POLLUTION: Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment.

These harmful materials are called pollutants. They can be natural, such as volcanic ash
or they can be created by human activity, such as trash or runoff produced by factories.
Pollutants damage the quality of air, water, and land.
Pollution is a global problem. Although urban areas are usually more polluted than the
countryside, pollution can spread to remote places where no people live.

Air Pollution: Sometimes, air pollution is visible. A person can see dark smoke pour
from the exhaust pipes of large trucks or factories, for example. More often, however,
air pollution is invisible. Polluted air can be dangerous. It can make people’s eyes burn
and make them have difficulty breathing. It can also increase the risk of lung cancer.
Sources of Air Pollution
• Natural disasters can cause air pollution to increase quickly.
When volcanoes erupt, they eject volcanic ash and gases into the atmosphere.
Volcanic ash can discolor the sky for months. Volcanic gases can kill nearby
residents and make the soil infertile for years.
• Most air pollution is not natural. It comes from burning fossil fuels like coal, oil,
and natural gas. When gasoline is burned to power cars and trucks, it
produces carbon monoxide. This gas is harmful in high concentrations, or
amounts. City traffic and factories produce highly concentrated carbon
monoxide. When air pollutants mix with moisture, they change into acids. They
then fall back to earth as acid rain. Acid rain can kill all the trees in a forest. It
can also devastate lakes, streams, and other waterways. When lakes become
 acidic, fish can’t survive. And it also affects historical buildings and monuments
Acid rain also wears away marble and other kinds of stone.
• Greenhouse gases are another source of air pollution. Greenhouse gases such
as carbon dioxide and methane occur naturally in the atmosphere. In fact, they
are necessary for life on Earth. They absorb sunlight reflected from Earth,
preventing it from escaping into space. By trapping heat in the atmosphere,
they keep Earth warm enough for people to live. This is called the greenhouse
effect. But human activities such as burning fossil fuels and destroying forests
have increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This has
increased the greenhouse effect, and average temperatures across the globe
are rising. This increase in worldwide average temperatures, caused in part by
human activity, is called global warming. Nations are threatened by climate
change.

Water Pollution: Some polluted water looks muddy, smells bad, and has garbage
floating in it. Some polluted water looks clean, but is filled with harmful chemicals you
can’t see or smell. Polluted water is unsafe for drinking and swimming.
Sources of Water Pollution
• There are some natural sources of water pollution. Oil and natural gas, for
example, can leak into oceans and lakes from natural underground sources.
• Human activity also contributes to water pollution. Chemicals and oils from
factories are sometimes dumped or seep into waterways. These chemicals are
called runoff and create a toxic environment for aquatic life.
• Mining and drilling can also contribute to water pollution. Acid helps miners
remove coal from the surrounding rocks. The acid is washed into streams and
rivers, where it reacts with rocks and sand, creating a river rich in sulfuric acid
which is toxic to plants, fish, and other aquatic organisms.
• Another type of water pollution is simple garbage. Aquatic animals such as fish
and turtles mistake trash, such as plastic bags, for food.

Soil / Land Pollution: Many of the same pollutants that foul the water also harm the
land. Pesticides and fertilizers from agricultural fields are blown by the wind. They can
harm plants, crops, animals, and sometimes people. Some fruits and vegetables absorb
the pesticides that help them grow. When people consume the fruits and vegetables,
the pesticides enter their bodies. Some pesticides can cause cancer and other diseases.
Trash is another form of land pollution. Around the world, paper, cans, glass jars,
plastic products, junked cars and technological contaminate the landscape. Litter
makes it difficult for plants and other producers in the food web to create nutrients.
Animals can die if they mistakenly eat plastic.

Light Pollution: Sky glow is the brightening of the night sky, mostly over urban areas,
due to the electric lights of cars, streetlamps, offices, factories, outdoor advertising,
and buildings, turning night into day for people who work and play long after sunset.
An increased amount of light at night lowers melatonin production, which results in
sleep deprivation, fatigue, headaches, stress, anxiety, and other health problems.
Noise Pollution: Noise pollution is an invisible danger. It cannot be seen, but it is
present nonetheless, both on land and under the sea. Noise pollution is considered to
be any unwanted or disturbing sound that affects the health and well-being of humans
and other organisms. The most common health problem it causes is Noise Induced
Hearing Loss (NIHL). Exposure to loud noise can also cause high blood pressure, heart
disease, sleep disturbances, and stress.

How can we protect our planet?

Remember!

unwanted or residual materials that result from industrial activity