Towards a Clean Tomorrow - Essay Example

Towards a Clean Tomorrow Imagine a black, soot covered world, devoid of trees, plants, and butterflies. How would it be, to wake up every morning to the clanking of metal and machine, instead of the sweet chirping of birds and buzzing of busy bees? What would it be like to drink somewhat murky, contaminated liquid, when all you thirst for is, just a glass of pure water? These are already hard realities in many parts of the world; caused by careless exploitation of natural resources and rampant increase in pollution in our environment. So what is pollution? How does it bring about afore mentioned effects in our environment? This brief essay shall explore what is meant by pollution, the different types, what causes them and how they can be minimized. Pollution – Plentiful Variety A detailed definition of what exactly constitutes pollution has been given by OECD (1974) as “Pollution means the introduction by man, directly or indirectly, of substances or energy into the environment, resulting in deleterious effects of such a nature as to endanger human health, harm living resources and ecosystems, and impair or interfere with amenities and other legitimate uses of the environment” (cited in Peiry 2). In simple terms, contaminating natural resources like water, soil, air and changing their natural composition resulting in harmful effects to life and life forms, constitutes pollution. Pollution can be in different forms, namely, Air Pollution, Water Pollution, Soil Pollution, Noise Pollution, Thermal Pollution, and Radioactive Pollution. Some of them cause permanent damage to the ecology of the place. Air Pollution Air is the immediate portion of atmosphere that envelops us and provides us with life-giving oxygen. Air also contains other natural gases such as nitrogen, carbon-di-oxide, hydrogen, some inert gases and water vapor. Carbon cycle and nitrogen cycle are two important ways through which the balance in the gaseous elements of air is maintained. However, this natural balance is disrupted when the following occurs: 1) large amounts of gases or vapors emitted into atmosphere 2) particles and/or chemical compounds become saturated in the atmosphere and react 3) the newly introduced chemicals get dissipated at a lower rate than the rate at which they are absorbed through afore mentioned natural cycles 4) entry of new, non-bio-degradable chemicals and their reactions. Some causes of air pollution are volcanic eruptions, industrial gases, burning of fossil fuels, forest fires and automobile emission (thinkquest.com. types –air). The resultant effects are dangerous - acid rains, smog, vacuum in the ozone layer and green house effect. Reducing levels of automobile-emissions and preventing emissions of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's) can go a long way in reducing air pollution (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, http://www.lbl.gov/Education/ELSI/pollution-main.html ). Water Pollution Water is known as the elixir of life. No living thing can live without water. Nature maintains a water-cycle, the mechanism through which sea-water naturally evaporates and comes down again to earth as rain, snow, to flow into rivers and oceans and re-cycled again. It is also a great solvent that dissolves a wide range of chemicals. Thus water is polluted easily, when it is exposed to foreign substances that negatively alter its quality (thinkquest.com. types-water). http://library.thinkquest.org/C0111040/Types/water.php ). When the polluting agent is a single source it is called ‘point-source’ pollution and when there are more than one – it is ‘non-point-source’ pollution (http://www.water-pollution.org.uk/types.html). When drinking water is polluted by means of biotic organisms, they cause various health problems like stomach upset, and indigestion. Chemical contamination makes it unsuitable for drinking since it loses its quality, and may cause nausea, vomiting and ulcer. It is also important to note that, since water is essential for all life forms, it can affect entire eco-system. For example, the heavy metal wastes from industries let into water-systems nearby may not cause drastic or visible pollution. However, they settle at the bottom of the water body and slowly enter the food chain when fish and other marine organisms consume them. They are then eaten by others higher in the food chain, causing widespread carcinogenic diseases. Surface water pollution, Ground water pollution, Microbiological pollution, Chemical pollution, Eutrophication, Excessive nutrient presence, and suspended matter presence are some of the prominent type of water pollution. In the normal process, pollutants get filtered to the bottom of the water-bodies and are mostly broken down by micro bacterial bodies and the faunae within it. However, when untreated industrial effluents, oil spills, and heavy metals are spilled into water bodies, they destroy the entire ecosystem and percolate into the ground water table too. This can cause health hazards and even be fatal to all living things dependant on the water body. On the other hand, Eutrophication may also result; it is nothing but depletion of oxygen in water. This happens when excessive quantities of bio-degradable materials are added to the water body, leading to a spurt in the population of micro-organism that feed on the bio-degradable material. These micro-organisms then consume all the oxygen in water, leaving it depleted in oxygen. Hazardous wastes, excess organic matter, sedimentation, infectious organisms, un-cooled hot water, are some of the causes of water pollution. Pollution can be minimized by treating effluents, cooling water, before their release into water bodies, de-sedimentation, UV-Ray to kill infectious organisms. Soil Pollution Soil is home to myriad life forms of life, other than containing inorganic substances like minerals and salts. Pollution of soil takes place when its balance in chemical composition is altered; this happens in a variety of ways like 1) solid waste deposition 2) non-biodegradable materials like ex. Plastics accumulation 3) chemical toxins like pesticide accumulation altering the soil composition. Soil composition imbalance also takes place when soil structure is destroyed by excessive tilling process; improper maintenance of organic substances in soil, especially nitrogen fixation, leads to depletion of nutrient richness in the soil. Soil acidity too is an important factor in the chemical composition of soil and is upset by repeated, excessive use of fertilizers. Mining and deforestation activities too alter the soil composition and lead to desertification in the long run; similarly improper irrigation techniques too lead to toxicity of soil. Improper treatment of sewage sludge too allows