Essay on Pollution for Students and Children

500+ words essay on pollution.

Pollution is a term which even kids are aware of these days. It has become so common that almost everyone acknowledges the fact that pollution is rising continuously. The term ‘pollution’ means the manifestation of any unsolicited foreign substance in something. When we talk about pollution on earth, we refer to the contamination that is happening of the natural resources by various pollutants . All this is mainly caused by human activities which harm the environment in ways more than one. Therefore, an urgent need has arisen to tackle this issue straightaway. That is to say, pollution is damaging our earth severely and we need to realize its effects and prevent this damage. In this essay on pollution, we will see what are the effects of pollution and how to reduce it.

essay on pollution

Effects of Pollution

Pollution affects the quality of life more than one can imagine. It works in mysterious ways, sometimes which cannot be seen by the naked eye. However, it is very much present in the environment. For instance, you might not be able to see the natural gases present in the air, but they are still there. Similarly, the pollutants which are messing up the air and increasing the levels of carbon dioxide is very dangerous for humans. Increased level of carbon dioxide will lead to global warming .

Further, the water is polluted in the name of industrial development, religious practices and more will cause a shortage of drinking water. Without water, human life is not possible. Moreover, the way waste is dumped on the land eventually ends up in the soil and turns toxic. If land pollution keeps on happening at this rate, we won’t have fertile soil to grow our crops on. Therefore, serious measures must be taken to reduce pollution to the core.

Get English Important Questions here

Types of Pollution

  • Air Pollution
  • Water Pollution
  • Soil Pollution

How to Reduce Pollution?

After learning the harmful effects of pollution, one must get on the task of preventing or reducing pollution as soon as possible. To reduce air pollution, people should take public transport or carpool to reduce vehicular smoke. While it may be hard, avoiding firecrackers at festivals and celebrations can also cut down on air and noise pollution. Above all, we must adopt the habit of recycling. All the used plastic ends up in the oceans and land, which pollutes them.

pollution essay in points

So, remember to not dispose of them off after use, rather reuse them as long as you can. We must also encourage everyone to plant more trees which will absorb the harmful gases and make the air cleaner. When talking on a bigger level, the government must limit the usage of fertilizers to maintain the soil’s fertility. In addition, industries must be banned from dumping their waste into oceans and rivers, causing water pollution.

To sum it up, all types of pollution is hazardous and comes with grave consequences. Everyone must take a step towards change ranging from individuals to the industries. As tackling this problem calls for a joint effort, so we must join hands now. Moreover, the innocent lives of animals are being lost because of such human activities. So, all of us must take a stand and become a voice for the unheard in order to make this earth pollution-free.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

FAQs on Pollution

Q.1 What are the effects of pollution?

A.1 Pollution essentially affects the quality of human life. It degrades almost everything from the water we drink to the air we breathe. It damages the natural resources needed for a healthy life.

Q.2 How can one reduce pollution?

A.2 We must take individual steps to reduce pollution. People should decompose their waster mindfully, they should plant more trees. Further, one must always recycle what they can and make the earth greener.

Customize your course in 30 seconds

Which class are you in.

tutor

  • Travelling Essay
  • Picnic Essay
  • Our Country Essay
  • My Parents Essay
  • Essay on Favourite Personality
  • Essay on Memorable Day of My Life
  • Essay on Knowledge is Power
  • Essay on Gurpurab
  • Essay on My Favourite Season
  • Essay on Types of Sports

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Download the App

Google Play

pollution essay in points

25,000+ students realised their study abroad dream with us. Take the first step today

Meet top uk universities from the comfort of your home, here’s your new year gift, one app for all your, study abroad needs, start your journey, track your progress, grow with the community and so much more.

pollution essay in points

Verification Code

An OTP has been sent to your registered mobile no. Please verify

pollution essay in points

Thanks for your comment !

Our team will review it before it's shown to our readers.

Leverage Edu

  • School Education /

Essay on Environmental Pollution: 100 Words, 200 Words

' src=

  • Updated on  
  • Apr 1, 2024

essay on environmental pollution

One of the biggest risks to life as we know it is environmental degradation. The water we drink, the air we breathe, and the ecosystems on which we depend are all impacted by pollution. People, animals, and plants will decline if pollution levels continue to rise since they won’t be able to adapt to a significantly altered environment. Are you struggling to write an essay on environmental pollution? If the answer is yes, then this blog will help you get some ideas to write an effective essay. Keep reading further to know more!

Table of Contents

  • 1 What is Environmental Pollution?
  • 2 Essay on Environmental Pollution – 100 Words 
  • 3 Essay on Environmental Pollution – 250 Words 
  • 4 Essay on Environmental Pollution – 500 Words 

What is Environmental Pollution?

The phenomenon of undesirable changes in the surroundings that are harmful to animals and plants, and leads to environmental degradation is known as environmental pollution. These changes can occur because of the solid, liquid or gaseous pollutants. For example, DDT, plastic, and heavy materials take more time to degrade and are known as notable pollutants. For the determination of risk assessment of public health, concentration of pollutants is measured.

Essay on Environmental Pollution – 100 Words 

The presence of contaminants in the environment is referred to as pollution. Gases like Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Carbon Monoxide (CO), among others; solid pollutants like plastic, sewage, etc.; and chemicals like fertilisers, as well as those produced as byproducts in manufacturing, transportation, etc., are a few examples of polluting substances.

The immediate result of pollution is that it makes the world’s natural resources useless or toxic to use, as well as leads to the extinction of species and ecological imbalance. To stop more harm from occurring to the earth and its inhabitants due to environmental pollution, it is imperative to take proactive precautions.

Also Read: Essay on Pollution in Hindi 

Essay on Environmental Pollution – 250 Words 

When undesired elements, or pollutants, are present in the environment, it is said to be polluted. The environment is severely harmed by pollution, which poses a direct threat to it. Although the world has begun to understand the importance of addressing pollution if the planet and its biodiversity are to be conserved there is still a long way to go.

Everything that makes up the environment, including the air, water bodies, flora, and wildlife, is impacted by pollution in one way or another. There are four main types of pollution – Air Pollution, Water Pollution, Noise Pollution and Soil or Land Pollution . Additionally, pollution contributes to global issues including acid rain, global warming, and greenhouse gas consequences. A rise in the planet’s average surface temperature is referred to as global warming, and it causes starvation, floods, and droughts.

Environmental pollution has a wide-ranging impact. In addition to the current effects of pollution, a lack of effective pollution prevention measures also imperils the future of various species. The pollution is causing harm at a far faster rate than it can be healed. Reversing the environmental harm we have caused could take generations, and even then, it won’t be simple. It will require tight discipline and commitment to stop pollution.

The best ways feasible are being used by various nations to respond to these catastrophes. More efforts are being launched to raise public awareness about the dangers of pollution and the importance of preserving our ecosystem. Greener lifestyles are gaining popularity; examples include using wind and solar energy, new climate-friendly cars, and energy-efficient lighting. 

Also Read: Environmental Conservation

Essay on Environmental Pollution – 500 Words 

Pollution is the term used to describe the entry of pollutants into the environment. Noise, water, and air pollution are only a few of the several types of pollution. There is a direct relationship between the rise of pollution levels and illnesses among people. Therefore, it is important for everyone to be knowledgeable about pollution, its impacts, and effective ways to eliminate it. Our environment needs a balanced combination of all components, just like our body requires a balanced diet. The environment is polluted by any substance that is present above that limit for example rise in the levels of nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes harm to human health due to poor air quality. 

All forms of pollution, whether in the air, water, soil, or noise, have a negative impact on living things. Deadly diseases that are brought on by the contamination of soil, water, air, or sound affect organisms.

Among the most common disorders brought on by air pollution are acute lower respiratory infections in children, ischemic heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and lung cancer. Air pollution is a major contributor to a number of ailments in India, including strokes, bronchitis, heart attacks, lung diseases, cancer, and early mortality from heart disorders. The most pressing issue in the world now is global warming, which is caused by air pollution.

Around the world, poor drinking water quality is the reason behind 50% of child deaths and 80% of illnesses, including more than 50 different diseases. Water pollution causes diarrhoea, skin diseases, malnutrition, and even cancer, as well as other issues that are related to it.

 Every day, noise pollution has an effect on millions of people. The most frequent result of this is noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Loud noises have the potential to cause stress, high blood pressure, heart disease, and sleep difficulties. Children in particular are prone to these health issues across the board in terms of age groups. Noise pollution is extremely harmful, and it’s especially deadlier for people with heart issues. 

Use of the 3Rs, or reduce, reuse, and recycle, is the first step in reducing pollution. People should use air conditioners less since they generate noxious gases, such as ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons, which will minimise air pollution.

Reducing the number of vehicles on the road will also help to clean up the planet’s air. The more often cars are used, the more dangerous chemicals like sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons that contribute to major air pollution are released into the atmosphere.

Increasing public awareness is a further means of reducing pollution on Earth. Through programmes like the “Go Green” campaign, which urges people to plant more trees and use recyclable materials in their daily lives, awareness can be raised about the significance of eliminating pollution on Earth. The “Earth Hour” is another globally recognised event that calls for everyone to turn off all lights for one hour in order to raise awareness of the significance of reducing electricity usage in order to minimise pollution on Earth.

The government’s obligation to maintain national laws is one way to reduce pollution on Earth. Offenders should be subject to harsh penalties, such as increased fines and longer prison terms, which will force them to reconsider their influence on the environment and serve as a message to those who are not currently involved but who might be in the future.

Must Read: Essay on Pollution: Elements, Type, Format & Samples

Related Reads

Light Pollution  Radioactive Pollution  Soil Pollution  Water Pollution  Air Pollution  Thermal Pollution  Noise Pollution 

Mentioned below are some of the ways to control environmental pollution:  Walk or ride a bicycle to work instead of driving. While replacing a car go for a fuel-efficient vehicle.  When leaving the room turn off the lights and television to save energy.  Buy energy-efficient appliances. 

There are many things that cause pollution such as by-products of coal-fueled power plants, vehicle emissions, fumes from chemical production, etc.  

We hope you got some ideas to write an effective essay on environmental pollution. To read more informative articles like this one, keep following Leverage Edu . 

' src=

Prachi Gupta

Prachi has 1.5 yrs of experience in Content & Copywriting. Her skills entail SEO, researching, brainstorming marketing campaigns, suggesting content ideas, graphic designing, Keyword research, understanding user intent etc. She thrives on a work culture that helps her unlearn redundant ways of thinking. Besides this, she always has her binoculars on looking for good books and music recommendations, cocktails and world history.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Contact no. *

pollution essay in points

Connect With Us

pollution essay in points

25,000+ students realised their study abroad dream with us. Take the first step today.

pollution essay in points

Resend OTP in

pollution essay in points

Need help with?

Study abroad.

UK, Canada, US & More

IELTS, GRE, GMAT & More

Scholarship, Loans & Forex

Country Preference

New Zealand

Which English test are you planning to take?

Which academic test are you planning to take.

Not Sure yet

When are you planning to take the exam?

Already booked my exam slot

Within 2 Months

Want to learn about the test

Which Degree do you wish to pursue?

When do you want to start studying abroad.

January 2024

September 2024

What is your budget to study abroad?

pollution essay in points

How would you describe this article ?

Please rate this article

We would like to hear more.

Have something on your mind?

pollution essay in points

Make your study abroad dream a reality in January 2022 with

pollution essay in points

India's Biggest Virtual University Fair

pollution essay in points

Essex Direct Admission Day

Why attend .

pollution essay in points

Don't Miss Out

ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

Air pollution.

Air pollution consists of chemicals or particles in the air that can harm the health of humans, animals, and plants. It also damages buildings.

Biology, Ecology, Earth Science, Geography

Loading ...

Morgan Stanley

Air pollution consists of chemicals or particles in the air that can harm the health of humans, animals, and plants. It also damages buildings. Pollutants in the air take many forms. They can be gases , solid particles, or liquid droplets. Sources of Air Pollution Pollution enters the Earth's atmosphere in many different ways. Most air pollution is created by people, taking the form of emissions from factories, cars, planes, or aerosol cans . Second-hand cigarette smoke is also considered air pollution. These man-made sources of pollution are called anthropogenic sources . Some types of air pollution, such as smoke from wildfires or ash from volcanoes , occur naturally. These are called natural sources . Air pollution is most common in large cities where emissions from many different sources are concentrated . Sometimes, mountains or tall buildings prevent air pollution from spreading out. This air pollution often appears as a cloud making the air murky. It is called smog . The word "smog" comes from combining the words "smoke" and " fog ." Large cities in poor and developing nations tend to have more air pollution than cities in developed nations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) , some of the worlds most polluted cities are Karachi, Pakistan; New Delhi, India; Beijing, China; Lima, Peru; and Cairo, Egypt. However, many developed nations also have air pollution problems. Los Angeles, California, is nicknamed Smog City. Indoor Air Pollution Air pollution is usually thought of as smoke from large factories or exhaust from vehicles. But there are many types of indoor air pollution as well. Heating a house by burning substances such as kerosene , wood, and coal can contaminate the air inside the house. Ash and smoke make breathing difficult, and they can stick to walls, food, and clothing. Naturally-occurring radon gas, a cancer -causing material, can also build up in homes. Radon is released through the surface of the Earth. Inexpensive systems installed by professionals can reduce radon levels. Some construction materials, including insulation , are also dangerous to people's health. In addition, ventilation , or air movement, in homes and rooms can lead to the spread of toxic mold . A single colony of mold may exist in a damp, cool place in a house, such as between walls. The mold's spores enter the air and spread throughout the house. People can become sick from breathing in the spores. Effects On Humans People experience a wide range of health effects from being exposed to air pollution. Effects can be broken down into short-term effects and long-term effects . Short-term effects, which are temporary , include illnesses such as pneumonia or bronchitis . They also include discomfort such as irritation to the nose, throat, eyes, or skin. Air pollution can also cause headaches, dizziness, and nausea . Bad smells made by factories, garbage , or sewer systems are considered air pollution, too. These odors are less serious but still unpleasant . Long-term effects of air pollution can last for years or for an entire lifetime. They can even lead to a person's death. Long-term health effects from air pollution include heart disease , lung cancer, and respiratory diseases such as emphysema . Air pollution can also cause long-term damage to people's nerves , brain, kidneys , liver , and other organs. Some scientists suspect air pollutants cause birth defects . Nearly 2.5 million people die worldwide each year from the effects of outdoor or indoor air pollution. People react differently to different types of air pollution. Young children and older adults, whose immune systems tend to be weaker, are often more sensitive to pollution. Conditions such as asthma , heart disease, and lung disease can be made worse by exposure to air pollution. The length of exposure and amount and type of pollutants are also factors. Effects On The Environment Like people, animals, and plants, entire ecosystems can suffer effects from air pollution. Haze , like smog, is a visible type of air pollution that obscures shapes and colors. Hazy air pollution can even muffle sounds. Air pollution particles eventually fall back to Earth. Air pollution can directly contaminate the surface of bodies of water and soil . This can kill crops or reduce their yield . It can kill young trees and other plants. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide particles in the air, can create acid rain when they mix with water and oxygen in the atmosphere. These air pollutants come mostly from coal-fired power plants and motor vehicles . When acid rain falls to Earth, it damages plants by changing soil composition ; degrades water quality in rivers, lakes and streams; damages crops; and can cause buildings and monuments to decay . Like humans, animals can suffer health effects from exposure to air pollution. Birth defects, diseases, and lower reproductive rates have all been attributed to air pollution. Global Warming Global warming is an environmental phenomenon caused by natural and anthropogenic air pollution. It refers to rising air and ocean temperatures around the world. This temperature rise is at least partially caused by an increase in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases trap heat energy in the Earths atmosphere. (Usually, more of Earths heat escapes into space.) Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that has had the biggest effect on global warming. Carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels (coal, gasoline , and natural gas ). Humans have come to rely on fossil fuels to power cars and planes, heat homes, and run factories. Doing these things pollutes the air with carbon dioxide. Other greenhouse gases emitted by natural and artificial sources also include methane , nitrous oxide , and fluorinated gases. Methane is a major emission from coal plants and agricultural processes. Nitrous oxide is a common emission from industrial factories, agriculture, and the burning of fossil fuels in cars. Fluorinated gases, such as hydrofluorocarbons , are emitted by industry. Fluorinated gases are often used instead of gases such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). CFCs have been outlawed in many places because they deplete the ozone layer . Worldwide, many countries have taken steps to reduce or limit greenhouse gas emissions to combat global warming. The Kyoto Protocol , first adopted in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, is an agreement between 183 countries that they will work to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. The United States has not signed that treaty . Regulation In addition to the international Kyoto Protocol, most developed nations have adopted laws to regulate emissions and reduce air pollution. In the United States, debate is under way about a system called cap and trade to limit emissions. This system would cap, or place a limit, on the amount of pollution a company is allowed. Companies that exceeded their cap would have to pay. Companies that polluted less than their cap could trade or sell their remaining pollution allowance to other companies. Cap and trade would essentially pay companies to limit pollution. In 2006 the World Health Organization issued new Air Quality Guidelines. The WHOs guidelines are tougher than most individual countries existing guidelines. The WHO guidelines aim to reduce air pollution-related deaths by 15 percent a year. Reduction Anybody can take steps to reduce air pollution. Millions of people every day make simple changes in their lives to do this. Taking public transportation instead of driving a car, or riding a bike instead of traveling in carbon dioxide-emitting vehicles are a couple of ways to reduce air pollution. Avoiding aerosol cans, recycling yard trimmings instead of burning them, and not smoking cigarettes are others.

