Even a small child may know that our planet is extremely polluted. Everyone knows this, but so few people actually do something. Have you heard of environmental pollution? If not, it’s time to broaden your horizons, and most importantly to take action. Each of us has the power to mitigate the impact of pollution and minimize the waste that remains. No need to wait for someone else to do it, it was too late yesterday. We should also teach children responsible waste management, from an early age.
What is environmental pollution?
These are all types of pollution – plastics, emissions, carbon footprints, chemicals, medicines, sound and light pollution, and everything we humans produce. This pollution can be solid, liquid, and gaseous but invisible to the eye. Environmental pollution affects soil, water, and air.
Pollution has a severe impact not only on our planet but also on our health. European scientists even made a groundbreaking discovery in 2022. They first discovered microplastics in human blood. The finding is all the more worrying because these microplastics were found in the blood of up to 17 volunteers out of 22! They even found plastics in their blood. These particles probably come from the water we drink, specifically, water bottled in PET bottles.
This is certainly not a discovery we should be proud of. Environmental pollution no longer affects not only animal but also human health.
How does environmental pollution affect our planet?
Plastics:
have been a problem for decades. One plastic bottle can decompose in nature for up to 100 years! The fact is also alarming because according to American scientists, the average American produces up to 105 kg of plastic waste per year. Some countries are better, others worse, but on average it is around 100 kg per person per year. And now multiply that by 8 billion!
Emissions or the greenhouse gases:
are mainly generated by the combustion of fuels in motor vehicles, but did you know that noise can also be the cause? Yes, aerodynamic noise during engine operation, rolling of large vehicle tires, or coding of supersonic aircraft. This causes environmental pollution by ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and solid particles. This happens mainly in larger cities and in almost every country in the world!
Carbon footprint:
binds not only to emissions and emissions of greenhouse gases by humans, but also defines the sum of all greenhouse gases that have been released during the production of a product or food. It is not just the carbon itself, but also various gases such as methane and nitrous oxide. All this returns to nature in the form of warming, enlarging the ozone hole, or in the form of acid rain.
Chemicals, drugs, medicines:
everything we put in our body, we must somehow eliminate. In this way, remnants of drugs, hormones, drugs, and other chemicals enter the groundwater. Where do you think the remnants of dishwashing detergent or dust go? Even the water we drink is not spared from these residues. A decade ago, scientists even discovered the excess amount of estrogen present in men, which entered their bloodstream from drinking water in which remnants of female contraceptive pills accumulated.
Sound and light pollution:
is already a stable problem in all metropolises of the world. People simply have health problems, the hormone melatonin is not produced in sufficient quantities (it is only secreted in darkness and silence), which seriously impairs human health. In short, quality sleep becomes a luxury in densely populated areas. In addition, the biorhythm of other animals and animals also suffers.