the toxins to seep into the soil and destroys it. Use of organic fertilizers and pesticides, proper treatment of sewage systems, proper maintenance of organic matters in the soil will help reduce pollution of soil (thinkquest.com. types-soil). Noise Pollution Modernization has led to an ever-increasing use of automobiles and machineries, causing noise or sound pollution. Sound is a form of energy, and therefore noise is polluting energy. While sounds are nothing new to our living environment, it becomes pollution or noise when it is unpleasant and reaches high intensities. When this vibrating energy hit human ears (conditioned to accept and recognize only sounds within frequencies 20Hz and 200,000 Hz) it causes tingling sensations which may be recognized as either sounds or noise. Noise is measured in decibels. Constant noise, even low decibel ones like the low rumbling of vehicles, tend to irritate the audio system of human bodies, and in the long run cause serious emotional and health problems. High intensity explosions can damage the ear-drum and can permanently damage them. Road traffic, industrial noise, high intensity, jarring, music, air liners vibrations are all common causes. Given below are examples of noises: (Source: http://library.thinkquest.org/C0111040/Types/noise.php ) Normal conversation 60 dB Pneumatic riveter (3 feet) 115 dB Inside car 70 dB Chainsaw (3 feet) 117 dB Loud singing (3 feet) 75 dB Amplified Rock and Roll (6 feet) 120 dB Automobile (25 feet) 80 dB Jet plane (100 feet) 130 dB Noise pollution can be reduced by producing and installing effective sound reduction Systems, reducing the number of vehicles allowed in a place, controlling air traffic, and reserving corridors of no dwelling zones near runways and flying fields. Noise pollution can also be reduced by restricting the use of loud speakers, and establishing no sound zones near hospitals, schools, old age homes, mental hospitals and the like. Thermal Pollution This is another form of energy pollution as it is excessive heat energy entering into the atmosphere. With rampant industrialization everywhere, the heat energy produced from industries has seen manifold rise in the last few decades. One instrumental cause of thermal pollution are primitive technology using industries that use fossil fuels like coal to generate electricity; heat from drilling machines also add to the problem even at the mining stage. Furthermore, water used to cool the industrial machines are let out as waste killing and polluting the nearby water bodies, and soil. Deforestation for mining activities and development and urbanization, too decrease the cooling effect gained from green vegetation (http://library.thinkquest.org/C0111040/Types/thermal.php ). Conservation of forests, social a forestry schemes, switching to more eco-friendly methods of producing electricity, like generating electricity from sunlight, and wind-blown turbines can help reduce thermal pollution and slow down the process of global warming. Radioactive Pollution Radioactive pollution occurs from the uncontrolled energy that arises from radioactive substances in nuclear reactors, and atom bombs; a recent example can be cited in the Chernobyl disaster. Nuclear energy results when atoms are split or combined, known as nuclear fission or nuclear fusion respectively. Modern scientists have discovered ways to harness this energy to produce clean, un-polluting electricity, playing a vital role in reduction of green house effect. However, the problem lies in managing the nuclear waste – which produces radioactive pollution, called radioactivity. The form of energy that radiates, and travels even through space is called Radioactivity. Some elements like Plutonium and Radium are found to be naturally radioactive. What is pertinent is that the waste material from nuclear reactors may still have Radioactivity, which is nothing but radiations emitted when the radioactive element is split and made unstable; in the process of regaining its molecular stability the substance starts ‘decaying’ which also emits radiations, and continues until stability is attained. The period of ‘decay’ is measured as ‘half-life’, and varies with radioactive element. Some of them may take hundreds of years. When human beings get accidentally exposed to these nuclear wastes, a variety of problems can result. These ranges from burning sensation, vomiting, to radiation induced cancer and birth defects (http://science.jrank.org/pages/5691/Radioactive-Pollution-Biological-effects-radioactivity.html ). Thus nuclear wastes are potentially harmful and environmentally hazardous as they permeate even into space. Thus they should be handled carefully, and disposed off in especially sealed containers which do not allow radiation to pass through them, as these substances remain radioactive for hundreds of years. Furthermore, accidents such a the Chernobyl disaster may prove to be expensive in terms of lives lost and permanent damage done to the environment (http://science.jrank.org/pages/5690/Radioactive-Pollution-Nuclear-power-plants.html ) Conclusion Pollution happens whenever nature is interfered with and natural composition of resources like water, air and soil are altered. Pollution is caused by man in the process of rapid industrialization and modernization, and can be of many forms including energy pollution. Forms of energy pollution are noise, thermal and radioactive pollution. Some of these types cause permanent damage not only to human beings and living things, but also destroy entire ecosystems. Thus it is necessary to be aware measures of preserving all these resources. While this does not mean reversal of technological progress or going back to primitive ways of living, one has to essentially take every care to conserve the natural energy resources available, and make every attempt to reduce pollution in any form. Only then can we continue in exist on this earth and still bequeath simple, natural pleasures like, the chirping of birds and dance of butterflies (that we so take for granted), to our future generations. List of Works Cited Peiry, Kummer (2004). “Pollution and transboundary transfer of potentially hazardous substances: concepts” in UNSW 2004. Online article accessed on 30 March, 2009. http://www.ecoconsult.ch/uploads/1144-IEL_Slide4_Pollution-hazwastes.pdf Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley. “Outdoor Air Pollution”. Online article accessed on 30 March, 2009. http://www.lbl.gov/Education/ELSI/pollution-main.html ). thinkquest.com Online webpages accessed on 30 March, 2009. http://library.thinkquest.org/C0111040/index.php Science Encyclopedia Vol 5 Science Encyclopedia Vol 5 accessed on 30 March, 2009. http://science.jrank.org/pages/5690/Radioactive-Pollution-Nuclear-power-plants.html Read More