Downwinders The United States conducted tests of nuclear weapons at the Nevada Test Site in southern Nevada in the 1950s. These tests sent invisible radioactive particles into the atmosphere. These air pollution particles traveled with wind currents, eventually falling to Earth, sometimes hundreds of miles away in states including Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and Washington. These areas were considered to be "downwind" from the Nevada Test Site. Decades later, people living in those downwind areascalled "downwinders"began developing cancer at above-normal rates. In 1990, the U.S. government passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. This law entitles some downwinders to payments of $50,000.

Greenhouse Gases There are five major greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere.

  • water vapor
  • carbon dioxide
  • nitrous oxide

London Smog What has come to be known as the London Smog of 1952, or the Great Smog of 1952, was a four-day incident that sickened 100,000 people and caused as many as 12,000 deaths. Very cold weather in December 1952 led residents of London, England, to burn more coal to keep warm. Smoke and other pollutants became trapped by a thick fog that settled over the city. The polluted fog became so thick that people could only see a few meters in front of them.

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

Illustrators

Educator reviewer, last updated.

March 6, 2024

User Permissions

For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.

Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service .

Interactives

Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.

Related Resources

Air Pollution: Everything You Need to Know

How smog, soot, greenhouse gases, and other top air pollutants are affecting the planet—and your health.

Smoke blows out of two tall industrial stacks

  • Share this page block

What is air pollution?

What causes air pollution, effects of air pollution, air pollution in the united states, air pollution and environmental justice, controlling air pollution, how to help reduce air pollution, how to protect your health.

Air pollution  refers to the release of pollutants into the air—pollutants that are detrimental to human health and the planet as a whole. According to the  World Health Organization (WHO) , each year, indoor and outdoor air pollution is responsible for nearly seven million deaths around the globe. Ninety-nine percent of human beings currently breathe air that exceeds the WHO’s guideline limits for pollutants, with those living in low- and middle-income countries suffering the most. In the United States, the  Clean Air Act , established in 1970, authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to safeguard public health by regulating the emissions of these harmful air pollutants.

“Most air pollution comes from energy use and production,” says  John Walke , director of the Clean Air team at NRDC. Driving a car on gasoline, heating a home with oil, running a power plant on  fracked gas : In each case, a fossil fuel is burned and harmful chemicals and gases are released into the air.

“We’ve made progress over the last 50 years in improving air quality in the United States, thanks to the Clean Air Act. But climate change will make it harder in the future to meet pollution standards, which are designed to  protect health ,” says Walke.

Air pollution is now the world’s fourth-largest risk factor for early death. According to the 2020  State of Global Air  report —which summarizes the latest scientific understanding of air pollution around the world—4.5 million deaths were linked to outdoor air pollution exposures in 2019, and another 2.2 million deaths were caused by indoor air pollution. The world’s most populous countries, China and India, continue to bear the highest burdens of disease.

“Despite improvements in reducing global average mortality rates from air pollution, this report also serves as a sobering reminder that the climate crisis threatens to worsen air pollution problems significantly,” explains  Vijay Limaye , senior scientist in NRDC’s Science Office. Smog, for instance, is intensified by increased heat, forming when the weather is warmer and there’s more ultraviolet radiation. In addition, climate change increases the production of allergenic air pollutants, including mold (thanks to damp conditions caused by extreme weather and increased flooding) and pollen (due to a longer pollen season). “Climate change–fueled droughts and dry conditions are also setting the stage for dangerous wildfires,” adds Limaye. “ Wildfire smoke can linger for days and pollute the air with particulate matter hundreds of miles downwind.”

The effects of air pollution on the human body vary, depending on the type of pollutant, the length and level of exposure, and other factors, including a person’s individual health risks and the cumulative impacts of multiple pollutants or stressors.

Smog and soot

These are the two most prevalent types of air pollution. Smog (sometimes referred to as ground-level ozone) occurs when emissions from combusting fossil fuels react with sunlight. Soot—a type of  particulate matter —is made up of tiny particles of chemicals, soil, smoke, dust, or allergens that are carried in the air. The sources of smog and soot are similar. “Both come from cars and trucks, factories, power plants, incinerators, engines, generally anything that combusts fossil fuels such as coal, gasoline, or natural gas,” Walke says.

Smog can irritate the eyes and throat and also damage the lungs, especially those of children, senior citizens, and people who work or exercise outdoors. It’s even worse for people who have asthma or allergies; these extra pollutants can intensify their symptoms and trigger asthma attacks. The tiniest airborne particles in soot are especially dangerous because they can penetrate the lungs and bloodstream and worsen bronchitis, lead to heart attacks, and even hasten death. In  2020, a report from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health showed that COVID-19 mortality rates were higher in areas with more particulate matter pollution than in areas with even slightly less, showing a correlation between the virus’s deadliness and long-term exposure to air pollution. 

These findings also illuminate an important  environmental justice issue . Because highways and polluting facilities have historically been sited in or next to low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, the negative effects of this pollution have been  disproportionately experienced by the people who live in these communities.

Hazardous air pollutants

A number of air pollutants pose severe health risks and can sometimes be fatal, even in small amounts. Almost 200 of them are regulated by law; some of the most common are mercury,  lead , dioxins, and benzene. “These are also most often emitted during gas or coal combustion, incineration, or—in the case of benzene—found in gasoline,” Walke says. Benzene, classified as a carcinogen by the EPA, can cause eye, skin, and lung irritation in the short term and blood disorders in the long term. Dioxins, more typically found in food but also present in small amounts in the air, is another carcinogen that can affect the liver in the short term and harm the immune, nervous, and endocrine systems, as well as reproductive functions.  Mercury  attacks the central nervous system. In large amounts, lead can damage children’s brains and kidneys, and even minimal exposure can affect children’s IQ and ability to learn.

Another category of toxic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are by-products of traffic exhaust and wildfire smoke. In large amounts, they have been linked to eye and lung irritation, blood and liver issues, and even cancer.  In one study , the children of mothers exposed to PAHs during pregnancy showed slower brain-processing speeds and more pronounced symptoms of ADHD.

Greenhouse gases

While these climate pollutants don’t have the direct or immediate impacts on the human body associated with other air pollutants, like smog or hazardous chemicals, they are still harmful to our health. By trapping the earth’s heat in the atmosphere, greenhouse gases lead to warmer temperatures, which in turn lead to the hallmarks of climate change: rising sea levels, more extreme weather, heat-related deaths, and the increased transmission of infectious diseases. In 2021, carbon dioxide accounted for roughly 79 percent of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions, and methane made up more than 11 percent. “Carbon dioxide comes from combusting fossil fuels, and methane comes from natural and industrial sources, including large amounts that are released during oil and gas drilling,” Walke says. “We emit far larger amounts of carbon dioxide, but methane is significantly more potent, so it’s also very destructive.” 

Another class of greenhouse gases,  hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) , are thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide in their ability to trap heat. In October 2016, more than 140 countries signed the Kigali Agreement to reduce the use of these chemicals—which are found in air conditioners and refrigerators—and develop greener alternatives over time. (The United States officially signed onto the  Kigali Agreement in 2022.)

Pollen and mold

Mold and allergens from trees, weeds, and grass are also carried in the air, are exacerbated by climate change, and can be hazardous to health. Though they aren’t regulated, they can be considered a form of air pollution. “When homes, schools, or businesses get water damage, mold can grow and produce allergenic airborne pollutants,” says Kim Knowlton, professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University and a former NRDC scientist. “ Mold exposure can precipitate asthma attacks  or an allergic response, and some molds can even produce toxins that would be dangerous for anyone to inhale.”

Pollen allergies are worsening  because of climate change . “Lab and field studies are showing that pollen-producing plants—especially ragweed—grow larger and produce more pollen when you increase the amount of carbon dioxide that they grow in,” Knowlton says. “Climate change also extends the pollen production season, and some studies are beginning to suggest that ragweed pollen itself might be becoming a more potent allergen.” If so, more people will suffer runny noses, fevers, itchy eyes, and other symptoms. “And for people with allergies and asthma, pollen peaks can precipitate asthma attacks, which are far more serious and can be life-threatening.”

pollution essay in points

More than one in three U.S. residents—120 million people—live in counties with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to the  2023  State of the Air  report by the American Lung Association (ALA). Since the annual report was first published, in 2000, its findings have shown how the Clean Air Act has been able to reduce harmful emissions from transportation, power plants, and manufacturing.

Recent findings, however, reflect how climate change–fueled wildfires and extreme heat are adding to the challenges of protecting public health. The latest report—which focuses on ozone, year-round particle pollution, and short-term particle pollution—also finds that people of color are 61 percent more likely than white people to live in a county with a failing grade in at least one of those categories, and three times more likely to live in a county that fails in all three.

In rankings for each of the three pollution categories covered by the ALA report, California cities occupy the top three slots (i.e., were highest in pollution), despite progress that the Golden State has made in reducing air pollution emissions in the past half century. At the other end of the spectrum, these cities consistently rank among the country’s best for air quality: Burlington, Vermont; Honolulu; and Wilmington, North Carolina. 

No one wants to live next door to an incinerator, oil refinery, port, toxic waste dump, or other polluting site. Yet millions of people around the world do, and this puts them at a much higher risk for respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, neurological damage, cancer, and death. In the United States, people of color are 1.5 times more likely than whites to live in areas with poor air quality, according to the ALA.

Historically, racist zoning policies and discriminatory lending practices known as  redlining  have combined to keep polluting industries and car-choked highways away from white neighborhoods and have turned communities of color—especially low-income and working-class communities of color—into sacrifice zones, where residents are forced to breathe dirty air and suffer the many health problems associated with it. In addition to the increased health risks that come from living in such places, the polluted air can economically harm residents in the form of missed workdays and higher medical costs.

Environmental racism isn't limited to cities and industrial areas. Outdoor laborers, including the estimated three million migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the United States, are among the most vulnerable to air pollution—and they’re also among the least equipped, politically, to pressure employers and lawmakers to affirm their right to breathe clean air.

Recently,  cumulative impact mapping , which uses data on environmental conditions and demographics, has been able to show how some communities are overburdened with layers of issues, like high levels of poverty, unemployment, and pollution. Tools like the  Environmental Justice Screening Method  and the EPA’s  EJScreen  provide evidence of what many environmental justice communities have been explaining for decades: that we need land use and public health reforms to ensure that vulnerable areas are not overburdened and that the people who need resources the most are receiving them.

In the United States, the  Clean Air Act  has been a crucial tool for reducing air pollution since its passage in 1970, although fossil fuel interests aided by industry-friendly lawmakers have frequently attempted to  weaken its many protections. Ensuring that this bedrock environmental law remains intact and properly enforced will always be key to maintaining and improving our air quality.

But the best, most effective way to control air pollution is to speed up our transition to cleaner fuels and industrial processes. By switching over to renewable energy sources (such as wind and solar power), maximizing fuel efficiency in our vehicles, and replacing more and more of our gasoline-powered cars and trucks with electric versions, we'll be limiting air pollution at its source while also curbing the global warming that heightens so many of its worst health impacts.

And what about the economic costs of controlling air pollution? According to a report on the Clean Air Act commissioned by NRDC, the annual  benefits of cleaner air  are up to 32 times greater than the cost of clean air regulations. Those benefits include up to 370,000 avoided premature deaths, 189,000 fewer hospital admissions for cardiac and respiratory illnesses, and net economic benefits of up to $3.8 trillion for the U.S. economy every year.

“The less gasoline we burn, the better we’re doing to reduce air pollution and the harmful effects of climate change,” Walke explains. “Make good choices about transportation. When you can, ride a bike, walk, or take public transportation. For driving, choose a car that gets better miles per gallon of gas or  buy an electric car .” You can also investigate your power provider options—you may be able to request that your electricity be supplied by wind or solar. Buying your food locally cuts down on the fossil fuels burned in trucking or flying food in from across the world. And most important: “Support leaders who push for clean air and water and responsible steps on climate change,” Walke says.

  • “When you see in the news or hear on the weather report that pollution levels are high, it may be useful to limit the time when children go outside or you go for a jog,” Walke says. Generally, ozone levels tend to be lower in the morning.
  • If you exercise outside, stay as far as you can from heavily trafficked roads. Then shower and wash your clothes to remove fine particles.
  • The air may look clear, but that doesn’t mean it’s pollution free. Utilize tools like the EPA’s air pollution monitor,  AirNow , to get the latest conditions. If the air quality is bad, stay inside with the windows closed.
  • If you live or work in an area that’s prone to wildfires,  stay away from the harmful smoke  as much as you’re able. Consider keeping a small stock of masks to wear when conditions are poor. The most ideal masks for smoke particles will be labelled “NIOSH” (which stands for National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) and have either “N95” or “P100” printed on it.
  • If you’re using an air conditioner while outdoor pollution conditions are bad, use the recirculating setting to limit the amount of polluted air that gets inside. 

This story was originally published on November 1, 2016, and has been updated with new information and links.

