POLLUTION
BY: HARSHDEEP & SIMRAT
What is pollution
Pollution is a substance or thing that has very harmful or poisonous effects on our
environment.
What is the issue ?
Toxins get into the air, water and soil causing pollution. Water pollution is caused when the toxins get into the water and it becomes hazardous to consume , this may affect the food chain. soil/land pollution is caused by the toxins getting into the soil causing the soil to be poisonous and dangerous for the crops/vegetation to grow. Air pollution is caused by the toxins getting into the air and causing it hard to breathe, this leads to many diseases. This is the issue of pollution.
What are the causes ?
Fossil fuels and factories are the most common causes of pollution. When the factories release fumes and chemicals that cause pollution to occur in the first place. Another cause is when people litter on the roads , sidewalks and other places on land that fills our landfills and causes land/soil pollution. When we don't recycle , landfills increase and soon cities are filled with garbage. That leads to pollution as well. Also , many factories dump their toxic waste into the rivers and lakes. Lastly, when ships spill oil into bodies of water that causes pollution as well. These are some causes of pollution around the world.
How is your issue impacted by or how does it contribute to global warming ?
Air pollution contributes to global warming by adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. One such is carbon dioxide which is found in vehicles exhaust. The greenhouse gases contribute to global warming by trapping the sun's heat in the earth's atmosphere. Cars and trucks release these tiny particles into the atmosphere. The tiny particles are called aerosols, these particles get into the atmosphere naturally. Pollution comes from cars, factories, homes and power plants that burn fossil fuels such as oil, coal, natural gas, and gasoline.
What are the long term effects ?
Fertilizers or sewage can introduce chemicals containing nitrate or phosphate chemicals into bodies of water. Nitrate and phosphate are food for the algae in the water. This can affect the food chain because the other animals eat the algae and they might be affected. An overload of these chemicals will cause the algae and the other aquatic animals to die. Chemical pollution introduces chemicals into the air and negatively affecting the air, water and soil.
What can be done ?
In order to reduce air pollution, you can bike/walk to school or even take public transportation. Since cars are big impact towards pollution why not buy an electric/hybrid car ? That way you are helping the earth and yourself. In order to reduce water/land pollution, you can recycle the recyclables because that can decrease the amount of plastic, cans, paper and foam going into the lakes, rivers, oceans and even landfills. Plus, all the energy used will be decreased which means the carbon dioxide rates will be decreased as well. We humans like to keep our houses clean and gardens full of flowers during summer but , have you noticed the consequences ? you are polluting the earth! Instead of using toxic pesticides , cleansers , etc, you can make some of those mixtures at home and they will be environmental-friendly towards the earth. These are some examples of what can be done.
What currently being done in Canada and/or around the world ?
Canada is currently trying to reduce the amount of fossil fuels that are being used , the target of the carbon dioxide (co) emissions are to decrease it by 17% by the year 2020. British Colombia is trying to purchase new clean-energy school buses. Many people over the world are trying to use more public transportation to reduce the overall pollution. Many boats around the world are also being switched from high polluting 2-cycle engines to much cleaner and safer 4-cycle engines. These are just some things that Canada and the whole world is doing to prevent/reduce pollution.