Pollution is destroying our Planet

Humans are killing themselves and their own planet because of pollution. Pollution is a big problem nowadays; it is the cause of human negligence to the environment. According to experts, pollution is a major problem which should be dealt with as soon as possible or the consequences could be disastrous. In Lebanon, the least ecological country, pollution is a grave problem. It has effect on the environment, the ecosystem (fauna and flora) and on human health.

  One of the effects of pollution is on the environment. Because of pollution, the air that we breathe contains more deadly particle than clean air. For example, because of cars, there is more Nitrogen and Carbone in the air than there should be. Also, water is not clean. Due to industrial plants scattered around the Lebanese coast, the water quality is degrading. Studies have shown recently a high concentration of oil in the sea in Lebanon. The water in the rivers is also heavily polluted and needs a lot of treatment to be drinkable which ruins the quality. Finally pollution affects the Lebanese soil. Polluted soil directly affects human health through direct contact with soil or via inhalation of soil contaminants which have vaporized.

  Another effect of the pollution is on the ecosystem (fauna and flora). Trees are growing sick because the earth they grow in the polluted and the water they drink is not clean. Forests are dying because of pollution. Chemicals infiltrate the soil which can change the mineralogy of the earth. These changes can manifest in the alteration of metabolism of endemic microorganisms and arthropods resident in a given soil environment. The result can be virtual eradication of some of the primary food chain, which in turn could have major consequences for predator or consumer species. Even if the chemical effect on lower life forms is small, the lower pyramid levels of the food chain may ingest alien chemicals, which normally become more concentrated for each consuming rung of the food chain. This will affect animals on the ground as well as fish in the sea; eradication of complete species. Pollution affects everything on earth.

Ultimately, pollution has an impact on human health. Degradation of the quality of the air we breathe causes lung cancer. Doctors in Lebanon have noticed that the people in zouk living near the power plant have higher probability of developing lung cancer than people in Metn. Because humans are at the top of the food chain, they are particularly vulnerable to the effects of non-degradable pollutants. This was clearly illustrated in the 1950s and 1960s when residents living near Minamata Bay, Japan, developed nervous disorders, tremors, and paralysis in a mysterious epidemic. More than 400 people died before authorities discovered that a local industry had released mercury into Minamata Bay. This highly toxic element accumulated in the bodies of local fish and eventually in the bodies of people who consumed the fish. Finally Pollution destroys the ozone layer in the atmosphere thus making it easier for UV to reach the ground which will increase the probability of developing skin cancer.

Without a doubt, pollution is killing everything around. It has effect on the environment, the ecosystem and the human health. To conclude, society should go green and stop polluting in order to stop this ecological genocide.