From Ecopedia

Overview

Pollution is caused due to air, water or soil contamination of the environment, resulting in widespread disorder, instability and harm to the ecosystem of the earth. This contamination can result from pollutants which are naturally occurring or human-induced waste matter. Pollution can be either in the form of chemical substances or can take the form of light, heat or noise energies.^[1] Factors affecting the severity of pollutants include the chemical composition, concentration and persistence of the pollutants. ^[2]

Some major forms of pollution include:

• Water pollution: caused due to the release of contaminants such as pathogens, chemicals in excess concentrations into the water. ^[3]

• Air pollution: caused by the release of particulates, chemicals and hazardous gases into the atmosphere. Carbon monoxide, chloroflurocarbons, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxides and greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) are emitted in excess due to various anthropogenic activities, causing air pollution.

• Soil contamination: caused due to the release of harmful chemical contaminants including heavy metals, hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, herbicides and pesticides into the soil. Soil contaminants are released either by underground leakage or through spills.

Other pollution forms include radioactive contamination, littering, noise, light, thermal as well as visual pollutions.

Environmental Information

Certain pollutants such as non-biodegradable plastiLink titlecs, heavy metals and persistent synthetic chemicals are not absorbed but instead get accumulated in the environment over a period of time. Such pollutants, known as stock pollutants, create long-term damage to the environment.

On the other hand, fund pollutants such as carbon dioxide (CO2), which are absorbed by plants and oceans, cause damage to the environment only in case the emission rate exceeds normal range. Such pollutants instead of being destroyed, rather get converted into little less-harmful substances or even get dispersed or diluted into harmless concentrations. ^[4]

Environmental Effects

Large concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide in the air cause environmentally-hazardous acid rains. Acid rains tend to lower fertile soil’s pH value, thus, altering the species composition of various ecosystems.

Such contaminated soils would become infertile and highly unsuitable for land plants, ultimately affecting the food chain of other organisms.

Smog and haze created as a result of air pollution could lead to reduction in the amount of sunlight captured by plants for photosynthesis.

Invasive species, contaminating fertile soils, could result in reduced biodiversity, as invasive plants add biomolecules and debris to the soil, leading to altered chemical composition of the region’s environment.

Excess emissions of carbon dioxide, when absorbed by oceans cause acidification of the oceans.

Air contamination caused by the release of harmful pollutants leads to greenhouse effect, which causes the environmentally-hazardous global warming phenomenon. ^[5]

References

1. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollution
2. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollutant
3. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_pollution
4. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollutant
5. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollutant