Air Pollution and What can be done?

Did you know that the rate of air pollution in China is so high that it’s

visible even from the space? It’s no surprise why even our own capital

city Delhi is soon been consumed by it as well. Imagine a world where

there is no prevention of air pollution and we are out in a hospital

while getting treated for its hazardous effects. Can’t yet imagine right?

But what if, this is how the future looked like?

But what exactly is pollution? What is air pollution? Well, then let’s

not waste any more time and scroll ahead to learn more and start

acting on the solutions right away!

Pollution

Source: Momjunction.com

Every day when you read the newspaper, you’d find one article or the

other related to pollution. How is pollution taking lives? Or how the

rate of pollution hasn’t decreased since ages. If there are 85 kids

healthy kids born every day, there are 10 kids who are born unhealthy

or born with a disability and the rest 5 don’t even survive for a minute.

For the same ratio, there are another 100 people who are dying every

day in a very horrible death because of pollution.

So, now the question arises as to what is Pollution? What causes it?

And is there any way to tackle this issue?

Pollution can be defined as the phenomena that occurs when there’s

release of dangerous pollutants such as chemicals into the air, water or

land that harm our natural environment causing an imbalance in the

ecosystem which affects our lifestyles severely. Pollution has already

hit its peak, leading to global warming, various diseases and the

organisms causing it and so much more, thanks to modernization. As

each day passes by in our lives, the risk of pollution increases.

Pollution can be classified into two categories: Air Pollution and

Water Pollution.

Air Pollution

Source: Ral.ucar

The air that we breathe is the same anywhere we go in the world;

unfortunately so is the air pollution that is being caused. This air that

we breathe is made up of a combination of gases, such as 78% of

nitrogen, 21% of oxygen, and the rest 1% comprising of carbon

dioxide, argon, methane, ozone, water vapor, etc.

Air Pollution can be defined as the contamination caused in the air due

to the release or presence of toxic and unwanted pollutants (i.e.

pollution-causing substances) which then poses as a major risk to all

living beings on the planet and having an even severe and hazardous

effect on the planet as a whole.

Air pollution is one of the major contributors to the cause of global

warming and is slowly increasing day by day. If the steps for

prevention of air pollution aren’t taken in time, there shall soon come

a time when the only source of breathing would be oxygen masks.

What can be done?

In today’s time, the rate has increased so much that we’re in desperate

need of prevention of air pollution soon. Therefore even a small step

initiated by you could lead to big wonders. Developed countries have

already started their work on reducing the levels of sulfur dioxide,

smog, and smoke in order prevent people’s health from deteriorating

any further and ensuring they breathe fresh air.

Source: Earth.com

When questioned the first and major effect of air pollution that comes

to people’s mind is global warming and hence they even agree that in

order to curb global warming, various measures need to be taken;

steps that will reduce an individual’s carbon footprint (i.e. the degree

of carbon dioxide one releases in the atmosphere).

Following are few measures one can do on a daily basis for the

prevention of air pollution at large:

a. One way is to put taxes on carbon emissions and even higher taxes

on gasoline so that people and companies will have incentives to limit

the emissions of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases in the air and

pollute less.

b. One may consider the use of man-made or natural air filters.

Natural air filters include keeping your windows open, thereby

allowing natural ventilation to occur as much as possible.

c. While purchasing a new vehicle, consider one that pollutes less, is

the most efficient and emits zero or less smoke. The best option is to

go for a CNG friendly itself.

d. Walking to short distances and as much as possible to avoid

pollution and cluttering of vehicles which emit harmful gases.

e. Encouraging use of public transport rather than driving.

f. Maximize the use of a fan instead of an air conditioner.

g. Planting as many trees as possible every day for a fresh and cleaner

air and to maintain the natural balance in the ecosystem.

h. Using the data being provided by the government and various other

agencies (who regularly monitor the levels or air pollutions) to create

awareness about the issue of air pollution within your community.

i. Use of fossil fuels to conserve energy such as wind energy, solar

energy, and hydropower.

There are so many other ways for the prevention of air pollution. Can

you list some of them on your own?

Solved Example for You

Q. Oxygen constitutes nearly how much percentage of the

atmosphere?

a. 45%

b. 21%

c. 75%

d. 100%

Sol: b. Oxygen constitutes 21% of the atmosphere.

Q. The pie chart shows the composition of air. Identify the gases

W, X, Y.

a. Nitrogen-Rare gases- Oxygen

b. Carbon-Oxygen-Rare gases

c. Nitrogen-Oxygen-Rare gases

d. Rare gases-Hydrogen-Oxygen

Sol: c. Nitrogen-Oxygen-Rare gases.

The given pie chart explains the composition of the atmosphere in

which Nitrogen is 78%, Oxygen is 21%, Carbon Dioxide is 0.03%,

while the remaining 0.9%constitute the trace gases like argon, helium

etc.

How does air gets polluted?

Simran is 13 years old and is already suffering from asthma. She

wishes to be an Olympic runner someday. But the question is, will she

ever be able to achieve her dream? This wasn’t the case a few years

when she was a small child and surprisingly, her asthma isn’t genetic.

So what happened in all these years that caused her to suffer from

asthma? Well, a very basic and simple answer to this is ‘Air

pollution’. Asthma is one of the severe effects of air pollution. How

does air get polluted so much that it leads to air pollution? What are

the effects and causes of air pollution? Let us find the answers to all

these questions below.

What are the causes of air pollution?

The pollutants that contaminate the quality of air are known as “Air

pollutants”; such as smoke from forest fires, cigarettes, factories, dust,

etc. Majority of the air pollution occurs due to the use of energy and

production by factories. Additionally, there are fossil fuels that are

being burnt that release harmful gases and chemicals into the air.

Air pollutants

One of the main pollutant participating in the causes of air pollution is

Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that is making earth warmer adding

to global warming and causing a major change in the climate and even

though living beings emit this gas while breathing, CO2 is also a gas if

released in excess is considered to be life-threatening. Anyways in the

past decade, enough carbon dioxide has already been pumped into the

atmosphere to increase its levels more than they have been in the

earliest of centuries.

Along with CO2 there are other gases that are involved as well such as

Chloroflouro carbons (CFCs) which are a result of aerosol and

refrigerants causes the depletion of ozone layer, Methane (CH4) is

again another greenhouse gas and Sulfur dioxide (SO2) which is

produced by volcanoes and alike factories causes acid rain since the

clouds get acidic because of this gas.

Source: Pinterest

Other factors for the causes air pollution are:

Exhaust from Vehicles: Majority of the vehicles even today run on

petrol and diesel; combustion from these vehicles releases many toxic

gases like CO2, Carbon Monoxide (CO), SO2, etc.

Dust Particles: A lot of dust particles are produced from mining, stone

factories, and alike industries. These dust particles are capable of

penetrating through anything even through the thick layers of our skin.

Kitchen: Be it a household kitchen or a high-end restaurant kitchen,

the pollution produced by both these places is same and equally

responsible for pollution of air.

Not only are the above pollutants major causes of air pollution, but

also they’re all ‘Man-made pollutants’. So you can see how much we,

humans are responsible for harming our planet. On the other hand, the

gases that we discussed above as pollutants come under ‘Natural

pollutants’.

Effects of Air Pollution

By now we already know what causes air pollution. So, what’re the

effects of air pollution and to what extent can they harm us?

Smog

Source: Gadgets.NDTV.com

Smog is a combination of smoke and fog, it can also be called ozone

on ground level. It appears primarily when there’s release of emissions

which are caused by combusting fossil fuels. Smog decreases the level

of visibility thereby creating problems for drivers, pilots, etc. Smog if

inhaled in high levels can also cause congestion in the throat, major

respiratory problems, exposure to smog can also cause many eye

related problems. It is one of the major contributors to the increasing

problem and causes of air pollution in Delhi.

