Impact Pollution on Global Warming

Abstract

Industrial pollution is considered an important factor to contaminate the environment. It results in environmental degradation and imposes heavy costs on society as well as on human health and safety. Pollution could also be defined as any direct or indirect alteration of the physical, thermal, biological, or radioactive properties of the environment that makes an actual or potential hazard to the health safety, or welfare of any living species. Also, pollution may said to be inserting any foreign matter within the wrong place and in quantities that are overlarge which eventually cause harm to human and other living organisms. Environment pollution comprises several forms: air water soil radioactive noise and light pollution. With the approaching of the economic revolution, humans were able to advance further into the 21st century. Technology developed rapidly, science became advanced, and the manufacturing age came into view. With all of those came another effect, industrial pollution. Pollution has reached its peak giving rise to heating. With the rise in industrial pollution, heating has been increasing at a gentle pace. Smoke and greenhouse gases are being released by industries into the air which causes an increase in heating. Melting of glaciers, extinction of polar bears, floods, tsunamis, and hurricanes are a few of the consequences of global warming. The objective of this paper is to explore the impact of industrial pollution on global warming and to develop an understanding of the problems and solutions of the environment.

Introduction

Due to the rapid economic development, environmental pollution has escalated over some decades. It is mainly due to the manufacturing and industrial sectors, which is the backbone of India’s economy. In India statistics show that about 50% of pollution is due to industries and manufacturing units.

A good environment helps the all-around development of one’s personality and a bad environment reduces its development. It involves living beings both directly and indirectly. Right from the mother’s womb, one needs fresh air to breathe, clean water to drink, nutritious food to eat, and hygienic conditions to live in.

Pollution can also be defined as any direct or indirect change in the physical, thermal, biological, or radioactive properties of the environment that creates an actual or potential danger to the health safety, or welfare of any living species. Environmental pollution occurs when pollutants contaminate the natural surroundings. Pollutants are the key elements or elements of pollution which are usually waste materials of different forms. Pollution disturbs our ecosystem. Pollution has achieved its highest giving rise to global warming and human illness.

Environmental pollution covers in different forms, air, water, soil radioactive, noise, and light pollution. Earlier industries were tiny factories that created smoke as the main pollutant. But when these factories became large-scale industries the issue of industrial pollution started to take on more importance. Industrial pollution takes on many faces. It pollutes many sources of drinking water, releases unwanted toxins into the air, and decreases the quality of soil all over the world. Major environmental disasters have been caused due to industrial mishaps. It was the industrial revolution that gave birth to environmental pollution as we know it today resulting in the issue of global warming.

Any form of pollution that can trace its immediate source to industrial practices is known as industrial pollution. Some Countries facing quick growth of such industries are getting it to be a severe problem that has to be brought under control immediately. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it has been estimated that industrial pollution is responsible for almost 50% of the pollution worldwide. There are many wide-ranging effects as well as serious effects of industrial pollution on the ecology. The emission of various greenhouse gases such as CO2, Methane (CH4) Sulphur, and Nitrogen among others from a variety of industries raises the overall temperature of the earth, resulting in global warming.

Effects of Industrial Pollution

The effects of industrial pollution are far-reaching and responsible to affect the ecosystem for many years to come. Industrial pollution of the environment may be divided into the following: -Water pollution, Soil pollution, Air pollution, and Noise pollution. With the rise in the number of industries and factories due to the industrial revolution air pollution also has increased significantly. Air pollution has led to a sudden increase in various illnesses, and it continues to affect us daily. With so many small, mid, and large-scale industries coming up, air pollution has taken duty on the health of the people and the environment. The main cause of water pollution is the release of solid or liquid waste products including pollution onto the land or into surface or coastal water. The sources that contribute to the generation of such wastes by domestic, commercial, industrial, and agricultural wastes as well as solid air pollutants and a few other miscellaneous. Pollution released from the industries is also one of the major factors contributing to water pollution. The water comes into interacts with heavy metals, harmful chemicals, radioactive waste, and even organic sludge. Dumping of various industrial waste products into water sources and inappropriate contamination of industrial wastes often result in spoiling the water. Such water pollution interrupts the balance of the ecosystem inside causing in the death of various animal and plant species present in the water. The pollutants discharged by various industries and factories are often considered to be one of the prime factors contributing to air water and soil pollution. Soil pollution is defined as a phenomenon in which the soil loses its structure and fertility due to many natural and artificial reasons. The dumping of industrial wastes is one of the prime reasons for soil pollution. Industrial wastes contain large amounts of various chemicals which get accumulated on the top layer of the soil resulting in a loss of fertility of the soil. Such loss of fertility eventually results in changes in the ecological balances of the environment due to a decrease in plant growth. Wildlife is getting affected in a severe manner. Habitats are being lost, species are becoming extinct, and it is tougher for the environment to recover from each natural disaster. Major industrial accidents like oil spills, fires, leaks of radioactive material, and harm to the property are harder to clean up as they have a higher impact in a shorter span of time.

