Environmental Pollution

The most important problem faced by the modern world today is environmental pollution. Unless and until effective measures are adopted to prevent this grave problem, it is going to affect life on earth. Man has exploited the natural resources in order to meet the demands of the ever-increasing population and also to meet the requirements of industries. As the demand for basic things like food, water, clothes and shelter increased; man exploited natural resources like minerals, forests, water and agriculture. Even today, scientists are making efforts to produce more and more goods using the latest technology. All these have resulted in environmental pollution.

Water is very necessary for life. But it is polluted. The major factors of water pollution are sewage and domestic wastes, industrial effluents, agricultural discharges, fertilizers and. pesticides, toxic metals, thermal waste and radioactive materials. Sea water gets polluted by the waste thrown out from cargo ships and by the dumping of wastes from nuclear reactors. People throw dead bodies of men and animals into the rivers. Villagers bathe their cattle in ponds and rivers. All these go to pollute the water, make it unfit for drinking, and ruin all forms of life in the water.

Air pollution or atmospheric pollution is mainly caused by the gases given out by burning petroleum products, coal, firewood etc. Vehicles emit large amounts of gaseous pollutants into the air. The exhaust gases from automobiles and factories add to the air, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, dust etc. Such polluted atmosphere causes acid rain. It is now calculated that the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by 25% in the last 100 years. The mean temperature of the atmosphere has increased from .3°C to .7°C during the period. Carbon monoxide leads to respiratory problems and acid rains due to sulphur dioxide damage crops, plants and marble buildings. Smoke causes pollution in big industrial cities. The ozone layer has depleted to the extent of 3 to 4% in the last 100 years. Chloro-fluro-carbons escaping from damaged fridges, air-coolers, sprays and artificial aerosoles, destroy the ozone layer. Supersonic aeroplanes seeking this zone for their flight consume ozone largely and replace it with carbon-dioxide.

Sound pollution is also very harmful. Loud sounds of buses, trains, aeroplanes etc. cause sound pollution. The loud noise of heavy machines in factories, industries and workshops also causes sound pollution. Loudspeakers, radio and television sets are injurious when these are tuned at full volume. Too much noise affects the nervous system, and causes deafness and mental diseases.

The most dangerous pollution is that of radioactivity. Leakage from a nuclear reactor and disposal of nuclear wastes cause pollution. When blasts take place, plant and animal life is destroyed and many people die of fatal diseases like cancer. The biological environment is polluted due to the excess use of pesticides and insecticides.

Environmental pollution-is a global problem today. Public awareness is a must to prevent pollution. Population control will also help to save the world from environmental pollution. Scientific exploitation of natural resources is yet another step to prevent environmental pollution.