This NRDC.org story is available for online republication by news media outlets or nonprofits under these conditions: The writer(s) must be credited with a byline; you must note prominently that the story was originally published by NRDC.org and link to the original; the story cannot be edited (beyond simple things such as grammar); you can’t resell the story in any form or grant republishing rights to other outlets; you can’t republish our material wholesale or automatically—you need to select stories individually; you can’t republish the photos or graphics on our site without specific permission; you should drop us a note to let us know when you’ve used one of our stories.

Related Stories

A city skyline is obscured by thick smog

The Particulars of PM 2.5

An aerial view of floodwaters overtaking a cluster of buildings

What Are the Effects of Climate Change?

Two people walk through a thick haze on a city street

Fossil Fuel Air Pollution Kills One in Five People

When you sign up, you’ll become a member of NRDC’s Activist Network. We will keep you informed with the latest alerts and progress reports.

  • Biology Article
  • Essay On Air Pollution 200 Words 500 Words

Essay on Air Pollution

Essay on air pollution is a crucial topic for students from an academic perspective. Moreover, an essay is one of the most effective ways to educate students about the plight of nature and the repercussions of human activities. Creating awareness for future generations is important if we have to undo decades of ignorance and neglect.

Furthermore, air pollution essay helps students to realize the gravity of the scenario and enable them to take action. Some as simple as using public transport or even carpooling will help reduce a significant amount of air pollution. Read on to discover how to write an engaging essay on air pollution.

Essay on Air Pollution – Important Points to Note

Please consider adopting the following points when writing an essay on air pollution. These tips are also helpful for other essay topics as well:

  • Always begin with an introductory paragraph about the topic, preferably detailing its origin.
  • Unless the topic is technical, try to avoid jargons.
  • Present content in bulleted points wherever possible
  • Insert factual data, such as important dates, places or name wherever possible.
  • Avoid writing the content in a large monotonous block of text. Remember to break up the content into digestible chunks
  • Always conclude the essay with a closing paragraph.

Essay on Air Pollution – Sample 1 (200 Words)

Air pollution is a serious issue and a cause for major concern in today’s world. A report published in 2014  by the World Health Organisation states that 4.21 million individuals died prematurely in 2012 as a result of air pollution. Air pollution existed much before humans, in the form of volcanic eruptions and forest fires. However, it became much more prevalent after the Industrial Revolution.

Rapid industrial growth, unregulated emissions and a host of other issues significantly contributed to the rise in air pollution. In some cases, the severity of air pollution reached an extent where government intervention was necessary. The Great Smog of London, 1952, was an extreme case of air pollution where visibility was severely hampered. It also caused a host of illnesses and the consequent deaths of countless civilians. In November 2017, the levels of air pollution in Delhi were ten times above the safe limits. For reference, the healthy air quality index is between 0 to 50, but during that particular time period, the air quality index hit 500+. This event is now called the Great Smog of Delhi.

An air quality index of 500 and above indicates that the air is heavily polluted and will cause irreversible lung damage and a host of other illnesses to everyone who is exposed to it. Therefore, to avoid such situations in the future, relevant actions must be implemented.

Essay on Air Pollution – Sample 2 (500 Words)

Air pollution may seem like the result of anthropological activities, however, it has been around even before humans evolved. Places which are naturally arid and have minimal vegetation are prone to dust storms. When this particulate matter is added to the air, it can cause health issues in animals exposed to the dust storms.

Furthermore, active volcanoes pump extremely large amounts of toxic plumes and particulate matter into the atmosphere. Wildfires also pump large amounts of carbon monoxide into the atmosphere and hamper photosynthesis for plants. Even animals, especially ruminants such as cows contribute to global warming by producing large quantities of methane, a greenhouse gas.

However, air pollution was never a major concern until the industrial revolution. Industries grew rapidly, untreated emissions were pumped into the atmosphere, and the rise of automobiles significantly contributed to air pollution. Such activities continued without any restrictions until they started to cause a wide range of repercussions.

In humans, air polluted with contaminants can cause a wide array of illnesses ranging from asthma and bronchitis the various forms of cancer. Air pollution is not only present outdoors; interior air pollution is also a great concern. Recent research has actually found credible evidence that room fresheners have the many compounds within them, some of which are classified carcinogens. This means some of those compounds present in the aerosol has the potential to cause some forms of cancer. Other sources of air pollution can include gases such as carbon monoxide and radon.

Radon, in particular, is quite alarming. It is an odourless, colourless gas that occurs naturally. It is found in the soil as Uranium, which breaks down and eventually turns into radon gas. Radon has limited repercussions on health if exposed to low concentrations, however, when this gas gets trapped indoor, the higher levels of concentration can have wreak havoc or ultimately be lethal. Radon is also reported to be released from building materials such as granite. Exposure to radon causes no immediate health effects, but long term exposure has the potential to cause lung cancer.

Air pollution not only affects the lungs but the central nervous system too. It has been linked to a lot of diseases such as schizophrenia and autism. A study also implied that it can cause short-term memory losses or distortion of memory.

Historically, air pollution has caused many crises with the worst ever being the Bhopal Disaster in 1984. Fatalities were estimated at 3,800, with at least 600,000 injured. Next in severity was the Great Smog of 1952 which formed over London, killing an estimated 4,000 civilians over the course of four days.

Though measures have been taken to reduce the effects of air pollution, a lot of irreversible damage has been done. For instance, the effects of global warming have drastically increased; this is very apparent with the rise in sea levels and melting glaciers. If the ice caps continue to melt, then we will have to face drastic repercussions. Scientists have proposed a hypothetical scenario where the greenhouse effect becomes “uncontrolled.” Here, greenhouse gases build up and temperatures continue to rise steeply. Oceans will start to evaporate, adding more water vapour into the earth’s atmosphere. This intensifies the effect, reaching a point where temperatures are sufficiently high for rocks start sublimating. Though this scenario is hypothetical, some speculate that this phenomenon already occurred on Venus. The supporters of this theory back this up by claiming Venus has an atmosphere composed primarily of carbon dioxide. The theory also explains why Venus has an extremely high surface temperature of 462 degrees Celcius; which is in fact, the hottest planet in the solar system.

Hence, we need to reduce our impact on the planet and make a conscious effort to reduce air pollution. Explore more essay topics or other fascinating concepts by registering at BYJU’S

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your Mobile number and Email id will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Request OTP on Voice Call

Post My Comment

pollution essay in points

It was helpful

pollution essay in points

  • Share Share

Register with BYJU'S & Download Free PDFs

Register with byju's & watch live videos.

close

  • CBSE Class 10th
  • CBSE Class 12th
  • UP Board 10th
  • UP Board 12th
  • Bihar Board 10th
  • Bihar Board 12th
  • Top Schools in India
  • Top Schools in Delhi
  • Top Schools in Mumbai
  • Top Schools in Chennai
  • Top Schools in Hyderabad
  • Top Schools in Kolkata
  • Top Schools in Pune
  • Top Schools in Bangalore

Products & Resources

  • JEE Main Knockout April
  • Free Sample Papers
  • Free Ebooks
  • NCERT Notes
  • NCERT Syllabus
  • NCERT Books
  • RD Sharma Solutions
  • Navodaya Vidyalaya Admission 2024-25
  • NCERT Solutions
  • NCERT Solutions for Class 12
  • NCERT Solutions for Class 11
  • NCERT solutions for Class 10
  • NCERT solutions for Class 9
  • NCERT solutions for Class 8
  • NCERT Solutions for Class 7
  • JEE Main 2024
  • JEE Advanced 2024
  • BITSAT 2024
  • View All Engineering Exams
  • Colleges Accepting B.Tech Applications
  • Top Engineering Colleges in India
  • Engineering Colleges in India
  • Engineering Colleges in Tamil Nadu
  • Engineering Colleges Accepting JEE Main
  • Top IITs in India
  • Top NITs in India
  • Top IIITs in India
  • JEE Main College Predictor
  • JEE Main Rank Predictor
  • MHT CET College Predictor
  • AP EAMCET College Predictor
  • GATE College Predictor
  • KCET College Predictor
  • JEE Advanced College Predictor
  • View All College Predictors
  • JEE Main Question Paper
  • JEE Main Mock Test
  • JEE Main Registration
  • JEE Main Syllabus
  • Download E-Books and Sample Papers
  • Compare Colleges
  • B.Tech College Applications
  • GATE 2024 Result
  • MAH MBA CET Exam
  • View All Management Exams

Colleges & Courses

  • MBA College Admissions
  • MBA Colleges in India
  • Top IIMs Colleges in India
  • Top Online MBA Colleges in India
  • MBA Colleges Accepting XAT Score
  • BBA Colleges in India
  • XAT College Predictor 2024
  • SNAP College Predictor
  • NMAT College Predictor
  • MAT College Predictor 2024
  • CMAT College Predictor 2024
  • CAT Percentile Predictor 2023
  • CAT 2023 College Predictor
  • CMAT 2024 Registration
  • TS ICET 2024 Registration
  • CMAT Exam Date 2024
  • MAH MBA CET Cutoff 2024
  • Download Helpful Ebooks
  • List of Popular Branches
  • QnA - Get answers to your doubts
  • IIM Fees Structure
  • AIIMS Nursing
  • Top Medical Colleges in India
  • Top Medical Colleges in India accepting NEET Score
  • Medical Colleges accepting NEET
  • List of Medical Colleges in India
  • List of AIIMS Colleges In India
  • Medical Colleges in Maharashtra
  • Medical Colleges in India Accepting NEET PG
  • NEET College Predictor
  • NEET PG College Predictor
  • NEET MDS College Predictor
  • DNB CET College Predictor
  • DNB PDCET College Predictor
  • NEET Application Form 2024
  • NEET PG Application Form 2024
  • NEET Cut off
  • NEET Online Preparation
  • Download Helpful E-books
  • LSAT India 2024
  • Colleges Accepting Admissions
  • Top Law Colleges in India
  • Law College Accepting CLAT Score
  • List of Law Colleges in India
  • Top Law Colleges in Delhi
  • Top Law Collages in Indore
  • Top Law Colleges in Chandigarh
  • Top Law Collages in Lucknow

Predictors & E-Books

  • CLAT College Predictor
  • MHCET Law ( 5 Year L.L.B) College Predictor
  • AILET College Predictor
  • Sample Papers
  • Compare Law Collages
  • Careers360 Youtube Channel
  • CLAT Syllabus 2025
  • CLAT Previous Year Question Paper
  • AIBE 18 Result 2023
  • NID DAT Exam
  • Pearl Academy Exam

Animation Courses

  • Animation Courses in India
  • Animation Courses in Bangalore
  • Animation Courses in Mumbai
  • Animation Courses in Pune
  • Animation Courses in Chennai
  • Animation Courses in Hyderabad
  • Design Colleges in India
  • Fashion Design Colleges in Bangalore
  • Fashion Design Colleges in Mumbai
  • Fashion Design Colleges in Pune
  • Fashion Design Colleges in Delhi
  • Fashion Design Colleges in Hyderabad
  • Fashion Design Colleges in India
  • Top Design Colleges in India
  • Free Design E-books
  • List of Branches
  • Careers360 Youtube channel
  • NIFT College Predictor
  • UCEED College Predictor
  • NID DAT College Predictor
  • IPU CET BJMC
  • JMI Mass Communication Entrance Exam
  • IIMC Entrance Exam
  • Media & Journalism colleges in Delhi
  • Media & Journalism colleges in Bangalore
  • Media & Journalism colleges in Mumbai
  • List of Media & Journalism Colleges in India
  • CA Intermediate
  • CA Foundation
  • CS Executive
  • CS Professional
  • Difference between CA and CS
  • Difference between CA and CMA
  • CA Full form
  • CMA Full form
  • CS Full form
  • CA Salary In India

Top Courses & Careers

  • Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com)
  • Master of Commerce (M.Com)
  • Company Secretary
  • Cost Accountant
  • Charted Accountant
  • Credit Manager
  • Financial Advisor
  • Top Commerce Colleges in India
  • Top Government Commerce Colleges in India
  • Top Private Commerce Colleges in India
  • Top M.Com Colleges in Mumbai
  • Top B.Com Colleges in India
  • IT Colleges in Tamil Nadu
  • IT Colleges in Uttar Pradesh
  • MCA Colleges in India
  • BCA Colleges in India

Quick Links

  • Information Technology Courses
  • Programming Courses
  • Web Development Courses
  • Data Analytics Courses
  • Big Data Analytics Courses
  • RUHS Pharmacy Admission Test
  • Top Pharmacy Colleges in India
  • Pharmacy Colleges in Pune
  • Pharmacy Colleges in Mumbai
  • Colleges Accepting GPAT Score
  • Pharmacy Colleges in Lucknow
  • List of Pharmacy Colleges in Nagpur
  • GPAT Result
  • GPAT 2024 Admit Card
  • GPAT Question Papers
  • NCHMCT JEE 2024
  • Mah BHMCT CET
  • Top Hotel Management Colleges in Delhi
  • Top Hotel Management Colleges in Hyderabad
  • Top Hotel Management Colleges in Mumbai
  • Top Hotel Management Colleges in Tamil Nadu
  • Top Hotel Management Colleges in Maharashtra
  • B.Sc Hotel Management
  • Hotel Management
  • Diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology

Diploma Colleges

  • Top Diploma Colleges in Maharashtra
  • UPSC IAS 2024
  • SSC CGL 2024
  • IBPS RRB 2024
  • Previous Year Sample Papers
  • Free Competition E-books
  • Sarkari Result
  • QnA- Get your doubts answered
  • UPSC Previous Year Sample Papers
  • CTET Previous Year Sample Papers
  • SBI Clerk Previous Year Sample Papers
  • NDA Previous Year Sample Papers

Upcoming Events

  • NDA Application Form 2024
  • UPSC IAS Application Form 2024
  • CDS Application Form 2024
  • CTET Admit card 2024
  • HP TET Result 2023
  • SSC GD Constable Admit Card 2024
  • UPTET Notification 2024
  • SBI Clerk Result 2024

Other Exams

  • SSC CHSL 2024
  • UP PCS 2024
  • UGC NET 2024
  • RRB NTPC 2024
  • IBPS PO 2024
  • IBPS Clerk 2024
  • IBPS SO 2024
  • Top University in USA
  • Top University in Canada
  • Top University in Ireland
  • Top Universities in UK
  • Top Universities in Australia
  • Best MBA Colleges in Abroad
  • Business Management Studies Colleges

Top Countries

  • Study in USA
  • Study in UK
  • Study in Canada
  • Study in Australia
  • Study in Ireland
  • Study in Germany
  • Study in China
  • Study in Europe

Student Visas

  • Student Visa Canada
  • Student Visa UK
  • Student Visa USA
  • Student Visa Australia
  • Student Visa Germany
  • Student Visa New Zealand
  • Student Visa Ireland
  • CUET PG 2024
  • IGNOU B.Ed Admission 2024
  • DU Admission
  • UP B.Ed JEE 2024
  • DDU Entrance Exam
  • IIT JAM 2024
  • IGNOU Online Admission 2024
  • Universities in India
  • Top Universities in India 2024
  • Top Colleges in India
  • Top Universities in Uttar Pradesh 2024
  • Top Universities in Bihar
  • Top Universities in Madhya Pradesh 2024
  • Top Universities in Tamil Nadu 2024
  • Central Universities in India
  • CUET PG Admit Card 2024
  • IGNOU Date Sheet
  • CUET Mock Test 2024
  • CUET Application Form 2024
  • CUET PG Syllabus 2024
  • CUET Participating Universities 2024
  • CUET Previous Year Question Paper
  • CUET Syllabus 2024 for Science Students
  • E-Books and Sample Papers
  • CUET Exam Pattern 2024
  • CUET Exam Date 2024
  • CUET Syllabus 2024
  • IGNOU Exam Form 2024
  • IGNOU Result
  • CUET PG Courses 2024

