About Pollution
The Miriam Webster Dictionary defines pollution as “the action of polluting especially by environmental contamination with man-made waste.” The key word here is man-made. Since the pollutants are mostly man-made, it means that man can stop it too.
National Geographic identifies the different kinds of man-made pollution to be
Land or Soil Pollution.
Water Pollution.
Air Pollution
Noise Pollution
Light pollution
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Land Pollution
Land pollution is a serious problem that impacts everyone on this earth. The definition of land pollution is the destruction and contamination of the land through the direct and indirect actions of humans. Every year one American produces over 3500 pounds of hazardous waste. We throw away more than 250 million tons of municipal solid waste and most of the waste came from residential homes.
Some causes are:
Deforestation and soil erosion
Agricultural chemicals
Industrial waste
Landfills
Some effects are:
Ground water poisoning
Loss of topsoil
Shifting habitats of animals
Increased risk of wildfires
Interview With Dr. Tempel
Dr. Alice Tempel is the Environmental Specialist, Recycling Coordinator, and Clean Communities Coordinator for South Plainfield Township. Dr. Alice Tempel received the “Municipal Coordinator” 2016 Award for her efforts to keep the South Plainfield borough green and clean.
What is land pollution, in your words?
There are various ways the land can be polluted. Chemical contamination of the soil and groundwater usually comes from industry, either deliberately or accidentally, but other sources such as farming, salting icy roads, and even naturally occurring rocks that may release arsenic or other metals into the soil. Surface water like streams, lakes and oceans can also be polluted by things that are washed off the land, like various kinds of litter, especially plastic. When plastic gets into the ocean, it breaks apart over time into small pieces, which sea creatures eat by accident.
What are the ways in which you bring down land pollution at South Plainfield?
The only work I do directly on land pollution is through our Clean Communities program. I gather volunteers together to collect as much litter as they can for proper disposal so it won’t get into the storm drains or sit along the roadsides. The schools, businesses, and residents all participate in different programs to pick up litter. The Recycling Program keeps tons of solid waste out of our Middlesex County landfill and benefits the environment in other ways, like reducing air pollution and the amount of energy needed to manufacture new products. I also gather information on our contaminated industrial sites for the Environmental Commission, which gives advice to the Mayor and Council to the Planning Board about environmentally sound land use.
Can environmental awareness initiatives promote Environmental science and advocacy? How?
Dr Tempel: Absolutely. The first step in addressing a problem is becoming aware of it. Then to learn enough about it to know whether this problem is important enough to you for you to try to find a solution to. An environmental website can expose people to a wide variety of issues that they many never even have heard of before, but which can affect them very personally.
Water Pollution
Water is scarce as it is. We are harming this scarce resource by dumping plastic into our oceans. As per UNEP (United Nations environment program), more than 8 million tonnes of plastic leaks into the ocean each year – equal to dumping a garbage truck of plastic every minute. By 2050, the oceans will contain more plastic than fish by weight.
Plastic pollution poses one of the biggest known threats to the ocean, influencing all ecosystems from beautiful coral reefs to abyssal trenches, eventually accumulating in our own food.
Interview With Ms. Sohler
Bernadette M. Sohler is the Vice President of the Middlesex Water Company
How does Middlesex Water company help us get clean water in our homes?
We do several things. Our Middlesex system in New Jersey produced over 14 BILLION gallons of water in 2017. This comes from our surface water supply, obtained from the Delaware and Raritan Canal and from wellfields. We monitor water quality at our treatment plant, at each wellfield and throughout our 700+ mile water distribution system to ensure that water delivered to customers meets federal and state drinking water standards. But we also invest in our water system to better serve current and future generations of water users. In fact our company recently announced a major infrastructure campaign “Water for Tomorrow®” to enhance safety, reliability ,and resiliency throughout our water system in New Jersey. We’ll be investing over $160 million throughout 2018 to enhance water pressures, reduce lost water, enhance our treatment process and strengthen our water delivery network. In 2017, under our RENEW program, we replaced pipes, valves and fire hydrants to enhance fire flows. To learn more about the quality of water we deliver, we encourage everyone to view our annual water quality report on our website at www.middlesexwater.com
In your words, what is water pollution?
