What can be done about environmental damage?
Introduction
Every country on Planet Earth has pollution problems and environmental damage. Though
humans haven’t existed for very long in comparison to the Earth, they have managed to create severe
and considerable problems for themselves, concerning health and living in general. Pollution and
environmental damage are two major forms of damage humans have managed to inflict on the Earth.
In my opinion, these problems can be solved, but this will require time, effort, and an interest in
improving the current situation. Most people think that the Earth will not be able to survive global
warming, air, water, land pollution, etc. I suppose there is a chance for the contrary. In this essay, I
will discuss what creates pollution problems and what people need to do to solve them. Specifically, I
will be discussing transport, rivers and seas, and factories.
Transportation
Transport causes significant pollution and environmental damage without a doubt. This is
because of the way in which transport uses the world’s energy and petroleum, and causes air
pollution. As is commonly known, transport emits more than half of nitrogen oxides in the air, and is
a major source of global warming worldwide. Because pollutants from vehicle exhaust cause air
pollution they infect nearly every system in our bodies, as we inhale and exhale these chemicals
throughout the day. This does not only affect humans but animals and trees as well.
What can we do to solve this problem? It is impossible to eradicate this problem completely,
as modern transportation is essential in the modern world. However, to work on this issue, we can
drive less and use public transportation; walk and bike when possible. When buying a new car, we can
make an effort to purchase fuel-efficient vehicles which emit low levels of greenhouse gases.
Rivers and Waterways
Rivers, lakes, and seas are the treasures of our planet. But what is not known by many is that
our precious bodies of water are being polluted every second. As scientific sources state, every year
there are more than 3,5 million people who die from water-related diseases that are caused by the
release of substances, such as chemicals, microorganisms, or trash, in water systems. The most
dangerous pollutants for people are those that are created from the release of energy, such as
radioactivity or heat, into bodies of water. Also extremely harmful is the pollutant that comes from
roads and parking lots – petroleum. Water pollution occurs when the mentioned pollutants are
released into bodies of water. What exactly gets damaged is groundwater – the main source of
drinkable water worldwide.
In terms of preventing this problem, household chemicals are a good place to start. Solvents,
pesticides, and cleaners are examples. Many of these household chemicals can be recycled. There are,
unfortunately, not that many recycling centers in various countries. But if you have such an
organization nearby, you could recycle your household products to help our planet. These recycling
centers can take paper, cloth, wood, metal, etc. Moreover, old paint, used motor oil, and other
chemicals, can also be recycled. Many cases of illegal water pollution go unreported, and are not
cleaned up. We could report people who pour oil into storm drains, toss bags of trash into streams,
etc. And what we can often see on social media is donate to organizations that protect bodies of water.
Who knows – maybe one day our bodies of water will be clean and free from pollution.
Factories
Obviously related to household chemicals, a major source of all kinds of pollution are
factories. They release pollutants into bodies of water, making the water undrinkable and changing its
colour and smell. Polluted water might have shades of blue, red, black, or purple, and will emit the
smell of rotten eggs, due to a high level of certain bacteria being leaked into a body of water. The
smoke or dust we might see around a factory also causes air pollution. All the leaked chemicals that
are spread through the air can cause severe damage to food sources, animals, and all life forms.
Asthma, lung cancer, etc. are diseases that can occur because of air pollution.
To reduce factory-made pollution, people could start recycling products, replace outdated
equipment, switch to renewable energy sources, and try to make everything more eco-friendly.
Conclusion
People, even though, haven’t existed for long, compared to Planet Earth, time, managed to
create two critical problems, such as pollution and environmental damage. Nowadays, transport and
factories are the major sources of pollution. Air pollution, water pollution, radioactive pollution, etc.
can cause serious issues for the health of all life forms. Although these problems are severe, people
still found a way to work on this issue by recycling household products, driving less, reporting people
leaking chemicals into bodies of water, and donating to organizations that protect bodies of water. In
this essay, we discussed the pollution problem and its significance. In my opinion, if people take this
problem seriously, they could save the Earth and themselves. It is all up to us.