Engineering Preparation

  • Knockout JEE Main 2024
  • Test Series JEE Main 2024
  • JEE Main 2024 Rank Booster

Medical Preparation

  • Knockout NEET 2024
  • Test Series NEET 2024
  • Rank Booster NEET 2024

Online Courses

  • JEE Main One Month Course
  • NEET One Month Course
  • IBSAT Free Mock Tests
  • IIT JEE Foundation Course
  • Knockout BITSAT 2024
  • Career Guidance Tool

Top Streams

  • IT & Software Certification Courses
  • Engineering and Architecture Certification Courses
  • Programming And Development Certification Courses
  • Business and Management Certification Courses
  • Marketing Certification Courses
  • Health and Fitness Certification Courses
  • Design Certification Courses

Specializations

  • Digital Marketing Certification Courses
  • Cyber Security Certification Courses
  • Artificial Intelligence Certification Courses
  • Business Analytics Certification Courses
  • Data Science Certification Courses
  • Cloud Computing Certification Courses
  • Machine Learning Certification Courses
  • View All Certification Courses
  • UG Degree Courses
  • PG Degree Courses
  • Short Term Courses
  • Free Courses
  • Online Degrees and Diplomas
  • Compare Courses

Top Providers

  • Coursera Courses
  • Udemy Courses
  • Edx Courses
  • Swayam Courses
  • upGrad Courses
  • Simplilearn Courses
  • Great Learning Courses

Access premium articles, webinars, resources to make the best decisions for career, course, exams, scholarships, study abroad and much more with

Plan, Prepare & Make the Best Career Choices

Environmental Pollution Essay

Pollution is the presence and inclusion of unwanted items in the environment. The state of the environment is altered when it has become contaminated with potentially dangerous compounds as a result of human activity. Water, air, and land are dangerously affected by the pollution. Here are a few sample essays on environmental pollution:

100 Words Essay on Environmental Pollution

200 words essay on environmental pollution, 500 words essay on environmental pollution.

Environmental Pollution Essay

When it comes to protecting the environment, awareness is the key. As more and more people become aware of the causes, types, and impacts of environmental pollution, they are more likely to take steps to prevent it. Air pollution is created as a result of burning fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Water pollution results from industrial activities, such as the dumping of chemicals into rivers and lakes, as well as from agricultural runoff. Land pollution is caused by the misuse of land and improper disposal of waste. The causes of environmental pollution are numerous and varied. Some of the main culprits are industrial activities, burning of fossil fuels, use of pesticides, and deforestation.

Awareness and taking necessary resolving steps is essential when it comes to protecting the environment from the impacts of environmental pollution. By teaching people the importance of taking steps to prevent environmental pollution, we can ensure a brighter future for our planet. We must understand the causes of environmental pollution, the types of pollution, the impact it has on the environment, and how we can prevent it.

Causes | Environmental pollution is the contamination of the environment through the emissions of pollutants including harmful gases, chemicals, and particulate matter. It is caused by human activities such as burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial pollution. These activities have caused global warming, acid rain, and water and air pollution, leading to global environmental degradation.

Types | There are different types of environmental pollution. The most common type is air pollution, which is caused by burning of fuels and other industrial activities. Water pollution is another common type of pollution which is caused by sewage and industrial waste. Soil pollution is caused by overuse of pesticides and other chemicals. Noise pollution is caused by traffic, construction activities, and industrial noise. Light pollution is caused by the emission of artificial light.

Impact | The impact of environmental pollution is far-reaching and devastating. Air pollution can lead to respiratory diseases, while water pollution can contaminate drinking water and cause health issues. Land pollution causes reduction in soil fertility and even destruction of natural habitats for animals. In addition, it can lead to the destruction of ecosystems, which in turn leads to a decrease in biodiversity.

Environmental pollution has serious impacts on both humans and the environment. It affects air quality, water quality, soil fertility, and public health. Poor air quality affects the respiratory system, leading to respiratory illnesses like asthma and bronchitis. Water pollution can lead to the spread of diseases like cholera, typhoid, and dysentery. Soil pollution can reduce crop yields, leading to food insecurity.

Types of Environmental Pollution

Air | Air pollution is the introduction of dangerous compounds into the atmosphere, which has a negative influence on the environment and humanity. Air pollution simply makes the air impure or contaminated. It happens when noxious gases, scents, dust, or fumes are discharged into the air in concentrations that endanger human and animal comfort or health or even kill plant life.

Water | The act of contaminating water bodies, such as rivers, oceans, lakes, streams, aquifers, and groundwater, is known as water pollution. It happens when foreign, dangerous substances—such as chemicals, garbage, or polluted materials are released into bodies of water, either directly or indirectly.

Land | When the quality of the earth's land surfaces in terms of use, landscape, and capacity to support life forms is compromised or destroyed, this is referred to as land pollution. It is frequently brought on by human activity and the misuse of land resources, both directly and indirectly.

Soil | Chemical pollutants can pollute soil or cause it to degrade through activities like mining, clearing vegetation, or topsoil erosion. Typically, it occurs when human activities bring harmful chemicals, substances, or items into the soil.

Noise | Noise pollution is an unpleasant sound or a sound that causes excruciating ear pain. Noise pollution is described as unpleasant and unwanted sound levels that cause significant distress to all living beings. It is measured in decibels (dB).

Factors Responsible For Environmental Pollution

Environmental pollution has a variety of causes. One of the most prominent is the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas by power plants, factories and automobiles. This produces large amounts of carbon dioxide, which is a major contributor to global climate change. Other sources of environmental pollution include agricultural practices, such as over-fertilization and the use of pesticides, and industrial processes, such as mining, manufacturing and waste disposal.

What Can We Do

To prevent environmental pollution, we must reduce the emissions of various pollutants. We can do this by switching to renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, and hydroelectric power. We should reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and use more efficient transportation methods. We should also reduce the emissions of harmful industrial chemicals and practise sustainable agriculture. Additionally, we should increase public awareness of environmental pollution and its impacts, and promote eco-friendly lifestyles.

By understanding the causes and effects of environmental pollution, we can work towards preventing it and ensuring a cleaner, healthier environment for all. Awarness and knowledge is essential in this regard, as it helps us to become more conscious and informed citizens. It helps us understand the importance of protecting and preserving the environment and make us more responsible citizens.

The world is facing an ever-growing threat from pollution, which if left unchecked will have catastrophic consequences. Education and taking conscious action plan can play a key role in helping to reduce environmental pollution.

Explore Career Options (By Industry)

  • Construction
  • Entertainment
  • Manufacturing
  • Information Technology

Data Administrator

Database professionals use software to store and organise data such as financial information, and customer shipping records. Individuals who opt for a career as data administrators ensure that data is available for users and secured from unauthorised sales. DB administrators may work in various types of industries. It may involve computer systems design, service firms, insurance companies, banks and hospitals.

Bio Medical Engineer

The field of biomedical engineering opens up a universe of expert chances. An Individual in the biomedical engineering career path work in the field of engineering as well as medicine, in order to find out solutions to common problems of the two fields. The biomedical engineering job opportunities are to collaborate with doctors and researchers to develop medical systems, equipment, or devices that can solve clinical problems. Here we will be discussing jobs after biomedical engineering, how to get a job in biomedical engineering, biomedical engineering scope, and salary. 

Ethical Hacker

A career as ethical hacker involves various challenges and provides lucrative opportunities in the digital era where every giant business and startup owns its cyberspace on the world wide web. Individuals in the ethical hacker career path try to find the vulnerabilities in the cyber system to get its authority. If he or she succeeds in it then he or she gets its illegal authority. Individuals in the ethical hacker career path then steal information or delete the file that could affect the business, functioning, or services of the organization.

GIS officer work on various GIS software to conduct a study and gather spatial and non-spatial information. GIS experts update the GIS data and maintain it. The databases include aerial or satellite imagery, latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates, and manually digitized images of maps. In a career as GIS expert, one is responsible for creating online and mobile maps.

Data Analyst

The invention of the database has given fresh breath to the people involved in the data analytics career path. Analysis refers to splitting up a whole into its individual components for individual analysis. Data analysis is a method through which raw data are processed and transformed into information that would be beneficial for user strategic thinking.

Data are collected and examined to respond to questions, evaluate hypotheses or contradict theories. It is a tool for analyzing, transforming, modeling, and arranging data with useful knowledge, to assist in decision-making and methods, encompassing various strategies, and is used in different fields of business, research, and social science.

Geothermal Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as geothermal engineers are the professionals involved in the processing of geothermal energy. The responsibilities of geothermal engineers may vary depending on the workplace location. Those who work in fields design facilities to process and distribute geothermal energy. They oversee the functioning of machinery used in the field.

Database Architect

If you are intrigued by the programming world and are interested in developing communications networks then a career as database architect may be a good option for you. Data architect roles and responsibilities include building design models for data communication networks. Wide Area Networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), and intranets are included in the database networks. It is expected that database architects will have in-depth knowledge of a company's business to develop a network to fulfil the requirements of the organisation. Stay tuned as we look at the larger picture and give you more information on what is db architecture, why you should pursue database architecture, what to expect from such a degree and what your job opportunities will be after graduation. Here, we will be discussing how to become a data architect. Students can visit NIT Trichy , IIT Kharagpur , JMI New Delhi . 

Remote Sensing Technician

Individuals who opt for a career as a remote sensing technician possess unique personalities. Remote sensing analysts seem to be rational human beings, they are strong, independent, persistent, sincere, realistic and resourceful. Some of them are analytical as well, which means they are intelligent, introspective and inquisitive. 

Remote sensing scientists use remote sensing technology to support scientists in fields such as community planning, flight planning or the management of natural resources. Analysing data collected from aircraft, satellites or ground-based platforms using statistical analysis software, image analysis software or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a significant part of their work. Do you want to learn how to become remote sensing technician? There's no need to be concerned; we've devised a simple remote sensing technician career path for you. Scroll through the pages and read.

Budget Analyst

Budget analysis, in a nutshell, entails thoroughly analyzing the details of a financial budget. The budget analysis aims to better understand and manage revenue. Budget analysts assist in the achievement of financial targets, the preservation of profitability, and the pursuit of long-term growth for a business. Budget analysts generally have a bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, economics, or a closely related field. Knowledge of Financial Management is of prime importance in this career.

Underwriter

An underwriter is a person who assesses and evaluates the risk of insurance in his or her field like mortgage, loan, health policy, investment, and so on and so forth. The underwriter career path does involve risks as analysing the risks means finding out if there is a way for the insurance underwriter jobs to recover the money from its clients. If the risk turns out to be too much for the company then in the future it is an underwriter who will be held accountable for it. Therefore, one must carry out his or her job with a lot of attention and diligence.

Finance Executive

Product manager.

A Product Manager is a professional responsible for product planning and marketing. He or she manages the product throughout the Product Life Cycle, gathering and prioritising the product. A product manager job description includes defining the product vision and working closely with team members of other departments to deliver winning products.  

Operations Manager

Individuals in the operations manager jobs are responsible for ensuring the efficiency of each department to acquire its optimal goal. They plan the use of resources and distribution of materials. The operations manager's job description includes managing budgets, negotiating contracts, and performing administrative tasks.

Stock Analyst

Individuals who opt for a career as a stock analyst examine the company's investments makes decisions and keep track of financial securities. The nature of such investments will differ from one business to the next. Individuals in the stock analyst career use data mining to forecast a company's profits and revenues, advise clients on whether to buy or sell, participate in seminars, and discussing financial matters with executives and evaluate annual reports.

A Researcher is a professional who is responsible for collecting data and information by reviewing the literature and conducting experiments and surveys. He or she uses various methodological processes to provide accurate data and information that is utilised by academicians and other industry professionals. Here, we will discuss what is a researcher, the researcher's salary, types of researchers.

Welding Engineer

Welding Engineer Job Description: A Welding Engineer work involves managing welding projects and supervising welding teams. He or she is responsible for reviewing welding procedures, processes and documentation. A career as Welding Engineer involves conducting failure analyses and causes on welding issues. 

Transportation Planner

A career as Transportation Planner requires technical application of science and technology in engineering, particularly the concepts, equipment and technologies involved in the production of products and services. In fields like land use, infrastructure review, ecological standards and street design, he or she considers issues of health, environment and performance. A Transportation Planner assigns resources for implementing and designing programmes. He or she is responsible for assessing needs, preparing plans and forecasts and compliance with regulations.

Environmental Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as an environmental engineer are construction professionals who utilise the skills and knowledge of biology, soil science, chemistry and the concept of engineering to design and develop projects that serve as solutions to various environmental problems. 

Safety Manager

A Safety Manager is a professional responsible for employee’s safety at work. He or she plans, implements and oversees the company’s employee safety. A Safety Manager ensures compliance and adherence to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) guidelines.

Conservation Architect

A Conservation Architect is a professional responsible for conserving and restoring buildings or monuments having a historic value. He or she applies techniques to document and stabilise the object’s state without any further damage. A Conservation Architect restores the monuments and heritage buildings to bring them back to their original state.

Structural Engineer

A Structural Engineer designs buildings, bridges, and other related structures. He or she analyzes the structures and makes sure the structures are strong enough to be used by the people. A career as a Structural Engineer requires working in the construction process. It comes under the civil engineering discipline. A Structure Engineer creates structural models with the help of computer-aided design software. 

Highway Engineer

Highway Engineer Job Description:  A Highway Engineer is a civil engineer who specialises in planning and building thousands of miles of roads that support connectivity and allow transportation across the country. He or she ensures that traffic management schemes are effectively planned concerning economic sustainability and successful implementation.

Field Surveyor

Are you searching for a Field Surveyor Job Description? A Field Surveyor is a professional responsible for conducting field surveys for various places or geographical conditions. He or she collects the required data and information as per the instructions given by senior officials. 

Orthotist and Prosthetist

Orthotists and Prosthetists are professionals who provide aid to patients with disabilities. They fix them to artificial limbs (prosthetics) and help them to regain stability. There are times when people lose their limbs in an accident. In some other occasions, they are born without a limb or orthopaedic impairment. Orthotists and prosthetists play a crucial role in their lives with fixing them to assistive devices and provide mobility.

Pathologist

A career in pathology in India is filled with several responsibilities as it is a medical branch and affects human lives. The demand for pathologists has been increasing over the past few years as people are getting more aware of different diseases. Not only that, but an increase in population and lifestyle changes have also contributed to the increase in a pathologist’s demand. The pathology careers provide an extremely huge number of opportunities and if you want to be a part of the medical field you can consider being a pathologist. If you want to know more about a career in pathology in India then continue reading this article.

Veterinary Doctor

Speech therapist, gynaecologist.

Gynaecology can be defined as the study of the female body. The job outlook for gynaecology is excellent since there is evergreen demand for one because of their responsibility of dealing with not only women’s health but also fertility and pregnancy issues. Although most women prefer to have a women obstetrician gynaecologist as their doctor, men also explore a career as a gynaecologist and there are ample amounts of male doctors in the field who are gynaecologists and aid women during delivery and childbirth. 

