POLLUTION

POLLUTION

Pollution is the addition to the ecosystem of something which has a detrimental effect on it. One of the most important causes of pollution is the high rate of energy usage by modern, growing populations.

AIR POLLUTION

Air pollution is the accumulation in the atmosphere of substances that, in sufficient concentrations, endanger human health or produce other measured effects on living matter and other materials. Among the major sources of pollution are power and heat generation, the burning of solid wastes, industrial processes, and, especially, transportation.

Although individual people can help to combat air pollution in their own immediate environment, efficient control can be best achieved by legislation. Some commonly enforced control measures include the establishment of more smokeless zones; control over the kinds of fuel used in cars, aero planes, power stations, etc.

WATER POLLUTION

Water pollution is the introduction into fresh or ocean waters of chemical, physical, or biological material that degrades the quality of the water and affects the organisms living in it. This process ranges from simple addition of dissolved or suspended solids to discharge of the most insidious and persistent toxic pollutants.

The following measures can be used to stop water pollution:

• Every intelligent people should be wise enough not to pollute water in any way.

• By research and legislation the pollution of water bodies, even though not entirely prevented, must be effectively controlled.

LAND POLLUTION

Land pollution is the degradation of the Earth's land surface through misuse of the soil by poor agricultural practices, mineral exploitation, industrial waste dumping, and indiscriminate disposal of urban wastes. It includes visible waste and litter as well as pollution of the soil itself.

The following measures can be used to control land pollution:

• Anti-litter campaigns can educate people against littering;

• Organic waste can be dumped in places far from residential areas;

• Inorganic materials such as metals, glass and plastic, but also paper, can be reclaimed and recycled.

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