Tag: environmental pollution and industries

Pollution can be natural or anthropogenic. Natural pollution is pollution caused by natural sources e.g. volcanic eruptions, the release of methane gas by paddy fields and cattle, soil erosion, volcanic eruptions etc. However, the major pollution source in modern time is anthropogenic. Anthropogenic pollution is due to human activities like the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, mining, sewage, industrial effluents, pesticides, agricultural fertilizers etc.

Major sources of atmospheric pollution are combustion of fossil fuels, mining and processing, chemical and cosmetic industries, welding, stone crushing, construction activity, textile industry etc. Most polluting gases are carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxides, unburnt hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and particulates. In big cities, the most important source of these pollutants is the combustion of fossil fuels in vehicles.

The substances which are not normally present in the environment and are added by human beings including pesticides, insecticides, etc. are called Qualitative Pollutants.

Maximum atmospheric pollutants are concentrated at the 200m mark from the land surface.

Weeding is the process of removing unwanted plants in a crop. Once weedicides are applied, they contain harmful elements like DDT and many more which can leach into the soil and cause soil pollution and cause death of beneficial micro fauna present in the soil. These weedicides can also reach to the aquatic bodies by runoff water, causing algal blooms and thereby leading to the death of aquatic fauna.

Hydropower is mainly used in the generation of electricity. It is a renewable source of energy. It is a clean, domestic, and renewable source of energy. It provides inexpensive electricity and produces no pollution. Unlike fossil fuels, hydropower does not destroy water during the production of electricity. 

Shell of many marine organism are made of calcium carbonate. Carbonate is formed when carbon dioxide (CO2) from atmosphere get react with the sea water. It also help us to maintain carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere because today scenario is very alarming due to increasing level of carbon dioxide. 

Major causes of air pollution are combustion of natural gas, coal, petroleum, automobiles, aircraft, railways, thermal plants, welding, stone crushing and agriculture burning