Less Pollution Means a Healthier Planet
Planet Earth is in serious trouble, and we’re all to blame. But that doesn’t mean that every single person can’t do their part to make a difference. There are lots of ways you can reduce pollution at home, starting with your trash habits and recycling properly. We need to be mindful of how much energy we’re using, and where it’s coming from; it’s the only way we’ll be able to take our planet back from those who are doing damage and making things worse for everyone else.
Pollution Is a Problem Everyone Should Care About
Pollution is a serious problem that we need to mitigate.
It is not something that can be remedied overnight, and there are many pollutants that we need to deal with.
Air pollution occurs when there are harmful gases or chemicals in the air. These pollutants can get into our bodies through our lungs, causing damage and disease.
One example of air pollution would be global warming; this happens when carbon dioxide levels increase too much and make the earth warmer than it should be.
What is the worst pollution you have seen and what can be done to mitigate it?
Another example would be smog; this occurs when there is too much nitrogen oxide in the atmosphere, which causes acid rain and respiratory problems for those living near it.
Another type of pollution is water pollution; this happens when there are harmful chemicals present in our lakes, rivers and oceans.
This can have severe consequences, such as killing marine life or making it unfit for human consumption (e.g., fish).
Finally, we have soil contamination, which happens when there are toxic substances present in the soil such as heavy metals like lead or mercury, which can cause serious health problems if ingested by humans or animals.
Air Pollution Is a Major Risk to Our Heart Health
Air pollution is one of the main causes of heart attacks, strokes, and lung cancer. It can also cause birth defects.
Pollutants in the air come from a variety of sources: power plants, car exhaust, oil refineries, chemical plants and factories.
The most dangerous pollutants are ozone and particulate matter (soot).
These are not just a nuisance; they can hurt your health. Ozone is linked to asthma attacks; particulate matter can trigger heart attacks and strokes.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set standards for these pollutants that limit how much can be in the air we breathe.
Air pollution can also affect our mental health — a study published in Environmental Health Perspectives suggests that high levels of particulate matter in the air may contribute to depression among people with heart disease or other chronic health conditions.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that nine out of 10 people globally are exposed to air pollution that exceeds WHO limits.
Outdoor air pollution is a major contributor to the overall health risks faced by urban populations worldwide.
Air Pollution Can Be a Major Cause of Respiratory Infections
Air pollution can affect your health in many ways. It can cause asthma, bronchitis, other respiratory infections, and heart disease.
It also increases the risk of stroke, cancer, and other diseases.
It’s bad for everyone’s health but it can be especially dangerous for people with existing lung diseases like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Asthma is an inflammatory disease that inflames and narrows the airways in the lungs.
Do you have any family members or friends who suffer from asthma or respiratory issues?
The inflammation makes it difficult for people with asthma to breathe normally, causing them to gasp for breath and feel short of breath at times.
And it may also worsen the symptoms of these conditions and increase the risk of hospitalisation and death.
Researchers know that air pollution contains tiny particles called particulate matter (PM).
These particles are so small that they can pass through lung tissue into the bloodstream and carry away important nutrients like iron, magnesium, and selenium.
The effects of air pollution on human health depend on several factors including:
- Type of pollutant
- Levels in the air
- Where you live
- What time of year it is
- What you do during your day-to-day life
Pollution Can Hurt Your Baby’s Health Before It Is Even Born
Pollution is linked to preterm births, low birth weight and early birth.
Findings suggest that exposure to air pollution during pregnancy may contribute to the risk of adverse birth outcomes.
Low birth weight and pre-term births are now so common that they’re considered public health problems.
Babies who weigh less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces at birth have a higher risk of death before their first birthday than babies born at full term.
Other health problems often develop as children grow older. Some may be mild while others are more serious.
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Children with asthma have difficulty breathing because their airways become inflamed and narrow during an attack.
Asthma attacks can happen at any age, but they’re most common in children and teens.
Pollution can make asthma worse by triggering an attack, especially in children who already have asthma or who are allergic to pollens and other allergens.
Once someone has asthma, it’s important to keep them away from pollutants that can trigger an attack.
Pollutants found in outdoor air include ozone (O3), sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM) and lead compounds from car exhaust fumes.
Pollution Is Killing Millions of People Annually
Did you know that breathing only slightly polluted air for one year can make people sick? It’s true.
Have you ever thought about the tiny particles of dirt and pollution we breathe into our lungs?
This may not have crossed your mind, but it is an important subject. Even though small and invisible, these particles are dangerous for our health.
According to a Cambridge University study, breathing dirty air can be as bad for you as smoking 50 cigarettes a day.
The finer particles that we breathe, the worse it is for our health. Fine particulate matter is one of the most hazardous pollutants on earth.
Because of their small size, they are easily inhaled into your lungs and pass deep into the body.
