Main sources of pollution and general health of our planet

Pollution is one of the biggest environmental problems but still many people do not take pollution problem seriously as they should be. Many people still think that we can dump our garbage all over the planet without any consequences which is not true. Since the start of industrial revolution we have been continuously heavily polluting our planet, caring only for economic development, and not caring at all for the health of environment we live in. Such lack of ecological conscience has caused severe pollution across the whole planet. Levels of air, sea, and water pollution are extremely high, and are constantly growing because industry isn’t letting go.

The main sources of pollution are definitely industry and vehicles. Heavy industries based on fossil fuels are especially dangerous for our environment, and if we take a look at China and India for instance we can see that rapid economic development actually has rather high environmental price. Heavy pollution not only makes our environment ugly but is also the source of many respiratory and waterborne diseases across the south-east Asia that are taking many human lives year after year.

The world biggest polluter is China but United States. are not far behind. These two countries release majority of world’s total CO2 emissions into the atmosphere that not only causes pollution but also gives more impact to climate change problem. The main sources of pollution are dirty fuels such as coal that are releasing harmful gases and particles into our air and our atmosphere. Sadly air pollution is only one form of global pollution and there are many other forms of pollution happening on our planet.

Our environment looks so much better without the pollution

People not only care little about the air they breathe but also about water they drink. Water is so precious to our survival and people are still doing so little to protect water resources around the globe. In many parts of the world, especially India and China, water is in some places well below the levels required for safe drinking, with many people dying from different waterborne diseases and lack of basic sanitation.

Our sea is also heavily polluted. Each day we are dumping new garbage into our oceans; luckily oceans are so huge that we are not able to see the actual damage that we are doing to them which is very likely much bigger than we think it is.

Pollution is basically a form of environmental destruction. Harmful gases and particles, different types of garbage and waste that is dumped each day into our environment is destroying inheritance that Mother Nature left us. The only question that remains is how much more of this abuse can our planet take?

Best tips how to prevent indoor air pollution?

The quality of air in your home or at your working place is in some cases well below health standards. Though many people think of only outdoor air pollution, indoor air pollution has lately been serious problem in many parts of the world, and some studies have even confirmed that by just doing regular daily activities we are polluting indoor air up to five times compared to the quality of the air outside.

The are different pollutants that decrease quality of the air inside our homes and offices such as natural gas, chemical cleaners, smoking, mold, perfumes. The people mostly affected with indoor air pollution are elderly people, and young children but also adults who suffer from allergies.

In order to prevent air pollution at your home or at your office here are some things you can do:

*Disallow smoking inside your home or inside your office.
*Be careful with moisture levels.
*Ensure enough ventilation in areas where you are using the natural gas.
*In any given opportunity open your window and allow fresh air inside your home/office.
*Use air purifiers (especially if some member of your family suffer from allergies or asthma).

The quality of indoor air can result in many health issues so make sure to take all the necessary steps to prevent indoor air pollutants. If you have doubts whether your indoor air is polluted or not you can tested it by experts.

Indoor air pollution - Most common causes.

Ireland facing river pollution problem

Ireland, famous as the green island, looks to be anything but green when talking about the river pollution problem. The latest studies have shown that pollution levels in rivers and streams in Ireland have hugely increased in the last two decades, mostly as a result of increased housing development and intensive agriculture and forestry. Mostly affected are north-western regions.

The major new study has also revealed that water quality of many wells and springs have also significantly declined mostly due to contamination by animal and human faeces, and this water is the source of quarter of drinking water supplies in Ireland.

According to these latest studies water quality in Ireland 2007- 2008 data shows the percentage of rivers considered to be largely pollution-free rivers – has decreased to 17 percent in 2006-2008, down from 30 percent in the period 1987-1990, with the largest numbers of pollution-free sites in less densely populated and less intensively farmed parts of the country, mostly in the southwest and west.

Forestry, agriculture and housing are major factors for lower water quality as these factors have dramatically reduced water quality by different nutrient inputs, siltation and acidification.

Dr Jim Bowman, programme manager of the aquatic environment programme at the EPA said that "the dramatic decline in the number of high ecological quality river sites during the past 20 years, largely due to low-level enrichment and siltation in upland areas, is unacceptable and will have to be addressed, and it would be a huge challenge to protect the remaining high-quality sites and restore those that had degraded."

As you can see river pollution is not just problem in India and China like some think it is.

Rivers in Ireland are also facing pollution problem.

Air pollution may trigger many diseases in children and adults

Air pollution is environmental problem that can very easily become a health problem, especially for children affected with it. As its name suggests air pollution is basically the release of different pollutants into the air that not only cause the damage to our environment but are also more than capable to cause damage to our health, and even lead to some serious diseases.

Infants who are exposed to higher levels of air pollution are at increased risk for bronchiolitis, and the bronchiolitis is the main reason for children to be hospitalized in their first year.

Air pollution can also trigger appendicitis in adults. If we look at the past and current data we can see that appendicitis cases increased dramatically in industrialized countries in the 19th and early 20th centuries, then decreased in the middle and late 20th century, which directly coincides with legislation to improve air quality that was done in many developed countries.

Also prenatal exposure to air pollution can cause lower IQ in some children which can significantly increase the chances for bad performance in school, so mothers should be very careful not to expose their still not born children to high levels of air pollution (for instance areas with huge vehicle traffic).

Some latest studies have suggested that air pollution levels are too high near some U.S. schools that are built close enough to industrial plants. Most of the affected schools were located on the East Coast and in the Midwest with the largest numbers in states like Illinois, New York, Louisiana and West Virginia.

Despite serious advancement in legislation to improve air quality, many areas in United States are still exposed to significant levels of air pollution, and this could lead to many health problems, and not causing only environmental damage like some would think.

Groundwater pollution - Definition and causes

Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of lithological formations. This water forms as the part of the natural water cycle present in aquifers (layer of porous substrate that contains and transmits groundwater). Groundwater has many very important functions in agricultural, municipal and industrial use. It is of vital importance to maintain the appropriate level of quantity and quality of discharging groundwater as this has significant impact on surface-water quality.

The simplest groundwater pollution definition would be an introduction of certain pollutant(s) into the groundwater which reduces the quality of groundwater making its use very limited, or in some cases impossible. Many different chemicals, and various synthetic products we use today are usually the main causes of groundwater pollution.

Love Canal was one of the most famous examples of groundwater pollution. In 1978, residents of the Love Canal neighbourhood in upstate New York noticed high rates of cancer and an alarming number of birth defects. The reason for this? Organic solvents and dioxins from an industrial landfill, which had been infiltrated into the water supply and evaporated in basements to further contaminate the air. Eight hundred families were reimbursed for their homes and moved, after extensive legal battles and huge media coverage.

It is of vital importance to preserve groundwater because groundwater that is not polluted presents the clearest water on our planet that unlike other other open water sources like rivers and streams hasn't been contaminated but was in fact purified by the cleanest process of them all, namely the natural filtration.

In the future, freshwater resources will become extremely precious, and groundwater could play one of the most important roles in world's global water supply. Therefore we have to do our best not to release pollutants into the ground because they can work their way down into groundwater, and the end result could be the interaction of groundwater contamination with surface waters that often makes the water supplies unsafe for use.