Environmental pollution affecting human life

By: Vijay Garg

“Environmental pollution is an incurable disease.  It can only be stopped.”  This statement by Barry Commoner is showing the dire situation of environmental pollution which is inviting the destruction of mankind.  Environmental pollution has become the biggest problem in the world today.  Pollution refers to dirt and defects arise in the natural balance.  Today, not only the entire human community, but all animals and plants have also come under the grip of pollution.  No matter what kind of pollution it is, it is proving to be very harmful for us and our environment.  The earth is getting polluted due to pollution and rapidly its balance also gets disturbed.  We are living in a polluted world, where air, water, food all things are getting polluted.  The most intelligent species on earth, humans are making the most important contribution in causing pollution.

In today’s modern era, man is using such devices for his convenience, due to which the natural balance is deteriorating and due to this pollution has reached its peak.

Due to the development of science and technology, where there has been a huge increase in human potential, then people have come under the control of the creations made by them, that is, today’s man has become so used to modernization and amenities that he can live without these resources.  Can not imagine his life and is exploiting the natural resources fiercely due to man-made equipment and is igniting the problem of pollution rapidly.  American author Arthur Tofte says on the pollution on the earth – “This earth is dying because mankind is destroying it, but if the earth dies you die too.”

Types of Pollution:

Environmental pollution is sure to destroy the environment.  Our environment is getting polluted and destroyed by nature and man made things.  There are mainly 6 types of environmental pollution.  First, pollution is water pollution, which is affecting humans a lot from contaminated water.  In the present era, water pollution is standing as a big problem in front of the world, which has ruined the lives of people.  When foreign substances contained in water change the natural properties of water in such a way that it becomes harmful to human health or its usefulness is reduced, then it is called water pollution.

The second form of pollution is air pollution.  Air pollution has affected human breath to such an extent that it has made life itself poisonous.  Air is a mixture of gases and they are found in a certain quantity in the air.  When the quality of air deteriorates due to the addition of external elements produced by man-made sources and it becomes harmful to animals and plants, then it is called air pollution and the factors which pollute the air are called  are called air pollutants.  The major human-borne air pollutants are carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, oxides of sulfur, oxides of nitrogen, chlorine, lead, ammonia, cadmium, dust, etc.

The third pollution is noise pollution.  In today’s era, common life is getting disturbed due to noise pollution. The noise of unwanted or high intensity is called noise.  The presence or noise of undesirable sound in the atmosphere is called noise pollution.  Noise causes unrest and restlessness in humans.  The common measurement unit of sound is called decibel.

Soil pollution is the fourth pollution.  Soil pollution due to the continuous use of fertilizers and poisonous drugs in agriculture has reached a very frightening condition.  Soil pollution is any such undesirable change in the physical, chemical or biological properties of the soil that has an impact on human nutrition and crop production and productivity and thereby destroys the quality and utility of the soil, is called soil pollution.  Cadmium, chromium, copper, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, herbicides, toxic gases etc. are the major soil pollutants.

The fifth pollution is light pollution.  Light pollution This is a new pollution of its kind, which no one would have thought that light can also be a strong cause of pollution.  When different sources of light are applied incorrectly, it is dispersed and scattered by the particles present in the atmosphere and spreads throughout the atmosphere.  This makes the night sky appear red.  Where there is more brightness, there is more light pollution.  From astronomical studies to animals and birds and we human beings have also fallen prey to it indirectly.

Sixth are thermal pollution or thermal pollution.  The addition of undesirable heat to water which raises its temperature causes thermal pollution.  Every motion method that brings about a change in the temperature of the earth is called thermal pollution.  Industries like petroleum refineries, paper mills, sugar mills, steel plants use water.  Due to which thermal pollution arises from the effluent water, apart from this it is also generated from thermal power plants.  Thermal pollution causes a lack of oxygen in the water.  Due to which there is a lot of harm to the living organisms in the water.  The developmental progress of fish and other water creatures slows down.  Lack of oxygen is fatal for them.

