ASSIGNMENT: INDUSTRIAL

ELECTRONICS

Effects of Industrialization on Environment

PREPARED BY
Ayesha Rasheed FA16-EEE-023
PREPARED FOR
Course Instructor: Ma’am Madeeha Sultan
Abstract:
Pakistan is facing a major climate change because of industrial revolution. In the last 50
years, the temperature of Pakistan has roughly increased by 0.5°C as from previous years.
From the last 30 years the heat wave days per year has been increased five times. Annual
precipitation has historically shown high variability but has slightly increased in the last
50 years. In recent years the large scale urbanization, industrialization and associated
environmental alteration and its impact on biodiversity pose a threat to human existence
through basic necessities, recreation and the ecological functions. It is evident that
pollution from various sources particularly from industries has negative impact on
environment, irreversible in nature, cause extinction of species, resulting in loss of unique
genetic resources of great use.

Background Information:
The Industrial Revolution started sometime in the middle of the 1700s, when the world’s
population had finally started recovering from the deaths of the Black Plague in the 1300s
that wiped out more than 75 million people. The planet’s population exploded, reaching 1
billion by 1800 and then doubling again by 1926. By the beginning of the 21st century, it
had grown again to 6 billion. It was coal that shifted the balance of power — using coal
as a power source changed the way that we looked at industry, from energy generation to
manufacturing. Coal has been used since the 13th century, but it wasn’t until the 1800s
that industrialization took off. Back then, potential impact of burning coal was not given
importance. It’s only in recent years that steps are taken assessing the kind of impact that
we’ve had on the environment as a direct result of this exponential growth.

Effects of Industrialization on Environment:

There are four primary impact points when it comes to industrialization:

 Air Pollution:
The biggest problem is air pollution, caused by the smoke and emissions generated by
burning fossil fuels. The United State’s EPA regulates more than 80 different toxins that
can be found in industrial pollution, from asbestos and dioxin to lead and chromium. In
spite of these regulations, industries are among the worst generators of air pollution in the
world.
 Water Pollution:
Water pollution is also a problem in these areas, specifically in regions where factories
are built next to natural water sources. These toxins can come in a variety of forms
including solid, liquid or gaseous and they can all end up contaminating the local water
supplies. Even landfills and other waste disposal areas can leach toxins into the local
water supply, leading to water pollution as in the case of River Nile.
 Soil contamination:
Soil contamination is another problem that goes hand in hand with industrialization. Lead
is the most common form of soil contamination, but other heavy metals and toxic
chemicals can also leach into the soil and, in turn, contaminate any crops that grow there.

 Habitat destruction:

Finally, industrialization has led to dramatic habitat destruction. Forests are cut down for
their lumber, and ecosystems are destroyed to create roads, strip mines and gravel pits.
Destroying these habitats upsets local ecosystems and leads to plant and animal
extinction if the species are unable to relocate or adapt to their new surroundings.

ILL Effects of Industries:

 Metallic contaminant like Cd, Zn, Hg etc., destroy bacteria and beneficial
microorganisms in the soil.
 Industrial wastes including toxins enter in the food chain causes number of
undesirable effects to living beings and animals.
 Industrial effluent damages the natural biological purification mechanism of
sewage treatment causing several soil and water borne diseases.

The Solution:

Now that we’ve realized what an impact the industrial revolution has had and is still
having on the environment, what can we do to fix it? There are two possible approaches
that both factories and legislators can take to help reduce the impact of industrial
pollution.

First, industries can reduce their reliance on a product that is causing pollution. One good
example is removing lead from gasoline in the 1970s. We’ve lowered our dependence on
lead, which reduced the amount of this heavy metal being leached into the surrounding
environment.

The other option is to treat industrial waste to remove toxic components so that the rest of
the waste can be disposed of safely. It isn’t always easy, and it does require that each
factory implements the proper procedures to purify or cleanse their waste byproducts.
However, it can help reduce the soil, air and water pollution being produced by these
facilities, and also help in conservation of natural resources. The industrial revolution
may have changed the way that we look at the world, but it also changed the impact we
had on this planet that we call home. Now that we’ve realized the problem, it’s up to us to
fix it so that we can continue to grow and change without destroying our home in the
name of progress.

References:
1. Beck S. Are ‘‘climate skeptics’’ gaining ground in Germany? Available
at: http://klimazwiebel.blogspot.com/ 2010/12/silke-beck-are-climate-skeptics-
gaining.html.
2. Science and Technology Committee, House of Commons. The disclosure of
climate date from the climatic research unit at the University of East Anglia,
Eighth Report of Session 2009–10, Stationery Office Limited, London; 2010. 
3. World Health Organization, “World Health Organization,” WHO, 2014. [Online].

Available: http://www.who.int/topics/cerebrovascular_accident/en/.