Personal Responsibility in Combating Pollution - Coursework Example

Personal Responsibility in Combating Pollution Rayana Jawahery Ms. Martin English 12 23 March Table of Contents I. Introduction 3 II. The Current Global Situation 3 III. The State of Pollution in Bahrain. 4 IV. Adverse Effects of Pollution. 4 V. Personal Responsibility. 6 VI. Conclusion and Personal Thoughts. 8 VII. Work cited 8 Personal Responsibility in Combating Pollution Introduction There is no doubt that the risk 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 burning of fuels through cars releases a lot of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere with the result of 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 harsh laws to govern corporations thought to hold most of the responsibility when it comes to environmental pollution (Gulf Daily News 26). The 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 follow environmental laws attracts penalties and increased taxes. This is because pollution affects the environmental negatively, and it brings major human health issues with the rise in the cost of medicine to individuals. Bad air, for instance, has caused an increase in conditions such as allergies and asthma (Ferrera 25). In the Kyoto protocol, for instance, most of industrialised and developing nations of the world committing to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by an average of 5% to 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, by the end of 2012 most nations were way below targeted in reducing their emissions. It is, therefore, imperative that people pressurize their governments to act urgently to combat pollution. 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 14). 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 conclusion of this is that people can just drop their wastes anywhere. To make the situation even worse, there are no laws in Bahrain regarding waste disposal and public hygiene in places of national importance such as beaches. Authorities, therefore, rely on the local societies, public schools and community efforts at garbage collection to ensure public sanitation. In fact, it should be noted that the state is passionate about the fight against pollution and this explains the existence of many projects geared to tackling the pollution problem, as well as its dangers (Ali 12). 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 greenhouse gas being released into the atmosphere at alarming rates and with catastrophic effects is carbon dioxide. 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, and 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 (Ali 12). 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 in many diseases. Pollution of the soil is caused largely by 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 (Ali 12). The same chemicals also find their way into our body systems through the utilization of vegetables and fruits, and this can again have severe health effects. Light pollution comes from comes city illumination, road lighting and billboards that make it difficult for space studies since the visibility of heavenly bodies like stars is significantly cut off. The 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 the potential of causing psychological problems like loss 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 extinction (Ali 12). Personal Responsibility Given the numerous adverse effects of pollution, we must ask ourselves some very difficult questions. Does the increase in personal consumption have disastrous effects? If yes, where these are devastating 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 person can apply and contribute to the reduction of pollution in the environment. The first one and that 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 (Ali 12). The hypothesis behind this measure is that by having few vehicles on roads reduces the amount of fuel consumed and carbon dioxide released into the air. It 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 minimize their environmental impacts. Careless disposal of wastes especially from homes is emerging as a major cause of pollution, and these 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 28). 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 individuals involved in the sectors such as energy are responsible for the largest portion of greenhouse gas emission. Their firms should be compelled to adopt green technologies through laws requiring responsibility for them and to which breaches are heavily penalized (Ali 12). Developed nations should also take up the responsibility of inspiring and educating the developing world as well as the 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. The efforts should ensure the general public is involved to enhance the sense of personal responsibility among them. Works Cited. 1. AdiFerrera. “History.” Pollution Issues, 2015. Available at: http://www.pollutionissues.com/Fo-Hi/History.html 2. KhadijaZainal, 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