Pollution of Air and Water

When polymers such as plastics are burned carbon containing gases are released. During the burning process, the carbon combines with oxygen present in the atmosphere & forms oxides of carbon. These gases have been linked with global warming, depletion of the ozone layer, acid rain, etc. They create harmful effects on our ecosystem and on health of living beings.

Oxides of nitrogen, sulphur, carbon produced by combustion of coal, petroleum, etc. dissolve in atmospheric water vapour. They form their corresponding acids like nitric acid, sulphuric acid, etc., and reach the earth's surface as acid rain.

Factories pollute the air by pumping out chemicals that are harmful for all living things. Factories can pollute the environment through thermal pollution, chemical pollution, air pollution, noise pollution, for a few examples. Thermal pollution is when hot water is dumped into cool water in a river, lake, pond or bay. The difference in temperatures can promote algae growth, kill of native fish or wildlife, or it might cause disruptions in the water that causes the water to change temperature, also causing major problems with wildlife. Chemical Pollution is when chemicals are exposed to the environment, either by dumping them into sewage plants, where excess waste ends up in the ground. A good example of this is nuclear waste. This needs to be treated carefully or else it could completely destroy an area. Air pollution is when pollution is mixed in with the air. Noise pollution is when a factory causes a lot of noise... enough to effect the surrounding environment.

Air pollution cab be reduced by adopting following ways:

1. Reduce the use of car and other vehicles as these are the significant source of air pollution, so switching to a more gas-efficient vehicle will be a big help. Taking public transport to work rather than driving will reduces the number of carbon dioxide into the air. Using eco-friendly fuels in vehicles like CNG can also be beneficial.
2. Reduce Waste: Manufacturing of unnecessary or disposable goods often produces air pollution, so reduced purchasing of disposables will help. In general, follow the solid waste mantra - "Reduce, Reuse, Repair, And Recycle" - and this will reduce air pollution as well from transporting, treating, or disposing of unnecessary wastes.
3. Eliminate Toxic Chemical Use at Home --- A surprising number of household or home shop chemicals are toxic and volatile. Many release vapours into the air, inside the home and out. This can be serious health threat to your family, and contributes to community-wide levels of air pollutants.
4. Plant leafy trees and shrubs --- Deciduous trees and shrubs (the kinds that drop leaves in the fall) are excellent air filters to help reduce smog and cool the air on hot summer days.

Nitrous Oxides (NO, NO2 and N2O), Sulphur Dioxide, Carbon Dioxide and Carbon Monoxide are the famous ones, depending on the reactions that are taking place in the factory.

• It irritates eyes and skin of human beings.
• It inhibits germination and growth of seedlings.
• It changes the fertility of the soil, destroys plants and aquatic life.
• It causes corrosion of many buildings, bridges, etc.

Acid rain affects the environment in several ways:

• It can leach nutrients from the soil making then unavailable to plant life.
• It can affect the growth of plants as many plants have a specific soil pH for optimum growth
• Acid precipitation can change the ionic balance in clayey soils affecting their structure.
• In some soils acid precipitation may free up metals (e.g. lead) in the soil that can be taken up by the plants and contaminate the associated seeds or fruit.
• It can affect fish and amphibians by reducing the pH of the water impacting their health and breeding success.

Together, biological organisms and the environment in which they live are called an ecosystem. The plants and animals living within an ecosystem are highly interdependent. For example, frogs may tolerate relatively high levels of acidity, but if they eat insects like the mayfly, they may be affected because part of their food supply may disappear. Because of the connections between the many fish, plants, and other organisms living in an aquatic ecosystem, changes in pH or aluminium levels affect biodiversity as well. Thus, as lakes and streams become more acidic, the numbers and types of fish and other aquatic plants and animals that live in these waters decrease.

Human activities are the main reason for increasing the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. The major sources of human emissions are the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas for industry, driving our transport, heating our homes and generating electricity. Another factor is deforestation which increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, because new trees are not allowed to replace those removed.

The three R principle includes recycle, reuse, and reduce of the available resources

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater caused by human activities, which can be harmful to organisms and plants which live in these water bodies.

Three major man-made source of air pollution are: industrialisation, urbanisation and automobiles

Air pollution is a significant risk factor for multiple health conditions including respiratory infections, heart disease, and lung cancer. The health effects caused by air pollution may include difficulty in breathing, wheezing, coughing and aggravation of existing respiratory and cardiac conditions.

Fossil fuels contain carbon, hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen and some other elements. But the majority is Carbon. So when such fuels burn they combine with the Oxygen and Nitrogen in air to form Carbon dioxide, Nitrogen oxides etc. Even though Carbon monoxide is also formed, since they get converted to carbon dioxide when combustion gets completed. Any form of carbon when burns produce carbon dioxide.

