Pollution as a Social Issue

Pollution is a social issue since the behaviors of human beings cause it. Additionally, pollution has many negative impacts on the planet as well as on society and people. Pollution entails many elements, which include chemical substances or forms of energy like light, noise, and heat. The components of pollution are foreign energies or materials which when introduced in certain environments, lead to altering of the normal functioning of those ecosystems. Pollution is termed as a social issue because human beings are the major contributors to this issue. There are many forms of pollution, namely, air, water, noise, soil, among others. Air pollution is common in the world, whereby various human activities have contributed to it. It has also contributed to a high mortality rate in the world.

The issue of pollution is significant because of many reasons. In the current world, there has been a considerable change in climate that has even affected the survival of the plants and animals in their natural ecosystems. Indeed, human beings have experienced extreme temperatures on the earth surface because of the depletion of the ozone layer. Therefore, exploring the issue of pollution would help to identify the causes of pollution explicitly and thereby, formulate strategies on how to control the problem. On this note still, there have been numerous deaths, about 40 percent of the global deaths have been associated with at least of the types of pollution.

Air pollution can lead to the death of human beings. For example, the destruction of the ozone layer can lead to respiratory diseases, heart diseases, and even chest pain. The World Health Organization report of 2007 indicated that air pollution leads to more than 500,000 people in India. In the United States of America, the number of people who died due to air pollution in 2007 was about 50,000.

Water pollution is thought to cause an approximate of 14,000 deaths each day because there is a lot of contaminated water caused by poor handling of untreated sewage. Considering the extent of human practices in India, as an example, an estimate of 500 million people in India do not have access to a proper toilet. Similarly, in 2013, there were more than ten million cases of illnesses due to water pollution. This led to the death of more than 1500 people, where a majority of them were children (Ghorani-Azam, Bamdad and Mahdi 18).

In another country, China, the issue of pollution is worse. In 2010, air pollution led to more than 1.2 million deaths in China. This is because of the high levels of smog in this country.

Water pollution is also another type of pollution that is caused by human activities such as oil spills. When the ships are carrying oil move in the oceans, there can be leakage of oil and hence, causing water pollution. When people use the water that has been contaminated with oil, they are likely to develop skin rashes and irritations.

In the new and civilized society, air pollution is a significant issue that has led to many adverse effects. Air pollution poses many severe impacts on both the environment and human health.

The primary cause of air pollution is the emissions from motor vehicles. Air pollution is caused by pollution by particles, carbon monoxide, lead and also sulfur oxides. In addition to that, air pollution is caused by many industrial processes that emit those waste gases.

In developing countries, air pollution is caused by the emissions of gases from industrial activities and the use of inappropriate vehicles. This led to the death of more approximately 4.3 million people under household. Ambient pollution causes about 3.7 million people in the world.

The following is a discussion of the primary air pollutants including their toxic levels (Ghorani-Azam, Bamdad and Mahdi 17).

Particle pollutants

These are the leading causes of air pollution. They include a mixture of particles that are found in the air. This is what causes most of the illnesses in human beings, for example, cardiac and pulmonary conditions (Bickerstaff and Gordon 140).

Particle size is linked with the progression of the heart and lung diseases.

Ground level ozone is another cause of pollution. This is produced as a result of the chemical reaction of the oxides of nitrogen and the natural gases caused by human activities. Ground level ozone has a plausible link with a high risk of respiratory diseases, especially asthma.

Carbon monoxide also causes air pollution. This gas is produced by fossil fuels, especially when incomplete combustion of coal and wood occurs. This is as a result of human activities, such as charcoal burning. High concentration of carbon monoxide and exposure time leads to mild poisoning of human beings.

Solutions to pollution

There has been a discussion all over the world concerning strategies to tackle pollution. Considering air pollution, there are many solutions available. For example, the standardizing the fuel of vehicles can help to reduce air pollution. Additionally, finding a new source of fuel that is clean can help to reduce air pollution. The cars that use gasoline and diesel have contributed a lot to pollution of the air. The pure type of energy is compressed natural gas. This will offer less impact on the air and hence, achieving control of pollution. Additionally. Liquefied natural gas like alcohol can help to address the issue of air pollution effectively.

Another solution to pollution entails the improvement of public transportation means and systems. This will involve the use of subways. This will mean that the cost of using such methods is reduced considerably. In the long term, the states and people will get a lot of profits from the reduction of the contamination of the environment. Electrical buses and trams can help to address the issue of pollution. Therefore, implementing this strategy will help, majorly, in the big towns and cities in the world (Lovett 98).

Furthermore, the cost of fuels should be increased to lower the proportion of contaminants in the air. The higher price of fuel is associated with a lower level of air pollution (Lovett 99). Hence, imposing heavy penalties on the factories and also the implementation of the small tax policy for the clean technologies in industries can help to solve the issue of environmental pollution. The application of the higher tax levels on the automobiles, especially those that are more than twenty years. This will help to distinguish between clean and dirty vehicles (Bickerstaff and Gordon 142).

Pollution has become a global affair that needs to be tackled effectively. Therefore, the establishment of the interdisciplinary field in the institutions can help to inform the public on how to reduce pollution. Moreover, media campaigns can help in tackling the challenge of pollution. Through various channels, people can obtain critical information that will help to curb pollution of the environment. These campaigns will address air quality, public health, and environmental issues.

The practical solution to pollution can be that of imposing policies on the industries about their activities. Higher levels of pollution have been witnessed due to the lack of policies in most of the countries in the world (Lovett 100).

Pros of the proposed solution:

The standards will be applied across all the industries and other parties that could contribute to pollution. Therefore, this solution covers a broad scope in preventing pollution.

The solution is easy to implement. Usually, industries operate within the limit of the law, or in other words, the bill outlines what the private firms should not do. Therefore, availing appropriate policies and enforcing them will help to avoid pollution of the environment (Bickerstaff and Gordon 143).

Weaknesses of the proposed solution

There is a need to avail many facilities before implementing the solution. For example, if the governments enforce laws that should be followed by private firms that are prone to pollution, then it means that the governments should avail the necessary incentives to aid this move.

Another weakness of the proposed solution to prevent or address pollution is that some of the industries operate illegal businesses that are not monitored by the government. Therefore, some of the sectors may still evade the law that governs their conduct (Bickerstaff and Gordon 142).

In conclusion, pollution is a social issue because human beings play a significant role that contributes to it. Therefore, it is essential to address the causes of various types of pollution and also to highlight the negative impacts of pollution on human health and the environment. Air pollution is a common type of pollution that has caused higher mortality in the world than any other kind of pollution.