The Pollution factors Are those elements that are incorporated into the environment and cause damage and discomfort in humans, plants and animals.
There are several types of environmental pollution, which have different characteristics depending on the factor and the natural element to which they affect directly. This is why it is possible to distinguish between thermal, radioactive and light pollution, among others.
Pollution problems are nothing new, since from the time of the industrial revolution, in the nineteenth century, began to talk about situations that hurt the environment.
At that time, the installation of industries and the concentration of population around them, resulted in increased requirements to meet the basic needs of citizens, which led to the indiscriminate use of natural resources.
Factors responsible for pollution
The base of the pollution is in the incorporation of a great volume of additional material to the nature, increasing the speed that this one has to neutralize the volume of incorporated material.
As a primary cause of pollution is industrial production, which encompasses the manufacturing industry, power generation, transportation, agriculture and timber exploitation.
1- Industrial production
Industrial production is considered the main source of pollution since it entails the initiation of a process of extraction and processing of natural resources. In a final phase of manipulation, these arrive as finished products to the population.
In order to start an industrial production it is necessary to have a natural terrain where the industry is located, access to the raw material necessary for its manufacture, energy to move the machines that process it and transportation for distribution.
In turn, each one of these activities generates some type of contamination since to locate the company it is necessary to condition a land that implies to realize, for example, the deforestation of the forests.
On the other hand, the raw material also has to be extracted from natural media and sources. And the corresponding energy needed to convert matter into the desired product comes from fossil fuels.
For this reason, control of the growth of industries must be taken into account when reducing pollution.
2- Generation of energy
Power generation is considered to be one of the largest producers of environmental pollution, since fossil fuels, coal, oil and natural gas are often used for this purpose.
These are known as non-renewable natural resources because they take millions of years to form and once they have been extracted from nature, it is not possible to find them again where they have been taken.
In this sense, reports such as the International Energy Agency of 2016 indicate that energy production is responsible for 85% of the emission of sulfur oxides, nitrogen and particulate matter, which cause the onset of smog; Greenhouse effect and global warming.
3- The transport
The transport service at all levels, is a continuous generator of pollutant emissions which have a huge impact on the environment.
In addition, the emission of gases such as carbon monoxide and particulate matter produced by incomplete combustion of vehicle engines are directly related to the occurrence of respiratory and cardiovascular problems in people.
4- The agricultural activity
The agricultural activity for the production of food, carries a series of aspects that cause problems of environmental contamination. The process of land preparation, fertilization, pest and weed control, and their risks of filtration, among others, affect soil quality in some way.
These factors are manifested in the creation of floods, soil erosion, pesticide and fertilizer contamination, salinization and degradation of water quality as a result of toxic leachates and agrochemicals added.
To avoid contamination by agricultural activity, it is necessary to initiate changes in relation to the type of crop to be planted. In particular, in techniques to manage the soil as well as in the selection of fertilizers and pesticides.
5- The exploitation of wood
Exploitation of wood can cause a negative environmental effect since a large number of trees are felled in the forests. As a result, they are slow to reappear.
The wood is necessary for: the productive activity in sawmills, the manufacture of paper and of the cellulose used in the manufacture of fabrics, paper, varnishes and explosives.
In addition, the indiscriminate exploitation of forests and forests causes loss of biodiversity, wildlife migration, soil erosion and desertification and flooding.
It should not be forgotten that forests are a valuable resource because in addition to providing the raw material for the manufacture of furniture, houses, clothes, notebooks, among many other objects, it collaborates with the conservation of the watersheds and the improvement of the climate.
References
- Business Dictionary. (2017). Definition of Pollution. Retrieved from businessdictionary.com.
- Org. (S.f.). Environmental Pollution and Its Effects. Retrieved from uccee.org.
- Read and Digest. (2017). What are the different types of pollution? Retrieved from Readanddigest.com.
- Tropical-rainforest-animals. (2008-2017). Causes of Pollution. Retrieved from tropical-rainforest-animals.com.
- Conserve-energy-future. (2017). Industrial pollution. Retrieved from conserve-energy-future.com.
- International Energy Agency. (2016). Energy and air pollution. Retrieved from iea.org.
- Rodrigue, J. (1998-2017). The geography of transport systems: The Environmental Impacts of Transportation.Retrieved from people.hofstra.edu.
- Conserve-energy-future. (2017). Agricultural Pollution. Retrieved from conserve-energy-future.com.