Effects of Environmental Pollution on Ecosystem and Practical Measures for Prevention

Introduction

The term pollution as we state can be broadly subdivided into many forms. Specifically speaking each type of pollution weather in air, water or land affects the ecosystem in different ways. With the recent advancement in science and technology it is now easily possible to detect the complex effect of this pollution on our ecosystem, but still it is not possible to recycle or totally eliminate the hazardous effects of this increasing toxicity on our ecosystem. However, it may be noted that the harmful effects of pollution can not only be reduced through recycling the waste but can also be reduced through awareness among common being. Through multimedia and social networking such awareness can be spread and the effects of pollution can be reduced by minimizing the disposal of harmful waste in our environment (Ibanez et al., 2007). In this chapter the impact of pollution on ecology have been discussed in detail. It may be noted that one of the most difficult and most hazardous type of pollution is the air pollution. In this era of rapid urban development, air pollution bears some serious toxicological as well as carcinogenic impact on living beings. The emissions due to industrial processes and automobiles contribute to the majority of air pollution. It may be noted that air pollution can be broadly subdivided into various categories like air particulate (Sweileh et al., 2018) pollution which is somewhat easy to control in closed confined spaces. Another form of air pollution is the increase in hazardous gases such as carbon monoxide, sulphur oxides as well as gases generated due to high temperature processes in industries and automobiles such as nitrogen oxides. Air pollution is difficult to control due to its ability to occupy large spaces as well as distribute homogenously in the environment. Air pollution is the major cause of respiratory, skin allergies and cardiovascular and neuropsychiatric diseases (Gaddi & Capello, 2018). In this chapter various remedies to prevent air pollution have been discussed in detail. Figure 1 displays the division of pollution into its various forms.

Figure 1.

Division of Pollution into its various forms

If fresh air is required for a living being to sustain a healthy and happy life, fresh water also shares an equal important part in the lifecycle of any living being. Fresh water is a valuable resource which in today’s era of urbanization is easily being contaminated to an extent that it is considered polluted. It may be noted that there are processes to restore the quality of water but these processes are also costly and difficult to maintain and apply. It is however much wise and easy to prevent such water contaminating activities on prior basis. The pollutants in waters can broadly be classified into synthetic as well as biological pollutants (Sharma & Bhattacharya, 2017). With recent advancements in industrial processes, synthetic pollutants hold the maximum share of water pollution in terms of toxicity as well as its quantity in the aquatic environment. However, the impact of organic matter can also not be neglected, such organic material which decomposes in aquatic region consumes oxygen and hence decrease its oxygen levels, creating a low oxygen aquatic region for the living aquatic organisms such as fish. The excess nitrates used in crops results in growth of algae (Venkateswarlu, 1969) and therefore harm the aquatic beings by preventing the proper exposure of sunlight to the plants deep inside the aquatic region. In this chapter various types of water pollution and their impact on aquatic ecology have been discussed in detail. Some methods and means to reduce and treat such activities have also been discussed.

Figure 2.

Indirapuram’s solid waste dumping site in Ghaziabad, India.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/noida/ngt-seeks-action-plan-for-indirapuram-s-solid-waste-dumping-site-in-ghaziabad/story-8cJOfSSny7ijXJqMXzwxMM.html on 12 December, 2019