Pollution on the rise

We all know that global warming and climate change are on the rise, but one other thing that we look past is pollution. In recent years, there have been many things that have led to the rise of air, soil and water pollution. According to CNN.com, in China, there have been thousands of deaths since 1997 because of industrial air pollution as China grows economically. Once a year, there’s a military parade in Beijing, which causes all of Beijing’s traffic to stop for a day. This causes China’s toxic black skies to turn blue for a short period of 24 hours.

One of the most prevalent forms of pollution according to National Geographic is air pollution, which is caused by the burning of fossil fuels from cars, heavy-duty trucks and trains. This is hard to manage because humans heavily depend on vehicles for transportation. Manufacturing industries and power plants emit high levels of carbon monoxide, organic compounds and chemicals into the air.

“I honestly have no idea what that is, and please remove yourself from my presence,” said Milad Akraa, a junior at Verdugo Hills High School. Akraa is a perfect example of how unaware of pollution students are on campus.

Another form of pollution according to livescience.com is water pollution, which affects almost 60% of the species that live underwater. This is due to industrial waste being dumped into rivers and large bodies of water. This causes an imbalance in the  water leading to its contamination and the death of aquatic creatures. Eutrophication is another form of water pollution caused by daily activities such as washing clothes, which forces detergents into the water. This blocks the sunlight from penetrating and reduces oxygen, making it uninhabitable.

“I think it’s wrong and needs to change. I love the ocean it’s my favorite ecosystem and I would hate for it to be destroyed,” said Eric Hoang Dinh.

Soil pollution occurs due to an incorporation of unwanted chemicals in the soil because of human activities. The use of insecticides and pesticides absorb the nitrogen compounds in the soil making it unfit for plants to derive nutrition. Some other causes for soil pollution include oil drilling refineries, acid rain (which is caused by air pollution), intensive farming, deforestation, genetically modified plants and industrial accidents according to theguardian.com . 

“I didn’t have any thoughts on this matter until I was informed by you guys, I want to fix this and spread awareness about this issue around campus,” said Mario Alfaro, a junior.

Please spread awareness about this issue and help make the world a better place.