Why Pollution Matters
I’ve decided to make this blog post a little differently. Yesterday, October 27th, was National Make a Difference Day and so I thought that it might appropriate to dedicate a post to the importance of understanding pollution, why it is so destructive, and the ways that each of us can work to make a difference — not only on October 27th, but every day.
What is pollution? According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, pollution is defined “as the action of polluting, especially by environmental contamination with man-made waste” (1). First and foremost, it’s important to mention that pollutants can be natural. For example, air pollutants including radon, fog, mist, ozone, ash, soot, salt spray, volcanic ash, and so on are all considered to be natural pollutants in our environment as they are all substances that are created of natural sources. But an article published by National Geographic states that the pollution we are most familiar with is that which is caused by human activity like trash or runoff, things that greatly damage the air, water, and land quality (2). And seeing as how every form of life depends on Earth’s natural resources for survival, the increasing pollution of these ecosystems threatens all of these forms of life.
How is pollution destructive? We experience pollution in several ways, some being water pollution, air pollution, and soil pollution. Air pollution is the most prominent however, considering that every second there is a measured 2.4 million pounds of CO2 alone that escapes into our atmosphere (3). We see the effects of this contamination more and more often today, with acid rain episodes becoming more frequent, climate change becoming an increasingly daunting threat to our planet, and unpredictable weather patterns that occur throughout the world which makes it difficult for species to survive. As humans, we also breathe these polluted particles into our bodies, which then has led to a rise in asthma and cancer rates (4).
Water pollution is another issue that has lasting effects on species. Because of various sources of contamination, including industrial waste, the spraying of insecticides and pesticides, oil leakage into water bodies, and eutrophication. All of these forms of pollution greatly impact aquatic life (4). Millions of sea mammals and birds are killed every year because of the heavy levels of pollution found in our bodies of water. Not only this, but many water sources are becoming unsafe for people to use. The risk of water-borne diseases has increased so much in certain areas that is often too high of a risk to utilize water from a certain source.
Soil pollution is the third most impactful pollution, occurring because of practices like mining and deforestation, high levels of industrial waste, and the incorporation of unwanted chemicals in our soil that are often due to agricultural practices. Farmers have come to use insecticides and pesticides to absorb the nitrogen compounds from the soil, making it an unsuitable environment for plants to obtain nutrients. These plants are unable to hold this contaminated soil because of the pollution, ultimately then leading to soil erosion (4). Farmers have been faced with the challenge of certain crops no longer being able to grow because of the change in environment, and there have been several reports of a decrease in production as the soil no longer offers as many key nutrients as it once did.
Though these are only three of the many forms of pollution, we can already see how dangerous and destructive each one is on various aspects of our earth. Our environment is often the first to experience casualties. With the increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, there is an also increase in our global temperature which directly influences our climate patterns (4). From this we are forced to adjust our agricultural practices to conform to new climates, which often effects food production levels — for a longer period of time in some regions than in others. Wildlife is also put under great stress because of the shift in the environment, changes that often happen so fast that species cannot respond quickly enough to survive. Our environment is the first to experience the direct impacts of our pollution, and from there we can find more of the effects. Water pollution is one of the scariest for me. All forms of life depend on water for survival. But seeing as how we only have 1% of freshwater accessible to us, it is terrifying to think of how we are all supposed to utilize this water when we are polluting so much of it. In many regions of the world, clean water is scarce. People suffer every day because of a lack of a water source that is safe for them to simply drink from — not to mention for uses like hygiene, cleaning, and so on. There is a limited amount of freshwater available for the 7.5 billion people on earth, not to mention the millions of other species that depend on the same clean water source for survival. Continuous pollution poses serious health risks and has become a great concern for so many throughout the world. Air quality has also continued to suffer, and since there has been a rise in respiratory issues among the human population. In recent years, there have been several reports of increased asthma and lung cancer rates among people of various ages. Depending on a person’s location and how directly they might be affected by air pollution — whether that be from factory emissions, higher rates of fuel emissions, or another form — there have been growing complaints of chest pain, congestion, inflammation in the throat, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and various other infections that can be caused by air pollution (4).
How can we make a difference? We’ve all heard the familiar message: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle — and though it’s often something people might roll their eyes at, it’s a simple idea that can go a long way.
Starting with reduce, you can easily cut back on the number of times you use your own vehicle by looking to carpool with others or access a bike or public transportation. You can also work to reduce the number of plastic products you use in your daily life, seeing as how plastic is one of the major contributors to water pollution. You might look to compost leaves and food scraps to help reduce waste while also benefiting your yard’s soil quality. Look to minimize the amount of energy and gas you utilize each day — perhaps start hanging wet clothes outside on nice days so that you don’t have to use your dryer, or open a window instead of immediately turning on AC, or throw on an extra sweater and some fuzzy socks as these winter months draw nearer. These are only simple ideas that can be applied to everyday activities that we do. But there are so many more. Focus on challenging yourself to reduce the amount of pollutants that humans contribute to the overall issue — there are a countless number of ways we can do this, so be creative!
Now, on to reuse: don’t be so quick to throw away disposable products. Often, these products are thrown into landfills where they sit for a seemingly endless amount of time, leaking dangerous chemicals into the Earth that further pollute our soil. Think about reusing disposable plastic products you might have. See how you can properly dispose of pet waste. You could add a compost system to your kitchen so that any organic material you might have can be “reused”, in a sense, and benefit the quality of your soil as well!
And finally, recycle. This is a pretty self-explanatory idea, and one that so many of us are already familiar with. All that I want to stress is this: respect the importance of recycling and be courteous enough to make an effort to recycle any product that fits this label. There are so many people in the world that do not value the significance of recycling. A study done by the University of Central Oklahoma found that when manufacturers used recycled paper, they were able to cut air pollution by 73% and water pollution by 35% (5). Using recycled glass products helps to decrease mining waste by 80% and air pollution by another 20% (5). Recycling makes a difference — be cognizant and really make an effort to utilize this practice.
Pollution is an issue that has been around for so long and is still just as major of a problem as it was years ago, if not even more so. For a lot of people, they feel like because it is such a huge problem, there is nothing that they can do as an individual to make a difference. But consider this: there are 7.5 billion people on Earth, and nearly 326 million people in the United States alone. If each person were to start to make these proactive efforts to limit the amount of pollution that they themselves contribute to, imagine the impact then. It’s not about the limitations that one-person experiences, but instead the lack of limitations of a group of people. We can make a difference every day of our lives — not just on October 27th. We’ve seen the horrific effects that pollution has on so many people throughout the world. And these consequences will only continue to spiral if there is not an effort made by each of us to limit our contribution to pollution on our Earth. Happy (belated) National Make a Difference Day. Go celebrate, for everyone’s sake!
Bibliography
Pollution https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pollution (accessed Oct 27, 2018). 1
National Geographic Society. pollution https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/pollution/ (accessed Oct 27, 2018). 2
Ap. Carbon dioxide emissions rise to 2.4 million pounds per second https://www.cbsnews.com/news/carbon-dioxide-emissions-rise-to-24-million-pounds-per-second/ (accessed Oct 27, 2018). 3
Pollution: Causes and Effects https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/pollutiontypes.php (accessed Oct 27, 2018). 4
Brenner, L. How Can Recycling Help Prevent Pollution? https://sciencing.com/can-recycling-prevent-pollution-7455182.html (accessed Oct 27, 2018). 5