Soot

Soot is yet another type of air pollution which is caused by smoke

released from industry, automobile engines, and the emissions

released by combustion of fossil fuels like coal. It can also be referred

as ‘particulate matter’; since it’s primarily made up of tiny particles of

smoke. The effects of air pollution are even more dangerous than

those caused by smog since these tiny particles can penetrate through

anything.

Acid Rain

It is a mixture of oxides of sulphur and nitrogen with rainwater. Acid

rain, the word itself describes how hazardous can it be; not just

humans but also for non-living things around us such as it causes the

surfaces of buildings to corrode on the outside. Acid rain has caused

the Taj Mahal to become pale over time.

Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM)

Suspended Particulate Matter can be defined as the microscopic

particles from any solid, liquid or gas released into the air. These

particles are so tiny they can actually penetrate through anything and

cause various respiratory diseases.

Greenhouse Effect

The ‘Greenhouse Effect’ can be defined as trapping of solar radiation

by gases like CO2 and CH4 and bringing about a climatic change and

increasing the earth’s temperature. Greenhouse effect leads to extreme

weather, contagious diseases like Lyme, deaths due to extreme heat

temperatures, greenhouse effect also causes an increase in the sea

levels.

Global Warming

Increase in earth’s temperature is called ‘Global warming’. Air

pollution is one of the major contributors to the cause of global

warming, global warming has led to melting of ice caps, glaciers, etc.

We ‘need’ to acknowledge this problem of air pollution with whatever

time we’ve got on our hands before it’s too late.

Solved Example for You

Q. Which of the following is NOT an air pollutant?

a. N2

b. CO

c. NO

d. N2O

Sol: a. N2 is ‘not’ an air pollutant. Nitrogen (N2) is not an air pollutant

since atmospheric composition contains 78% nitrogen and 21%

oxygen.

The Greenhouse Effect

Have you ever noticed how on a cloudy night it’s warmer than on any

other nights when the skies are clear? Instead on a cloudy night, it

should actually be cooler; isn’t it? So what causes this bizarre effect

and how does it happen? Well, it happens because of an effect which

is known as ‘The Greenhouse Effect’. What, is greenhouse effect?

What causes this effect? How harmful can it be? Let us know more

about it below.

What is the Greenhouse Effect?

The ‘Greenhouse Effect’ is defined as the increase in Earth’s surface

temperature caused by the trapping of atmospheric heat. This makes

the earth’s temperature warmer than it actually would, than getting

warmer directly by the sun. Some of the heat gets absorbed into the

atmosphere and is bounced back into space when sunlight reaches the

earth. Now, this heat is redirected back towards the Earth when

greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane that are present

in the atmosphere absorb this heat.

In 1827, Joseph Fourier discovered the greenhouse effect which was

experimentally verified in 1861 by John Tyndall and in 1896 was

quantified by Svante Arrhenius.

Mechanism of the Greenhouse Effect

Sun gives out UV, infrared and visible radiation gets received by the

earth. The incoming solar energy from the sun is redirected back

towards space by the atmosphere and clouds and then some of the

solar energy gets absorbed by the atmosphere and clouds. And the

remaining energy gets absorbed by the Earth’s surface making it

warm.This energy then gets converted into heat.

Now once this heat gets absorbed by the earth’s surface, it is trapped

in the earth’s atmosphere and thereby adding to increase the earth’s

temperature. This effect is what we call the ‘Greenhouse Effect’.

Therefore, if the amount of greenhouse gases present in the earth’s

atmosphere is high then the earth’s temperature too will keep getting

higher; which is what has been happening lately adding to the

greenhouse effect and warming up earth than it already is.

Extreme weather conditions, global warming, and rise in sea levels are

the results of the greenhouse effect.

