Pollutants affecting Earth’s lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and even biosphere are reaching a point of no return in terms of reversing the damage that has been done. Little action is being taken by large corporations to try to heal the planet; ultimately, it is in the hands of societal individuals to salvage and restore our home before we face the consequences of actions that began decades ago. On this webpage, we will discuss five different types of pollution that impact our environment.
Air pollution is contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. 99% of the global population breathes air that exceeds the WHO guideline limits of air pollutants.
What can you do to help?
Check air quality in your city here: https://breathelife2030.org/
Water Pollution is the release of contamination in any water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds, oceans, and more. Some of the main causes of water pollution are industrial waste, marine dumping, sewage or wastewater, oil leaks, agriculture, and radioactive waste. According to the NRDC almost half of the estimated 1 million tons of oil that comes into marine environments each year is not from tanker spills but from land-based sources such as factories, farms, and cities.
What can you do to help?
Plastic pollution is defined as the accumulation of synthetic plastic products in the environment to the point that they create problems for wildlife and their habitats as well as for human populations.
Why is this a problem?
Plastic is a polymeric material, or a material made up of very large molecules and long chains which enables them to defeat the natural decaying process and pollute the environment.
Single use plastics make up 40% of all plastic production, things like plastic bags are used for minutes or hours but persist in the environment for hundreds of years.
Worldwide plastic production has grown from 1.5 million metric tons per year in 1950, to 359 million metric tons in 2018. 4.8-12.7 million metric tons of which are discarded into the oceans annually.
Plastic also releases compounds when it is manufactured that contribute to air and water pollution, for example the biggest three under scrutiny and regulation are phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE). All these compounds have been detected in humans and animals and have been found to disrupt many body functions.
Solutions
Extended producer responsibility (EPR): make the manufacturers of some items responsible for creating a system of recycling of the products they produce.
Use of biodegradable plastics and zero waste philosophies.
Fees or bans on foamed food containers and shopping bags.
Light Pollution is defined as brightening of the night sky caused by street lights and other man-made sources, which has a disrupting effect on natural cycles and inhibits the observation of stars and planets. There are a few different types of light pollution which include: glare, clutter, light trespass, and skyglow.
Glare - excessive brightness that causes visual discomfort
Clutter - bright, confusing and excessive groupings of light sources
Light Trespass - light falling where it is not intended or needed
Skyglow - brightening of the night sky over inhabited areas
Here are a few ways you can minimize light pollution.
Only use lighting when and where it’s needed
Properly shield all outdoor lights
Keep your blinds drawn to keep light inside
Soil pollution is defined as the presence of toxic chemicals (pollutants or contaminants) in soil, in high enough concentrations to pose a risk to human health and/or the ecosystem. In the case of contaminants which occur naturally in soil, even when their levels are not high enough to pose a risk, soil pollution is still said to occur if the levels of the contaminants in soil exceed the levels that should naturally be.
How soil pollution affects us.
What can be done to help prevent soil pollution?
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/soil-pollution-prevention-control.php
There are many policies and events in action that aim to help the planet but in actuality are harmful or redundant. For example, The United States Department of Agriculture paid farmers in North Dakota to drain land while at the same time the U.S. Department of the Interior was spending money to create and preserve such wet lands for wild fowl breeding. The Department of Agriculture is spending money to remove lands from agricultural production, while the Bureau of Reclamation pays large sums of money to form agricultural lands. Another example, The Army Corps of Engineers dredges harbors in such a manner that contributes to the increase in the pollution problem that the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration is trying to dissipate. Wind turbines and even electric cars also do more harm than good.
What can actually be done to help???
Well, at our very own Delta College...
The lights in many rooms and hallways are motion sensored so they conserve energy when no one is in them.
The landscape is terraformed in a way that prevents erosion and preserves rainwater that is used to water greenery on the land
In other places, like California and Seattle, plastic bags and styrofoam containers have been banned which is proven to reduce plastic waste and pollution by 70%
There are many policy ideas that do more good than harm in a cheaper and easier way!
Some argue that air pollution can be good for the environment. Aerosols, byproducts of burning coal, help create cooling clouds that slowly lower the temperature of the atmosphere; however, in this scenario does the slight cooling of the atmosphere outweigh the long-term warming of the globe? Additionally, aerosols can cause lung cancer, heart disease, and more.
Another common argument against climate change is that “the earth goes through phases of heating and cooling” and it is nothing to worry about. In the past, however, this heating and cooling has not been due to human activity, and it has not happened this fast. According to earthday.org, climate change this “cycle” has occurred 20 to 50 times faster than in the past.
Some individuals do not think climate change and increased pollution will affect them; however, the impact on rising pollution levels is global. There are many financial and economic changes especially that will cause countries to lose money and wealth:
Taking action is the first part of helping reduce pollution in the environment. There are multiple ways you can take action just in your everyday life. This consists of conserving energy, composting, recycling, conserving water, and many more. If you are looking to create a bigger impact there are ample organizations you can take part in or donate to. One of many great non-profit organizations is called the Ocean Cleanup. This organization aims to clean up the plastic and pollution spread throughout the ocean using developing and scaling technologies. Another optional organization is the Sierra Club. This program aims to keep our air and water clean. You can learn more here...