Pollution
This is one possible word that could be used to describe one of the consequences of the past hundred years of human activities on Earth. Think about it. There are so many different types of pollution and they generally exist because of what we do and how we do it. Of course we have seem some incredible technological advancements over the same period of time and in some parts of the world some substantial and incredible improvements in living standards. It has not been without a cost however and pollution aptly demonstrates this.
Pollution comes in many guises, we list here just a few examples, that will hopefully illustrate to you how we are not really living our lives sustainably and that, without a change in our overall behaviour, we are creating problems for future generations, our children and then their children, to have to deal with. Do you really want your children to ask why our generation did nothing when we knew what the problems were? i certainly don't and hopefulyl you do not want this too, especially when there are solutions!
Pollution of our Air
Compare the air in your cities to your rural areas. You will observe a noticeable difference in quality. In some cities the pollution can be so bad on some days that it is difficult to breathe normally. This pollution normally originates from vehicles and industry. These days it is seen to be much improved in the developed world, in that the gases emitted are less openly noxious to us. This doesn't mean that these gases are not pollutants of our air, and still there are health concerns! They can still cause health problems like asthma for example, and they contribute to other less obvious issues such as global warming. Carbon dioxide, for example, is emitted by vehicles, and although it is less smelly, it causes global warming. What's more some of the cities in the less developed world, however, are not as lucky as those in the developed world and still have vehicles and industry that openly pollutes the air with those gases considered undesirable in the developed world. Livign and working in these cities is not pleasant and it is unacceptable that in todays world people should have to live and work in such environments. Technologies exist to reduce such damaging pollution, they just cost a little bit of extra money. Air pollution causes a number of health problems, in particular respiratory ones; and it can also lead to acid rain which can damage natural environments and ancient monuments. It is also the main cause of Global Warming.
Pollution of our Land
How much rubbish do you throw away each week and how much do you recycle? How much could you recycle with a little bit of extra effort and knowledge of where to recycle? Where does the rubbish you actually throw away go? Out of sight, out of mind? Imagine for a moment the amount of rubbish you throw away each week. How many bags is it? Then imagine this combined with the amount of rubbish your neighbour throws away each month. Now your whole street...your whole town...your whole province/state/county...etc... Do you know where it goes? Do you care? How much of that rubbish is biodegradable or possibly recyclable? Do you make a conscious effort to buy packaging that degrades easily or do you hardly even think about it? Much of the rubbish we throw away is dumped in landfill sites. Much of it is not bio-degradable or degrades very slowly and will remain in the ground for a very long time. We can't keep dumping in landfills forever, can we? Incineration plants (that burn our rubbish) are not popular with us, yet what other options do we have? Well, several eactually... Recycle. Reuse. Recycle again! Use less packaging, and any packaging that we do use make sure it will not hang around for years and years (it should be bio-degradable whereever possible, check the packaging). Simple really, but maybe business needs a bit of a push from the consumer to really get these things moving. This is something where you can easily play a part in creating a better future for all. Vote with what you buy and what you do and this will encourage better business practice and help improve all of our environments. No more unnecessary waste...we cannot throw away forever!
Pollution of our Seas
Sometimes the hardest pollution to detect given the extent of our oceans, but also the easiest when you have events such as oil spills. Our marine environments are very special and there is lot we do not know about them. They should be treasured not only for their uniqueness, but also the important food sources they give us. Some pollution has been known to accumulate in fish (as their bodies cannot get rid of it) and once there it can enter our food chain and acumulate in us. At certain levels such pollution is toxic and can cause health problems. In the past we have dumped nuclear waste in our seas, we have dumped disused oil rigs and we have dumped all manner of rubbish. We need to respect this environment like the other two, we do not need to throw our rubbish away into the sea. We can recycle it or dispose of it safely...or even try not to create any rubbish at all. Wouldn't that make the world a nicer place to live in?
We do now have technologies that can prevent much of the pollution that we have caused in the past and that we still continue to propagate. We have improved and we are improving but really we can get better at a much faster rate, it just requires a little more effort, a little more investment and a little more support from government, industry and us individuals. Indeed we arguably have the most power as consumers as we can vote with our feet and our opinions to encourage positive change and positive investment. It does not have to cost us our living standards but if we do not take sustained action now it might just cost the future generations, ou children and their children, the ability to live their lives how we have lived ours. Please refer to our what you CAN do section for advice about some of the things YOU can do to make a positive change to your environment and bring about change in your world. Thankyou for reading about pollution. Please think about it and what you could do.
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