What is Pollution?
According to the dictionary, pollution is the “introduction of harmful materials into the environment” (National Geographic). Everything we as humans consume and use on a daily basis adds to the pile of garbage that is slowly but surely taking over our world. Pollution is created throughout a multitude of daily processes including the use of electricity, burning fossil fuels from vehicles, and even pesticides that chemically pollutes waterways. While pollution contaminates our water, air, and atmosphere, its most dramatic effects can be seen through animals and wildlife-- those who, unlike humans, have little to no control over their environment. Earth's depleting supply of air and water is crucial for every single living creature, which is why pollution is so life-threatening.
How widespread is it?
As the population and needs of humans expand, so does our mark on the planet. Through exploiting the earth and creating non-natural systems and products to push our global economic agendas, we are leaving behind increasing traces of pollution which are leaching into all corners of the globe, causing our environment to be unsafe and unsuitable to use. The main reason why all types of pollution are so harmful to the health and well-being of our planet is because pollutants poison areas far from their point of origin, causing a subsequent domino effect on ecosystems and their biodiversity. This may not come as shocking news to you, but the most pollution is created where there is significant human population, urbanization, industrialization and agriculture; however, pollution affects areas that are untouched by humans as well. Additionally, pollution has the ability to be so widespread because it comes in many forms, as there is air, water, soil, chemical and noise pollution. According to Pure Earth, a non-profit environmental organization, pollution is affecting the health of more than 200 million people worldwide!
Plastic pollution, arguably the most widely known, is detrimental to ocean life. Sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, birds are found with stomachs full of pieces of plastic and microplastics, and whales are found with netting bound around their bodies. These are only a few of the horrible effects plastic has on wildlife, plastic accumulates into gyres around the world, like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and the plastic never completely goes away, only breaks down. Fish in the open ocean eat these microplastics and die because they cannot digest the plastic in their stomachs. Land pollution is the degradation of land and polluted groundwater. Habitat degradation forces animals to leave their homes in order to survive and many species become extirpated or endangered because of this. The pollution of the ground also causes a loss of farmland and contributes to water pollution through agricultural runoff. Overall, pollution has negative effects for wildlife and protection and conservation efforts are necessary in order to reduce the amount of pollution humans have unleashed on wildlife.
How does it affect wildlife?
Pollution affects wildlife in a variety of ways, differing depending on the type of pollution. Air pollution can stunt plant growth by blocking their ability to photosynthesize, which in turn creates less food for herbivores and affects the whole ecosystem. Exhaust from power plants disperses into the air and has been known to damage bird respiratory systems, while also increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and contributing to global warming. Another big issue with air pollution is the effect on insects. Insects are essential to ecosystems and with increasing temperature changes and lower air quality, insects have begun to shift where they live. Another part of air pollution is acid rain, where rain turns acidic through nitrogen and other pollutants in the atmosphere that then pollute waterways. Acid rain can severely damage aquatic wildlife as it increases water acidity, for example causing fish eggs not to hatch. Water pollution is more commonly known and difficult to deal with. Agricultural runoff into streams reaches the oceans and causes an influx of nutrients, resulting in dead zones, where all marine life in the area dies or swims somewhere new. Other water pollution includes chemicals in the water from dumping sites or improper waste management. Some countries struggle with proper waste treatment facilities, and solid waste is dumped into the ocean causing disease in marine life.
There are two types of actions one can take when it comes to preventing pollution: solutions on the individual scale and widespread scale. Essentially, there are both small and big actions people can take to relegate the effects of pollution. For air pollution, companies can replace fossil fuel drivers such as coal factories with renewable sources: solar, wind, and water. On the individual level, one can take public transportation, conserve electricity, and get gas in the evening when it's cooler. Solutions for water pollution include investing in stormwater management, implementing wastewater treatment to filter out toxins, and avoiding using pesticides on crops. For nutrient loading, farmers can implement more sustainable methods to grow their crops including decreasing the amount of fertilizer on crops and only applying fertilizers at certain times of the day. Planting field buffers and switching specific crop rotations also helps reduce agricultural runoff and nutrient spill.
What organizations are working to solve the problems?
With an estimated seven million people worldwide killed every year according to the World Health Organization, air pollution is one of the biggest environmental health crises. Air pollution is not the only form of pollution that poses a threat to humans and the environment, land and water also have big impacts on environmental health. Thankfully, there are many organizations that are joining the effort to clean up our polluted world. One example is The Ocean Cleanup, which is a non-profit organization that works on developing, scaling, and implementing plastic cleanup technologies. Their aim is to remove 90% of floating plastic in the ocean by 2040. The EPA is also helping reduce the amount of air pollution with the implementation of regulatory acts such as the Clean Air Act. According to the EPA website, the EPA has been working with state, local and tribal governments, other federal agencies, and stakeholders since the 1970s to reduce air pollution and the damage that it causes. Pollution isn’t something that affects humans through the air we breath and the water we drink, but also affects us through the products we use everyday. The Environmental Working Group is an organization whose mission is to bring awareness to how our bodies can be polluted through toxic chemicals that come from the everyday products that we use and help people make informed decisions on the products they use.
References
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