Audiologist

The audiologist career involves audiology professionals who are responsible to treat hearing loss and proactively preventing the relevant damage. Individuals who opt for a career as an audiologist use various testing strategies with the aim to determine if someone has a normal sensitivity to sounds or not. After the identification of hearing loss, a hearing doctor is required to determine which sections of the hearing are affected, to what extent they are affected, and where the wound causing the hearing loss is found. As soon as the hearing loss is identified, the patients are provided with recommendations for interventions and rehabilitation such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, and appropriate medical referrals. While audiology is a branch of science that studies and researches hearing, balance, and related disorders.

An oncologist is a specialised doctor responsible for providing medical care to patients diagnosed with cancer. He or she uses several therapies to control the cancer and its effect on the human body such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy and biopsy. An oncologist designs a treatment plan based on a pathology report after diagnosing the type of cancer and where it is spreading inside the body.

Are you searching for an ‘Anatomist job description’? An Anatomist is a research professional who applies the laws of biological science to determine the ability of bodies of various living organisms including animals and humans to regenerate the damaged or destroyed organs. If you want to know what does an anatomist do, then read the entire article, where we will answer all your questions.

For an individual who opts for a career as an actor, the primary responsibility is to completely speak to the character he or she is playing and to persuade the crowd that the character is genuine by connecting with them and bringing them into the story. This applies to significant roles and littler parts, as all roles join to make an effective creation. Here in this article, we will discuss how to become an actor in India, actor exams, actor salary in India, and actor jobs. 

Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats create and direct original routines for themselves, in addition to developing interpretations of existing routines. The work of circus acrobats can be seen in a variety of performance settings, including circus, reality shows, sports events like the Olympics, movies and commercials. Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats must be prepared to face rejections and intermittent periods of work. The creativity of acrobats may extend to other aspects of the performance. For example, acrobats in the circus may work with gym trainers, celebrities or collaborate with other professionals to enhance such performance elements as costume and or maybe at the teaching end of the career.

Video Game Designer

Career as a video game designer is filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. A video game designer is someone who is involved in the process of creating a game from day one. He or she is responsible for fulfilling duties like designing the character of the game, the several levels involved, plot, art and similar other elements. Individuals who opt for a career as a video game designer may also write the codes for the game using different programming languages.

Depending on the video game designer job description and experience they may also have to lead a team and do the early testing of the game in order to suggest changes and find loopholes.

Radio Jockey

Radio Jockey is an exciting, promising career and a great challenge for music lovers. If you are really interested in a career as radio jockey, then it is very important for an RJ to have an automatic, fun, and friendly personality. If you want to get a job done in this field, a strong command of the language and a good voice are always good things. Apart from this, in order to be a good radio jockey, you will also listen to good radio jockeys so that you can understand their style and later make your own by practicing.

A career as radio jockey has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. If you want to know more about a career as radio jockey, and how to become a radio jockey then continue reading the article.

Choreographer

The word “choreography" actually comes from Greek words that mean “dance writing." Individuals who opt for a career as a choreographer create and direct original dances, in addition to developing interpretations of existing dances. A Choreographer dances and utilises his or her creativity in other aspects of dance performance. For example, he or she may work with the music director to select music or collaborate with other famous choreographers to enhance such performance elements as lighting, costume and set design.

Social Media Manager

A career as social media manager involves implementing the company’s or brand’s marketing plan across all social media channels. Social media managers help in building or improving a brand’s or a company’s website traffic, build brand awareness, create and implement marketing and brand strategy. Social media managers are key to important social communication as well.

Photographer

Photography is considered both a science and an art, an artistic means of expression in which the camera replaces the pen. In a career as a photographer, an individual is hired to capture the moments of public and private events, such as press conferences or weddings, or may also work inside a studio, where people go to get their picture clicked. Photography is divided into many streams each generating numerous career opportunities in photography. With the boom in advertising, media, and the fashion industry, photography has emerged as a lucrative and thrilling career option for many Indian youths.

An individual who is pursuing a career as a producer is responsible for managing the business aspects of production. They are involved in each aspect of production from its inception to deception. Famous movie producers review the script, recommend changes and visualise the story. 

They are responsible for overseeing the finance involved in the project and distributing the film for broadcasting on various platforms. A career as a producer is quite fulfilling as well as exhaustive in terms of playing different roles in order for a production to be successful. Famous movie producers are responsible for hiring creative and technical personnel on contract basis.

Copy Writer

In a career as a copywriter, one has to consult with the client and understand the brief well. A career as a copywriter has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. Several new mediums of advertising are opening therefore making it a lucrative career choice. Students can pursue various copywriter courses such as Journalism , Advertising , Marketing Management . Here, we have discussed how to become a freelance copywriter, copywriter career path, how to become a copywriter in India, and copywriting career outlook. 

In a career as a vlogger, one generally works for himself or herself. However, once an individual has gained viewership there are several brands and companies that approach them for paid collaboration. It is one of those fields where an individual can earn well while following his or her passion. 

Ever since internet costs got reduced the viewership for these types of content has increased on a large scale. Therefore, a career as a vlogger has a lot to offer. If you want to know more about the Vlogger eligibility, roles and responsibilities then continue reading the article. 

For publishing books, newspapers, magazines and digital material, editorial and commercial strategies are set by publishers. Individuals in publishing career paths make choices about the markets their businesses will reach and the type of content that their audience will be served. Individuals in book publisher careers collaborate with editorial staff, designers, authors, and freelance contributors who develop and manage the creation of content.

Careers in journalism are filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. One cannot afford to miss out on the details. As it is the small details that provide insights into a story. Depending on those insights a journalist goes about writing a news article. A journalism career can be stressful at times but if you are someone who is passionate about it then it is the right choice for you. If you want to know more about the media field and journalist career then continue reading this article.

Individuals in the editor career path is an unsung hero of the news industry who polishes the language of the news stories provided by stringers, reporters, copywriters and content writers and also news agencies. Individuals who opt for a career as an editor make it more persuasive, concise and clear for readers. In this article, we will discuss the details of the editor's career path such as how to become an editor in India, editor salary in India and editor skills and qualities.

Individuals who opt for a career as a reporter may often be at work on national holidays and festivities. He or she pitches various story ideas and covers news stories in risky situations. Students can pursue a BMC (Bachelor of Mass Communication) , B.M.M. (Bachelor of Mass Media) , or  MAJMC (MA in Journalism and Mass Communication) to become a reporter. While we sit at home reporters travel to locations to collect information that carries a news value.  

Corporate Executive

Are you searching for a Corporate Executive job description? A Corporate Executive role comes with administrative duties. He or she provides support to the leadership of the organisation. A Corporate Executive fulfils the business purpose and ensures its financial stability. In this article, we are going to discuss how to become corporate executive.

Multimedia Specialist

A multimedia specialist is a media professional who creates, audio, videos, graphic image files, computer animations for multimedia applications. He or she is responsible for planning, producing, and maintaining websites and applications. 

Quality Controller

A quality controller plays a crucial role in an organisation. He or she is responsible for performing quality checks on manufactured products. He or she identifies the defects in a product and rejects the product. 

A quality controller records detailed information about products with defects and sends it to the supervisor or plant manager to take necessary actions to improve the production process.

Production Manager

A QA Lead is in charge of the QA Team. The role of QA Lead comes with the responsibility of assessing services and products in order to determine that he or she meets the quality standards. He or she develops, implements and manages test plans. 

Process Development Engineer

The Process Development Engineers design, implement, manufacture, mine, and other production systems using technical knowledge and expertise in the industry. They use computer modeling software to test technologies and machinery. An individual who is opting career as Process Development Engineer is responsible for developing cost-effective and efficient processes. They also monitor the production process and ensure it functions smoothly and efficiently.

AWS Solution Architect

An AWS Solution Architect is someone who specializes in developing and implementing cloud computing systems. He or she has a good understanding of the various aspects of cloud computing and can confidently deploy and manage their systems. He or she troubleshoots the issues and evaluates the risk from the third party. 

Azure Administrator

An Azure Administrator is a professional responsible for implementing, monitoring, and maintaining Azure Solutions. He or she manages cloud infrastructure service instances and various cloud servers as well as sets up public and private cloud systems. 

Computer Programmer

Careers in computer programming primarily refer to the systematic act of writing code and moreover include wider computer science areas. The word 'programmer' or 'coder' has entered into practice with the growing number of newly self-taught tech enthusiasts. Computer programming careers involve the use of designs created by software developers and engineers and transforming them into commands that can be implemented by computers. These commands result in regular usage of social media sites, word-processing applications and browsers.

Information Security Manager

Individuals in the information security manager career path involves in overseeing and controlling all aspects of computer security. The IT security manager job description includes planning and carrying out security measures to protect the business data and information from corruption, theft, unauthorised access, and deliberate attack 

ITSM Manager

Automation test engineer.

An Automation Test Engineer job involves executing automated test scripts. He or she identifies the project’s problems and troubleshoots them. The role involves documenting the defect using management tools. He or she works with the application team in order to resolve any issues arising during the testing process. 

Applications for Admissions are open.

Aakash iACST Scholarship Test 2024

Aakash iACST Scholarship Test 2024

Get up to 90% scholarship on NEET, JEE & Foundation courses

SAT® | CollegeBoard

SAT® | CollegeBoard

Registeration closing on 19th Apr for SAT® | One Test-Many Universities | 90% discount on registrations fee | Free Practice | Multiple Attempts | no penalty for guessing

JEE Main Important Chemistry formulas

JEE Main Important Chemistry formulas

As per latest 2024 syllabus. Chemistry formulas, equations, & laws of class 11 & 12th chapters

Resonance Coaching

Resonance Coaching

Enroll in Resonance Coaching for success in JEE/NEET exams

TOEFL ® Registrations 2024

TOEFL ® Registrations 2024

Thinking of Studying Abroad? Think the TOEFL® test. Register now & Save 10% on English Proficiency Tests with Gift Cards

ALLEN JEE Exam Prep

ALLEN JEE Exam Prep

Start your JEE preparation with ALLEN

Everything about Education

Latest updates, Exclusive Content, Webinars and more.

Download Careers360 App's

Regular exam updates, QnA, Predictors, College Applications & E-books now on your Mobile

student

Cetifications

student

We Appeared in

Economic Times

  • Latest Education News
  • Engineering
  • Law Admission
  • Design Admission
  • PG Admission
  • Preparation Guide
  • Entrance Exam Results
  • Board Exam Results
  • UPSC Civil Services 2025
  • NDA 2024 (I & II)
  • SSC Recruitment
  • Railway Recruitment
  • Board Time Table
  • Bihar Board (BSEB)
  • Chhattisgarh Board
  • Gujarat Board
  • Haryana Board
  • Course Guides

pollution essay in points

Essay on Pollution in 150, 250, 500 Words- Types, Effects, How to Reduce

Essay on Pollution in 150, 250, 500 Words – Students of almost each class get an assignment or homework to write an essay on pollution. The word limit can be 150, 250 or 500 depending upon the class they study. Students from class 1 to 12 can take help of this short essay about pollution taking important points. Take help from this short essay on pollution in English to complete their homework on time. To help students, we have provided a pollution essay in 150, 250, 500 Words. Instead of using the exact words, students are suggested to modify the word and include more thoughts to make the essay on pollution more enticing. With the help of a well-phrased pollution essay, students will be able to get good marks in their final exams. Also read- Essay on Mahatma Gandhi

Essay on Pollution in 500 Words

Pollution is the presence of harmful substances in the environment. These harmful substances are called pollutants. There are various types of pollution that are Air Pollution, Water Pollution, Noise pollution and more. Because of the increase in population, pollution is also increasing on a daily basis. People are getting hazardous diseases with the increased level of pollution. Hence, everyone should be aware of the pollution, its effects and how to reduce it effectively. Also read- Essay on My School

What is Pollution?

Like a balanced diet for a healthy body, our environment also needs every substance in a balanced proportion. If any substance increases more than its threshold amount then it pollutes the environment such as increased carbon dioxide, Nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere pollutes the air and adversely affects the health of humans. Also Read- Essay on Diwali

Types of Pollution

There are different types of pollution that affect different sections of the environment.

  • Air Pollution
  • Water Pollution
  • Noise Pollution
  • Soil Pollution
  • Environment Pollution

Effects of Pollution

Due to the pollution, people and the environment are getting affected in different ways. Here are some of the most recognised bad impacts of pollution.

  • People exposed to high levels of noise pollution face hearing problems, high blood pressure, sleep disturbance and other issues.
  • Because of the high level of air pollution, Global warming is increasing which will further depleting the ozone layer. Besides, breathing problems are increasing in humans.
  • Many species of animals and birds are at the verge of extinction such as sparrow which are almost extinct.
  • Increased water pollution is destroying life underwater. 
  • Pesticides used in crops are increasing the risk of cancer and other dangerous diseases. Continuous increase of soil pollution is making the soil infertile.

How to Reduce Pollution?

People should join hands to reduce pollution. So that our coming generations can experience the healthy environment. To preserve the healthy living environment, people should take some precautions and measures. Check the below steps that can help in reducing the pollutants-

  • Reduce the use of non-biodegradable things – Environment has a property of reviving itself by degrading the naturally produced substances. However, the non- biodegradable things like plastic bags and bottles pollute the environment.
  • Plant more trees – To decrease the air pollution and save the species, it is very important to plant more number of trees. Trees help in purifying the air by adding more oxygen in the environment.
  • Less Use of Chemicals – With advancement in technology, many chemical-made substances are used to improve the yield of food products. People should produce food without using pesticides and 
  • Reduce Population – Continuously increasing population is the major reason for increased pollution. People should follow the policy We two, our two (hum do hamare do) to keep the population under control.
  • Recycling is also a very effective and efficient way to reduce the pollution. It helps in limiting the use of non- biodegradable products.

Essay on Pollution in 250 words for Class 5 Students

Pollution is referred as the presence of harmful substance in the environment. It impact on every person, animal or lining creature on this earth. These unwanted substances added in the environment also known as pollutant. These pollutant creates various diseases and often lead to death of the living creature. There are different types of pollution, and each one has its own problems.

  • Air Pollution: When pollutant or harmful elements are present in air is called Air Pollution. Air pollution is formed from smoke and gases from cars and factories get into the air we breathe. It can make our air dirty and cause us to get sick with coughs and other bad things.
  • Water Pollution: When factories dump dirty water into rivers or lakes, it makes the water dirty and not safe to drink. This hurts the fish and other animals living in the water too.
  • Soil Pollution: Sometimes, chemicals from things like trash and pesticides get into the soil. This makes it hard for plants to grow and can even make our food unsafe to eat.
  • Noise Pollution: Have you ever heard loud sounds that bother you? That’s noise pollution! It comes from things like cars honking, machines at work, and even loud music. It can make it hard for animals to hear and cause people to feel stressed.
  • Light Pollution : At night, when there are too many lights on, it can confuse animals that need darkness. Even we humans need dark nights to sleep well!

Pollution is a big problem, but we can help stop it! We can do things like using less energy, recycling our trash, and not wasting water. Governments and scientists are also working on ways to make cleaner technologies and laws to protect our environment.

