What is Pollution?
Pollution involves the introduction of harmful substances or materials that are typically dirty and lethal. These are what we call pollutants and are things that we see on a daily basis. Pollution can occur in many forms, such as smoke from exhaust pipes or even pesticides, which not only reduces the quality of the surrounding environment but also harms the animals, plants, and microorganisms living in the environment.
Water Pollution
Water pollution is a release of harmful materials to bodies of water which causes harm towards the environment and the marine life within the body of water. Water pollution can be easily differentiated from that of clean water. We could tell if the water is polluted by looking if the water is clean, how the water smells, or by the taste, although not recommended. Fertilizers have been used for approximately a century.
Although fertilizers are beneficial, the overuse of these fertilizers can lead to an excess of nutrients and minerals in the soil and leach into nearby waterways when it rains. Chemicals and waste used from gardening may run off to other areas, mainly coastal areas, near oceans and bodies of water. Through these types of wastes in which pollutants are transferred through water, aquatic ecosystems will decrease and the environment will be very unhygienic; thus, the livelihoods of the people that rely on water, especially as drinking water, will suffer the most. They are prone to waterborne diseases, which can be lethal. Acidic rain can also cause water pollution. It will devastate landscapes, and the pH of the oceans will decrease significantly. To solve water pollution, we need to stop the use harmful substances so the water still clean will not get hazardous in the near future. Another solution is to reduce the use of plastic, which could harm marine life and doesn’t degrade easily.
Soil Pollution
Soil pollution occurs when chemicals or physical disruptions cause soil contamination. Again, human activity is never a leading cause of soil pollution. In the mining industry, military farming activities, and the building of urban and transport infrastructure, soil pollution poses a major threat to soil health. Overuse of fertilizers and pesticides is also a significant factor in the destruction of soil health. Because soil health is significantly degrading, agricultural industries would be most affected as they require fertile soils to grow quality crops. Soil pollution could also play a role as a poison to kill livestock that eat pastures. This damage to agricultural industries also affects the economy of the country. Soil pollution also plays a major role in the greenhouse effect, as less carbon dioxide is taken up from the process of photosynthesis. To stop soil pollution, we could use eco-friendly products which don’t harm the soil we use and to minimize the use of pesticides and fertilizers.
Sound Pollution
Noise pollution is an increase in the amount of noise away from the norm that annoys or distracts the daily life of other organisms. The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that noise above the decibel (dB) of 65 is considered noise pollution. Noise that is above the decibel of 75 is harmful and could be painful if it reaches higher amounts of decibels. The stems of the pollution may come from a variety of types of noises from booming speakers, throttling vehicles, and heavy machinery that produce huge amounts of sounds that are too much for living organisms nearby. Elderly people will be the most affected, causing ear damage and headaches, while normal working citizens will struggle with sleeping. Not only will it affect humans, but also animals. Animals tend to stay clear of cities, as they have the highest amount of sound produced, and migrate to softer, more rural places. Therefore, to solve sound pollution, we must lower the volume of our devices when they are in public places, shut the door when using machines that create a lot of sound, and plant trees because they cut sound and help in the reduction of sound.
Air Pollution
Air pollution is the release of gas molecules that alters the composition of the atmosphere. It is directly harmful to humans, plants, and animals and is one of the reasons why the greenhouse effect is harmful. These gaseous products originate from nature but mainly from human activity. Similar to the burning of fossil fuels, the use of transportation allows us to go to work to have other orderly manners and industrial emissions. In 2019, 99% of the world’s population was living in places where the WHO’s strictest 2021 air quality guideline levels were not met. (UNEP, 2021).
Effects coming from Air pollution is deadly and life-changing. This could cause acid rains to occur, which would erode buildings even faster, typically buildings with limestone. This could be due to the combination of nitrogen and sulfur oxides originating from air pollution. Not only the structural integrity of the buildings that will be affected by acid rain, but also the damage of an ecosystem ranging from forests that will experience more forest fire to ice sheets in colder regions of the world to melt. In addition, air pollution can cause diseases when exposed to excessive air pollution, causing people to burn, difficulty breathing, and increasing the chances of us to experience lung cancer. Air pollution also contributes to the greenhouse effect, which is one of the leading causes of global warming, while pollutants such as nitrogen and sulfur oxides pollute water in the environment.
