ECO-TIPS
WHAT IS
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
Environmental
pollution refers to the presence in the environment of any agent (physical,
chemical or biological) or a combination of various agents in places, forms and
concentrations that are or may be harmful to health, safety or the environment.
Welfare of the population, or that may be detrimental to plant or animal life,
or prevent the normal use of properties and places of recreation and enjoyment
of them. Environmental pollution is also the incorporation into the receiving
bodies of solid, liquid or gaseous substances, or mixtures thereof, whenever
they adversely affect the natural conditions of the same, or that may affect
the health, hygiene or welfare of the public.
As man's
power over nature increases and new needs arise as a result of life in society,
the surrounding environment deteriorates more and more. The social behavior of
man, which led him to communicate through language, which later formed human
culture, allowed him to differentiate himself from other living beings. But
while they adapt to the environment to survive, man adapts and modifies that
same medium according to his needs.
Technological
progress, on the one hand, and accelerated population growth, on the other,
produces the alteration of the environment, sometimes leading to an attack on
the Earth's biological balance. It is not that there is an absolute
incompatibility between technological development, the advance of civilization
and the maintenance of ecological balance, but it is important that man knows
how to harmonize them. To do this, it is necessary to protect renewable and
non-renewable resources and to be aware that environmental sanitation is
fundamental for life on the planet
Pollution
is one of the most important environmental problems affecting our world and
arises when there is an imbalance, as a result of the addition of any substance
to the environment, in such quantity as to cause adverse effects on man,
animals, Plants or materials exposed to doses that exceed acceptable levels in
nature.
Pollution
can arise from certain manifestations of nature (natural sources) or due to the
different productive processes of man (anthropogenic sources) that make up the
activities of daily life.
The sources
that generate the most important anthropogenic pollution are: industrial (refrigerators,
slaughterhouses and tanneries, mining and oil activity), commercial (wrapping
and packaging), agricultural (agrochemical), domiciliary (containers, diapers,
(Flue gas). As source of emission is meant the physical or geographical origin
where a release is polluting the environment, either air, water or soil.
Traditionally the environment has been divided, for its study and its
interpretation, in those three components that are: air, water and soil;
However, this division is merely theoretical, since most pollutants interact
with more than one of the elements of the environment.
CAUSES:
Our planet
is exposed to numerous pollutants that harm the welfare and health of the
living things that inhabit it.
The United
Nations stands out as the culprits of pollution and the greenhouse effect on
cities because "they occupy 2% of the world's territory and produce 70% of
these gases." This organization warns that the situation could worsen
because many countries are having very fast growth, like Brazil. China and
India, and in turn are emitting gaseous pollutants.
The UN
believes that the main disadvantaged by climate change will be the poorest
countries because of its growing population or the repeated flooding,
desertification and drought conditions. Contaminants are substances, chemical
or biological, in the form of heat energy, radiation or noise that adhere or
come into contact with air, soil or water affecting its composition and causing
damage to the environment in which animals, plants and the man.
The main causes of
pollution are:
• Road
traffic: cars and trucks are the biggest urban pollutants because they
circulate daily by flushing toxic gases that are harmful to health. These
vehicles pollute because of the combustion of the hydrocarbons they use to
move, and the wear of the brakes and wheels.
• In cities
there is another source of pollution such as construction and demolition: these
activities release dust and gases that damage the air in the area in which they
develop, and in turn contaminate the water where they throw their wastes.
• Fossil
fuels: the comfort and well-being of the inhabitants of the big cities resulted
in an increase in the consumption of fossil fuels. The production of coal, oil
and natural gas grows with the rise of levels of pollution of the air, soil and
water of the planet.
• The world
population index has grown at a different rate than the mortality rate, which
has had an impact on the environment: causing inefficiency in the treatment of
domestic wastewater, increasing unconventional consumption and generating tons
of garbage.
•
Technological progress benefits economically and socially, but the
proliferation of industries and the lack of environmental control in their
processes, has harmed the ecosystem by the large amount of waste thrown into
the air, rivers and seas.
•
Deforestation: indiscriminate logging in forests and jungles prevents trees,
responsible for purifying the air, perform this task and thousands of animals
and plants are extinguished because they have no place to live and grow.
•
Pesticides and chemicals used in crops contaminate soil and water in the area
where they were planted. Even getting to contaminate, alarmingly, many foods.
CONSEQUENCES:
Anything
that is added to the air, water, soil or food and that threatens the health,
survival, or activities of humans or other living organisms is called pollution
or pollution.
Most of the
pollutants correspond to by-products or solid waste, liquid or gaseous, that
originate when extracting, processing, turning into products, or using a
natural resource. Also considered as contamination are both unwanted energy
emissions and excessive amounts of them, such as heat, noise, or radiation.
Contaminants
can reach our environment through human activities or anthropic activities, but
also and even seem contradictory, certain natural processes such as a volcanic
eruption, can give rise to pollution of water and air.
Most of the
pollution from human activities occurs in or near urban or industrial areas,
where pollutants are concentrated. Some pollutants directly affect the areas
where they have been produced, others are transported by wind or water to other
areas ... Pollution does not respect borders of any kind.
Some
contaminants come from unique, well-identified sources, such as a power plant
chimney, a drain pipe from a meat packaging plant, or the exhaust pipe of an
automobile. These are called point pollutants.
Other
pollutants come from non-point sources, which are scattered which are often
difficult to identify. A non-point source of contamination is the expansion of
fertilizers and pesticides that takes place from the plots, golf courses, lawns
and gardens where they are applied, to streams and lakes. Many pesticides that
scatter in the air and wind carry them into the atmosphere.
(Miguel Cahuas)
Reuse is the action that allows to reuse the goods or products discarded and to give them an equal or different use to the one for which they were conceived.
This process means that the more objects we reuse less garbage we will produce and the less resources we will have to spend.
Reuse takes second place in the waste hierarchy, after prevention and above recycling. With bottles and glass bottles: reuse after washing or new bottles and other glass products by recycling. Figures can be made too.
With tires in disuse make comfortable chairs for the garden
With can lids elaborate the own hanging hoops.
With cans of cane to make a feeder for birds
With packages tetra pack brice: recovery of the paper or agglomerate plates to make different furniture.
With debris: land fill, roads, and in general construction fillings.
With canned cans: a bird feeder can be made for the garden.
With Pitoras: various furniture, sheets, toys or energy source With wooden drawers: toys and games.
With pruning and gardening remains: fertilizer or energy source.
With furniture and broken appliances: repair or recovery of materials.
With steel cans: they can be reused as plant pots, or fused.
With plastic and steel tanks and drums: games for parks, tank for differentiated classification of wastes or garbage containers.
With rags and scraps of old clothes: we could make use of the fabrics to clean, cover, etc.
With animal bones: fertilizer and animal feed.
With worn tires: parks games, safety fences and road fills.
With the pet bottles: we will recycle to do other things.
With the old iron or other old objects: to occupy that material again or to repair
With cans: you can make art like a robot or cases
With can lids: you can make pendant hoops.