Remember, we all share this beautiful planet, so let’s work together to keep it clean and safe for everyone! By learning about pollution and taking small steps to help, we can make a big difference and have a happy, healthy world for us and future generations.

Short Essay on Pollution

Pollution is a pressing global issue that threatens the health of our planet and its inhabitants. It refers to the introduction of harmful substances or contaminants into the environment, leading to adverse effects on air, water, soil, and living organisms.

Air pollution is one of the most significant forms of pollution, caused by emissions from vehicles, industries, and burning of fossil fuels. These pollutants, such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter, contribute to respiratory diseases, smog, and climate change.

Water pollution occurs when harmful substances are discharged into rivers, lakes, and oceans, contaminating drinking water sources and harming aquatic life. Industrial waste, agricultural runoff, and improper disposal of sewage are major contributors to water pollution.

Soil pollution, often caused by industrial activities, mining, and improper waste disposal, degrades soil quality and affects agricultural productivity. Contaminants like heavy metals, pesticides, and chemicals can accumulate in the soil, posing risks to human health and the environment.

Pollution not only harms the environment but also impacts human health, leading to respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. It also disrupts ecosystems, causing biodiversity loss and ecological imbalance.

Addressing pollution requires collective action at local, national, and global levels. Implementing stricter regulations, adopting cleaner technologies, promoting renewable energy sources, and raising public awareness are crucial steps in mitigating pollution and safeguarding the planet for future generations. It’s imperative that we take urgent and concerted efforts to combat pollution and protect the health and well-being of all living beings on Earth.

Essay on Pollution in 150 words

Pollution is a significant environmental issue that affects our planet and its inhabitants. It occurs when harmful substances or contaminants are introduced into the environment, leading to adverse effects on air, water, soil, and living organisms.

One of the most prevalent forms of pollution is air pollution, caused by emissions from vehicles, industries, and burning of fossil fuels. These pollutants include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter, which can cause respiratory illnesses, smog, and climate change.

Water pollution is another pressing concern, resulting from the discharge of pollutants into rivers, lakes, and oceans. Industrial waste, agricultural runoff, and improper sewage disposal contaminate water sources, endangering aquatic life and compromising human health.

Soil pollution, caused by industrial activities and improper waste disposal, degrades soil quality and affects agricultural productivity.

Pollution poses serious health risks to humans and wildlife, disrupts ecosystems, and threatens biodiversity. To combat pollution, it’s essential to adopt sustainable practices, reduce emissions, and promote environmental conservation efforts. Only by working together can we mitigate pollution and safeguard the health of our planet for future generations.

10 Lines of Pollution

  • Pollution is the introduction of harmful substances or contaminants into the environment.
  • It can take various forms, including air pollution, water pollution, and soil pollution.
  • Air pollution is caused by emissions from vehicles, industries, and burning of fossil fuels.
  • Water pollution occurs due to the discharge of pollutants into rivers, lakes, and oceans.
  • Soil pollution results from industrial activities, mining, and improper waste disposal.
  • Pollution poses serious health risks to humans, including respiratory diseases and cancer.
  • It also harms wildlife and ecosystems, leading to biodiversity loss and habitat destruction.
  • Plastic pollution, caused by the accumulation of plastic waste, is a major concern in oceans and water bodies.
  • Pollution is exacerbated by unsustainable practices and overconsumption of natural resources.
  • Addressing pollution requires collective action and sustainable solutions to protect the environment and human health.

Essay on Pollution- How to Write Effectively?

While writing an essay on Pollution, students should keep a few tips in mind to get good marks.

  • Always highlight the important facts or information so that the teacher can get the highlights at one glance. This will improve the readability of the essay on pollution. 
  • Make sure you write essays in pointers to make it easier to read. If the essay is of 10 marks then do not forget to add 10 unique lines in points. This will help in getting good scores in the essay writing section.
  • Students can use some facts and quotes to support their statement that will give some extra points in board exams.

Also Read- Essay on Internet

Stay Connected With StudyGrades for Essays for Different Classes!

RELATED ARTICLES MORE FROM AUTHOR

Essay on climate change in 1000 words, essay on air pollution in english, essay on holi, essay on diwali in 500+ words, essay on internet for students (500 words), essay on mahatma gandhi in 500 words (english)- short essay, editor picks, gseb ssc time table 2025- gujarat board 10th date sheet, cuet pg answer key 2024 released; download now, mp board 8th result 2024 date and time- check here, popular posts, rashtriya military school admission 2023-24 (started)-date, notifcation, imo results 2023-24 | sof imo result date, link, ieo result 2023-24 declared (level 1) | sof ieo results 2023, popular category.

  • Admission 481
  • Latest Education News 290
  • UG Admission News 267
  • Board Exams 169
  • PG Admission 166
  • Entrance Exam Results 139
  • Preparation Guide 128
  • Admit Card 128
  • Play & Activities
  • Life Skills
  • Learning & Education
  • Play & Learning

FirstCry Intelli Education

  • Growth & Development
  • Rhymes & Songs
  • Preschool Locator

Essay on Environmental Pollution – 10 Lines, Short and Long Essay for Children

' src=

Key Points To Remember When Writing An Essay On Environmental Pollution For Lower Primary Classes

What are the types of environmental pollution, 10 lines on environmental pollution for kids, short essay on environmental pollution in english in 150 words for kids, long essay on environmental pollution for children, how to control environmental pollution, what will your child learn from this essay on environmental pollution.

Essay writing is important for kids to develop good writing skills, and it helps them learn about different topics in a fun manner. This article will discuss environmental pollution for classes 1, 2 and 3 kids to make them understand the importance of the issue. While growing up, kids have a subject called Environmental Studies in primary classes. The subject teaches the kids about the importance of the environment. But it is also important to understand how we are polluting our environment in our day-to-day lives. Only then the kids will be able to cherish and nurture the beautiful planet earth.

When kids understand the environment and how we are polluting it, only then can they find the solution to prevent environmental pollution.

Environmental pollution is one of the very common topics of essays in junior classes. It is necessary to understand the structure of an essay to write a perfect essay. Let’s understand how to write an essay on environmental pollution.

  • Divide your essay into three parts – introduction, body, and conclusion.
  • The introduction section briefly introduces the importance of the environment and how it is getting polluted.
  • In the main body of the essay, write about various factors leading to environmental pollution and how badly it affects us.
  • The conclusion should be about how we can curb the ways we pollute the environment.

Pollution is everywhere. Increased transportation, industrialisation, migration, and many more factors lead to more pollution. Here is some information on four types of pollution that will help kids to write an essay on the various types of environmental pollution.

1. Air Pollution 

The presence of harmful and unwanted particles in the air is air pollution. It is caused due to the smoke coming from factories, automobiles, burning the garbage, farm waste, etc. This smoke contains harmful pollutants and poisonous gases. These get mixed in the clean air and cause great harm to life on earth. It badly affects humans and their health, and flora and fauna.

2. Water Pollution 

The presence of unwanted particles in the water bodies is called water pollution. These particles may be present due to industrial waste, agricultural waste, oil spills, untreated sewage, etc. These pollutants have very harmful effects on water. Approximately 3% of the water on earth is consumable. If that is also polluted, our resources can get exhausted soon, and we will be left with no drinking water.

3. Land Or Soil Pollution 

The accumulation of large waste from different sources on land is called land pollution. These large wastes come from the deposition of solid, biodegradable, non-biodegradable, chemical, and many more types of pollutants. Usage of plastic contributes a lot to the increase of landfills. Various dumps get mixed mix and release poisonous toxins that can stay for a longer time in soil. They can cause a lot of harm to human life, plants, and animals.

4. Noise Pollution 

The unwanted sound in the surroundings is called noise pollution. It is caused due to various factors, including unnecessary blaring of vehicle horns, loudspeakers, industrial activities, and many more. This is increasing day by day with urbanisation and industrialisation. This creates a lot of health issues and threatens human life.

The above information might have helped you write about types of environmental pollution. Now we look into some simple lines and facts that you can use for writing an essay about pollution for classes 1 and 2.

  • Pollution is caused due to the presence of unwanted particles present in the environment.
  • It can cause serious harm to the environment, human life, plant life, and animal life.
  • These unwanted particles can disturb the ecosystem.
  • Natural disasters like forest fires, volcanic eruptions, etc., also contribute to pollution.
  • Humans also cause pollution with vehicular emissions and industrial wastes.
  • Increased pollution has led to global warming.
  • Contamination of air, water, and land can cause serious health issues.
  • The best way to control pollution is by following the motto- Reuse, Reduce and Recycle.
  • Planting more trees and using renewable resources of energy can also help us.
  • It requires a collective effort to reduce and stop pollution.

We have understood the basic nuances of environmental pollution in the article. We have a basic understanding of what pollution is, what causes it, its adverse effects, and how we can reduce it. So, now we can write a paragraph on environmental pollution in simple words for our kids. Here is a sample.

The degradation of the environment due to various factors is called environmental pollution. It is increasing day by day, harming life on our beautiful planet earth. It is causing global warming, resulting in rising temperatures and melting glaciers. It has caused an imbalance in our ecosystem, hampering plants and animals. Many species of animals are getting extinct and endangered. Polluted land, air, and water can cause many life-threatening diseases in humans. It has become very important to control this pollution to sustain life on our planet. Reusing, reducing, and recycling our resources is one way to control pollution. Afforestation, i.e., planting more and more trees, can help curb the effects of pollution. It will require a lot of effort to reduce the damage we have done to mother nature. It is important to cherish and nurture our beautiful planet. Let us create a clean and green planet.

A detailed essay for class 3 will make children aware of the intricacies of environmental pollution.

The planet earth has given us a beautiful home. But knowingly or unknowingly, we are polluting our homes with our carelessness. The addition of unwanted particles to our environment is causing pollution. These unwanted particles are called pollutants. Pollutants can be gases from automobiles, industrial wastes, smoke from burnt garbage, untreated sewage, and many more. It has harmful effects on our environment. The various types of environmental pollution are land, water, air, and noise.

Environmental pollution is resulting in global warming. It is a phenomenon where the temperature of the earth is constantly rising. The protective layer of ozone is also depleting. It is causing the melting of the glaciers, causing the sea levels to rise, and other environmental issues. These are some adverse effects of pollution. The rise in industrialisation, urbanisation, deforestation, and migration is cursing an increase in pollution. It badly affects life on the planet. Animals are getting extinct and endangered. The environment is deteriorating because of our need for a comfortable life. We use products that emit many pollutants into the atmosphere like plastic, smoke, and many more. Natural causes like forest fires and volcanic eruptions also cause pollution, but these events are rare.

The easiest way to reduce pollution is by planting more and more trees. Reuse, reduce and recycle is another philosophy that might help in curbing waste. Reusing old products instead of discarding them, avoiding use-and-throw products, reducing the use of plastic and switching to reusable materials, and recycling plastic and other such materials are some efforts we can take. Every year on June 5th, we celebrate World Environment Day to make everyone aware of our duties towards this beautiful planet earth.

What Are The Causes And Effects Of Environmental Pollution?

1. The main causes of environmental pollution are:

  • Urbanisation
  • Industrialisation
  • Overpopulation
  • Transportation
  • Natural causes

2. The effects of environmental pollution can be summed up as:

  • Life-threatening diseases in humans and animals.
  • Bad effects on flora and fauna like extinction and endangerment.
  • Depletion of the Ozone layer.
  • The rise in global warming
  • Eutrophication and hampered marine life

Measures to Prevent Environmental Pollution

Different ways to prevent environmental pollution are

  • Using renewable energy sources
  • Maximise the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
  • Reduced usage of non-biodegradable products
  • Treatment plants for various waste products
  • Conservation of energy

The biggest solution to environmental pollution is afforestation, i.e. plantation of more and more trees. The trees help in reducing the carbon footprint or carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This results in a decrease in the greenhouse effect and, therefore, global warming. Planting more trees helps in maintaining the ecological balance in our environment.

Besides forming a good grip on language and writing, your child will be able to understand the nitty-gritty of the environment and develop empathy towards mother nature. They will also learn about their responsibility toward protecting the earth.

The article sums up the essence of the environment and the factors of polluting it. It tells us what we can do on our part to keep it green and clean. It is everyone’s responsibility to keep mother nature healthy.

Essay On Air Pollution For Class 1, 2 And 3 Kids Essay On My Village for Class 1, 2 & 3 Children Essay On My Garden For Classes 1, 2 And 3 Kids

  • Essays for Class 1
  • Essays for Class 2
  • Essays for Class 3

' src=

5 Recommended Books To Add To Your Child’s Reading List and Why

5 absolute must-watch movies and shows for kids, 15 indoor toys that have multiple uses and benefits, leave a reply cancel reply.

Log in to leave a comment

Google search engine

Most Popular

The best toys for newborns according to developmental paediatricians, the best toys for three-month-old baby brain development, recent comments.

FirstCry Intelli Education

FirstCry Intelli Education is an Early Learning brand, with products and services designed by educators with decades of experience, to equip children with skills that will help them succeed in the world of tomorrow.

FirstCry Intelli Education

Story Related Activities Designed to Bring the Story to Life and Create Fun Memories.

FirstCry Intelli Education

Online Preschool is the Only Way Your Child's Learning Can Continue This Year, Don't Wait Any Longer - Get Started!

©2021 All rights reserved

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

pollution essay in points

Welcome to the world of Intelli!

We have some FREE Activity E-books waiting for you. Fill in your details below so we can send you tailor- made activities for you and your little one.

lead from image

Welcome to the world of intelli!

FREE guides and worksheets coming your way on whatsapp. Subscribe Below !!

email sent

THANK YOU!!!

Here are your free guides and worksheets.

Talk to our experts

1800-120-456-456

  • Pollution and Its Effects Essay

ffImage

Essay on Pollution and Its Effects

The term pollution is ubiquitous these days, even among children. The fact that pollution is rising continuously has become so prevalent that almost everyone acknowledges it. In pollution, we mean a substance that has been introduced uninvited into something. Various pollutants are contaminating the earth's natural resources when we talk about pollution. These effects are mainly caused by human activities that harm the environment in a number of ways. As a result, it is vital that this problem is addressed immediately. We need to recognize the effects of pollution and prevent its harm to our earth, which means we need to prevent these devastating effects. Here, we will look at what pollution is, how it occurs, and what we can do about it.

The Effects of Pollution

It is impossible to imagine how much pollution affects one's quality of life. The process occurs in mysterious ways, sometimes unobservable to the naked eye. Despite its enigmatic nature, it is profoundly present in the surrounding environment. Natural gases are present in the air even though you may not see them. Similar to the pollutants that are polluting the air and increasing carbon dioxide levels, pollutants pose a great threat to humans. Global warming is a consequence of increasing levels of carbon dioxide.

Additionally, the water will be polluted due to industrial development, religious practices and other practices leading to a shortage of drinking water. The need for water is essential to our existence. A waste dump that ends up in the soil eventually becomes toxic because of the way it is disposed of. In the future, we will no longer have fertile soil to grow crops on if the rate of land pollution continues. We must take immediate steps to reduce the level of land pollution.

What are the Best Ways to Reduce Pollution?

It is important to take action as soon as possible to prevent or reduce pollution after learning of the harmful effects of pollution. Taking public transportation or carpooling reduces vehicle emissions, hence reducing air pollution. Aside from reducing air and noise pollution, avoiding firecrackers at festivals and celebrations may also reduce air pollution. Recycling is essential to reducing air pollution in general. It pollutes the oceans and land when used plastic ends up in them.