Causes of the Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect occurs when greenhouse gases like carbon

dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluoride gases synergize with

sun’s energy. These gases are composed of more than three atoms and

it’s this atomic structure that enables them to trap the atmospheric heat

which is absorbed by the earth’s surface.

Another major factor responsible for the greenhouse effect is

‘condensation’. Along with greenhouse gases, water vapor also plays a

major role in the circulation of the greenhouse effect. Water vapor

reacts to the changes in temperature and air pressure by evaporating or

condensing into rain or snow and returning to earth’s surface. It this

form of water vapors adds to the increase in the greenhouse effect.

Case Study: The Taj Mahal

India’s Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders, or rather it used to be

one of the seven wonders once upon a time. But it’s no more a wonder

anymore; there’s absolutely nothing wonderful left about it anymore.

What was once white as snow and twinkled like a shining star is now

slowly fading away; thank to air pollution. The Taj Mahal known for

its white beauty has now started to turn yellowish-brown due to

deposition of dust and carbon-containing particles which are emitted

when fossil fuels, biomass or garbage is burnt.

Source:Indiatoday.in

What couldn’t happen in decades, air pollution has managed to do so. Oxygen

combined with moisture, sulphur dioxide sets on the marbles and corrodes the

marble, result of which is fungus known as the ‘marble cancer’ by the

scientists.

Scientists have found 3% of black carbon, 30% of brown carbon and the rest

of it to be dust. Scientists not just in India but abroad are trying to find a

solution to this problem and hopefully will soon come up with a solution.

Solved Example for You

Q. Greenhouse Effect is the major cause of:

a. Global Warming

b. Acid Rain

c. Reduction of temperature

d. All of the above

Sol: a. The greenhouse effect is the major cause of ‘Global Warming’.

A greenhouse gas is any gaseous compound in the atmosphere that is

capable of absorbing infrared radiation, thereby trapping and holding

heat in the atmosphere. By increasing the heat in the atmosphere,

greenhouse gases are responsible for the greenhouse effect, which

ultimately leads to global warming.

Pollution of Water

Rehan lives in an apartment where there’s no proper supply of water

and hence he’s dependent on tap water. Every day in the morning after

he wakes up and before he goes to sleep; he has to boil the tap water;

wait for it to cool down and then drink it. But why does he do so? Isn’t

tap water purified enough? If so, then what’s the reason behind it?

‘Pollution of Water’- there’s is a no better explanation to these

questions than this.

It’s because of the pollution of water that makes Rehan suffer so

much. Water levels on earth’s surface are already depleting and in the

very near future, there shall be wars over water. So what can we do to

prevent it? Let us find solutions to this problem below.

Pollution of Water

Source: SamtaYuva.org

One can survive without food, but one cannot survive without water;

this is a fact that stands true at all costs. Water can revive a dead man

alive; that’s how precious water is for our lives. Once upon a time,

water all over the world was so clean that you could even drink it from

a river without the use of any purifiers. Sadly that’s not the case

anymore; when looked closely, one can see the amount of water

pollution being spread in waters all over the world.

Pollution of Water can be defined as contamination caused in water

due to the presence of highly toxic and unwanted pollutants in water,

that risk the marine life and human life at large.

Every day thousands of kids die due to diarrhea caused by the polluted

water. Every day there’s one species of animals/marine life goes

extent due to water pollution and this rate just keeps increasing as the

days go on and there’s only so much we can do. How do you think are

tsunamis caused? Or why has the rate amount of floods increased?

What can be done?

The rate at which water levels are decreasing day by day; soon there

shall be no water left. Some of the nations have started their work on

prevention of water already and it’s time we do our bit too. Because

only then can we preserve water for us and the future generation.

