An Essay On Pollution

n this article, we are going to provide you with the perfect guide to understanding what pollution is. This essay has been written in a way so that can provide the answers to all your questions. It will address not only the meaning of pollution but explain it in a lot of detail. Along with that, we will also be exploring the concepts of biodegradable waste and non-biodegradable waste. This is so because the latter contributes majorly to pollution. Finally, we will also be studying deeply about the different types of pollution. Also, how they affect human beings, the animals as well as the natural environment.

What is Pollution?

Our environment comprises of our natural surroundings such as trees, plants, flowers, sunlight, grass among several other things. However, that is not all. Our environment also comprises our physical environment. The buildings around us, for example, can also be a part of our environment. In modern times, pollution has become a term that people very commonly. It refers to the contamination and degradation of our environment through man-made sources. Not only do nature and animals are tolerating the cruel effects of pollution, but in course of time, man will also have to face the devastating result of their actions.

Pollution contaminates the land, water and air around us. These are the three main kinds of pollution. Today, there are many organizations, for example, the United Nations who are working day and night. They are doing so, to reverse the terrible degradation that mankind has caused to the environment. Many, are also beginning to realize the consequences that we will surely face. Several people are planting hundreds of trees. They are also using public transport instead of private to do their bit to reduce pollution. Helping to protect the environment in the little ways that one can is very important. Raising awareness about what pollution is and what we can do to protect the environment is also very necessary. The maximum amount of pollution, in the world, is through multi-national corporations. People must hold them accountable for it. We must save the environment.

Greta Thunberg

Greta Thunberg, an environmental activist, and the author of the book “No One is Too Small to Make a Difference” has written- “We must change almost everything in our current societies. The bigger your carbon footprint — the bigger your moral duty. The bigger your platform — the bigger your responsibility. Adults keep saying: ‘We owe it to the young people to given them hope.’ But I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic and I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act. I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if our house is on fire. Because it is.”

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Biodegradable Vs Non-Biodegradable Materials

Waste generation is a problem that walks hand in hand with pollution. With the humungous and continuous rise in population, waste is generating in a larger and larger quantity every single day. Within our body, there are specific enzymes that help process certain food materials. For example, the salivary amylase which is secreted in the mouth while chewing is responsible for processing starch. However, salivary amylase cannot be responsible for processing fat. It is the same even in the environment. Some wastes are generated that can be processed by the microorganisms and the bacteria present in nature. However, some cannot. Here, we are going to take a look at these two types of substances.

Biodegradable substances

Biodegradable substances are those substances that nature can easily decompose with the help of bacteria and microorganisms. These wastes include substances such as fruit peels, paper, pieces of wood, cotton, sewage, livestock waste among many other things. The bacteria and microorganisms can dispose of these substances themselves in a natural process. Therefore, these substances do not cause any damage to the environment.

For a certain time, the microorganisms secrete certain enzymes which help make these substances more soluble. Slowly, slowly they can decompose these biodegradable wastes without causing any harm to the environment. A very large quantity of biodegradable wastes takes some amount of time for the process of decomposition to take place For example, if there is a huge pile of fruit peel, it will take many days for it completely decompose and disappear. On the other hand, the process of decomposition also causes a very foul odour. Nonetheless, this is the method that is natural and the most environmentally friendly.

Non-biodegradable substances

Non- biodegradable substances are those wastes that are generated by mankind. They do not exist naturally and therefore, cannot be decomposed by bacteria or microorganisms. Some examples, of these non-biodegradable wastes, are glass, plastic, rubber among many other things. These wastes are extremely harmful to the environment because they cannot be decomposed. Therefore, as responsible inhabitants of the Earth, we must follow the rule of the three R’s — ‘Reuse, Reduce, Recycle.

This will ensure that the waste generated from homes that are non-biodegradable is dealt with safely and cleanly. It will also, then, not be harmful to the environment. Factories and big industries also have to make sure that the non-biodegradable waste that is produced by them is not dumped in the nearby river or empty lands. This causes land and river pollution which we have to fight against.

The non-biodegradable wastes may also accumulate in the crops that one is growing in the fields from the pesticides. This is terrible as through that it can enter the food chain. As chemicals cannot be digested, the number of chemicals in the body of the consumers will keep increasing the higher we go on the food chain. This process is called biological magnification.

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