Page 162 - Health, Population and Environment Education 9

7.2 Environmental Pollution and Its Management

There has been rapid increase of population in world. It has increased sound pollution.
Along with increased population, unmanaged urbanization and industrialization are also
increased. There has been random extension of settlement areas and increase of construction
works. As a result, there is excessive mining which has caused air, water and land pollution.
Even there is increase of problem of solid waste management which has caused water and
land pollution. Random industrialization has increased excessive production of smoke and
increase of air, water land and sound pollution. There is increase of global warming, ozone
layer depletion due to air pollution. Apart from them, there is increase of human activities
like rocket launching, use of explosives, wars, etc. which create air, water, land and sound
pollution. In addition to them, the natural disasters and calamities like earthquake, volcanic
erruption, storm, flood, landslide, etc. destroy the physical condition of environment and
increase air, water and land pollution. Increase of pollution has serious impact on air, water,
land as well as on plants, animals, birds, insects including human beings. Natural disaster
and environmental pollution affect the life style, reproduction and survival of living beings.
Hence, it is very important to manage pollution. Control and management of pollution
ultimately helps in protection of the earth.

Fig: 3
Air Pollution Water Pollution Sound Pollution

Introduction to environmental pollution

The components of environment are closely related with each other. The balance in all of
them supports to make balance in environment and maintains environmental health. When
there is no balance among the physical and biological components of the environment,
negative impacts are seen on them. Air, water, soil, minerals, plants, animals, birds, insects
etc. do not remain in the natural state. The introduction of contaminants into the natural
environment that cause adverse change is called environment pollution.
Pollution can be defined as undesirable change in physical, chemical and biological
characteristics of air, water and land due to addition of unwanted substances in them that
adversely affects the health and the survival of all the living beings.

When there is addition of unwanted substances in air, water, land, there is change in
physical characteristics like size, structure, density, visibility, turbidity, colour, taste,
odour, transparency, etc. There is change in chemical characteristics like acidity, basicity
etc. and biological characteristics of living organisms like plants, animals, birds, insects,
micro-organisms, etc. are affected.
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