POLLUTION- A SOLVABLE PROBLEM

 Pollution is the addition of harmful substances or energy into the environment that brings about the change in its natural form. Pollution can take the form of noise, light or heat. Pollutants are the components of pollution and is responsible for killing millions of people around the world.

We all have seen the situation all over the planet that these pollutants bring about. Be it the smoggy condition of Delhi, formation of sea snot in Marmara Sea, death of coral reefs, no area is untouched. As per the study published in Journal Nature, Amazon forest nearly twice the size of India which acted as a large carbon sink in now making the planet warm. It is no more acting as a carbon sink rather it is emitting CO2, major reason being deforestation, emission of fossil fuels and reduced precipitation. 

Pollution not only affects the nature but the people too. It affects their livelihood, socio-economic condition, traditional rights and culture. All of them are interconnected,  forming a cycle, they are dominos. According to a study, one- third deaths in India every year is due to air pollution. More than 8 million people around the world died because of air pollution in 2018.

 There is no denying that pollution is affecting every aspect of our life. But is it solvable? Is there any way out to this unending problem? The answer is “yes.” 

Pollution is very much a solvable problem. It just can not be solved with n emergency basis and has to be dealt with firmly and gradually. 

But why gradually?

As there are many sources of pollution, it would be prohibitively costly to stop them or even reduce them all at once.

According to a study, in India, cooking fire is the biggest source of air pollution followed by coal- fired power plants, various industries, crop residue burning, construction and road dust and vehicular emissions.

Replacement of cooking fire with new technologies is a gradual process. Smoky firewood, dung and crop residue must be replaced with Liquified Petroleum Gas, induction stoves and other electric cooking appliances.

Old power plants must be closed and should be replaced with wind and solar power. No new coal fired power plants should be built as renewable energy is cheaper.

 

Farmers should be nudged by making them aware about the deteriorating conditions of the environment and they should be introduced with new technologies to upgrade their knowledge and new farming techniques so that the environment is made better. Farmers will have to switch crops or adopt alternative methods to deal with crop residues.

 

Electric vehicles and cycling are being promoted all over the world in order to reduce vehicular pollution. Electric vehicles and hydrogen cell vehicles can serve as a good replacement to diesel and petrol vehicles.

 

As for governments, it is easy for them to make clean investments more profitable, tax polluting activities and subsidize clean investments. Fees should be levied where production chain is most concentrated- fee on plastic production at refineries, fee on fly ash or on emission of SO2 by coal power plant, on coal use, on diesel at refineries.

 

We all are agreeing to the fact that environment is degrading and the process is fast. Though people all over the world are making efforts to restore the planet back to its health but far more is to be done.

 

The concept of ONE HEALTH is being popularized that aim to bring together environment, human and animal under one umbrella. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of One  Health and leaders from all around the world are targeting to achieve the best to reduce the problem of pollution.