Forest Destruction.

John Joseph B. Tamayo

II-Joy
 Air pollution
Causes Of Air Pollution
There are many different chemical substances that contribute to air
pollution.  These chemicals come from a variety of sources. Among
the many types of air pollutants are nitrogen oxides, carbon
monoxides, and organic compounds that can evaporate and enter
the atmosphere.
Air pollutants have sources that are both natural and human.  Now,
humans contribute substantially more to the air pollution problem.
Forest fires, volcanic eruptions, wind erosion, pollen dispersal,
evaporation of organic compounds, and natural radioactivity are all
among the natural causes of air pollution.
Usually, natural air pollution does not occur in abundance in
particular locations.  The pollution is spread around throughout
the world, and as a result, poses little threat to the health of people
and ecosystems. Though some pollution comes from these natural
sources, most pollution is the result of human activity.  The biggest
causes are the operation of fossil fuel-burning power plants and
automobiles that combust fuel.  Combined, these two sources are
responsible for about 90% of all air pollution in the United States.
Some cities suffer severely because of heavy industrial use of
chemicals that cause air pollution.  Places like Mexico City and Sao
Paulo have some of the most deadly pollution levels in the world.
 Effects of air pollution
Air pollution is responsible for major health effects.  Every year,
the health of countless people is ruined or endangered by air
pollution. Many different chemicals in the air affect the human
body in negative ways.  Just how sick people will get depends on
what chemicals they are exposed to, in what concentrations, and
for how long.
Studies have estimated that the number of people killed annually
in the US alone could be over 50,000.
Older people are highly vulnerable to diseases induced by air
pollution.  Those with heart or lung disorders are under
additional risk.  Children and infants are also at serious risk.
Because people are exposed to so many potentially dangerous
pollutants, it is often hard to know exactly which pollutants are
responsible for causing sickness.  Also, because a mixture of
different pollutants can intensify sickness, it is often difficult to
isolate those pollutants that are at fault.
Many diseases could be caused by air pollution without their
becoming apparent for a long time.  Diseases such as bronchitis,
lung cancer, and heart disease may all eventually appear in
people exposed to air pollution.
Air pollutants such as ozone, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide
also have harmful effects on natural ecosystems.  They can kill
plants and trees by destroying their leaves, and can kill animals,
especially fish in highly polluted rivers.
 Solution to air pollution
Air pollution has many disastrous effects that need to be curbed.  In order to
accomplish this, governments, scientists and environmentalists are using or
testing a variety of methods aimed at reducing pollution. There are two main
types of pollution control.
Input control involves preventing a problem before it occurs, or at least
limiting the effects the process will produce.
Five major input control methods exist.  People may try to restrict
population growth, use less energy, improve energy efficiency, reduce waste,
and move to non-polluting renewable forms of energy production.  Also,
automobile-produced pollution can be decreased with highly beneficial
results. Output control, the opposite method, seeks to fix the problems
caused by air pollution.  This usually means cleaning up an area that has been
damaged by pollution.
Input controls are usually more effective than output controls.  Output
controls are also more expensive, making them less desirable to tax payers and
polluting industries.
Current air pollution control efforts are not all highly effective.  In wealthier
countries, industries are often able to shift to methods that decrease air
pollution.  In the United States, for example, air pollution control laws have
been successful in stopping air pollution levels from rising.  However, in
developing countries and even in countries where pollution is strictly
regulated, much more needs to be done.
 Water pollution
Many causes of pollution including sewage and fertilizers contain
nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates.  In excess levels, nutrients
over stimulate the growth of aquatic plants and algae.  Excessive growth
of these types of organisms consequently clogs our waterways, use up
dissolved oxygen as they decompose, and block light to deeper waters.
This, in turn, proves very harmful to aquatic organisms as it affects the
respiration ability or fish and other invertebrates that reside in water.
     Pollution is also caused when silt and other suspended solids, such as
soil, washoff plowed fields, construction and logging sites, urban areas,
and eroded river banks when it rains.  Under natural conditions, lakes,
rivers, and other water bodies undergo Eutrophication, an aging process
that slowly fills in the water body with sediment and organic matter. 
When these sediments enter various bodies of water, fish
respirationbecomes impaired, plant productivity and water depth
become reduced, and aquatic organisms and their environments become
suffocated.  Pollution in the form of organic
material enters waterways in many different forms as sewage, as leaves
and grass clippings, or as runoff from livestock feedlots and pastures. 
When natural bacteria and protozoan in the water break down this
organic material, they begin to use up the oxygen dissolved in the water. 
Many types of fish and bottom-dwelling animals cannot survive when
levels of dissolved oxygen drop below two to five parts per million. 
When this occurs, it kills aquatic organisms in large numbers which
leads to disruptions in the food chain.
 Effects of water pollution

