Pollution- a word concern most people when they hear about it but is something

which is part of every-they life. Pollution when occurs when something that does’
naturally belong in ecosystem is forcible introduce in to it. The foreign substance
introduce into environment which cause pollution is called as pollution. As the
concentration of populate increases in the environment the intensity of pollution
also increase. Pollution is mostly cause by human actions but also cause by natural
disaster it is highly detrimental to all living thing to our pollution read about
different types of pollution although reaching its critical, point being ignored about
the word.Ignored about the word.

Air Pollution (Image source: morgueFile.com)

Pollution of the environment started off as early as the Stone Age when fire
was invented. Archaeologists have found the soot left from fires on the
ceilings of the caves. But this was not serious as it hardly affected the
surrounding ecosystem. Later in the 13th century people started to realize that
the amount of smoke surrounding them was increasing. It was first then that
the people acknowledged pollution in the environment.

What causes Pollution?

Pollution is mostly accounted by human ignorance. Small actions of ours
which we don’t even realize at the time cause the contamination of our
atmosphere.
 Exhaust smoke coming out of our vehicles raise the level of poisonous gases in the
atmosphere, so during long traffic halts we often avoid switching off the engine
which increases the poisonous gases when it can be avoided.
 Farmers spray insecticides and pesticides on the crops which sucks the fertility
out of the soil. Instead cheaper and environment friendly efforts can be made to
avoid these harmful chemicals.
 Industries release lots of toxic waste into the environment such as smoke into the
air, contaminated by-products into rivers and streams and many other ways
which should be avoided.
 Certain people in the slum areas wash clothes and utensils near lakes and rivers
which contaminate the water bodies by the detergents which act as nutrition for
the growth of certain algae. This growth of the algae forms a layer on top of the
water which blocks sunlight to the underwater aquatic beings and reduces the
amount of oxygen causing hazardous living conditions for the beings below the
water. This effect is called “Eutrophication”.
 Air conditioners and refrigerators release certain gases called ‘Choloro-Flouro-
Carbons’ into the atmosphere which are extremely detrimental to the atmospheric
shell of the Earth called the ‘ozone layer’, which is covered in the latter part of
the article.
 Low micron plastics used as carry bags and in wrappers are near to
indestructible and take thousands of years to decompose. These plastics are
dumped into the land which acts as barriers which prevent the passage of water
into the soil.

Effects of Pollution:
Now that we’ve seen some of the common causes of pollution, let us take a
glance at two of the major after effects of pollution.

1. Global Warming:
Carbon dioxide released by exhausts of vehicles and industries form a layer
which prevents heat from escaping the atmosphere. This causes an excessive
amount of heat to settle in the atmosphere causing a rise in the temperature.
This effect is also referred to as the “Green-House effect”. Certain other
poisonous gases like carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, methane also cause
this effect along with carbon dioxide cause this effect. Hence these gases are
collectively called “Green House gases”.

Due to Global warming a great amount of temperature is caused in the

atmosphere. The temperatures at the polar ice caps are increasing which is
causing the ice to melt and raise the water levels. A temperature rise in the
ocean is also causing disruptions in the ocean currents and temperature
distribution among the continents which are leading to constant hurricanes
and tsunamis.

Efforts are being made to control the already serious problem of global
warming. Catalytic converters are being used in vehicles to convert the
poisonous gases into less poisonous natural gases. Industries are using
lesser polluting methods for manufacturing goods and also use catalytic
converters.
2. Depletion of the Ozone Layer:
Ozone is a chemical compound which comprises three oxygen atoms bound
together. It forms the outermost layer of the earth’s atmosphere and protects
the earth from dangerous Ultra Violet rays from the sun. These UV rays have
high penetrating power and are capable of causing cancer.

As discussed earlier the CFCs (CholorFlouro Carbons) released from air

conditioners and refrigerators rise into the atmosphere and react rapidly with
the ozone layer causing its depletion. Due to this depletion the earth is more
exposed to harmful Ultra Violet rays and solar flares. High exposure to ultra
violet rays causes genetic mutation and degenerative diseases.

Currently quite a large area of the ozone layer has already been depleted
because of high CFC levels in the atmosphere. A hole the size of Mexico has
been noticed to exist on the ozone layer. If this continues to happen at the
current rate the ozone layer will disappear leaving the earth to become a
lifeless planet.

Currently Air conditioners and refrigerators are being manufactured to

degenerate the discharge of CFCs. Ozone can be produced when lightning
strikes nitrogenous compounds present in the soil. Using this theory lightning
rods are being installed in homes which run into the soil in lightning prone
areas.

What can be done?

Proper waste disposal and conservative management of our resources could
save our environment. Switching off vehicles during a long halt, reusing
plastics instead of littering them, using air conditioners and refrigerators that
are CFC free, prevent the use of detergents and soaps in lakes and rivers,
recycle paper and packaging materials and so on.