EFFECTS OF INDUSTRIALIZATION ON ENVIRONMENT

Submitted by: Abbas Raza FA16-EEE-023

Submitted to : Ma’am MADEEHA Sultan
 Executive Summary
Everything we do, from the food we eat to the electricity we use, affects the world around us
but it wasn’t always that way. The Industrial Revolution changed the way that we created
everything, from food and energy to sanitation and manufacturing technologies.
Industrialization contributes major part for the economic development and prosperity of a
country. On one hand it provides employment opportunities and wealth generation while on
other hand it leads to harmful environmental deterioration effects including depletion of
natural resources, air pollution, water pollution, acid rain, soil pollution and global warming.

Introduction to Industrial Era

Man has touched the horizon of success. In the name of scientific technologies and
modernism man has facilitated it's way living. He can communicate without any hurdle of
long distances. Unfortunately this advancement in progress does not went unharmed it has
also left certain negative impacts for us. Harmful effects of industrialization is one of such
worst challenges. Industrialization is a major cause of climate change characterized by a
general increase in average temperatures of the Earth, in return modifying the weather
balances and ecosystems. Because it is very difficult to analyse the impact of the
manufacturing processes, considering from year 2005, the amount of waste generated by
mining and quarrying, manufacturing and energy production was about 323 million tons, of
which over 60% were waste from extractive activities (about 195 million t), the rest being
generated by the energy industry and manufacturing. Equally important is that currently the
main method of "disposal" is the storage of industrial waste.

Industrialization:
In economic terms, industrialization is the social and economic transformation of human
society from agrarian to industrial. From approximately 1760 to 1840, the United States
transformed from an agrarian society, in which the economy is established on the society's
ability to produce and regulate crops, to an industrialized society; this period is better known
as the Industrial Revolution. During this period, many processes, traditionally performed by
hand, were mechanized.

Impacts of industrialization on Environment:

On one hand industrialization provides employment opportunities and wealth generation
while on other hand it leads to following environmental deterioration:
1. Water Pollution
The effects of industrial pollution are far-reaching and liable to affect the ecosystem for
many years to come. Most industries require large amounts of water for their work. When
involved in a series of processes, the water comes into contact with heavy metals, harmful
chemicals, radioactive waste, and even organic sludge. These are either dumped into open
oceans or rivers. As a result, many of our water sources have a high amount of industrial
waste in them which seriously impacts the health of our ecosystem. The same water is then
used by farmers for irrigation purpose which affects the quality of food that is produced.

2. Soil Pollution

Soil pollution is creating problems in agriculture and destroying local vegetation. It also
causes chronic health issues to the people that come in contact with such soil on a daily basis.

3. Air Pollution

Air pollution has led to a steep increase in various illnesses and it continues to affect us on a
daily basis. With so many small, mid and large scale industries coming up, air pollution has
taken the toll on the health of the people and the environment.

4. Wildlife Extinction

By and large, the issue of industrial pollution shows us that it causes natural rhythms and
patterns to fail, meaning that the wildlife is getting affected in a severe manner. Habitats are
being lost, species are becoming extinct and it is harder for the environment to recover from
each natural disaster. Major industrial accidents like oil spills, fires, the leak of radioactive
material and damage to property are harder to clean-up as they have a higher impact in a
shorter span of time.

5. Global Warming

With the rise in industrial pollution, global warming has been increasing at a steady pace.
Smoke and greenhouse gases are being released by industries into the air which causes an
increase in global warming. Melting of glaciers, extinction of polar bears, floods, tsunamis,
hurricanes are few of the effects of global warming.

Overcoming the Disastrous Effects of Industrialization:

The issue of industrial pollution concerns every nation on the planet. As a result, many steps
have been taken to seek permanent solutions to the problem. Better technology is being
developed for the disposal of waste and recycling as much polluted water in the industries as
possible.

Organic methods are being used to clean the water and soil, such as using microbes that
naturally use heavy metals and waste as feed. Policies are being pushed into place to prevent
further misuse of land. However, industrial pollution is still rampant and will take many
years to be brought under control.

References:

 XUE Hui-feng, LU Ya-li WANG Jia, "Research on the Origin and Countermeasures
of Resources and Environment Problems in China Economic Development[J]",
Energy Environmental Protection, vol. 22, no. 5, pp. 5, 2008.

 World Health Organization, “World Health Organization,” WHO, 2014. [Online].

Available: http://www.who.int/topics/cerebrovascular_accident/en/. [Accessed
February 2017].