation and the degradation land. On its part, soil erosion results in the inability of soil to retain water, affects the depths at which roots can go, and depletes the soil of its nutrients. In addition, to the other effects, Ehrlich, Kareiva & Daily (2012) write that deforestation has led to the loss of biodiversity, particularly the uprooting of wildlife from their natural habitat thus contributing directly to endangerment of animal species. In addition, other natural resources such as coal are continually depleted through human activities such as mining. Disposal of hazardous wastes Large scale industries release hazardous chemicals as a by-product or the main waste product. The cost of disposing hazardous waste has gone extremely high, forcing industrialized countries to turn to third world countries to dispose the waste. According to Bearden et.al (2013), once these wastes are released into the environment, they end up polluting the soil and water. If the waste water is released into rivers and other water bodies, they end up being consumed by human beings. The impact of the environmental movement As a result of the numerous negative effects on the environment resulting from the industrial revolution the United States has one of the longest and largest social movements. Beginning the 1970s, the environmental movement is made up thousands of environmental organizations and millions of members (Khan, 2013). The environmental movement raised concern over the overexploitation of natural resources by market forces. Accordingly, the conservation movement was established in an effort to urge the government to put measures in place to control the use of natural resources. President Roosevelt’s administration listened to the views of the movement and consequently created natural forests in order to reduce deforestation rates in the country. Members of the environment movement also advocated for reduction in pollution, for example, in 1970, approximately 20 million people from America took part in the “Earth Day” demonstrations against pollution. As a result, Chiras (2010) writes that the year 1970 was declared the European conservation year and two years later the United Nations held the human environment conference in Stockholm. As a result of this movement, people have become more aware of the fact that resources are mismanaged, and as such nature should be controlled by restraining the exploitation of natural resources and pollution. Environmental protection laws In the United States, several institutions have been established to deal with the negative impacts that the indusial revolution has had on the environment. These institutions are governed by a number of laws that have been approved in order to stop environmental degradation. For instance, the clean air act (CAA) is concerned with the concentration of pollutants in the air (Bearden et.al, 2013). This law sets the standards specifying the technology-based limits regulating the amount of pollutants are released into the air. The Solid Waste Disposal Act was put in place in an effort to manage the way in which hazardous wastes are generated, stored, transported, treated, and disposed by operating facilities. According to Bearden et.al (2013) facilities operating hazardous wastes are required to have permits before they are allowed to operate, with specifications on how hazardous wastes should be treated before disposal. The natural Resources Protection Act (NRPA) serves to protect natural resources such as wildlife habitat, freshwater wetlands, and mountain areas among others. People wishing to conduct activities in or near the protected areas are required to obtain respective state permits. Such activities may include soil displacement, water draining, and the construction of structures in the protected areas. The environmental protection laws in the United States have been very effective in reducing air pollution, managing the disposal of hazardous materials, and controlling the depletion of natural resources. However, the united states government is not doing enough to ensure environmental sustainability, considering that air pollution still persist, industries continue dumping hazardous wastes carelessly, and natural resources are still exploited to a certain degree. The introduction hefty fines for companies and individuals found violating the environmental protection laws and in extreme cases, the denial of operational permits could be the only solution. Conclusion Evidently, the industrial revolution resulted in extreme environmental degradation particularly caused by air pollution, disposal of hazardous waste, and the depletion of natural resources. As a result, the ozone layer is continually being exhausted, global warming is being felt, and natural resources continue to diminish. Most countries have instituted environmental protection laws in a bid to try and save the environment from the degradation caused by industries. In particular, the United States has the CAC, the Solid Waste Disposal Act, and NRPA. Despite these efforts the problems of environmental degradation still persist; thus, necessitating tougher penalties for the violation of these laws. References Bearden, D., Copeland, C., Luther, L., McCarthy, J., Tiemann, M., Esworthy, R., & Yen, J. (2013). Environmental Laws: Summaries of Major Statutes Administered by the Environmental Protection Agency. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved from: www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL30798.pdf. Chiras, D. Environmental Science. (2010). Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Dunlap, R. E., & Jorgenson, A. K. (2002).Environmental Problems. The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Globalization. Retrieved from: www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com. Ehrlich, P., Kareiva, P., & Daily, G. (2012). Securing Natural Capital and Expanding Equity to Rescale Civilization. Nature, 486, 68-73. Khan, Z. (2013).Global Environmental Issues and its Remedies. International Journal of Sustainable Energy and Environment, 1(8): 120-126. Read More