23. Pollution & Types of Pollution

Pollution means any contamination of air, soil, water and environment. Why, even loud noise and sound is also a part of pollution. The act or process of polluting or the state of being polluted, especially the contamination of soil, water, or the atmosphere by the discharge of harmful substances. Something that pollutes; a pollutant or a group of pollutants: Pollution in the air reduced the visibility near the airport. Although it rarely hits the headlines, pollution is a big issue. Air pollution is a major killer. Other sorts of pollution, while not having such a drastic effect on humans, damage our environment and spoil our quality of life.

Noise is a common problem in modern-day life and it represents a serious threat to our quality of life. A recent survey showed that the biggest problems in London are, in order of priority: Traffic noise, Aircraft noise, Neighbour noise, Construction noise and Railway noise. Friends of the Earth does not campaign on noise as such. However, we are very active on the biggest contributors to noise, namely road traffic and aircraft. See the Ealing, the Hammersmith & Fulham and the Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Friends of the Earth groups, which are especially concerned about road traffic. For information on aircraft, see our aviation pages.

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or damages the natural environment, into the atmosphere. The atmosphere is a complex, dynamic natural gaseous system that is essential to support life on planet Earth. Stratospheric ozone depletion due to air pollution has long been recognized as a threat to human health as well as to the Earth's ecosystems.

Thermal pollution is the rise or fall in the temperature of a natural body of water caused by human influence. A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers. When water used as a coolant is returned to the natural environment at a higher temperature the change in temperature impacts organisms by (a) decreasing oxygen supply, and (b) affecting ecosystem composition. Thermal pollution can also be caused by the release of very cold water from the base of reservoirs into warmer rivers. This affects fish (particularly eggs and larvae), macro invertebrates and river productivity.

Water pollution- All that dirty water from our house drains through the pipes into river, oceans dirtying the water. Can you imagine all those chemicals from factories draining into the river? And that is the water that you drink. Think about all the diseases that you can get from drinking such water. Light pollution has been described as "the cinderella of pollution issues". But if we care about quality of life, we ought to be concerned about light pollution. Ealing Friends of the Earth campaigns on light pollution. For more about the issue see the Introduction to light pollution.