Global warming is an increase in temperature towards the Earth’s surface. Global warming has been steadily increasing every decade since the Industrial Revolution. As the human population increases, the use of multiple types of fossil fuels has increased, including coal, oil, and natural gas. Burning them is what we call the “greenhouse effect” in the Earth’s atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is the process of heating on Earth caused by the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect occurs when the heat of the sun enters Earth’s surface. The heat of the sun will bounce back to space through the atmosphere, but some of the heat will remain, which will be absorbed by the greenhouse glass in the atmosphere. Heat is trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere; thus, the temperature of the Earth will be hotter.
Climate change is characterized by changes in weather patterns and growing seasons. Climate change poses a serious threat to all life forms, from largest to smallest. This is because of widespread natural disasters and extreme weather events. Climate change is caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan analysis of the US Congress, transportation plays the biggest role in greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, and transportation produces CO2 that embody around 97% of the global warming potential. The least we could do in our daily lives is to not use cars or vehicles that emit a lot of C02 and use other alternatives for shorter distances, such as walking or the use of bicycles. We could plant more trees near our houses and care for them because they provide oxygen and take C02 away.
Global Warming in Nigeria
Beautiful Federal Republic of Nigeria, or, as we like to call it Nigeria! With a population of approximately 222 million people and 923,768 km (about 574002.82 mi) ², it will have approximately 264 million people by 2030, according to the world population review site, which is a gigantic baby boom. From its beautiful scenery to the beautiful diversity of flora and fauna, and even its cultural diversity. It is uniquely beautiful, except that Nigeria is currently experiencing pollution, global warming, and climate change.
Lagos is one of Africa’s biggest cities, with a population of 10 million. Lagos is one of the fastest growing cities and is projected to be one of the world’s largest populated cities. Air pollution in Nigeria is caused primarily by traffic congestion, biomass fuel burning, and shipping. The amount of carbon dioxide produced by Lagos is one of the reasons why climate change affects Nigeria. Climate change in Nigeria has resulted in intense and unpredictable weather conditions. It has caused a lot of damage that by 2009, an estimated 6,000 gullies were destroying the rural and urban places as Nigeria. Many Nigerians now live with a fear of climate change. By 2021, natural disasters will appear more regularly and are required for an immediate response. Nigeria’s most populated city, Lagos, will inevitably acquire seasonal floods due to rising sea levels due to global warming. This is because of melting glaciers and ice sheets that add water to the already filled ocean.
Conclusion
Earth is in danger because of the pollution emitted from it. We have come so far in fact that the things that have benefitted us many decades ago are now harming us. The decisions we made decades ago now threaten our olives and future generations. Time runs out because the effect of most pollution will already be too bad to change. However, the least we can do is not make this dangerous pollution much more dangerous as it is now. Therefore, for a better and healthier lifestyle, we need to stop pollution and reduce it.
Works Cited
UNEP. (2021, September 7). https://www.unep.org/. Retrieved May 17, 2023, from Pollution Action Note – Data you need to know: https://www.unep.org/interactive/air-pollution-note/?gclid=CjwKCAjw04yjBhApEiwAJcvNodj8902BjnW9Yfa2HB3hRvN0ctCzY2L5juzfpx_CRrHPtBeqZpjPEhoCLoEQAvD_BwE
References
Clear Air Fund. (2022, October 29). Retrieved from Lagos and air pollution: https://www.cleanairfund.org/clean-air-africas-cities/lagos/
EPA. (2023, May 11). Retrieved from Carbon pollution from transportation: https://www.epa.gov/transportation-air-pollution-and-climate-change/carbon-pollution-transportation#:~:text=%E2%80%8BGreenhouse%20gas%20(GHG)%20emissions,terms%20than%20any%20other%20sector.
Iberdrola. (2020, April 23). Retrieved from Noise pollution: how to reduce the impact of an invisible threat?: https://www.iberdrola.com/sustainability/what-is-noise-pollution-causes-effects-solutions
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. (2022, September 16). Retrieved from What you can do about air pollution: https://www.pca.state.mn.us/news-and-stories/what-you-can-do-about-air-pollution
National Geographic. (2022, December 22). Retrieved from Pollution: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/pollution/
National Geographic. (2022, December 14). Retrieved from Global warming: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/global-warming/
UNEP. (2021, September 7). Retrieved from Pollution action note – data you need to know: https://www.unep.org/interactive/air-pollution-note/?gclid=CjwKCAjw9pGjBhB-EiwAa5jl3O_3M8XVEvQiL6sfEkRZQ7FatR_cdLFW1Stk6mCmCn9XbccJI9FyPhoCO-cQAvD_BwE
World Population Review. (2013, December 6). Retrieved from Nigeria population 2023 (live): https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/nigeria-population