Global warming

Global warming is a term used to describe a steady increase in the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the earth’s climate. The average temperature around the globe has risen by 0.75 degrees Celsius (1.4 F) over the last 100 years. About two-thirds of this happened since 1975. The earth’s atmosphere is made up of five layers of gases that act as a blanket protecting the earth. This blanket protects some of these gases to keep the planet’s warmth. It is called the greenhouse effect. This is because it acts like greenhouse windows by allowing in sunlight to warm the surface and air and hold in most of the solar-generated heat. The greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane, oxygen, nitrogen, ozone, and water vapor as well as other atmospheric gases. These greenhouse gases cause the greenhouse effect by capturing and absorbing solar energy. In the past when the earth experienced an increase in temperature it was due to the effect of nature but today it is being affected by the collection of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere produced by human activities. The reason for the increase in the earth’s average surface temperature is because of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, probably the best-known greenhouse gas, but methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases also play a role in driving climate change. The emissions from burning fossil fuels and deforestation which trap heat that would otherwise escape from the earth are also playing a vital role in climate change. Previously experts have been skeptical of blaming increasing temperatures on global warming. As we head into future projects of technology and ingenuity the science community has steadily stepped on board with the environmental protection agency and other believers in global warming to do something about it. Global warming does not just mean the earth’s getting warmer. Its massive impact on social, economic, and physical health are areas for great distress. Global warming is one of the most common and dangerous consequences of industrial pollution. The industries have boomed very rapidly during the last few decades. These industrial sectors use fossil fuels, which increases greenhouse gases. These harmful gases are the major reason for global warming. With the rise in industrial pollution, global warming has been increasing at a steady rate. The earth’s increasing carbon dioxide amounts have been tested as unsafe. Before the industrial revolution, carbon dioxide has never been greater than it is now, compared to the past millions of years. Global warming is changing our economy, health, and communities in different ways. It is already affecting humankind, plant, and animals in a number of ways through increased ocean levels, droughts, and changed weather patterns. It is well recognized by scientists around the world as a serious public health environmental matter. Fog congestion and poor air quality are the leading causes of lung symptoms in the world’s heavily populated countries like China, Italy, and other countries. Activities such as deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels are the main supplies of these emissions. These results are recognized by the national science academies of all the major industrialized countries According to the United States Global change research program Global warming is posing unique challenges to human health such as:

• Significant increases in the risk of infection and death related to extreme heat and heatwaves are very likely.
• Rise in temperature and water level.
• Certain groups including children the elderly and the poor are most vulnerable to a range of climate-related health effects.
• Desertification (causing water shortage)
• Melting of snow and ice.
• Sea level rise.
• Stronger hurricanes and cyclones.

Prevention

Global warming has become a most important problem as we move on to the 21st century and beyond. Global warming is one of the environmental challenges that the whole world is facing today. The level of greenhouse gases is increasing at an excessive rate in the atmosphere. Unlike we keep a check on our actions and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, the problem of global warming is not going to come to an end any time quickly. The only way to help prevent global warming is to work together. The whole world must act to succeed. The first thing that needs to be done is to cut the amount of carbon dioxide by half the amount. The other greenhouse gases like methane also need to be lowered in the atmosphere. Pollution of the atmosphere must be checked, and anything related to the release of greenhouse gases should be monitored. Deforestation should be stopped as it affects the concentration of carbon to a larger extent. It has been said that it takes approximately 19 trees to make one ton of paper and that the usage of one ton of recycled paper will save almost 17 trees. The burning of wood should be reduced to a larger extent as it releases oxidizable carbon to the atmosphere whose presence in a greater amount causes the elevation of temperature. LPG stoves can replace the firewood burning. Biogas plants can be encouraged in village units. Composting will help you to dispose of biodegradable waste. Global warming is mainly due to the ignorance of the people and the ‘don’t care attitude’ of few. Even at an earlier stage, it is wiser to educate the children to be effective consumers and be responsible users of energy and resources remembering that global warming is gradually destroying the earth and its natural habitat. People should be reminded that they share the earth and its resources with the other species that keep the ecosystem balanced, if the balance is gone then the life if every single species is threatened and even humans will not be spared from this. Planting trees is a very good start of that can help reduce the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. A single tree will absorb nearly one ton of carbon dioxide during its lifetime. The issue of industrial pollution concerns every nation on the planet. As a result, many steps have been taken to seek permanent solutions to the problem. Better technology is being developed for the disposal of waste and recycling of as much polluted water in the industries as possible.

Conclusion

Organic techniques are being used to clean the water and soil, such as using microbes that naturally use heavy metals and waste as feed. Policies are being pushed into place to prevent further misuse of land. Industrialized countries such as the United States, Japan, and European Union want to set ways to reduce the number of greenhouse gases we put into the atmosphere. They want the major developing countries of China, Brazil, Indonesia, and Mexico to also cut the number of greenhouse gases emitted. For hundreds of years, humans have brought massive changes in the environment. In our effort to enhance the quality of our lives we have polluted the waters, the land, and the air. The nature of our atmosphere has been irreversibly changed by our own hands. The greenhouse effect may be the most severe environmental problem humans have ever experienced. Never in recorded history have people been faced with the possibility of such dramatic and rapid environmental changes occurring on a global scale. However industrial pollution is still rampant and will take many years to be brought under control. If global warming continues over the development of many years human life might not be enjoyable, secure, or even sustainable and it may affect many future generations to come.