HOW BURNING GARBAGE CAN END MANKIND!

The vaguely used term pollution is a worldwide epidemic and everybody is talking about it. Of the umpteen types of pollution, the highlight is air pollution. The smog that we regularly see in our (once in a while) blue skies is a direct result of air pollution. So let us first see, what air pollution really is.

AIR POLLUTION

When harmful substances such as particulates and biological molecules are introduced in the earth’s atmosphere, the phenomenon of air pollution is triggered, and these harmful substances are known as air pollutants. These pollutants can be in the form of solid wastes, liquid droplets or gases. Collectively, any substance that gets introduced into the atmosphere which may have damaging effects on the living and the environment is a direct addition to the causes of air pollution.

MAJOR CAUSES OF AIR POLLUTION

• Burning of garbage and fossil fuels
• Agricultural activities such as spraying of insecticides
• Exhaust from factories and industries
• Large equipment’s used in mining operations.
• Indoor products such as air conditioner, vacuum cleaner etc.

Among all these causes, the most alarming one today is the burning of garbage.

BURNING OF GARBAGE/TRASH

Garbage burning is undoubtedly worsening the present scenario of air pollution. More than 40 percentage of the world's garbage is burned in such fires, emitting gases and particles that can substantially affect human health and climate change, as estimated by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

The dangerous pollutants that are emitted due to the burning of waste are carbon monoxide, mercury and carbon dioxide. To estimate emissions from trash fires, Wiedinmyer and her co-authors compared population numbers and waste production to official tallies of trash disposal for each country in the world. They found that approximately 1.1 billion tons, or close to 41 percentage, of the world's waste is disposed off through unregulated burning every year.

There already have been countless instances in history where burning of garbage has caused a deadly smog. In 1952, the great smog of London killed 8000 people.

It is crystal clear that the need of taking necessary measures to maintain the current stability, if not making amends is imperative, or else there will be no pure air and no oxygen left that is required for human sustenance left.

“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it”

- (Robert Swan)