Some people believe pollution is an inescapable result of human activity:

they argue that if we want to have factories, cities, ships, cars, oil, and coastal
resorts, some degree of pollution is almost certain to result. In other words,
pollution is a necessary evil that people must put up with if they want to
make progress. Fortunately, not everyone agrees with this view. One reason
people have woken up to the problem of pollution is that it brings costs of its
own that undermine any economic benefits that come about by polluting.
Take oil spills, for example. They can happen if tankers are too poorly built to
survive accidents at sea. But the economic benefit of compromising on
tanker quality brings an economic cost when an oil spill occurs. The oil can
wash up on nearby beaches, devastate the ecosystem, and severely affect
tourism. The main problem is that the people who bear the cost of the spill
(typically a small coastal community) are not the people who caused the
problem in the first place (the people who operate the tanker). Yet, arguably,
everyone who puts gasoline (petrol) into their car—or uses almost any kind
of petroleum-fueled transport—contributes to the problem in some way. So
oil spills are a problem for everyone, not just people who live by the coast and
tanker operates.
 SOLUTION TO WATER POLLUTION

Making people aware of the problem is the first step to solving it. In the
early 1990s, when surfers in Britain grew tired of catching illnesses from
water polluted with sewage, they formed a group called
Surfers Against Sewage to force governments and water companies to clean
up their act. People who've grown tired of walking the world's polluted
beaches often band together to organize community beach-cleaning
sessions. Anglers who no longer catch so many fish have campaigned for
tougher penalties against factories that pour pollution into our rivers.
Greater public awareness can make a positive difference. Life is ultimately
about choices—and so is pollution. We can live with sewage-strewn
beaches, dead rivers, and fish that are too poisonous to eat. Or we can work
together to keep the environment clean so the plants, animals, and people
who depend on it remain healthy. We can take individual action to help
reduce water pollution, for example, by using environmentally friendly
detergents, not pouring oil down drains, reducing pesticides, and so on. We
can take community action too, by helping out on beach cleans or litter
picks to keep our rivers and seas that little bit cleaner. And we can take
action as countries and continents to pass laws that will make pollution
harder and the world less polluted. Working together, we can make
pollution less of a problem—and the world a better place.
 Soil pollution

Soil pollution is a result of many activities and experiments done by mankind and
some of the leading soil pollution causes are discussed below. Industrial wastes,
such as harmful gases and chemicals, agricultural pesticides, fertilizers and
insecticides are the most important causes of soil pollution.
Ignorance towards soil management and related systems.
Unfavorable and harmful irrigation practices.
Improper septic system and management and maintenance of the same.
Leakages from sanitary sewage.
Acid rains, when fumes released from industries get mixed with rains.
Fuel leakages from automobiles, that get washed away due to rain and seep into the
nearby soil.
Unhealthy waste management techniques, which are characterized by release of
sewage into the large dumping grounds and nearby streams or rivers.
The intensity of all these causes on a local or regional level might appear very small
and you may argue that soil is not harmed by above activities if done on a small
scale! However, thinking globally, it is not your region or my place, that will be the
only sufferer of soil pollution. In fact, it is the entire planet and mankind that will
encounter serious problems, as these practices are evident almost everywhere in the
world. Want to know what are those problems, which can turn more serious in the
near future?
 Effect of soil pollution
The effects of pollution on soil are quite alarming and can cause huge
disturbances in the ecological balance and health of living creatures on
earth. Some of the most serious soil pollution effects are mentioned
below. Decrease in soil fertility and therefore decrease in the soil yield.
Definitely, how can one expect a contaminated soil to produce healthy
crops?
Loss of soil and natural nutrients present in it. Plants also would not
thrive in such a soil, which would further result in soil erosion.
Disturbance in the balance of flora and fauna residing in the soil.
Increase in salinity of the soil, which therefore makes it unfit for
vegetation, thus making it useless and barren.
Generally crops cannot grow and flourish in a polluted soil. Yet if some
crops manage to grow, then those would be poisonous enough to cause
serious health problems in people consuming them.
Creation of toxic dust leading is another potential effect of soil pollution.
Foul smell due to industrial chemicals and gases might result in
headaches, fatigue, nausea, etc. in many people.
Soil pollutants would bring in alteration in the soil structure, which
would lead to death of many essential organisms in it. This would also
affect the larger predators and compel them to move to other places,
once they lose their food supply.
 Solution to soil pollution

Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Minimize the amount of trash going to our
landfills and aggressively recycle, especially trash like batteries, tires, and
plastics that leach harmful chemicals and heavy metals. Do not burn trash,
particularly plastics or tires, because the residue in the smoke will drift down
and pollute the soil. Dispose of household chemicals properly. Avoid
dumping open containers of products such as paint thinner, cleaners and
solvents, oil, and automotive fluids. Compost lawn clippings, yard work
refuse, and fruit and vegetable scraps, or use them as mulch. This reduces the
amount of nitrogen from decay that enters our storm drains and water.
Properly maintain all underground storage tanks, like oil, septic, and sewer
lines. Have your septic tank pumped on schedule and look for signs of
leakage, such as soggy areas in the yard, odor, slowing and backups in the
home, and excessive plant growth over a particular area. Most septic systems
need pumped every three to five years. Be diligent about picking up and
disposal of trash. Dispose of animal waste into a septic or sewage system as
promptly as possible--do not leave it on the lawn or place it in a storm drain.
Use organic, biodegradable herbicides and pesticides whenever possible. Do
your homework and get information about chemicals before you put them on
your lawn. Use them sparingly.
 The end 