Prof B L Kaul
World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated for raising awareness and encouraging action for environmental protection. First held in 1974, it has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on emerging environmental issues facing the world today such as marine pollution, human overpopulation, global warming, sustainable human consumption and wildlife protection.
WED has grown to become a global platform for public outreach, with participation from over 143 countries annually. Each year, WED has a new theme that major corporations, NGOs, communities, governments and celebrities worldwide adopt to advocate environmental causes. The theme for 2019 is “Air Pollution”, with China being chosen as the host nation.
Air pollution occurs when harmful or excessive quantities of gas, particles and biological molecules are introduced into the earth’s atmosphere. This may cause disease, allergy and even death to humans; it may also cause harm to other living organisms such as animals, crop plants and may damage the natural or built environment. Both human activity and natural processes generate air pollution.
Indoor air pollution and poor urban air quality are listed as two of the world’s most toxic pollution problems. According to the 2014 WHO report, air pollution in 2012 caused the death of a whopping 7 million people worldwide. An air pollutant is a material in the air that can have adverse effects on humans as well as the ecosystem. The substances can be solid particles, liquid droplets or gasses. A pollutant can be of natural origin such as ash and gas from volcanic eruptions, decomposition of organic materials both on land and in water and respiration waste-products produced by living organisms. Man-made examples of air pollutants include carbon monoxide gas from motor vehicle exhausts or sulphur dioxide released from heavy industries in addition to carbon dioxide. Ground level ozone is formed as a secondary pollutant.
Carbon dioxide makes up the majority of greenhouse gas emissions, but smaller amounts of methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide are also emitted. These gases are released during the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas used to produce electricity. The highest source of carbon emissions are heavy industrial plants as well as motor vehicles, railway engines, aeroplanes and ships. Coal releases twice as much carbon dioxide as petroleum. Worldwide, fossil fuels generate 85% of all electricity consumed.
How can we help reduce air pollution?
The problem of air pollution can be combated to a large extent by taking the following steps:
* Reducing the use of fossil fuels – namely petroleum and coal.
* Reducing the use of wood as fuel
* Banning the burning of solid waste and stubs of crop plants in fields – and also the prevention of forest fires
* Generating renewable energy such as solar and wind power on a large scale
* Producing and using more biofuels
* Using CNG instead of petrol and diesel in public transport
* Replacing petrol and diesel cars with electric cars
* Reducing the use of private vehicles with greater utilisation of public transport
* Using bicycles in place of mopeds, scooters and motorbikes wherever possible
* Using technology for the de-sulphurisation of gasses emitted in heavy industries
* Using electricity conservatively in homes and public places
* Replacing luminescent bulbs with LED bulbs
If the above measures are taken by us all, air pollution can be reduced greatly and this will help to save human life as well as the lives of other organisms on Earth. It is everyone’s duty to leave the Earth as a safe and habitable place for our future generations.
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