What is Environmental Pollution?

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica "Pollution, also called environmental pollution, is the addition of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or any form of energy (such as heat, sound, or radioactivity) to the environment at a rate faster than it can be dispersed, diluted, decomposed, recycled, or stored in some harmless form. The major kinds of pollution, usually classified by the environment, are air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution".

Excellent definition but, WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN?

Here is a simple example: The total average atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) in 2019 was 409.8 parts per million (ppm for short), and this is the most significant amount we had in over 800.000 years, according to Rebecca Lindsey! The problem is that our CO2 sinks, oceans and forests, can't absorb that much CO2 and most of it remains in the atmosphere.

The atmosphere is then overpopulated by CO2 particles that contribute significatively to global warming.

CO2 is a significative example of a gas added to the environment at a rate faster than it can be dispersed, diluted, decomposed, recycled, or stored in some harmless form.

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What is air pollution?

We talk about air pollution when gases and small particles, particulate matter (PM), are released in the air, and they cause damage to our and our planet health.

What are the causes of air pollution?

There are a lot of air pollution sources but, to be brief, I will list here only the most important and the ones we can directly control.

Vehicle Exhaust emission

Why? Vehicles fumes consist of a mixture of gases and particles that contribute to global warming and are dangerous for our health.

How do we reduce it?

Avoid using your car when possible. Use public transports or environmentally friendly solutions.

Carpooling

Have car emissions tested regularly

Fossil fuels and wood-burning

Why? When we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas to create electricity, we release CO2 poll