Water and Land Pollution
By: Ifeanyichukwu Uzowihe
Water Pollution
Water Pollution-The addition of harmful chemicals to natural water;Run-off from fields treated with chemical fertilizers.
Impacts and Effects-
- Death of aquatic animals: The main problem from water pollution is the killing of these aquatic animals that live in these bodies of water and then wind up on beaches, killed by pollutants in their habitat.
- Disruption of the food chain: Another major problem in water pollution is how it messes with the natural food chain. Pollutants such as lead and cadmium are eaten by tiny animals. Later, these animals are consumed by fish and shellfish, and the food chain continues to be disrupted at all higher levels.
- Diseases: Humans of course get affected by this water pollution process as well. People can get sick with disease such as hepatitis from eating sea food that have been poisoned from the pollutants.In many poor nations, there is always outbreak of cholera and diseases as a result of poor drinking water treatment from contaminated waters.
- Destruction: of ecosystems Ecosystems (the interaction of living things in a place, depending on each other for life) can be severely changed or destroyed by water pollution. Many areas are now being affected by careless human pollution, and this pollution is coming back to hurt humans in many ways.
Land Pollution
Land Pollution- Land pollution is the destruction of Earth's land surfaces through misuse of land resources by human activities. Polluted land has deposits of liquid and solid waste such as rubbish, garbage, paper, glass and plastic objects.
Impacts and Effects-
- Soil pollution: Soil pollution is another form of land pollution, where the upper layer of the soil is damaged. This is caused by the overuse of chemical fertilizers, soil erosion caused by running water and other pest control measures; this leads to loss of fertile land for agriculture, forest cover, fodder patches for grazing etc.
- Change in climate patterns: The effects of land pollution are very hazardous and can lead to the loss of ecosystems. When land is polluted, it directly or indirectly affects the climate patterns.
- When deforestation is committed, the tree cover is compromised on. This leads to a steep imbalance in the rain cycle. A disturbed rain cycle affects a lot of factors. To begin with, the green cover is reduced. Trees and plants help balance the atmosphere, without them we are subjected to various concerns like Global warming, the green house effect, irregular rainfall and flash floods among other imbalances.
- Effect on human health: The land when contaminated with toxic chemicals and pesticides lead to problem of skin cancer and human respiratory system. The toxic chemicals can reach our body through foods and vegetables that we eat as they are grown in polluted soil.
- Cause Air pollution: Landfills across the city keep on growing due to increase in waste and are later burned which leads to air pollution. They become home for rodents, mice etc which in turn transmit diseases.
- Distraction for Tourist: The city looses its attraction as tourist destination as landfills do not look good when you move around the city. It leads to loss of revenue for the state government.
- Effect on wildlife: The animal kingdom has suffered mostly in the past decades. They face a serious threat with regards to loss of habitat and natural environment. The constant human activity on land, is leaving it polluted; forcing these species to move further away and adapt to new regions or die trying to adjust. Several species are pushed to the verge of extinction, due to no homeland.
- Other issues that we face include increased temperature, unseasonal weather activity, acid rains etc. The discharge of chemicals on land, makes it dangerous for the ecosystem too. These chemicals are consumed by the animals and plants and thereby make their way in the ecosystem. This process is called bio magnification and is a serious threat to the ecology.
Questions
1. How are humans affected by water pollution?
2. HOW does pollution affect climate?