Term Paper on "Environmental Problems Today Are Extremely Serious"

Term Paper 11 pages (5020 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Environmental problems today are extremely serious, and although the world's focus is on the more severe of these problems and attempts are being made everywhere, all over the world, to solve these problems at least to a certain degree, the issue has not been given the importance that it deserves, and everywhere there are environmental problems that have been caused because of the negligence and inattention of man. Some of the problems are global warming, a phenomenon that has been occurring in all parts of the world, ozone depletion, which is another serious environmental problem, and no less important is the problem of biodiversity loss and climate changes. While in developed countries the problems related to the environment may be caused by industrialization and the increase in consumption and production that this causes.

When industrialization takes place in developing countries, what happens is that the resulting environmental problems become worse, and this is because of the lack of good regulation and also enforcement, and also because of poor management. Some of these problems are air pollution, water pollution, road accidents, the inadequate disposal of toxic and extremely hazardous wastes, noise pollution, and also human induced disasters. While most of the same problems do exist in developed countries, like for example, there is air pollution, but it is efficiently managed in such a way that there is no danger to the lives of the citizens of the country. When air pollution occurs in developing countries as a direct result of the combustion of fossil fuels caused by increased traffic, mismanagement results in concentrations of these pollutants, and this in turn results in the serious health problems faced by those citizens.

In a similar manner, water pollution in an underdeveloped or developing country is not given enough importance by the government and the other agencies that are responsible, and this results in the pollution damaging large water bodies. This is because of the fact that both the industry as well as the settlements are located close to the water body, and the pollution from the industry as well as form the settlements is emptied into the water, and this gives rise to serious health problems. Noise pollution can lead to loss of hearing, and also to increase stress, and as a result of this stress, severe health problems. Since it is now recognized that 'good health' does not only mean the 'absence of disease', it ha become vitally important to face the environmental problems of today and deal with them with urgency and immediacy. (Environmental Problems in Third World Cities)

The Table below shows the facts about the levels of energy that are required by the developing nations of the world, and the effects of this need for energy and the result that such energy demands have on the supply of energy, and the eventual affect on the environment in terms of severe and serious air pollution:

Regional Shares of World Energy Consumption, 1999 and 2020

Energy: Supply and Demand)

Today, with all the resources available to man, he is intent on doing more and more harm to his own Earth, and with those resources and tools, he is catching all the fish in a pond so that there are no fish left, he is breaking down mountains in search of mines till there are no mines left, he is changing the face of deserts and making them into gardens, he is making gardens into deserts, and with all the power at his disposal, he is in fact changing the entire face of the Earth in such a way that only he would benefit, without a thought for the future generations of man. This has to be stopped immediately if the Plant Earth were to survive for the next years. In other words, man has the power with him to be able to change the world environment, but he lacks the sufficient knowledge to be able to do so wisely, without inflicting irreparable and irreversible damage on the Planet Earth. (Problems in the World Environment)

If the region of South Asia were taken into consideration, for example, this region is one that is being faced with the most serious environmental problems of the world. Some of these include 'acid rain', deforestation, soil degradation, siltation, toxic and hazardous wastes, marine pollution, air pollution, and severe climate changes. Let us bring the issue of air pollution into focus. As the demand for energy rises in direct proportion to the rise in the population of the region, there is a surge in the energy demand and an inescapable dependence on coal, and therefore in the output. The consequence as a direct result of this demand is that the air pollution in the region has been seeing a very significant increase. The growth in the industrial activity in the region, as well as the increase in the traffic, and in the production of energy has also had the same damaging effect. (Environmental security in South Asia)

The production of coal, for example, results in 'fly ash', which, in combination with the increasing usage of coal, has resulted in the pollution of the air that these people breathe to such an extent that their basic health becomes affected. It has been estimated that there is about 35 to 40 million tons of fly ash being generated by various thermal power plants each and every year in India. Out of this huge amount of fly ash, a mere 2% to 3% is being recycled, and the rest ends up in the air, thus polluting the air to a great extent. In the year 1990, it was found that the acid loads in the regions of India and Bangladesh were at a much higher level than the permissible excess critical level. When coal is burnt, it naturally pollutes the atmosphere, and worse, the pollution tends to spread over large areas, and this means that this directly causes acid deposits both near the areas where the coal is burnt, as well as in the general surrounding areas, and also in a wider area from where the coal was originally burnt.

Recently, a study was conducted to assess the air pollution near the Indian Ocean, and it was discovered that the air near the Indian Ocean demonstrated the presence of small particles of pollutants, known as 'aerosols'. Aerosol is generally composed of fly ash, soot, various forms of sulfates and nitrates, and also some organic particles and mineral dust, all of which was found to be suspended and hanging over the Indian Ocean in a cloud of pollution. What made the situation even worse is the fact that the fly ash and the pollution resulting from coal generally covers large and vast areas, much away from the original site where the coal is burnt, and this meant that a large part of the Indian Ocean, including parts of the Arabian Sea, and also a large part of the Bay of Bengal were being adversely affected by this cloud of fly ash and other pollutants in the atmosphere. The study further indicated that the impact of this type of pollution would be felt in the long-term, when air pollution would eventually affect the very climate of the region because of the impact of the pollution on the very hydrological cycle of the region. (Environmental security in South Asia)

It can be stated that the majority of the population of the region of South Asia are being faced with a serious increase in the pollution of the air in the area, which is almost of unacceptable levels in developed countries. The air pollution may be comprised of small particles in the air, or any other type of pollution like for example, fly ash. Urban air pollution is stated to cause more than 250,000 deaths each and every year, and the figures will keep rising if some action were not taken at the earliest. Some more of the populations of the region suffer from deadly respiratory ailments, and it is sometimes extremely difficult to treat these people because of the fact that the very air that they are being forced to breathe is polluted. Air pollution, especially urban, is in fact the cause of more than five times as many deaths that malaria causes. (South Asia Urban Air Quality Management)

Often, it is the urban poor people who are the most susceptible to the diseases caused by air pollution, and this may be because of the fact that these people utilize biomass-based fuels for their cooking and heating purposes. In most cases, their condition is exacerbated by the fact that they are the most malnourished group of people in these regions, and when they are malnourished, they are more prone to disease than others who are well fed. Unless the root cause of air pollution is tackled, there can be no quick and fast solution to the problem. The Government, is, however, doing its mite towards the solution of the problem of… READ MORE

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