It is very important to keep the environment clean and free from pollution to ensure that no one, including the plants and animals breathe polluted air. Hence it is vital for every individual to do what he or she can do to keep the environment clean and pollution free. This should in fact start from our homes. For this we have to make sure that our homes and the immediate environment are clean. One of the major problems encountered by the human race is pollution. Pollution is a killer made by man that damages our beautiful planet Earth and its life.

The word pollution has been basically derived from the Latin word “pollutionem” which implies “to make dirty”. It refers to the unwanted substances that contaminate our nature and make our environment undesirable. Pollution is tainting of air, water or soil with harmful or poisonous substances that may affect the life or create a potential health hazard to any living organism. These hazardous substances that contaminate the environment are of different types and have different effects on different things like air pollution affects the air. In simple words pollution disturbs the natural system and the balance of the environment.

The Different Types of Pollution

There are many types of pollution. Besides having a negative impact on the natural world it also affects the health of the human race as well. The following are the most dangerous types of pollution and a basic understanding of them can enable the environmentally conscious people to minimize their contribution to these hazards.

Air Pollution

This is the most common and hazardous types of pollution that result in the contamination of the atmosphere that disturbs and alters the natural composition of compounds in the air. We breathe the air in the atmosphere and contamination of air with poisonous gases can have a fatal effect on us. In simple words it is the deterioration of the quality of the air due to the infiltration of foreign particles. The major air pollutants are Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, carbon monoxide, lead and Sulphur dioxide.

Water Pollution

Water pollution refers to the contamination of water with chemicals or other hazardous foreign substances that are detrimental to humans, plants or animals. The water pollutants are mainly man made and comprise of fertilizers, sewerage system, industrial effluents, pesticides, agricultural rundowns, lead, mercury and other heavy metals.

Soil Pollution

Soil pollution is also yet another serious issue that the world today is confronted with. Soil pollution involves contamination of the soil that decreases the productivity and fertility of the soil by the release of harmful substances into the soil. The major soil pollutants are the artificial chemicals like the fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and ripening agents.

Noise Pollution

Noise pollution refers to any loud, unpleasant or intrusive sound released into the environment that distracts, annoys or causes discomfort to any human or animal. This type of pollution affects the efficiency of humans. The most common sources of noise pollution that affects most people on the planet are the motor vehicles, office machines and public address systems.

Thermal Pollution

This refers to the degradation of the water quality that increases the water temperature as a result of human or environmental causes. Thermal pollution is also caused by release of excessive heat energy by manufacturing industries into the environment. This type of pollution is contributed mainly by Power plants, steel industries and nuclear power plants.

Marine Pollution

Marine pollution occurs when hazardous materials enter the ocean. This signifies the contamination of the ocean mainly with man-made waste and by products. It imposes a serious threat to the marine life and adversely affects them. The main cause of marine pollution is the off-shore drilling, wrecked oil tankers and shore based industries.

Nuclear Pollution

This type of pollution is very rare but if it occurs it is deadly and life threatening in nature. This pollution is caused by the nuclear waste material on account of nuclear explosion. This nuclear waste consists of radioactive waste. This type of pollution can lead to diseases like skin cancer. The pollutants can be man-made or natural. The natural pollutants are the cosmic rays and the manmade pollutants are due to nuclear weapon testing.

In order to create a pollution free environment we have to analyze the reasons and initiate corrective action. The world is deteriorating due to pollution. Let us save the coming generations from these threatening issues and do our best to save Planet Earth.