After using these utensils, be sure to reuse them as long as you can, rather than throw them away after using them. As well as encouraging everyone to plant more trees, which absorb harmful gases and clean the air, we need to encourage everyone to plant more trees. At a national level, the government should limit fertilizer use to ensure the nutrient content of the soil. Further, pollution of oceans and rivers must be dealt with by preventing industries from dumping their waste into them.

The bottom line is that all pollutant types are hazardous and have serious consequences. Whether it is a personal initiative or an industry-wide initiative, everyone must take steps to change. It is necessary to join forces now since solving this problem will require a collective effort. Additionally, such human actions are causing the deaths of innocent animals. We must all take a stand and speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves in order to protect this planet from pollution. 

Short Essay 

The pollution problem in the world today is one of the most disturbing. We will talk about the extent of these effects and their harmful effects in this short paper on pollution and its effects in English. In this essay on pollution and its effects, the author aims to eradicate pollution from the earth. In this essay on pollution and its causes, we will discuss our responsibilities as citizens. The next generation has to learn how to fight pollution with proper equipment while reducing waste. 

Planting trees and taking care of our environment will help us prevent pollution levels from rising. The oil spills in the sea can be checked, and industrial wastes dumping into the water can be stopped to prevent pollution of the marine environment. To combat pollution and how serious its effects can be, we should not only take steps but also teach our children to do the same. 

Types of Pollution

  Air Pollution

Water Pollution

   Soil Pollution

The following paragraph provides some information about the effects of pollution on the environment which can help us to take measures against it to protect life on earth for future generations. In order to eradicate pollution and make the world a greener place, we must all take these steps. 

arrow-right

FAQs on Pollution and Its Effects Essay

1. What are the impacts of Air Pollution?

Elevated levels of air contamination can cause an expanded danger of coronary failure, wheezing, hacking, and breathing issues, and bothering of the eyes, nose, and throat. Air contamination can likewise cause declining in existing heart issues, asthma, and other lung confusions. Like people, creatures can experience the ill effects of various medical conditions because of air contamination, including birth abandons, regenerative disappointment, and illnesses. Corrosive downpour contains significant levels of nitric and sulfuric acids that are made by oxides and sulfur oxides delivered into the air by the consumption of non-renewable energy sources.

2. What are the effects of Water Pollution?

The impacts of water contamination rely upon which synthetics are being unloaded where. Waterways that are close to urbanized zones will, in general, be vigorously dirtied by dumbing of trash and synthetic compounds, both lawfully and illicitly, by modern plants, wellbeing focuses, and people. By a long shot, the greatest outcome of water contamination is the demise of amphibian animals, which can upset the whole natural way of life. Poisons, for example, cadmium, mercury, and lead are eaten by little oceanic life forms that are then eaten by fish and shellfish, getting more thought with each progression up the natural pecking order and causing major issues in people and untamed life. 

3. What are the effects of pollution?

Humans are affected by pollution on a daily basis. The air we breathe and almost every form of water we drink is degraded by it. Environmental degradation contributes to illness.

4. What can be done to reduce pollution?

To reduce pollution, each of us must take action. They should plant more trees, and they should decompose their waste more mindfully. Furthermore, it is a good idea to recycle where possible and make the environment cleaner.

5. How does water pollution affect us?

Depending on the type of synthetics being dumped where water contamination impacts are different. Those waterways near urbanized zones will, in general, be heavily polluted by humans, modern plants, and wellbeing centers, as well as by trash dumps and synthetic compounds lawfully and illegally. Water contamination is one of the major causes of amphibian demise, which affects natural ecosystems in a profound way. As the natural pecking order advances, poisons like mercury, cadmium, and lead get more and more concentrated as they are eaten by marine life, causing major health problems for people and the environment.

6. What is the importance of pollution prevention?

In addition to protecting the environment by conserving and protecting natural resources, pollution prevention improves economic growth by spreading more efficient production among industries and by reducing waste management requirements for households, businesses, and communities.

Physics Wallah

Air Pollution Essay in English for Students

Air Pollution Essay: Air pollution is a big problem everywhere. It occurs when harmful things are released into the air, usually from factories, cars, and other sources.

Photo of author

November 20, 2023

Air Pollution Essay

Table of Contents

Air Pollution Essay: Air pollution is a big problem around the world. It happens when harmful stuff gets released into the air, mostly from factories, cars, and other things. Even natural things like volcanoes and forest fires can make it worse.

Air pollution can make people sick, causing problems with breathing, the heart, and even cancer. It can also make rain acidic and create smog. Plus, it adds to global warming, which is not good for the planet. In this article we are going to cover air pollution essays with different word lengths. It will help students in the school essay writing competition.

Long and Short Essay on Air Pollution in English

Every day, the fresh air around us is getting dirty because of things like tiny particles, biological molecules, and other harmful stuff mixing in. This dirty air is causing health problems, making people sick, and sometimes leading to death. Air pollution is a big problem for our environment, and we all need to do something about it.

For students, it’s important to know about this issue, and that’s why essays about air pollution are becoming popular in writing competitions. If you’re a student looking to take part in such a competition, you’re in the right place. These essays on air pollution are written in simple English, using easy words, to help you understand and write about this important topic.

Air Pollution Essay 100 words

Air pollution is the presence of harmful substances in the air, leading to adverse effects on human health and the environment. It is a global issue that affects everyone, regardless of age, gender, or socioeconomic status. The primary sources of air pollution include industrial activities, vehicle emissions, and the burning of fossil fuels. Short-term exposure to air pollution can cause respiratory problems, while long-term exposure may lead to more severe health issues. To combat air pollution, individuals and governments must work together to reduce emissions and adopt sustainable practices.

Air Pollution Essay 150 words

Air pollution is a serious environmental problem that has far-reaching consequences. It occurs when harmful substances, such as particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide, are released into the atmosphere. These pollutants can have harmful effects on both human health and the ecosystem. Short-term exposure to air pollution can cause respiratory issues, eye irritation, and headaches. Long-term exposure is linked to more severe health problems, including cardiovascular diseases and respiratory disorders.

Human activities, such as industrial processes, transportation, and deforestation, contribute significantly to air pollution. To address this issue, it is essential to implement strict emission controls, promote renewable energy sources, and encourage sustainable practices. Additionally, raising awareness about the importance of air quality and its impact on health is crucial for fostering a sense of responsibility among individuals and communities. To fight air pollution, people and governments need to team up and cut down on emissions while grabbing eco-friendly practices.

Air Pollution Essay 200 words

Air pollution is a pressing environmental concern that poses significant risks to human health and the planet’s well-being. It is characterized by the presence of pollutants in the air, including gases, particulate matter, and toxic chemicals. Air pollution comes from different places, like industries, cars, and burning fossil fuels. It’s not just about breathing problems; it also harms the heart and makes life less enjoyable.

Particulate matter, consisting of tiny particles suspended in the air, is a major contributor to air pollution. These particles can penetrate deep into the lungs, causing respiratory diseases and aggravating existing health conditions. Ground-level ozone, another common air pollutant, can lead to respiratory problems and contribute to the formation of smog.

To combat air pollution, it is imperative to adopt sustainable practices and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Governments play a crucial role in enforcing stringent emission standards for industries and promoting public transportation. Additionally, individuals can contribute by using energy-efficient appliances, carpooling, and planting trees to improve air quality. By collectively addressing the root causes of air pollution, we can create a healthier environment for current and future generations. Planting trees and participating in community clean-up efforts further contribute to improving air quality at the local level.

Air Pollution Essay 250 words

Air pollution is a big problem that needs quick attention and complete solutions. It’s bad for people, nature, and the weather. The main things causing air pollution are factories, cars, farms, and burning fossil fuels. These things let out harmful stuff like carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and other chemicals into the air.

The consequences of air pollution are diverse, affecting respiratory health, cardiovascular function, and overall well-being. Children, the elderly, and individuals with pre-existing health conditions are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of poor air quality. Prolonged exposure to air pollution can lead to chronic diseases, including lung cancer, heart disease, and respiratory disorders.

In addition to its impact on human health, air pollution also poses a threat to the environment. Acid rain, a result of pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides reacting with atmospheric moisture, can damage soil, water bodies, and vegetation. Moreover, air pollutants contribute to climate change by influencing the Earth’s radiation balance and exacerbating global warming.

Addressing air pollution requires a multi-faceted approach involving government policies, technological advancements, and individual efforts. Governments must enforce and strengthen air quality standards, invest in renewable energy sources, and promote sustainable practices in industries. Technological innovations, such as electric vehicles and cleaner industrial processes, can significantly reduce emissions.

On an individual level, people can contribute by adopting eco-friendly lifestyles, reducing energy consumption, and supporting initiatives that promote clean air. Planting trees, which act as natural air purifiers, and participating in community efforts to raise awareness about air pollution are simple yet impactful steps individuals can take.

Air Pollution Essay 300 words

Air pollution, a global challenge with far-reaching consequences, continues to be a significant threat to human health and the environment. The sources of air pollution are diverse and include industrial activities, vehicular emissions, agricultural practices, and the burning of fossil fuels. These activities release pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter into the atmosphere, contributing to the degradation of air quality.

The impact of air pollution on human health is profound. Respiratory diseases, cardiovascular problems, and other health issues are linked to the inhalation of pollutants present in the air. Children, pregnant women, and individuals with compromised immune systems are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of air pollution. Moreover, long-term exposure to pollutants can lead to chronic conditions, reducing life expectancy and overall well-being.

In addition to its impact on human health, air pollution poses a serious threat to the environment. Acid rain, a consequence of pollutants reacting with atmospheric moisture, can damage ecosystems, harm aquatic life, and degrade soil quality. The release of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, contributes to climate change, leading to rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and sea-level rise.

Addressing air pollution requires a comprehensive and collaborative effort. Governments play a pivotal role in formulating and enforcing policies that regulate emissions, promote renewable energy sources, and incentivize sustainable practices. Stricter emission standards for industries, the promotion of public transportation, and the development of green spaces in urban areas are essential components of a holistic approach to combat air pollution.

Technological advancements also play a crucial role in mitigating air pollution. The development and widespread adoption of clean energy technologies, electric vehicles, and efficient industrial processes can significantly reduce emissions and lessen the environmental impact of human activities.

Individuals can contribute to the fight against air pollution through conscious lifestyle choices. Reducing energy consumption, practicing waste reduction, and supporting initiatives that advocate for clean air are ways in which people can make a positive impact. Planting trees and participating in community clean-up efforts further contribute to improving air quality at the local level.

Air Pollution Essay 400 words

Air pollution, a pervasive and urgent environmental challenge, poses significant threats to human health, ecosystems, and the planet’s overall well-being. It is characterized by the presence of harmful pollutants in the air, including gases, particulate matter, and volatile compounds. The sources of air pollution are diverse, encompassing industrial activities, transportation, agriculture, and the combustion of fossil fuels.

The consequences of air pollution on human health are wide-ranging and severe. Short-term exposure can lead to respiratory problems, eye irritation, and headaches, while long-term exposure is associated with more serious conditions such as lung cancer, heart disease, and respiratory disorders. Vulnerable populations, including children, the elderly, and individuals with pre-existing health conditions, face heightened risks from the adverse effects of poor air quality.

Beyond its impact on human health, air pollution poses a grave threat to the environment. Acid rain, a result of pollutants reacting with atmospheric moisture, can harm soil, water bodies, and vegetation. The release of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, contributes to climate change, leading to global warming, altered weather patterns, and rising sea levels.

To address air pollution effectively, a multifaceted approach is essential. Governments must play a proactive role in formulating and enforcing stringent environmental regulations. This includes setting and revising air quality standards, implementing emission controls for industries, and promoting the use of renewable energy sources. Investing in public transportation infrastructure, adopting sustainable urban planning practices, and incentivizing the development of clean technologies are crucial steps toward reducing the environmental impact of human activities.

Technological innovations also offer promising solutions in the fight against air pollution. The development and widespread adoption of electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies, and cleaner industrial processes can significantly reduce emissions and minimize the ecological footprint of various sectors. Research and development in air quality monitoring and pollution control technologies further contribute to our ability to tackle this global challenge.

Individuals, too, play an important role in combating air pollution. Adopting eco-friendly lifestyles, reducing personal carbon footprints, and supporting environmentally conscious businesses are ways in which individuals can contribute to cleaner air. Planting trees, participating in community clean-up initiatives, and advocating for sustainable practices in daily life further amplify the impact of individual efforts.

Education and awareness are key components of any successful strategy to combat air pollution. By informing the public about the sources and consequences of air pollution, we can foster a sense of responsibility and collective action. Educational programs in schools, community outreach initiatives, and media campaigns contribute to building a universal understanding of the importance of clean air and the role each individual can play in achieving it.

Air Pollution Essay FAQs

Writing an air pollution essay is a means of addressing the issues and proposing solutions related to the pollution of the air caused by harmful substances.

Air pollution is the presence of harmful substances in the air, such as pollutants and contaminants, which can have adverse effects on human health, the environment, and the overall quality of the air we breathe.

Common sources of air pollution include industrial activities, vehicle emissions, burning of fossil fuels, agricultural practices, and natural sources like wildfires and volcanic explosions.

Air pollution can harm ecosystems, contribute to acid rain, damage soil and water bodies, and adversely affect plant and animal life. The release of greenhouse gases from air pollution also contributes to climate change.

Individuals can contribute by using public transportation, carpooling, reducing energy consumption, and adopting eco-friendly practices. Planting trees and supporting clean energy initiatives are also effective ways to combat air pollution on a personal level.

A visit to a hill station essay in English For Students

Writing an Email for Internship Points to Remember, Template, Sample

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

right adv

.st1{display:none} Related Articles

  • NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Social Science Geography Chapter 6 Manufacturing Industries
  • NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Social Science Geography Chapter 5 Minerals and Energy Resources
  • NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Social Science Geography Chapter 4 Agriculture
  • Karnataka 2nd PUC Result 2024 To be Out this Week
  • Karnataka 1st PUC Result 2024 Released on karresults.nic.in
  • CBSE Result Predictor 2024, Steps to Check Grades
  • CBSE Changes Exam Format for Classes 11, 12 From 2024–25
  • NIOS Exam Date 2024 OUT, Download NIOS 10th, 12th Date Sheet
  • Dog Life Cycle – Anatomy, Life Stages, Diseases, Foods
  • RD Sharma Solutions Class 9 Maths Chapter 19 Surface Area and Volume of a Right Circular Cylinder

Victims of asbestos pollution that killed hundreds take Warren Buffett’s railroad to court: ‘At some point, probably everybody got exposed to it’

Paul Resch is battling an asbestos-related disease that has severely scarred his left lung.

 Paul Resch remembers playing baseball as a kid on a field constructed from asbestos-tainted vermiculite, mere yards from  railroad tracks  where trains kicked up clouds of dust as they hauled the contaminated material from a mountaintop mine through the northwestern Montana town of Libby. He liked to sneak into vermiculite-filled storage bins at an adjacent rail yard, to trap pigeons that he would feed, during long days spent by the tracks along the Kootenai River.

Today, Resch, 61, is battling  an asbestos-related disease  that has severely scarred his left lung. He’s easily winded, quickly tires and knows there is no cure for an illness that could suffocate him over time.