Every small step taken can lead to big wonders. Here are few steps

you can take to preserve water:

a. Do not pour the leftovers from food or any other kind of wastes in

the drainage.

b. Have the rivers, ponds or lakes cleaned up regularly around you.

c. The water released from the households should be treated properly

in order to make them safe environmentally. Sewage treatment should

be done regularly to ensure contaminated water doesn’t pollute the

natural surroundings near you. Encourage the use of pit toilets.

d. It’s mandatory for factories to treat its effluent wastes before

releasing it down the drainages.Other than effluent wastes, toxic

materials are also released by the factories; therefore they are expected

to treat these materials chemically which will then turn them into

harmless materials and only then are they permitted to be released in

water bodies.

e. Recycle unused, dirty or unwanted water instead of wasting it, like

using it for watering plants, releasing it into farming fields etc.

f. Create awareness about water pollution as much as possible

whenever and wherever possible.

g. Never keep the water running. Always close the taps after use.

h. Do not pour harmful materials like insecticides into the water.

i. One should encourage the use of organic substances.

Solved Example for You

Q. The term water-pollution can be defined in several ways. Which of

the following statements does not give the correct definition?

a. The addition of undesirable substances to water-bodies.

b. The removal of desirable substances from water-bodies.

c. A change in the pressure of the water bodies.

d. A change in the temperature of the water bodies.

Sol: c. A change in the pressure of the water bodies.

How does water get polluted?

Wouldn’t you want to visit a place where there are clear skies, clear

waters and it’s peaceful? But does this place exist anymore? Rather, is

there any more scope that someplace so beautiful can exist? Not to

crash your dreams but, there’s a very slight possibility that something

so beautiful will ever exist again. Why not, you ask? Well, it’s

because of water pollution! And what are the causes of water

pollution? And above all can we prevent it? Let’s find out below.

Source: Pbase.com

What are the causes of Water Pollution?

The pollutants that contaminate the quality of water are known as

‘Water Pollutants’ such as human excreta, wastes from household

kitchens, toxic and radioactive substances, etc. Most of the water

pollution occurs due to wastes released by chemical factories, oil

factories or oil spill accidents. Here are the major causes of water

pollution:

Water Pollutants

These water pollutants are what make up for the risk that living being

have when they polluted water. These water pollutants are:

Living Wastes:

Human or animal excrete contain various microorganisms that cause

diseases amongst the living, the release of this excreta in water poses a

major to water and thereby affecting the living too.

Toxic Wastes:

Wastes released from factories are usually toxic, dangerously treated

with chemicals and sometimes there are even nuclear wastes disposed

of in water such as uranium, radon, etc. Along with this, there are also

chemicals released in water after the completion of their use;

chemicals such as pesticides and insecticides, soapy water, etc; and

these chemicals can be organic or inorganic chemicals.

Plant Wastes:

These are organic wastes where nutrients in plants such as nitrated and

phosphates produce fertilizers or manure which are actually harmful to

the plants.

Kitchen wastes:

The wastewater produced by household or restaurants kitchens carry

many harmful microorganisms that lead life-threatening diseases,

these microorganisms are responsible for diseases like Malaria. These

microorganisms then become breed on other creature which acts like

their carriers and these carriers infect an individual who in turn infects

someone else and the cycle keeps going.

Oil Spills

Water polluted by oil spills pose a major risk for the living as during

an oil spill large quantities of oil enter and risk not the human life but

marine life too.

Global warming:

Global warming doesn’t just affect the land creatures but it also affects

the aquatic life since if and when the temperature rises up waters will

dry up leading to the death of marine life.

Modernization:

As population size increases, the demand for basic needs like shelter,

food, etc also increases. Therefore to produce these needs one needs

space and land, and land can be occupied by either destroying natural

surroundings present on land or drying up water bodies and occupying

those lands.

How does water pollution affect us?

Case Study: River Ganga Action Plan

The Ganga or popularly known as The Ganges, is undoubtedly India’s

most sacred places but sadly it is not sacred anymore. What used to be

a place to wash your sins away has a now become a place where sins

happen. More than half of India’s population is dependent on the

waters of river Ganga. Sadly the water become so polluted now, that

one can actually see the mountains of trash built up the Ganga.

