Mohammad Arsalan
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In lieu of this very alluring topic, I would like to put my humble points regarding the fact that has not only contaminated the environment but has created an alarm of human extinction. It’s not plague, it’s by which plague is created, and most of the diseases known. It’s pollution. Not only the pollution we see in daily life but the pollution which had penetrated into land, in water and in air.
There is not a single area left which is not affected by these villainies of human creations. With the creation of more modern tools came more dangerous and more vicious threat in front of the creator himself. The advent of factories led to the arrival of water and air infectivity. The nature has the power to cure herself but to what extent? Are we not standing on the edge of nature’s vexation which may lead to our own extinction? The water we drink, the air we breathe are so affected by these waste that it had led to water and air born diseases like cholera, typhoid, jaundice, malaria and many more. These death threatening diseases do not only spread to oneself but most of the diseases spread through air and affect more and more number of people. The cause and carrier are same.
Another very talked about environmental disaster is global warming. It is defined as the increase in the average temperature of the earth near surface, air, and ocean since the mid 20th century and its projected continuation. There is a lot of heat caused to the earth due to the green house gasses that get rapt in the sun’s rays thereby causing global warming. Higher temperatures are expected to be accompanied by changing patterns of precipitation frequency and intensity, changes in soil moisture and a rise of the global sea level. To assess current examples relating to global warming, an examination is first needed on these examples; Sea levels could rise six feet and up in future centuries. The entire Amazon rainforest will be lost if the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases by more than 50%. But no matter whatever action the world takes to stop global warming, sea levels are set to rise and wipe out several island nations. The worst news is that whatever governments do to cut emissions, sea levels will rise by at least 2 meters over the next few hundred years. Low-lying farmland and cities occupied by hundreds of millions of people will also be engulfed.
As we become more technologically advanced, we produce materials that can withstand extreme temperatures, are durable and easy to use. Plastic bags, synthetics, plastic bottles, tin cans, and computer hardware- these are some of the products that make life easy for us. But what we forget is that these advanced products do not break down naturally. Plastic bags are difficult and costly to recycle and most end up on landfill sites where they take around 300 years to photo degrade. They break down into tiny toxic particles that contaminate the soil and waterways and enter the food chain when animals accidentally ingest them. But the problems surrounding waste plastic bags starts long before they photo degrade.
When we dispose them in a garbage pile, the air, moisture, climate, or soil cannot break them down naturally to be dissolved with the surrounding land. Our planet is becoming increasingly contaminated by our unnecessary use of plastic carry bags. Big black bin liners, plastic carrier bags carrying advertising logos, clear sandwich bags, vegetable bags and a variety of other forms used to carry our daily food items and other items are all polluting our environment. Just take a look around you. Plastic bags can be seen hanging from the branches of trees, flying in the air on windy days, settled amongst bushes and floating on rivers. They clog up gutters and drains causing water and sewage to overflow and become the breeding grounds of germs and bacteria that cause diseases.
Solid Industrial Waste creates hazardous gasses to reach atmosphere and thereby also making them accessible in common place and in result affecting more number of people. One of the main problems in dealing with studies on landfill sites is the distinction between sites for municipal solid wastes and sites for other wastes. The definition of different types of waste is far from being standardized across the world. The terms hazardous, special, toxic, industrial, and commercial, etc, are variously applied in different countries and time periods to designate non-household wastes. In earlier time periods definitions were even less clear and some disposal sites may have switched categories (e.g. if they used to take industrial waste they may now only take municipal waste). Solid waste is discarded materials other than fluids. In addition enormous tonnages of food residues, yard trimmings, textiles, plastics, and sludge formed in sewage treatment were produced. Although the amount of the increase has been slowed somewhat by recycling and composting programs and improvements in packaging, the amount of solid waste continues to increase annually.
Lastly we will discuss the eco-environmental effect of mining. I am categorizing the following thing into points so as to make the understanding more clear and apparent.
- ü Induced geological disasters.
- ü Changes in hydrological and geological conditions and water pollution.
- ü Soil degradation and pollution due to mining.
- ü Mine solid residue.
- ü Increased soil erosion.
- ü Loss of biodiversity.
Conclusion: There is a requirement for more severe and stern policies, which have to be applied to remove the ill-effect of the progress in regard of progress, and then, we can truly achieve the pinnacle for which technology was created.
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