The Causes of Pollution

The causes of pollution

Pollution is the release of harmful environmental contaminants. The main air pollutants are carbon monoxide, lead oxides, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. The principle causes of pollution are exhaust pipes from motor vehicles, smoke released by factories and moreover, industrial plants burn coal and oil, which contain sulfur.

New inventions and processes have been continuously developed to improve our way of life; such developments are called technological advances. Technological advances are important for the betterment of our lives. Many environmental pollution problems are a result of the rapid advances in technology, which made their advent since the end of the Second World War. Technological advances in the agricultural field and transport have greatly improved our way of living. But most of the inventions were made without consideration of the effects that they would have on the environment. In the absence of modern technology it would be impossible for man to destroy all ecosystems.

The automobile engine is the evidence of a very useful technological development that harms the environment. Through years, Automobiles’ engines have been made more and more powerful. Many cars’ engines which are being built today are two or three times as powerful as the ancient ones. In order to make engines more powerful, more fuel is used for combustion and hence, new cars produce much more pollutants than the older ones did. In addition to that, industrialization has made man clear more forest so as to build more factories. Man has destroyed the forest so rapidly that it will never recover. With the destruction of the forest, many species of plants and animals are becoming extinct.

Every year the sea is getting more polluted. It contains more and more chemicals and more rubbish. Many people only worry about it when they want to swim or surf, they do not imagine what it must be like to live in it or depend on it for food. Chemicals from rubbish and industrial waste pipes are as harmful as oil tankers disasters. Industrially produced chlorine mixtures such as pesticides, dyes, bleach and some plastics are also dangerous. Chlorine affects marine animals’ liver, immune system and reproductive system and may even cause death of the marine animals.

Many fish are becoming deformed due to water pollution and others are becoming poisonous to eat. This means that animals such as birds or whales are poisoned when they eat the contaminated fish. For instance, in 1997 the dead body of a dolphin was found in Cardigan Bay in Wales. It was found that it was classified as toxic waste. Similar things have happened in other countries with whales. Some lakes and rivers are so polluted that the aquatic animals may not be able to regain their health even if all pollution stopped, and due to soil erosion, the soil cannot support crops anymore.

As many people know, pollution from cars and factories is making the hole in the ozone layer even bigger. Due to this hole, many dangerous cosmic rays such as ultra violet light are allowed to pass into the earth atmosphere. These rays stimulate the growth of algae, which rapped small fishes and may also kill them. The growth of these algae may also cause eutrophication- a process by which there is an accumulation of algae at the surface of a river and which will prevent light and oxygen from passing in. Furthermore, there is also the consequence of the greenhouse effect. It is the process by which the atmosphere is assailed by an excess of carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide released in large quantities by industry is collected at the lower part of the earth’s upper atmosphere. A shield of carbon dioxide will be formed and will prevent the heat from escaping the atmosphere.

On the other hand, effective solutions prevent pollution could greatly improve the condition again. New technological developments can help prevent pollution from the older technological advances. However, many kinds of wastes can be recycled; including cans and newspapers which can be glass bottles and tires can be reused for other purposes. Devices which use static electricity, to trap polluting particles is being used. The use of biological controls is used instead of pesticides in the agricultural centre.

So as to overcome their major problems of pollution, we should reduce the amount of any hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant entering the waste stream or released into the atmosphere. Hence, civilian should be sensitizing by use of campaign and advertisements.