• What is environmental pollution?
• Types of environmental pollution
• Causes of environmental pollution
• Consequences of environmental pollution
• How to avoid environmental pollution?
• Environmental pollution in Mexico

We explain what environmental pollution is, its types, causes and consequences. Also, how can it be avoided.

Environmental pollution is the damage to an ecosystem produced by various substances.

What is environmental pollution?

The pollution environmental is the degradation of environment as a consequence of the introduction of substances and physical elements that alter its nature in a drastic, unpredictable and dangerous way, making it less suitable for life as we know it. In other words, it is about environmental damage caused by the action of different types of pollutants.

Environmental pollution is a typical phenomenon of the impact that economic activities and the way of life of the human being have on him ecosystem.

It can occur in different contexts and varying degrees, generally with negative consequences for the living beings in general, including the own humanity. For example, it is estimated that different forms of environmental pollution cost the lives of millions of people around the world in 2015.

Pollutants, that is, those that cause environmental pollution, can be of a very different nature, occur in any physical form and have varied origins as well. However, they are usually classified into three categories, according to their behavior once introduced into the ecosystem:

• Biodegradable. Those that are found in the environment as soon as they begin a natural process of decomposition, which allows natural forces to deal with them after a certain period of time. This does not mean that they do not have impact on the environment, but this impact can be offset by the nature after a certain period of time, or what is the same, that the natural processes themselves are enough to restore balance within a relatively short time frame.
• Slow degradation. Those that also respond to natural biodegradation processes, but they do so in a very gradual and laborious way, taking large amounts of time and prolonging their environmental impact far beyond what it takes to deal with a biodegradable element. Many of these pollutants require the action of adjuvants or catalysts to degrade.
• Not biodegradable. Those that are immune to natural biodegradation processes or whose response to them is so long, slow and difficult that they are practically considered eternal. Their effects on the environment, then, are continuous, prolonged and virtually permanent, which is why they constitute the most serious case of environmental contamination.

Types of environmental pollution

Taking into account the specific place or environment in which the contamination occurs and the harmful effects occur, it is possible to classify environmental contamination as follows:

• Atmospheric pollution or from air. It occurs when gases or aerosols (tiny solids are released into suspension) to the atmosphere, introducing chemical elements unusual in it and that react in an unexpected way, altering the natural cycles of the planet. This is the case, for example, of gases that deteriorate the ozone layer, allowing the direct entry of solar radiation; or also from the gases emitted by internal combustion engines, which increase the carbon in the atmosphere and contribute to the global warming.
• Land pollution or ground. It occurs when the I usually is recipient of chemical substances or toxic, or solid materials that alter its physical-chemical properties, reducing its fertility and making it more sensitive to erosion, desertification or drought. Soil contamination seldom remains in the soil, however, and often brings water contamination with it as well. This is the case of mining waste, which radically alter the composition of the soil making it infertile, and incidentally run off with the rain into nearby rivers.
• Water pollution or of the water. It occurs when the water directly receives the polluting substances, be they liquid or solid. The latter then proceed to dissolve in the water of rivers, lakes and seas, or to poison underground water reservoirs, thus reducing the amount of drinking water of the world and carrying chemical changes that dramatically affect Flora and fauna. This is what happens, for example, with the discharge of our sewage into rivers and lakes, which adds organic substances that alter the chemical balance of the water, promoting the disorderly growth of certain algae and killing others at the same time. species, which results in the impoverishment of the biological Diversity of aquatic ecosystem.
• Space or space pollution. It occurs with each space flight that occurs and with each satelite in orbit that stops working: we are mining the planet's low orbit with small fragments of rubbish, many of which remain "falling" forever, without ever falling into the atmosphere (with whose friction they would eventually disintegrate). If this continues, we will soon have a garbage ring around the planet, which will put future space missions at risk.

