Salangsang, Rae Mariel F.

1A1

Pollution can cause hazards and diseases which are damaging to both the health of a person and
the environment. When a person is exposed to too much pollution, he or she may suffer stroke,
heart attack, and respiratory diseases as well as other cardiovascular diseases. One example of a
power plant that brought life threatening diseases to the people of Bataan is the coal-fired power
plant of San Miguel Corporation. Studies show that a number of 1000 of deaths have been
recorded every year in the Philippines and about 20 thousand deaths over Asia because of
pollution coming from these coal-fired power plant. These plants release chemicals namely
sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide which are contributors to the issue that we have of climate
change. These coal-fired power plants also release dirty smokes inhaled by the people around the
area. Another is the waste of these plants, it might spill into the surrounding which leads to
pollution.

Electricity consumption in the Philippines have increased over the years. The Philippines still
depends on coal as the main source of electricity generation. Electricity is commonly used in
households for lighting purposes, recreation such as watching television, and charging gadgets
and electronics. The impact of this non-renewable energy in the environment is change in
temperature, warmer temperature is upon us these days and it is the most obvious impact of
fossil fuels. Burning too much fossil fuels creates high levels of greenhouse gas emissions such
as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, all of which are harmful to the environment because
these traps the heat and in turn would cause the temperature to rise and that is climate change.

Clean energy is what we aim to achieve, and one way to achieve this is to use renewable energy
resources. These renewable energy sources are solar which is available everywhere and any time,
hydro, and wind which are site specific, depending on the location. These three could produce
electricity and is not harmful to the environment. Biomass is also another example of a
renewable energy source. Using this renewable resource might be costly but at least it is for the
good of our environment.
There are many ways we can contribute to having a clean energy and better environment. These
are unplugging electronics such as televisions, or other appliances when not in use. We tend to
leave these idle electronics plugged in our homes and it only wastes energy. We also have to
lessen our use of electronics to avoid charging frequently. Turning of the lights in your room is
also one of the activities we must practice. We are used to leaving the lights on in our rooms
even if we leave the room and that is also one thing that contributes in wasting energy. Having a
clean energy is beneficial not only to the environment but also to us, humans. We would have a
clean environment to live in, things would flourish, and diseases or sickness would lessen which
would make the Earth and our lives better.