The panacea for pollution 

By Kanika Sharma

Pollution is the introduction of harmful or non-useful substances into our environment. These pollutants can be natural such as volcanic ash but the same can also be produced by human activities such as trash produced in factories. Pollution damages the quality of air, water and land. It has become one of the most conquering issues and, in other words, is responsible for the imbalance in our ecosystem.

There are three kinds of pollution, air pollution, water pollution and land pollution. Air pollution is a mixture of solid particles and gases in the air that emerges from cars, factories, dust and pollen spares suspended as particles. Indoor and outdoor air pollution causes respiratory problems and other related diseases. There are at least 4.2 million deaths per year due to this. There are floods and tsunamis near coastal areas because the mountain ice is melting given the rise in temperature caused due to air pollution.

Water pollution is the release of non-useful substances into water bodies which then becomes unfit for human and animal use. This kind of pollution disturbs the eco-system of aquatic animals. Consumption of polluted water can cause diseases such as diarrhea and jaundice which are very harmful. Thousands of aquatic animals die every year because of the plastic and other toxic materials we throw away. In India itself, every year 60 million tons of garbage is thrown in water.

The deposition of solid or liquid waste or garbage on land is termed as land pollution. For more than 200 years, humans have been mining, which majorly pollutes and exploits the land. Fertile land in our country is growing infertile each day and for all this, we humans are responsible.

But, the good news is it is never too late to make amends. Pollution can be prevented by planting more and more trees, by not throwing garbage in water bodies and adopting the practice of reusing and recycling.