Pollution Unfortunately, There Is Quite a Diverse

Pollution

Unfortunately, there is quite a diverse array of forms of pollution of the water and the air on Earth. The paper will only focus upon a few types, with the intention of providing insight regarding the results of the pollution upon various forms of life on the planet. As far as any type of pollution, formal environmental agencies, whether public, private, or of the government, all have standards by which they determine the type of pollution and its classification. With respect to all forms of pollution, most environmental agencies have come to a consensus regarding the overall classification of pollution as it affects life. Those standards of pollution are primary forms of pollution and secondary forms of pollution.

There are two types of standards -- primary and secondary. Primary standards protect against adverse health effects; secondary standards protect against welfare effects, such as damage to farm crops and vegetation and damage to buildings. Because different pollutants have different effects, the NAAQS are also different. Some pollutants have standards for both long-term and short-term averaging times. The short-term standards are designed to protect against acute, or short-term, health effects, while the long-term standards were established to protect against chronic health effects. (EPA, 2012)

The duration of the effects of a type of pollution is one of the first ways it is classified and understood. Information regarding pollution may make some people sad, but hopefully information regarding pollution additionally motivates people into taking action, whether on a small case, such as within their own home, as well as on a large scale, such as with the assistance of a government agency such as the Environmental Protection Agency. The pollution focused up on in this paper will be the kinds that humans direct produce or contribute heavily to, such as petroleum pollution in the water, fertilizers that begin in the soil and travel to the water, and industrial waste that ends up in the air.

Two types of air pollution are that that comes from motor vehicle exhaust and that that emits from industrial plants. Air pollution is dangerous most obviously because a great deal of life on Earth is contingent on the provision of clear air. Those creatures that do not breathe oxygen directly are still dependent on organisms that do, such as relation between humans and plants & trees. Humans clearly breathe in oxygen and breathe out cardon dioxide. For plant life, it is the reverse, so even though trees do not breathe air, their life is contingent on other forms of life that do and the same goes for life that breathes air. Air pollution is dangerous because it threatens the balance and dependence of most, if not all, forms of life on Earth with each other.

Air pollutants can also be of primary or secondary nature. Primary air pollutants are the ones that are emitted directly into the atmosphere by the sources (such as power-generating plants). Secondary air pollutants are the ones that are formed as a result of reactions between primary pollutants and other elements in the atmosphere, such as ozone. Possibly one of the most important characteristics of air pollutants is their transboundary nature - they can easily travel and affect the areas far away from their points of origination. (Tropical Rainforest Animals, 2012)

Both forms of pollution featured here are primary. These forms of pollution compound the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect can increase the temperature of the Earth, but there are a number of other aspects to this effect. The greenhouse effect relates to global warming, but the effect can also contribute to global climate change, which includes a greater range of effects besides raise in temperature.

Many countries around the world, prominently countries such as the United States of America, are heavily dependent upon fossils fuels including petroleum products. These products pollute the air, as aforementioned, but such products are also found to pollute the water supply.

Crude oil and various petroleum products (including gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, motor and lubricating oils, jet fuel): These compounds are lighter than water and thus always sit on top of water forming sheens of "free product." However, part of these compounds dissolve in water and, even in small amounts may be harmful and at the same time may remain unnoticeable by the eye. Fertilizers (including nitrates and phosphates) -- while small amounts are useful to life, higher amounts of nitrates and phosphates in water are only benefic to algae and harmful microorganisms and are poisonous to human and aquatic life. These contaminants cannot be seen themselves in water (as they do not form sheens or color the water), but their effects can. The typical effect of water pollution by fertilizers (usually through agricultural runoff) is the fast and abundant water growth. (Environmental Pollution Centers, 2012)