[Points: What is pollution—reasons behind pollution—pollution in atmosphere, water, food, and in agricultural products—nuclear pollution—danger to mankind—conclusion.]
Any abnormal change in chemical, physical and biological charac teristics of environment is called pollution. At present our environ ment is getting polluted every moment. This is causing extensive damage to all sorts of life on earth. In fact its damaging effect is so extensive that it is one of the most widely discussed topics nowadays.
Environmental pollution is a direct consequence of industrial progress. It is, therefore, more pronounced in larger cities and indus trial belts. In these areas the air is getting polluted by the exhausts of automobiles, furnaces, industrial shoots, etc. Decomposition of garbages and other refuses also make the atmosphere heavy. In discriminate burning of all sorts of conventional and unconven tional fuels, and last but not least, random destruction of plant popu lation are responsible for large accumulation of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and other fumes in the, air we breathe. These cause great damage to the health of living creatures. According to one survey, the residents of large industrial cities like Birmingham, Hong kong, Manchester, Calcutta, Chicago, etc. are subjected to bronchial injuries equivalent to smoking twenty cigarettes a day. In winter, the smoke cannot move quickly. It thickens the air and causes burning sensation in eyes and also damages lungs, etc. In fact, these cities are choking to death with their own fumes.
With the development of industries, large amount of municipal and industrial wastes are poured into rivers, lakes and bays, con taminating them with highly toxic chemicals resulting in death of marine lives. Polluted water is also dangerous to agricultural products. Even the sea is not free from pollution. Emissions from oil refineries float as sticky oily substance running over hundreds of miles in the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. It is destroying marine lives and even coastal vegetation where it strikes.
The latest addition to environmental pollution has come from nuclear explosions. Nuclear explosions and radioactive wastes pollute the atmosphere to an extent beyond imagination.
So the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we take are not always absolutely pure or healthy. The price of pollution could be the death of mankind. Technically advanced countries have already taken steps to face the gravity of the situation. London, Paris, the Ruhr districts of W. Germany are now relatively free from the notorious smog a combination of smoke and fog. The authority has forced the citizens to use smokeless fuel. Effluent treatment of water is a must before its discharge to rivers or lakes. Water Pollution Boards have been established at the state and national levels to formulate and enforce pollution control regulations strictly. Scientists are now taking steps to isolate and destroy radioactive elements which are a real danger to mankind.
To create ecological balance new plantations are on the way. Sensing danger, the United Nations Environmental Programme is sponsoring 5th June of every year as the World Environmental Day to evolve fruitful possibilities of international collaboration for this global problem. Seminars are being regularly held all over the world to apprise the people of the impending danger to mankind. We must follow the guidelines to create a better environment and save life on this beautiful planet.
