What Causes Pollution
(P.K.Prashanthan)
WHAT CAUSES POLLUTION?
Environmental pollution is the release of harmful
environmental contaminants, or the substances so released.
Generally the process needs to result from human activity
to be regarded as pollution. Carbon monoxide, sulfur
dioxide and nitrogen oxides produced by industry and motor
vehicles are common air pollutants.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 can take two major forms: local and global. In
the past, only local pollution was thought to be a problem.
For example, coal burning produces smoke, which in
sufficient concentrations can be a health hazard. One
slogan, taught in schools, was The solution to pollution is
dilution. The theory was that sufficiently diluted
pollution could cause no damage. In recent decades,
awareness has been rising that some forms of pollution pose
a global problem. For example, human activity (primarily
nuclear testing) has significantly raised the levels of
background radiation, which may lead to human health
problems, all over the world. Awareness of both kinds of
pollution, among other things, has led to the
environmentalism movement, which seeks to limit the human
impact on the environment.
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