In what ways do you feel like the air you breathe affects your health?
The more you inhale fine particulate matter from various pollutants such as smoky air, cigarette smoke, soot or ash, the greater your chances are of developing serious health problems.
What is fine particulate matter?
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is a generic term for tiny particles of pollution that are 2.5 microns or less in diameter.
The term PM10 includes particles smaller than 2.5 but larger than 0.05 microns in diameter, while PM0.1 includes those smaller than 0.1 microns.
Fine particulate matter can comprise many different substances, including sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, organic chemicals, and metals such as iron and zinc oxide.
Some of these substances are emitted directly from fuel combustion (such as power plants), while others form when other pollutants react in the atmosphere (such as ozone).
The Effects of Industrial Discharge on The Environment
Industrial pollutants are chemicals that can affect human health and the environment.
Industrial discharge is a major factor that can cause environmental pollution.
As industrial development increases, it is becoming more important to deal with such issues before they pose a threat to the environment.
The fundamental problem with industrial discharge is that it contains toxic chemicals that can be harmful to live organisms if they are not handled properly.
For example, they release mercury and other heavy metals into the air during coal combustion and steel production.
These chemicals can accumulate in plants and animals as they move up the food chain, which can lead to serious health problems in humans who eat them.
Industrial discharge also affects water quality. The chemicals released by industries can contaminate rivers, lakes, or other sources of drinking water used by humans and animals alike.
This can cause many different diseases like cancer or birth defects among people who consume contaminated water regularly.
The effects of industrial discharge on human health are well documented but still not fully understood by scientists today because there are many factors involved for determining what causes certain diseases in humans.
We believe that companies should be held accountable for any damages caused by their products or services as these companies have a responsibility towards their customers and employees alike as well as towards society at large.
People Are Drinking from Polluted Water Sources
Research has found that people around the world continue to drink dirty water and encounter dangerous pollutants every day, which is threatening human health.
The study, led by the World Health Organisation (WHO), also noted that one in eight people does not have access to safe water at all.
And more than two billion people worldwide use sources of drinking water contaminated with faeces.
You wouldn’t drink from the toilet, so why would you drink from polluted water sources?
Water pollution is a massive issue that’s often relegated to the periphery by most media agencies because of its sheer size.
There seems to be no end in sight as these polluted water sources continue to grow at alarming rates.
What are some ways we can help fight water pollution?
As we’ve previously discussed, there are two main types of pollution: chemical and biological.
Chemical pollution comes in the form of heavy metals and other chemicals like pesticides that can accumulate in an ecosystem over time.
Biological pollution refers to microorganisms like bacteria and viruses that can also accumulate in an ecosystem over time. These microorganisms may come from human or animal waste or even the food we eat (aka e coli).
The type of pollution can occur naturally or be manmade depending on where you live.
For example, if you live near a factory then your local river may be contaminated with chemicals from industrial waste runoff which could cause illness or death among people who drink from it regularly.
If you live near a farm, then your local river might be contaminated with bacteria from livestock waste runoff which could cause illness or death among people who drink from it regularly.
Everyone can and should do something to help protect our environment and health from pollution.
Keeping our planet healthy and free from pollution is a job for the whole human race.
Yet, the individuals of mankind are often unequipped to do much more than clean up after someone else’s poorly handled garbage.
In improving our homes, many steps could be taken to make our lives healthier and cleaner.
The key is to always look for ways to improve our environment by recycling, using products whose manufacture doesn’t use harm our ecosystem and learning how to use renewable resources when possible.
According to the EPA, pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change.
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While Pollution has been going on for as long as man has inhabited this earth, it became a greater problem during Industrialisation when humans started dumping raw sewage and garbage into natural resources like oceans and rivers.
Also, the discovery and reliance on fossil fuels led to an increase in air pollution and greenhouse gases (GHG) like Carbon Dioxide.
Pollution can be caused by many different things and can affect any living thing including animals, plants, and even human beings.
The pollution can be chemical or physical in nature. Some examples include air pollution from vehicles, water pollution from oil spills or sewage spills, noise pollution from loud music or construction projects or even car horns honking all night long!
The impacts of pollution on our environment vary depending on what type of pollutant is being released into the environment and how much is released into a specific area over time.
We know that some pollutants are more harmful than others because they harm living organisms such as animals and plants, but other pollutants may have no effect at all on some species while having a significant impact on others!
Conclusion
Pollution is bad for our health and the environment. We can all do something about it by helping to create a positive change in public opinion globally.
The most effective—and the easiest—thing a consumer can do to help combat pollution is to simply change their shopping habits.
Buy less stuff, buy locally-made products, and recycle what you can’t bring yourself to throw away (if anything).
Although our individual actions will likely never be enough to reverse the tide of pollution, they’re certainly a good place to start.
We need to push forward as a society, but let’s also push ahead as individuals as well.
