Human Ecology (Part 4) – Pollution

Definition of Pollution
Pollution can be defined as the addition of any substance (solid, liquid or
gas) or any form of energy (such as heat, sound or radioactivity) to the
environment at a rate faster than it can be dispersed, diluted, decomposed,
recycled, or stored in some harmless form. The major kinds of pollution,
usually classified by environment, are air pollution, water pollution, and land
pollution. Modern society is also concerned about specific types of
pollutants, such as noise pollution, light pollution and plastic pollution.
Pollution of all kinds can have negative effects on the environment and
wildlife and often impacts human health and well being.

History of Pollution
Although environmental pollution can be caused by natural events such as
forest fires and active volcanoes, use of the word pollution generally implies
that the contaminants have an anthropogenic source – that is, a source
created by human activities. Pollution has accompanied humankind ever
since groups of people first congregrated and remained for a long time in
any one place. Indeed, ancient human settlements are frequently
recognized by their wastes. Pollution was not a serious problem as long as
there were enough places available for each individual or group. However,
with the establishment of permanent settlements by great numbers of
people, pollution became a problem, and it has remained one ever since.

Air Pollution
Air pollution, caused by toxic emissions into the atmosphere, is thought to
claim 2.7 million lives per year. It is possible to make a distinction between
two types of air pollution: ‘outdoor pollution’, produced mainly by
industrial pollutants and auto-mobile emissions, and ‘indoor pollution’,
which is caused by burning fuels in the home for heating and cooking.
Traditionally, air pollution has been seen as a problem that afflicts
industrialized countries, with their greater number of factories and
motorized vehicles. In recent years, however, the attention has been drawn
to the dangers of ‘indoor pollution’ in the developing world. It is suggested
more than 90 percent of deaths linked to air pollution occur in the
developing world. This is because many of the fuels that are burned by
people in developing countries, such as wood and dung, are not as clean
as modern fuels such as kerosene and propane.

Air pollution has been linked to a number of health problems among

humans, including respiratory difficulties, cancers and lung disease.
Although outdoor pollution has long been associated with industrialized
couuntries, it is growing rapidly in the developing world. As countries
undergo rapid process of industrialization, factory emissions increase and
the number of vehicles on the roads also grows.

Air pollution does not only affect the health of human and animal
populations; it also has a damaging impact on other elements of the
ecosystem. One harmful consequence of air pollution is acid rain, a
phenomenon which occurs when sulphur and nitrogen oxide emissions in
one country drift across borders and produce acidic rainfalls in another.
Acid rain is harmful to forests, crops and animal life, and leads to the
acedifications of lakes. Canada, Poland and the Nordic countries have
been particuilarly hard hit by acid rain. In Sweden, for example, 20,000
lakes out of a total of 90,000 have been acedified.

Water Pollution
Throughout history, people have depended on water to fulfil a host of
important needs – drinking, cooking, washing, irrigating crops, fishing and
many other pursuits. Although water is one of the most valuable and
essential natural resources, it has also suffered enormous abuse at the
hands of human beings. For many years, waste products – both human
and manufactured – were dumped directly into rivers and oceans with
barely a second thought. Only in the half century or so have concreted
efforts been made in many countries to protect the quality of water, to
preserve the fish and wildlife that depend on it, and ensure access to clean
water for the human population. Regardless of these efforts, water pollution
remains a serious problem in many parts of the world.

Water pollution can be understood broadly to refer to the contamination of

the water supply by elements such as toxic chemicals and minerals,
pesticides or underrated sewage. It poses the greatest threat to people in
the developing world. Currently, more than one billion people around the
world lack access to safe drinking water and more than two billion lack
sanitation. Sanitation systems remain underdeveloped in many of the
world’s poorest countries and human waste products are often emptied
directly into streams, rivers and lakes. The high levels of bacteria that
results from untreated sewage lead to a variety of water borne diseases,
such as diarrhoea, dysentery and hepatitis. Some two billion cases of
diarrhoea are caused annually by contaminated water; five million people
die each year from diarrhoeal diseases.

Water scarcity affects more than 40 percent of people, an alarming figure

that is projected to rise as temperatures do. Although 2.1 billion people
have improved water situation since 1990, dwindling drinking water
supplies are affecting every continent. More and more countries are
experiencing water stress, and increasing draught and desertification is
already worsening these trends. By 2050, it is projected that at least one in
four people will suffer recurring water shortages.

Land Pollution
Land pollution can be defined as the deposition of solid or liquid waste
materials on land or underground in a manner that can contaminate
the soil and groundwater, threaten public health, and cause unsightly
conditions and nuisances.

The waste materials that cause land pollution are broadly classified
as municipal solid waste (MSW, also called municipal refuse), construction
and demolition (C&D) waste or debris, and hazardous waste. MSW
includes nonhazardous garbage, rubbish, and trash from homes,
institutions (e.g., schools), commercial establishments, and industrial
facilities. Garbage contains moist and decomposable (biodegradable) food
wastes (e.g., meat and vegetable scraps); rubbish comprises mostly dry
materials such as paper, glass, textiles, and plastic objects; and trash
includes bulky waste materials and objects that are not collected routinely
for disposal (e.g., discarded mattresses, appliances, pieces of furniture).
C&D waste (or debris) includes wood and metal objects,
wallboard, concrete rubble, asphalt, and other inert materials produced
when structures are built, renovated, or demolished. Hazardous wastes
include harmful and dangerous substances generated primarily as liquids
but also as solids, sludges, or gases by various chemical manufacturing
companies, petroleum refineries, paper mills, smelters, machine shops, dry
cleaners, automobile repair shops, and many other industries or
commercial facilities. In addition to improper disposal of MSW, C&D waste,
and hazardous waste, contaminated effluent from subsurface sewage
disposal (e.g., from septic tanks) can also be a cause of land pollution.

The permeability of soil formations underlying a waste-disposal site is of

great importance with regard to land pollution. The greater the permeability,
the greater the risks from land pollution. Soil consists of a mixture of
unconsolidated mineral and rock fragments (gravel, sand, silt, and clay)
formed from natural weathering processes. Gravel and sand formations are
porous and permeable, allowing the free flow of water through the pores or
spaces between the particles. Silt is much less permeable than sand or
gravel, because of its small particle and pore sizes, while clay is virtually
impermeable to the flow of water, because of its platelike shape and
molecular forces.

Reference
1. https://www.britannica.com/
2. Giddens, A. (2009). Anthony Giddens Sociology.