On the other hand, it is possible to classify environmental pollution according to the nature of the pollutant, as follows:

• Chemical contamination. That which takes place by the action of substances and elements alien to the environment, or present in it but in fixed proportions that are altered and bring chemical, physical and biological consequences. This type of pollution occurs because the spilled substances react with those in the environment in unpredictable and commonly harmful ways, poisoning the environment and destroying the delicate natural balance of the world. An example of this are the gases rich in sulfur that certain industries fired into the atmosphere, and that once in the clouds they react with the water steam forming sulfuric acid, that is to say, acid rain.
• Radioactive pollution. Considerable as a particular form of chemical pollution, it is one that is a consequence of chemical materials of an unstable nature, which release to the surrounding environment subatomic particles harmful, capable of damaging the DNA and to poison living beings, depending on the degree of exposure to this type of electromagnetic radiation (ionizing radiation). Radioactive elements are produced in different industries, used in medicine or by-produced in nuclear power plants, such as certain isotopes of uranium and plutonium. The worst thing is that these materials can take centuries to stabilize and stop emitting harmful particles.
• Thermal pollution. That which consists of the drastic modification of the temperature of an ecosystem due to the introduction of very hot or very cold substances or materials in considerable quantities. This type of pollution usually modifies the chemical and physical processes of the environment, since the temperature affects many of them, speeding up or slowing them down, or even triggering others that, at ordinary temperatures, would not occur. An example of this mode of pollution is the return to the sea of ​​boiling water produced by power plants or iron and steel industries.
• Contamination by trash. That which produces the solid commercial, industrial and daily product wastes of our life, which are collected in landfills or, worse still, are disposed of together with sewage into rivers, lakes and seas, where they produce large accumulations of garbage. The plastic It is probably the most serious danger of this type of contamination: it takes centuries to biodegrade, but at the same time the action of the elements cuts it into tiny pieces (microplastics) that animals ingest and accumulate inside, and have been found even within the human body.
• Light pollution. That which occurs when artificial sources of light in an environment, destroying the light order (which imposes the sunrise and sunset) of many animal species, and that in some cases can even affect human performance. This is what happens, for example, with illuminated signs in rural areas, especially when they are lit all night.
• Noise pollution. That which occurs due to the incorporation of sounds chaotic, high intensity or in excessive numbers in the environment. This is a type of contamination typical of cities, where it gradually affects the organism of all people and animals, but also in factories, airports and other spaces where high volume noises are produced. A typical example of this is the noise of wind power plants, since the blades, when rotating continuously, produce a noise that breaks into the natural landscape.
• Electromagnetic pollution. That which is the result of the proliferation of electromagnetic waves in an environment, such as waves radio, television, microwave, etc. It is a form of contamination that has yet to be fully understood, typical of the age of telecommunications, in which satellites, transmitters and a true chaos of electromagnetic signals proliferated that, perfectly, could be affecting our Health or the environment.

Finally, a distinction can be made between three modes in which environmental pollution occurs, as follows:

• Point contamination. That which happens in a single point, that is, in a specific place and without permeating its surroundings. For example, the presence of solid waste in a landfill.
• Linear pollution. That which is produced according to a linear trajectory, that is, following a certain path in the environment. For example, the waste gases that an aircraft releases during flight as they follow their travel path.
• Diffuse pollution. That which is not limited to a certain region of the environment, but is transmitted from one to another and is difficult to contain in a single space. For example, the use of pesticides and pesticides in the agricultural industry pollutes the soil, but is transmitted by the action of rain to underground water reservoirs and runs at the same time into rivers and seas.

Causes of environmental pollution

The causes of environmental pollution are, for the most part, a consequence of human activities and the post-industrial way of life of our societies.

Never before has the human being had so much knowledge of the natural Sciences and so much capacity to produce new materials or to come up with new forms of Energy, which make life easier for us but have, unfortunately, a tremendous environmental cost. The main sources of environmental pollution by human action are:

