Mother earth as we know has been home to human kind and other organisms for billions of years. But we parasites are slowly eating on her and destroying her day by day. The process is quite slow but its fastening due to rapid urbanization, globalization, industrialization…..hard terms right?
The common word that we get across newspapers these days is pollution. What it means? ‘Pollution‘ is spoiling or mixing impurities to something which is in its pure form so much so that the purity of the material cannot be retrieved back.
How is earth in danger? How do we conclude that we are the only ones who are bringing her slow death? To answer the given questions we have to glance over factors on which life on earth depends.
There are mainly 5 factors which form the ‘survival pyramid’ or the base for supporting life on earth. Glancing through this we come to-
Table of Contents
Air
Right at the bottom of the base lays air. The major factor that saves all life forms on earth. Without air we cannot survive for more than a few seconds!
But this lifeline we are spoiling day and every day.
Factory chimneys, vents from cars, inferno everything thing spoils the air that we breath. It releases toxic gases like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and other chemicals. These impurities are not only hazardous but also bring about devastating side effects like ozone hole, acid rain, green house effect.
Water
The clear transparent fluid that we drink is water. It’s the gem that nature offered to us. We can hardly last a day or two without water. Without water our body will get dehydrated and wither out like a leaf. Earth is a storehouse of water. It has 70% water but of which only 2% is drinkable.
But this valuable resource also is getting polluted fast due to human population pressure. Sewage of cities drains out into the rivers, oil spills from ships, pesticides seeping into underground water sources, domestic waste channeling into drains all are the poisons, poisoning this precious resource.
Due to pollution of water the side effect that we suffer are acid rain, poisoning etc.
Earth
This is base on which we walk. It supports us, it keeps us safe, and it provides us food. We build our houses on this earth, we grow food on it, and we make roads to travel on it.
But what are we doing? We are fouling this resource just like the rest of them. The evil face of today’s pollution comes in the form of plastic. Plastic is a non decompose able compound. It cannot mix with any other material hence once it is formed it is difficult to remove it from the face of the earth.
Excessive use of Plastic bags clog the drains, animals grazing on open fields sometimes swallow them and are subjected to choking and eventually die.
Not only this, earth is foiled by other ways also. The harmful pesticides from the crops get saturated in water and seeps and reaches the underground water sources. From there they can reach the entire city. And anybody who drinks this water experiences illness, vomiting, diarrhea, cholera. These are common diseases of water pollution.
Fuel
Fossil fuels are god gifted. They are the sources on which our lives run every day. Be coal, petroleum, diesel or LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). Petroleum and it’s by -products are widespread. Counting through a few names we get gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, motor-oil, sulphur, jet fuel, heating oil, asphalt, tar, paraffin, wax, lubricants, emulsion paints.
Hence we can see that our lives run on fossil fuels. Electricity is produced by burning coal, car, ship, airplane all use fossil fuels to run. The pressure on fossil fuels has increased so much that it is feared that there will be nothing left for the coming generations. Think of an earth without electricity, without petrol, without any energy?
Trees
How pleasant it is to sit under a cool shady tree in hot summer days? Feels nostalgic right? Well, it’s not a long time from now that the memories of a large shady tree is becoming extinct and will becoming nostalgia soon. Wherever we turn our eyes now a days we see huge concrete monsters standing upright as if to make us feel how puny are we.
Trees provide us not only oxygen and shade but valuable wood which is used to make furniture, fire during cold season and also for producing electricity. Every part of tree is usable. Leaves of some trees like neem, aloe Vera has medicinal properties. Even fruits and vegetables we get from trees, paper for books and newspapers.
But this resource also is almost down to zero. The rich forest cover of the Amazon rainforest which is also called the “lungs of the earth” is near the end. Maximum of this cover has been cleared for human settlement and industrialization.
What will happen when there are more humans than the trees? We probably would have to roam with oxygen masks then. Earth’s atmosphere will be devoid of oxygen layer. It is this oxygen that develops the ozone layer. Without ozone layer earth will be exposed to hazardous radio waves an UV radiation.
The forms of pollution are many- water pollution, air pollution, sound pollution, soil pollution.
Now is the high time to sit up and do something to save the earth that gave birth to us. Not big, but little individual efforts can add up to a lot of saving. For example any person can do the following items:-
- Using energy as less as possible. Using lights, fans only when needed.
- Switching to e-newspaper, e-bills, e-mails, online payment options rather than wasting paper. One paper can saved can save 2 trees.
- Using carpool more often rather than taking individual car
- Using energy efficient lighting and power sources.
- Throwing garbage only in the dustbins and not polluting the environment by throwing it anywhere.
- Planting trees and plotted plants. This not only beatifies home but also makes home atmosphere healthier by filling it with oxygen.
- Fixing any leaked chimneys. Fitting filters with the chimneys.
All these are little efforts to make a better earth. We are the ones who have to save earth. Otherwise a day may come when we have to learn about nature through history books or museums.
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