Environmental pollution
Environmental pollution means the presence of any substance in the environment which is harmful for human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-organism and property.
Since pollution is viewed from different angles as an environmental problem by environmentalist in general and natural scientist in particular, as social problem by sociologists, as an economic problem by the economists, as an ecological problem By ecologists and so it may be defined in a number of ways.
A few definition or given below :
According to the report of the Restoring the quality of our environment, President’s science advisory committee, Washington, USA, pollution may be defined as
“unfavourable alteration of our surroundings wholly or partly as a by product of man’s actions through direct or indirect effect of changes in energy patterns radiation levels, chemical and physical constitution and the abundance of organisms.
“Environmental pollution” is a term that refers to all the ways by which people pollute their surroundings. People pollute the air with gases and smoke, poison the water with chemicals and other substance and damages to soil with too many fertilisers and pesticides. It is one of the most serious problems which the humanity is facing today.
Environmental pollution means lowering of environmental quality, and local scale caused exclusively by human activities whereas environmental degradation means lowering of environmental quality at local, regional and global levels by both natural process and human activities.
It is commonly agreed that pollution is, without doubt, the outcome of urban industrial technological revolution and rapacious and speedy exploitation of natural resources, increased rate of exchange of matter and energy and ever increasing industrial wastes, urban effluents and consumer goods.
According to the Natural Environmental Research Council, pollution is viewed “as the release of substances and energy as a waste products of human activities which result in changes usually harmful within the natural environment.
Factors responsible for pollution
There are numerous factors which are responsible for causing environmental pollution. A few factor polluting environment are given below:
1. Deforestation– Forest are invaluable property of nation because they provides raw materials to modern industries, timber for building purposes, habitats numerous types of animals and micro-organisms good friable and nutrient-rich soils having high content of organic matter offer protection to soils by binding the soils through the network of their roots.
Deforestation gives birth to several problems encompassing environmental degradation through accelerated rate of soil erosion, Increase in the sediment load of the rivers, siltation of reservoirs and river beds, increase in the frequency and dimension of floods and drought.
Thus deforestation causes a chain effect which adversely affect the environment.
2. Agricultural Development– Agriculture development degrades the environment in a variety of ways, example:
(a) Through the application of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and insecticides
(b) Through the increase in irrigational facilities and amount of irrigation.
(c) By making changes in biological communities etc.
3. Population growth – Growth of human population at alarming rate is the most significant of the lowering of environmental quality and ecological balance. Thus it is obvious that over population is the root cause of environmental degradation and ecological imbalance.
4. Industrial development – Rapid rate of industrialisation resulted into rapid rate of exploitation of natural resources and increased industrial output. Both the components of industrial development have created several lethal environmental problems.
increasing industrial expansion is responsible for the release of enormous quantities of pollutant, through sewage effluents into the rivers and the lakes and thus for contaminating the water.
Bhopal gas tragedy is an example of disastrous effect of modern industrialisation. Acid rains, urban smogs nuclear holocaust etc. Are the other forms of environmental hazards emanating from industrialisation.
5. Urbanisation – In fact increasing urbanisation means increase in the concentration of human population in limited space which results in the increase of buildings, roads and streets, sewage and storm drains, vehicles (Motor cars, trucks, buses, motor cycles, etc.) Number of factories, urban waste, aerosols, smokes and dusts, sewage water etc. which cause several environmental problems.
For example, increasing population of the urban centres users enormous amount of water for various purposes. The use of waste water like sewage water, if untreated, pollutes the streams and lakes because the urban effluents are allowed to be drained into them.
6. Modern Productive Technology – The development of modern technology has definitely created most of the present day environmental problem. Environmental crisis is thus the inevitable result of a counter ecological pattern of productive growth.
The most dangerous aspect of modern technologies is the problem of disposal of nuclear waste materials coming out of the nuclear reactor plants.
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