Gastrointestinal problems include increased appetite, decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and constipation.

Acid rain and rust are harmful because it contains harmful gases like sulphuric acid etc... mainly sulphur gases because of this harmful gases when they reach the atmosphere when it rains it forms acid rain as the harmful gases mix with the atmosphere .This acid rain will affect plants, animals humans and all living organism. The acid mainly occurs at industrial areas because of these harmful gases which are released by the industrial effluents, they are definitely harmful to the atmosphere.

It gets polluted by acid rain, oil spills, litter, insecticide mixing with fertilizers etc. The emission of waste heat from an electric generating station into a lake, causing common change through their stress. The discharge of nutrients containing sewer wastes, in a water body causing eutrophication.

The Ganga action plan was, launched by Sri Rajeev Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India on 14 Jan. 1985 with the main objective of pollution abatement, to improve the water quality by Interception, Diversion and treatment of domestic sewage and present toxic and industrial chemical wastes from identified grossly polluting units entering in to the river. The other objectives of the Ganga Action Plan are as under.

• Control of non-point pollution from agricultural runoff, human defecation, cattle wallowing and throwing of unburnt and half burnt bodies into the river.
• Research and Development to conserve the biotic, diversity of the river to augment its productivity.
• New technology of sewage treatment like Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) and sewage treatment through afforestation has been successfully developed.
• Rehabilitation of soft-shelled turtles for pollution abatement of river have been demonstrated and found useful.
• Resource recovery options like production of methane for energy generation and use of aquaculture for revenue generation have been demonstrated.
• To act as trend setter for taking up similar action plans in other grossly polluted stretches in other rivers.

Disposal of garbage can affect badly the living organisms present in water, they will not be able to survive in water and may die.

Whenever harmful substances such as sewage, toxic chemicals, silt etc. get mixed with water, the water becomes polluted. Water get contaminated by the addition of agricultural chemicals like pesticides and fertilizers , these chemicals get carried away to the water bodies due to rains and flood which lead to water pollution, apart from this industrial wastes like harmful chemical wastes also causes water pollution. Sewage wastes like waste material from kitchens, toilets and laundry sources are also responsible for contaminating water.

The greenhouse effect is the process which leads to increase in average earth's temperature. That is the global warming. It results because of the greenhouse gases like water vapour, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane, trap energy from the sun. When solar radiation reaches earth some of these radiations are absorbed by earth and rest are released back to the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases trap these radiations and do not allow them to go back. This helps in keeping earth warm and in survival of human beings. However an increase in amount of greenhouse gases can lead to excessive increase in earth's temperature leading to global warming.

The greenhouse effect is the process which leads to increase in average earth's temperature. That is the global warming. It results because of the greenhouse gases like water vapour, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane, trap energy from the sun. When solar radiation reaches earth some of these radiations are absorbed by earth and rest are released back to the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases trap these radiations and do not allow them to go back. This helps in keeping earth warm and in survival of human beings. However an increase in amount of greenhouse gases can lead to excessive increase in earth's temperature leading to global warming.

The major threat the beauty of Taj Mahal is the- "acid rain". When acid rain falls on the monument that is made up of marble they react with marble to form a powder like substance that gets washed away by the rain, this phenomenon is known as marble cancer.

Water pollutants refer to contaminants that enter a waterway from a single, identifiable source, such as a pipe or ditch. Examples of sources in this category include discharges from a sewage treatment plant, a factory, or a city storm drain, that altogether makes water unfit for drinking of human beings.

Deforestation refers to the removal of forest or stands of trees, but van Mahotsav is an annual pan-Indian tree planting festival, occupying a week in the month of July, during this week lakhs of trees are planted.

Asthma: Asthma is a disorder that causes the airways of the lungs to swell and narrow, leading to wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), also known as chronic obstructive lung disease is a progressive disease that makes it hard to breathe.

Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath.

Bronchitis is inflammation of the mucous membranes of the bronchi, the airways that carry airflow from the trachea into the lungs.

Smoke released from the vehicles, dust and gases like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and smokes that are released by industries and by burning of fossil fuels are the major air pollutants.

Chlorofluorocarbons damage the ozone layer of atmosphere which protects us from harmful ultra violet radiation of sun.

Smog causes breathing difficulties like asthma and cough in human beings and wheezing in children.

When acid rain falls on the monument that is made up of marble they react with marble to form a powder like substance that gets washed away by the rain, this phenomenon is known as marble cancer.

Greenhouse gases are, sulphur dioxide carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane. These are the gas in the atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases are determined by the balance between sources (emissions of the gas from human activities and natural systems) and sinks (the removal of the gas from the atmosphere by conversion to a different chemical compound.