Environmental protection policies and laws-

The Indian Constitution which was enacted in 1950 but was not directly related to the provisions of environmental protection.  In 1976, by amending the Constitution of India, through two important Articles 48A and 51A (G), the protection of the environment was given constitutional right.  Under Article 48A, the state government has to “ensure the protection and improvement of the environment” and to protect the forests and wildlife of the country.  Article 51A (g) enjoins upon the citizens the duty to ‘protect and promote the natural environment and to be kind to all living beings’.  After independence, due to increasing industrialization, urbanization and population growth, the quality of the environment continued to decline.  In this lack of environmental quality, in the context of effective control and pollution, the government made many laws and rules from time to time.  The mainstay of most of these was pollution control and prevention.

India passed the Environment (Protection) Act in 1986 to preserve the environment.  The first Human Environment Conference of the United Nations was held in Stockholm on June 5, 1972, influenced by which India passed this act.  This is a huge act which has been made keeping in mind all the issues of environment.  The main objective of this act is to control the excess of chemical chemicals in the environment and try to keep the ecosystem free from pollution.

Prior to this, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act was passed in 1974.  The attention of the government towards the ever-increasing water pollution came in the 1960s and a committee constituted in the year 1963 recommended the enactment of a central law for the prevention and control of water pollution.  In the year 1969, a bill was prepared by the Central Government, before presenting it in the Parliament, its objectives and reasons were explained by the government as follows, due to the growth of industries and the increasing trend of urbanization, the pollution of rivers and streams in recent years.  The problem has become very urgent and important.  Therefore, it has become necessary to ensure that domestic and industrial effluents are not allowed to mix into the water which is suitable for drinking water, agricultural use and sustenance of fish life, pollution of rivers and streams also affect the economy of the country.  cause continuous harm.

The Air (Pollution and Control) Act, 1981 Act passed by the Parliament for the control of air quality and air pollution in the conservation of natural resources.  In this act, there is a provision to determine and control the level of smoke and dirt emitted mainly from motor vehicles and other factories. In 1987, noise pollution was also included in this act.  Apart from all these, the Government of India has prepared various Acts and policies through which efforts are being made to preserve the environment.

What are the measures to prevent environmental pollution:

The future of us human beings will depend on the protection of the environment.  Otherwise, we will not know when our life will go into the sleep of death.  Afforestation needs more attention.  It is very important to ban the intensity of the cutting of trees.  For environmental pollution, the government will have to take appropriate steps and issue new laws against it.  Some steps can be taken to control environmental pollution.

To control environmental pollution, it is necessary to control the growth of population first because the more population there is, the more natural resources will be misused to meet human needs.  The second effort is to stop deforestation and encourage plantation.  Along with this, there is a need to make people aware about the benefits of having more number of trees.  The third effort would be to promote the use of organic fertilizers by reducing the use of chemical fertilizers in food production.  Agriculture has always been a sensitive issue in India, so it will be difficult to implement.

In the room of the fourth attempt, a filter should be installed in the chimneys of the factories and efforts should be made to keep the chimneys at a higher height.  The water released by the factories will have to be released into the rivers after treating them by chemical method in artificial ponds.  Emphasis will have to be laid on manufacturing and use of low noise machine tools and industries should be set up away from cities or populated places.  In the fifth attempt, the use of single use plastic and other plastics will have to be stopped and environment friendly items will have to be used.  Proper disposal of domestic and industrial waste should be done.  Apart from this, the use of renewable energy sources will have to be promoted, which can prove to be a very big step.  Another effort will have to be made in which efforts should be made to conserve ground water by storing rainwater and reusing it.

Social awareness is needed if pollution is to be reduced.  Media should give message to the people on this subject.  The problem of pollution can be controlled only through global or collective efforts.  The next generation will have to pay a lot because of pollution.  Richard Rogers has also said for a better future for the environment – “If the quality of the environment is to be improved, the only way is to involve everyone.”

 

 

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