GLOBAL POLLUTION
WHY WE SHOULD ACT NOW
Air
pollution has intensified to such an extent that we can no longer escape from it in the “protection” of our homes.
In history, the first kind of air pollution must have affected people when they built fires in their inadequately
ventilated homes, making the air un-breathable because of the contaminated air particles
(smoke).
The world has come a long way ever
since, but in an industrialized and mechanized society, things have gone drastically wrong in terms of
environmental living quality.
The planet is in
desperate need to find methods to clean up the air, but in the meantime we must find ways of limiting the causes
for the poor air quality.
More exposed and guilty of air
pollution are built up cities. Car exhausts, industrial fumes and all sorts of chemicals we use in our daily
activities deteriorate the air condition even further.
This ranges from deodorant to the
cleaners we use around the house, the factors that cause air pollution are countless.
Indoor air pollution is just as
serious and dangerous as the larger outdoor pollutions created by making. The main factor lies in poor ventilation
systems and the accumulation of all sorts of contaminated chemicals and toxic substances in the air. Pollutants
come from the cleaning products, the furniture, the building materials, not to mention cigarette smoke and the much
debated odourless radon gas.
The accelerated problem of air pollution is determined not only by
the increase of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere but the phenomenon is closely connected with
deforestation as well. Trees absorb the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and in turn release oxygen but with
the reduction of the wooded areas like forests, jungles and parks.
With the number of cars on the road
polluting the air, is making it more than difficult to maintain a balance. Statistics indicate that there are
countries that cause more damage to the environment than others.
Global Pollution and why we should
act NOW!
The situation becoming extremely
serious and unless we all make efforts to diminish air pollution, chances of survival on the planet will become
desperate. The alarm bells are already ringing around the world with the rapid melting of the glaciers, due to the
global warming, which threatens so many countries. The gases trapped in the atmosphere prevent it from cooling,
acting as a barrier for the surface of the planet; this affects climate, animal behaviour and the very evolution of
species and mankind on the whole.
Pollution Facts
Every
year, reports reveal alarming pollution facts that affect the humans life on earth. If
we talk to each and every individual we would actually discover a very low environmentel
consciousness and awareness that allows for the care and regeneration of ecosystems, recycling of most house
waste and the respect for nature in the tiniest aspect. The following pollution facts serve as an example for our
level of ignorance and lack of commitment to an environment-friendly lifestyle.
Ships and cruise boats are major water
pollutants that are responsible for the deaths of about 65 thousand people every year. The most polluting
and busiest ports in the world include Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore, these ports have the highest
health threat in the world. Such pollution facts should make us wonder about the future of maritime trade and
transportation.
Power plants that generate the
electricity which we rely on everywhere in our society cause about three and half thousand lung cancer cases
and over thirty-five thousand heart attacks and this is just in the United States on a yearly
basis.
The same statistics indicate that
pollution facts are even more serious in the under-developed areas of the globe where the industrial and the
private sectors do not apply consistent environment protection governance.
Some important and extremely relevant pollution facts refer
to the close connection between air and water contaminants; the chemicals in the water evaporate and fall
back on the ground under in the form of acid rains. Rainwater is not treated like the one in the sewers
and the pollutants are merely changing their aggregation state while still remaining present in the atmosphere
or the water.
Did you know that the very detergent
or soap you use to wash your car at home can pollute and destroy the chemical balance of an ecosystem? At the
car-wash the waste water will be sent to the sewer and will eventually undergo some treatment before being released
in the river, lake or ocean; whereas the waste water that you create in your back yard will infiltrate in the
ground with all the gas residues and detergent in it. There are 74 different kinds of pesticides have been found in
groundwater, which is used today as potential drinking water.
Last but not least, pollution facts
indicate that animals can pollute too. Thus, livestock with free access to a stream will carry unwanted and
potential harmful bacteria to the water, not to mention that the water that runs over fields and pastures could
very well bring fertilizers into the streams as well as in the underground water sources.
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