Water pollution occurs when particles, chemicals or substances are discharged directly or indirectly into bodies of water such as lakes, rivers, oceans as well as groundwater. Some examples of water pollutants include human trash, chemicals dumped by industry and runoff of chemical fertilizers. Remember also, that what goes down the drain can eventually makes it way into water sources. When these things enter our source waters, we as a water company have to make sure these pollutants are removed in the water treatment process.
Do environmental awareness initiatives and websites help in promote the responsible use of water?
They certainly do. Appreciation of natural resources starts at a young age and we need to channel that interest because today’s young environmentalists may be tomorrow’s biologists, scientists, public policy advocates and more. We are all for programs that help people of all ages understand the value of water because in general, people tend to take water for granted. They don’t really think about it until it’s discolored, not flowing out of the tap, or they see a broken pipe gushing gallons of water. But water is a life sustaining valuable natural resources. It ensures public health protection and sanitation, fire protection, quality of life and serves the framework for economic development. We speak with groups of all ages to help them be wise water consumers.
Air
Pollution
According to United Nations, “air pollution is one of the leading avoidable causes of disease and death globally with 4.3 million deaths occurring each year from exposure to household air pollution and 3.7 million deaths each year attributed to ambient air pollution, at a high cost to societies.” But what is air pollution?
According to CBS news, “The air we breathe in many cities is polluted by driving cars and trucks; burning coal, oil, and other fossil fuels; and manufacturing chemicals. Millions of people live in areas where urban smog, caused by vehicle exhaust and industrial processes or wildfires. While often invisible, pollutants in the air create smog and acid rain, cause cancer or other serious health effects, diminish the protective ozone layer in the upper atmosphere, and contribute to world climate change.”
Interview with Professor Saunders
Professor Janice Saunders is Science Engineering Technology (SET) Agent & 4-H Teen Café Lead at Rutgers University.
Tell us about your work related to global warming.
McDonnell: I do a lot of education and outreach about climate change. We host an annual event called the Climate and Environmental Change Teen Summit where young people learn about climate change and do community service projects that help others learn about climate change in their communities.
In your words, what is air pollution and how is it linked to global warming?
The key driver for climate change is the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. Here are three great resources to help you learn more!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK8LLWSIIm4
Noise
Pollution
Noise is unwanted sound. Noise pollution has a harmful effect on human, plant and animal life. According to American Speech language-Hearing Association (ASHA), sounds at 85 dBA can lead to hearing loss over extended hours. Normal conversation is about 60 dB, a lawn mower is about 90 dB, and a loud rock concert is about 120 dB. As increased noise levels are leading to deafness, sleep disorders, cardiovascular diseases, communication problems and increased stress amongst humans. Highway traffic, aircraft, factories and construction sites, in that order, generate the most annoying noises afflicting people in Europe and North America, a United Nations report says. Noise disrupts the natural rhythm of life and is therefore one solid pollutant.
As per https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-and-effects-of-noise-pollution.php, the factors causing noise pollution are poor urban planning, social events, transportation, construction, and household chores
Light
Pollution
Light pollution is defined by the dictionary as the “brightening of the night sky caused by street lights and other man-made sources, which has a disruptive effect on natural cycles and inhibits the observation of stars and planets.”
Did you know that birds get confused about day and night because of light pollution? It disrupts sleeping patterns of all life, not just our own.
Here is a list of the different types and sources of light pollution:
1. Over-illumination: This is caused by misuse of lights. Lights that are left on, or even street lamps that are not adjusted for daylight savings time, can cause millions of barrels of oil to be wasted.
2. Glare: Glare is a two-fold problem in which lights are reflected off surrounding surfaces so that the light scatters and causes vision problems.
3. Light clutter: Light clutter is a uniquely man-made issue and it stems from poor placement design. A cluster of business lights, or streetlights, can create a contrast illumination that interferes with night vision and illumination. It can also be strong enough to throw off the natural nocturnal systems of animals.
4. Sky Glow: The light that is escaping from street lamps, signs, homes and businesses goes up to change the quality of light in the atmosphere, and it bounces back down to the city from the atmosphere. It can affect natural growth patterns, and the ability of planes to navigate at night too.
5. Light Trespass: This refers to unwanted light entering someone’s property and is illegal.