And this water pollution is alone caused by us, humans. And there’s

only so much we’ve been able to achieve so far.

The release of ashes and dead bodies in the river is one of the primary

causes of water pollution of the Ganga. And now seeing that it’s

already so polluted, industries nearby too have begun to dispose of

their wastes in Ganga. Seeing such poor condition of the river Ganga,

in 1985 a plan to save the river Ganga called ‘The Ganga Action Plan’

was launched. Its primary aim was to lower the pollution levels in the

river, which seems to be shutting down soon.

Solved Example for You

Q. Which of the following is a point source of water pollution?

a. Industries

b. Power Plants

c. Coal Mines

d. All of the above

Sol: d. All of the above

A point source is a single, identifiable source of pollution, such as a

pipe or a drain. All the industries, factories and other sources directly

discharging their polluted water to the river bodies creating a lot of

water pollution and health hazards for the aquatic life.

What is Potable Water and How is Water Purified?

People earlier would store their water in earthen pots to keep the water

clean and cold. People then moved on to filters and now it’s the age of

water purifiers. Yet there are places where people don’t have an

access to ‘Potable water’. Though what is potable water? How can one

purify water so people who don’t have access to clean water can still

have clean water? Let us study this in the section below.

What is Potable Water?

Only 10% of the water on this planet is free of water pollution, yet

access to this water is limited. And the water which is accessible is

called as ‘Potable Water‘, but is sadly divided amongst millions and

millions of people on this planet.

Therefore potable water is defined as the water that can be considered

safe for drinking. Potable water which is available has already passed

through the water purification process by factories or by treating it

with chemicals to remove the harmful microorganisms.

Although the question remains; can the water potable water made

available by the factories actually considered potable? Is the water

really free of water pollutants? The answer to which is a huge

mystery. That is why a majority of the Indian households prefer to boil

the water that’s in their homes; even though it’s potable.

Here, again another question arises as to what about the places that do

not have access to potable water? And at times they don’t even have

access to basic amenities like fire. These places depend on the water

bodies nearby or underground water which is one of the most natural

forms of potable water.

How is Water Purified?

Imagine, there’s a ban on water producing factories and there’s no

more access to ‘clean and fresh’ water? How does one purify it?

You’d probably answer this- ‘by boiling the water’ and you’re right.

But what if we can’t always boil it?

Here are few alternatives to purify water:

Chlorine:

Water purification is also done using household liquid chlorine bleach.

This kind of bleach contains 5-6% of chlorine which is enough to kill

the harmful disease-causing bacteria and viruses. But while using this

one needs to keep in mind about the expiration date of the bleach

being used and should be used in little quantity only.

Treatment of water using iodine:

Water purification is also done using iodine; since iodine kills most of

the hazardous microorganisms present in freshwater sources.

Use of Solar Energy to purify water:

Here solar energy is used to disinfect the dirty water and killing the

microbes. The three main components responsible for water

purification by solar energy are- heat, electric water purifier, and UV

purification.

Solar Distillation:

Source: Appropedia.com

Solar water distillation is done using sun’s heat. It is done by placing

makeshift that can be made by using readily available materials, over

a small pit in the ground from where the purification of water happens.

Reverse Osmosis:

Reverse Osmosis is the removal of inorganic materials such as salt

from a solution by the applying osmotic pressure. This is a method

universally used by water purifier companies and for purification of

seawater.

Sedimentation:

Sedimentation is a water treatment process wherein is used gravity to

remove suspended materials from the water. This method is primarily

used for sewage treatment.

There are so many other ways to purify water. Can you list some

more?

Solved Example for You

Q. The method used for purification of water for chemical purposes is:

a. Fractional distillation

b. Distillation

c. Evaporation

d. None of the above

Sol: b. Distillation

The method used for purification of water for chemical purposes is

distillation. It involves selective boiling and condensation to remove

the impurities.