World Vs. Human Pollution

Human pollution is getting out of hand. 91% of the world population is exposed to unhealthy amounts of pollution. We should be focusing on all types of pollution as most is harmful for humans and wildlife. There are seven different types of pollution. 

• Air Pollution

• Water Pollution

• Land Pollution

• Radioactive Pollution

• Noise Pollution

• Light Pollution

• Thermal Pollution

Now that you know the types of pollution we face, here is a more in-depth description of each type and a way to help minimize the amount of pollution you produce. 

Air pollution is a mix of solid particles and gasses in the air.

Air pollution comes from a lot of different sources so it's best to minimize it as much as possible. Major contributions to bad air quality are: 

• Transportation

• Electricity production 

• Industry 

• Commercial and Residential

• Agriculture

• Land Use and Forestry 

Seems like a lot of sources of air pollution, but if you do your part by just doing the little things like making sure that light is turned off when you walk out of the room or reuse things and reduce consumption we can bring down the amount of pollution that is in the air our wildlife and we have to breathe. 

Water Pollution is when contaminants are introduced into the natural water bodies, the majority of it coming from humans.

Major contributions to water pollution are:

• Agriculture

• Wastewater and Sewage

• Oil Pollution

• Radioactive Waste

• Urban Development

• Plastics

All six of these major contributors are very destructive to our marine life. For example, plastics are used in everyday objects such as car parts, cell phones, and forks. With every piece of plastic made it comes with a variety of pollution byproducts, but plastic in itself is a form of water pollution.

There are five floating plastic islands that threaten to obliterate most of the marine life and ecosystems.

There are tons of ways to pollute water but if you do your part and try to reduce the amount you consume (buy fewer things you want and consider what you need), we may be able to clean up the mess we've made and reduce our impact on marine life.

Land pollution is the buildup of solid or liquid waste materials, on the top soil or underground, that can contaminate the soil and water.

While there are many things that contribute to land pollution, these are major contributors:

• Litter

• Urbanization and Construction

• Mining

• Agriculture

There are viable ways to generate less land pollution. Throw away your trash and try your best to reduce, reuse, and recycle. It’s something we as people contribute to at a great extent. Try bringing some reusable bags to bring home your trash if you know there won't be any ways of disposing it at the location you're going to.

Radioactive Pollution is called "radiological contamination," the presence of radioactive material on or within a solid, liquid, or gas.

Radiation is natural and found everywhere, even in our bodies, but radioactive pollution is a huge amount of radiation that is undesired and unhealthy. Some examples of radioactive pollution: 

• Nuclear Accidents

• Nuclear Weapons, Weapons of Mass Destruction

• Mining

• Spillage of Radioactive Chemicals

• Tests on Radiation

• Nuclear Waste Handling and Disposal

There is no truly safe way to dispose of radioactive pollution. There is no viable end date. The only way to be sure no one can get hurt is to bury the material deep underground with radiation shields.

Noise Pollution is regular exposure to elevated sound levels that may lead to effects in living organisms.

Sounds that reach 85 decibels or higher can harm a person's ears. Common noises that approach or exceed 85 decibels:

• Vacuum cleaner 75 db

• Heavy traffic 80-89 db

• Motorcycle  96-100 db

• Stock car races  130 db

Noise pollution won't have any long lasting effects unless you are constantly around it. If you are, you'll want to consider getting some ear protection.

Light Pollution is excessive outdoor light.

Having too much light can drown out the beauty of the star light which interferes with astronomy work. It also disrupts very delicate ecosystems because it can make organisms think it's daytime. Here are some examples and sources of light pollution:

• Overpopulation

• Excessive Use of Light

• Lights From Cars and Other Motor Vehicles

• Light From Houses 

• Nighttime-lighting

It’s hard to get away from light pollution. If you really would like to get away and see the stars,  moving away from the big city could be a great way to get away from light pollution. Without that option, maybe just go up to the mountains and camp for the night.

Thermal Pollution is a sudden increase or decrease in temperature of a natural body of water by human influence.

This normally happens when a facility takes in water from a natural body of water and then releases it back with a different temperature. Here are some sources of thermal pollution: 

• Coal-fired thermal power plants

• Natural gas plants 

• Nuclear plants

• Paper industries

Many different types of industries cause thermal pollution. One simple and easy way to fix this is to add cooling ponds where heated waste water is stored, cooled, and then later released back into the natural body of water.

Conclusion

Most pollution is bad for our surrounding environment. It causes so many issues that we will have to lean on our political leaders to help regulate, but don’t worry, we can still do our part by just being conscious of what we're consuming. If everyone did their part, we all could live happier and healthier lives.