• The industries basic. Steel and other industries that use energy and raw material To produce basic inputs for other industries, they usually produce significant levels of pollution of different types, and this despite the fact that many of them already take minimal measures to protect the ecosystem from its effect, such as sewage cooling wells, ventilation towers. , etc.
• Plants electric power. One of the great dilemmas of contemporary human beings is the generation of electricity, since everything around us depends on this resource, but generating it in turn requires some other form of massive production of transformable energy, for which we usually burn fossil fuels, produce controlled nuclear explosions or take advantage of the fall of large water courses. Be that as it may, obtaining electricity is one of the greatest polluting activities of human beings.
• Urban life. We have distanced ourselves from nature: our cities not only produce significant amounts of smog and toxic gases, the result of industries and automobile traffic, but are also major centers for the production of garbage, sewage and noise and lights artificial. For this reason, ecological alternatives are sought for many of the activities that sustain our contemporary way of life.
• The air Transport Y maritime. Every day, thousands of airplanes travel through the skies of the world, powered by petroleum-derived fuels that leave behind a trail of polluting gases, directly into the atmosphere we breathe. The same occurs with our ships, which leave behind a trail of spent fuel, both in the water and in the air, and yet these are activities that we do not seem to be able to do without, as we enter a globalized world.
• Lack of ecological public policies. In most of the world, polluting isn't even a crime, or not for all citizens equally. In this way, the ecological damage, often irreparable, is ignored or considered minor, and we let future generations pay the price for our comfort in the present.

On the other hand, certain natural accidents can also be a source of pollution, as occurs with volcanoes, capable of throwing metals heavy and other toxic elements everywhere. But such catastrophic events are usually extremely rare in comparison.

Consequences of environmental pollution

Pollution affects the life of all organisms, including humans.

The consequences of environmental pollution are always serious, although they may have a greater or lesser scope, and may or may not continue indefinitely in time. Among the main consequences of this phenomenon we have:

• Impoverishment of the biodiversity. The Earth It is the only planet with life that we know of, and that life has extremely high rates of diversity, with billions of different species forming part of highly complex biological and biochemical circuits. By modifying or destroying your habitats, unbalance their population relations or eradicate entire species, we are contributing to the fact that there are fewer species of living beings in the world, and we are losing their beauty and resources that could save life itself tomorrow.
• Decrease in quality of life human. Despite the fact that modern medicine has miraculous mechanisms to lengthen our lives, the proliferation of new diseases and syndromes typical of prolonged exposure to pollution is a reality for the human species. Genetic damage, physiological damage, even the gradual loss of fertility of the species are among the most worrying problems attributed to environmental pollution.
• Climate change Y natural disasters. The idea seems simple, but apparently it is not easy to understand: the changes that we introduce to the environment will bring unpredictable consequences, and some of them will be on a large scale. Global warming, climate change and the most extreme weather times are some of the symptoms that should cause us to set off the world's alarms. Otherwise, tomorrow there may not be so much world to take care of, or we will no longer be the ones to do it.

How to avoid environmental pollution?

There is no simple answer to this question, since the solution is necessarily a combination of public and private, collective and individual measures, and this will probably imply a drastic change in our way of life and in our philosophical values. To reduce the impact our existence has on a vast and beautiful planet like ours, we should:

• Take individual measurements. For this there is the program The three r: Reuse, Reduce and Recycle, for example. This implies reusing what is still alive instead of buying a new one; reduce the consumption resources to what is strictly necessary, that is, not wasting water or electricity, or producing more garbage than it should be; and finally to recycle those materials that can be reincorporated into the industry.
• Take collective action. It is not true, of course, that we are going to compensate for all the ecological damage from industries and power plants simply by reducing and classifying our garbage, so we must also pressure as citizens for our governments take measures with an ecological perspective, such as educating the masses about it, fining the big polluters, arranging the necessary measures for recycling on a large scale, and in general, thinking about society with a necessary perspective sustainable.

Environmental pollution in Mexico

Some 547,000 tons of carbon dioxide are released in Mexico City.

The capital city of Mexico is an example of how the human way of life can have harmful consequences for itself and for other living beings. As it is one of the most populated cities on the planet, the amount of garbage and polluting gases produced is enormous, and this notoriously impoverishes the health and quality of life of its inhabitants, humans and animals alike.

The figures are impressive: it is estimated that around 14,000 people die each year in Mexico City from causes derived from pollution, that some 2.8 tons of lead are dumped annually into wastewater and about 547,000 tons of lead are released. carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

In addition, the air that is breathed daily is poisoned with irritants and carcinogens, to the point that many newly arrived visitors experience symptoms of flu or conjunctivitis derived from the toxicity of the city air.