Effect of Pollution on Human Health

Earlier in the semester, I discussed the effects of humans on NOx, CO2, and particulate matter emissions into the Earth's atmosphere. I talked about how our emissions and pollution are affecting other species and about our negative impact on the Earth because of these reasons. But one area that I haven't examined yet is the impact of humans on the health and lives of other humans. While there are many different kinds of pollution, the kinds with the greatest impact to us are air and water pollution. By burning fossil fuels and other toxic materials, we are affecting not only our own health, but those around us too. Anyone who breathes polluted air is at a higher risk for asthma and other respiratory diseases. This is not as detrimental to those who live in rural areas like a countryside or even a place like Penn State, but it is a huge to those who live in densely populated cities. According to The World Counts, air pollutants are mostly carcinogens and living in a polluted area can put people at risk of Cancer. It also states that coughing and wheezing are more commonly observed in city folks who have a greater exposure to air pollution. But air pollution is neither the only harmful pollution, nor the most harmful form of pollution; other forms like water pollution affect multiple areas of an individual's lives.

The majority of the chemicals that are formed as smoke or emissions do not stay above the ground for very long. The toxic chemicals released into the air settle into plants and water sources. eSchool Today discusses how impactful our pollution may be on all kinds of life around us. The main problem caused by water pollution is that it kills life that depends on these water bodies. Dead fish, crabs, birds and sea gulls, dolphins, and many other animals often wind up on beaches, killed by pollutants in their habitat. But even if the organisms/creatures survive the pollution, it may cause more problems. Animals eat the contaminated plants, drink the water, and ingest toxic chemicals like lead and cadmium. The poison then travels up the food chain, eventually catching up to us. Humans will not simply "get sick" from eating these animals; they may catch diseases such as hepatitis by eating seafood that has been poisoned. According to WHO, in many poor nations, there are even outbreaks of cholera and diseases due to poor drinking water treatment from contaminated waters.

Humans are the sole species responsible for this pollution and contamination. But with any new man-made problem introduced to the world, there is always a man-made solution that can reverse the effects and mitigate our impact on the Earth. Virtually no problem that we have created over the past hundred years cannot be ameliorated from the efforts of humans who truly wish to fix the problem. But the solution to all of these problems must start on a small scale. I urge anyone reading this to recycle any recyclable bottle or can rather than throwing it in a trash can or simply tossing it anywhere you feel like at the moment. If everyone starts to think this way, the amount of pollution will drastically decrease, and we can finally begin to fully reverse our detrimental effects on the Earth.

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