“At some point, probably everybody got exposed to it,” he said, speaking of asbestos-tainted vermiculite. “There was piles of it along the railroad tracks. … You would get clouds of dust blowing around downtown.”

Almost 25 years after federal authorities responding to news reports of deaths and illnesses descended on Libby, a town of about 3,000 people near the U.S.-Canada border, some asbestos victims and their family members are seeking to hold publicly accountable one of the major corporate players in the tragedy: BNSF Railway .

Hundreds of people died  and more than 3,000 have been sickened from asbestos exposure in the Libby area, according to researchers and health officials. Texas-based BNSF faces accusations of negligence and wrongful death for failing to control clouds of contaminated dust that used to swirl from the rail yard and settle across Libby’s neighborhoods.

The vermiculite was shipped by rail from Libby for use as insulation in homes and businesses across the U.S.

The first trial among what attorneys say are hundreds of lawsuits against BNSF for its alleged role polluting the Libby community is scheduled to begin Monday.

The railroad — owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. — has denied responsibility in court filings and declined further comment.

Resch works at an auto dealership in Libby and his wife is listed as a plaintiff in a pending lawsuit against BNSF in Montana’s asbestos claims court. He’s uncertain whether his sickness came from the rail yard. The Libby high school track included contaminated vermiculite, as did insulation in the walls and attics of homes he entered during his two decades as a volunteer firefighter.

The plaintiffs for the upcoming trial against BNSF, the estates of Joyce Walder and Thomas Wells, lived near the Libby rail yard and moved away decades ago. Both died in 2020 of mesothelioma, a rare lung cancer caused by asbestos that is disproportionately common in Libby.

The mine a few miles outside town once produced up to 80% of global vermiculite supplies. It closed in 1990. Nine years later, the Environmental Protection Agency arrived in Libby and a subsequent cleanup has cost an estimated $600 million, with most covered by taxpayer money. It’s ongoing, but authorities say asbestos volumes in downtown Libby’s air are 100,000 times lower than when the mine was operating.

Awareness about the dangers of asbestos grew significantly over the intervening years, and last month the  EPA banned  the last remaining industrial uses of asbestos in the U.S.

The ban did not include the type of asbestos fiber found in Libby or address so-called “legacy” asbestos that’s already in homes, schools and businesses. A long-awaited government analysis of the remaining risks is due by Dec. 1.

Asbestos doesn’t burn and resists corrosion, making it long lasting in the environment. People who inhale the needle-shaped fibers can develop health problems as many as 40 years after exposure. Health officials expect to grapple with newly diagnosed cases of asbestos disease for decades.

The EPA declared the nation’s first ever public health emergency under the Superfund cleanup program in Libby in 2009. The pollution led to civil claims from thousands of people who worked for the mine or the railroad, or who lived in the Libby area.

During a yearslong cleanup of the Libby rail yard that began in 2003, crews excavated nearly the entire yard, removing about 18,000 tons of contaminated soil. In 2020, BNSF signed a consent decree with federal authorities resolving its cleanup work in Libby and nearby Troy, plus a 42-mile stretch (68 kilometers) of railroad right-of-way.

Last year, BNSF won a federal lawsuit against an asbestos treatment clinic in Libby that a jury found submitted 337  false asbestos claims , making patients eligible for Medicare and other benefits. The judge overseeing the case ordered the Center for Asbestos Related Disease to pay almost $6 million in  penalties and damages , forcing the facility into  bankruptcy . It continues to operate with reduced staff.

Some asbestos victims viewed the case as a ploy to discredit the clinic and undermine lawsuits against the railroad. BNSF said the verdict would deter “future misconduct” by the clinic.

In the months leading up to this week’s trial, attorneys for BNSF repeatedly tried to deflect blame for people getting sick, including by pointing to the actions of W.R. Grace and Co., which owned the mine from 1963 until it closed. They also questioned whether other asbestos sources could have caused the two plaintiffs’ illnesses and suggested Walder and Wells would have been trespassing on railroad property.

U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris blocked BNSF from blaming the conduct of others as a means of escaping liability. And he said the law doesn’t support the notion that trespassing reduces a property owner’s duty not to cause harm.

Morris has yet to issue a definitive ruling on another key issue: the railroad’s claim that its obligation to ship goods for paying customers exempts it from liability.

The plaintiffs argue the rail yard in downtown Libby — where Resch once played in piles of vermiculite — was used for storage and not just transportation, meaning the railroad is not exempt.

Montana’s Supreme Court has ruled in a separate case that BNSF and its predecessors were more involved in the mine than simply shipping its product.

Mine owner W.R. Grace filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and paid $1.8 billion into an asbestos trust fund to settle future cases. It paid about  $270 million  to government agencies for environmental damages and cleanup work. The state of Montana was also faulted in Libby, for failing to warn residents about asbestos exposure. It paid settlements totaling $68 million to about 2,000 plaintiffs.

BNSF has settled some previous lawsuits for undisclosed amounts, attorneys for plaintiffs said. A second trial against the railroad over the death of a Libby resident is scheduled for May in federal court in Missoula.

“I sure hope that they give those folks justice,” Resch said about the upcoming trials. “I mean everybody took part in it as far as corporate America goes.”

Hanson reported from Helena, Montana.

Latest in Health

  • 0 minutes ago

A sign for the Food And Drug Administration is seen outside of the headquarters on July 20, 2020 in White Oak, Maryland.

Ten doctors on FDA panel reviewing Abbott heart device had financial ties with company

According to research published Sunday, April 7, 2024, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, most cancer drugs granted accelerated approval by the FDA, meant to give patients early access to promising drugs, do not demonstrate such benefits within five years.

Many cancer drugs remain unproven 5 years after accelerated approval, a study finds

Paul Resch is battling an asbestos-related disease that has severely scarred his left lung.

Study shows Wegovy eases heart-failure symptoms for patients with diabetes—helpful to Novo as it argues insurers should pay for it

Bottles of Roundup on a shelf

Judge slashes Bayer’s $1.5 billion Roundup verdict by more than 60% after Supreme Court decision on limiting punishments

pollution essay in points

The horrors of TMJ: Chronic pain, metal jaws, and futile treatments

Most popular.

pollution essay in points

Hedge funder famous for his ‘black swan’ strategy says there’s ‘something immoral’ about America’s reliance on debt—and future generations ‘will bear the burden for this’

pollution essay in points

Nearly a quarter of baby boomer and late Gen X men are ‘unretiring’ or planning to because they can’t afford to kick up their feet in the current climate

pollution essay in points

Uber and Lyft said they’d leave Minneapolis when a wage hike for ride-hailing drivers goes into effect in May. Here’s what happens next

pollution essay in points

From skipping meals to working more to even moving in with Mom and Dad: Here’s how Americans are trying to afford housing

pollution essay in points

Elon Musk threatens to reveal information on Brazilian judge that would paint him as a traitor to his country for his actions during X investigation

Breaking News

Logo

Petitions of the week

Oil companies, government point fingers over cleanup of world war ii-era pollution.

pollution essay in points

The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here .

During World War II, Congress authorized President Franklin Roosevelt to enlist oil refineries for the war effort. Centralization helped meet the war’s rapidly increasing demand for fuel. But it also led to a glut of hazardous waste, some of which leaked into the ecosystems surrounding the refineries. This week, we highlight petitions that ask the court to consider, among other things, who should pay – oil companies or the government – to clean up contamination from that pollution.

Hazardous waste is an expensive problem. Because the environmental damage from improperly stored waste can take years, or even decades, to materialize, those harmed by contamination down the line can be left footing the hefty bill for the cleanup. To ensure affected communities are not left hanging, Congress has allowed them to recover cleanup costs from a comprehensive list of polluters. That list includes anyone who “owned or operated” a “facility” where hazardous waste was disposed.

Valero Energy, the owner of Valero gas stations, is a global oil producer based in Texas. Of the 13 oil refineries it operates today across the United States, 12 were a part of Roosevelt’s effort to produce fuel for everything from military trucks to airplanes during World War II. Post-war inspections found that hazardous waste produced at all 12 refineries was leaking into surrounding environments and causing contamination.

Faced with liability, a group of Valero affiliates that run those refineries went to court, seeking to have the government bear some of the cleanup costs. They argued that the government should pay its fair share because it effectively “operated” the refineries through its extensive industry oversight during the war.

A federal district court in Michigan agreed with Valero that the government could be held partially responsible for cleanup costs, which it estimated at as high as $50 million per refinery.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit disagreed. For purposes of federal environmental remediation laws, the court of appeals reasoned, an “operator” is the body that makes “day-to-day” decisions “exercis[ing] control over the waste disposal process.” Although the government may have “influenced refineries’ business decisions during the war,” the 6th Circuit concluded, it never “operated” the facilities because individual refineries like Valero “made broader decisions about waste disposal” – for example, how to process the petroleum, how to handle waste, or where to put waste disposal sites.

In MRP Properties Company, LLC v. United States , Valero and its affiliates ask the justices to grant review and reverse the 6th Circuit’s ruling. They argue that the courts of appeals are divided over whether an entity is an “operator” only when it controls decisions over how to dispose of hazardous waste, or when it takes charge of pollution-producing activities more broadly. Review is especially warranted here, the oil companies insist, because this litigation is, in the words of the district court, the biggest ever brought under federal environmental cleanup laws.

A list of this week’s featured petitions is below:

Boam v. United States 23-625 Issue : Whether a defendant produces or possesses a depiction involving the use of a minor engaging in “lascivious exhibition,” and thus “sexually explicit conduct,” under  18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) ,  18 U.S.C. § 2252A , and  18 U.S.C. § 2256(2)(A) , by secretly recording a nude minor showering or engaging in ordinary grooming activities, when the video depicts absolutely no sexual or sexually suggestive conduct of any kind.

Ravenell v. United States 23-638 Issue : Whether, to comply with  18 U.S.C. § 3282(a)  in a prosecution for a non-overt-act conspiracy, the government bears the burden of proving to a jury that the conspiracy existed within the limitations period, or instead bears no burden beyond proving the elements of the non-overt-act conspiracy.

Brinker International, Inc. v. Steinmetz 23-648 Issue : Whether, under the  Rules Enabling Act ,  Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 , and this court’s precedents, a class can be certified by ignoring individualized issues of damages and injury and instead proposing to award every class member the same “average” amount for alleged injuries even if they did not suffer those injuries at all.

Royal Canin U.S.A., Inc. v. Wullschleger 23-677 Issues : (1) Whether a post-removal amendment of a complaint to omit federal questions defeats federal-question subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to  28 U.S.C. § 1331 ; and (2) whether such a post-removal amendment of a complaint precludes a district court from exercising supplemental jurisdiction over the plaintiff’s remaining state-law claims pursuant to  28 U.S.C. § 1367 .

MRP Properties Company, LLC v. United States 23-687 Issue : Whether, when analyzing whether an entity is a facility “operator” under the  Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act , courts should consider pollution-producing activities that the entity managed, directed, or conducted, or should instead limit this analysis to waste-disposal and regulatory-compliance activities.

Posted in Featured , Cases in the Pipeline

Cases: MRP Properties Company, LLC v. United States , Boam v. United States , Ravenell v. United States , Brinker International, Inc. v. Steinmetz , Royal Canin U.S.A., Inc. v. Wullschleger

Recommended Citation: Kalvis Golde, Oil companies, government point fingers over cleanup of World War II-era pollution , SCOTUSblog (Apr. 3, 2024, 11:44 AM), https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/04/oil-companies-government-point-fingers-over-cleanup-of-world-war-ii-era-pollution/

Privacy Overview

Sonia Sotomayor’s Retirement Is Not the Point

Calls are mounting for the liberal justice to take her leave. instead, democrats should focus on winning elections..

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor speaks during a service for retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in Washington, D.C.

The Supreme Court’s current term is winding down, with only a handful of oral arguments left and plenty of opinions to be written. The presidential election is heating up now that Joe Biden and Donald Trump have secured their parties’ nominations. That means it’s time for liberals’ new favorite pastime: pressuring Supreme Court justices to retire.

Former MSNBC anchor Medhi Hasan, who lauded Sonia Sotomayor as the “greatest liberal to sit on the Supreme Court in my lifetime,” urged her to step aside. “With Joe Biden trailing Trump in several swing states and Democrats also in danger of losing their razor-thin majority in the Senate, are we really prepared for history to repeat itself?” he asked. New York magazine’s Jonathan Chait described the decision as “obvious.” Vox’s Ian Millhiser suggested as far back as 2022 that both Sotomayor and Justice Elena Kagan should consider stepping down.

The White House has declined to join those calls, describing Sotomayor’s possible retirement as a “personal decision” and “not something that we get involved in.” Some leading Democratic senators have declined to comment on it as well, reportedly at least in part because they did not like the optics of calling for the first Latina justice to step down. That drew a pointed response from The Atlantic ’s Josh Barro last month.

“This is incredibly gutless,” he wrote. “You’re worried about putting control of the Court completely out of reach for more than a generation, but because she is Latina, you can’t hurry along an official who’s putting your entire policy project at risk? If this is how the Democratic Party operates, it deserves to lose.”

But even some senators have suggested that they think Sotomayor should consider the timing of her potential retirement, albeit in macabre terms. “I think she really has to weigh the competing factors,” Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal said in an NBC interview earlier this week. “We should learn a lesson. And it’s not like there’s any mystery here about what the lesson should be. The old saying: Graveyards are full of indispensable people, ourselves in this body included.”

I’ve noted before that I don’t write columns on whether individual justices should retire or stay on the court. To put it bluntly, I don’t think they are a good use of my time or the reader’s time. An article urging a Supreme Court justice to retire has an audience of exactly one person, and I would be surprised if that person cared what I have to say on the subject.

But this phenomenon is worth noting for the weakness that it reveals. At the risk of stating the obvious, there is a foolproof way to ensure that Sotomayor’s replacement will share her ideological leanings: Liberals could simply persuade the American people to elect Democrats to the White House and the Senate. If Democrats can’t capitalize on the last few years of right-wing rulings—which have given liberals no shortage of ammunition to criticize the Roberts court’s impact on American life — then Sotomayor is the least of their problems.

There’s an undercurrent of post-traumatic stress to these calls. In 2014, a number of prominent liberals called for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to retire before that year’s midterm election, in which Republicans were strongly favored to win. With Barack Obama in the White House and a Democratic majority in the Senate at the time, Ginsburg’s retirement would have allowed Democrats to confirm a younger, healthier replacement.

Ginsburg rejected those calls at the time. She argued that Democrats wouldn’t actually be able to confirm her successor because the filibuster remained intact for Supreme Court nominees. (Senate Republicans would later scrap it to confirm Justice Neil Gorsuch in 2017.) She also insisted that she was fine. “As long as I can do the job full steam, I think I’ll recognize when the time comes that I can’t any longer,” she said in an interview. “But now I can.”

Republicans captured the Senate that November. Donald Trump’s victory in 2016 then guaranteed that Ginsburg wouldn’t be able to retire under a Democratic president for at least four years. She came close: Democrats eventually recaptured the White House and the Senate in the 2020 elections. But Ginsburg didn’t live long enough to ensure they could appoint her successor. Her death in September 2020 instead allowed Trump and Senate Republicans to place Justice Amy Coney Barrett on the court.

It is hard to overstate the consequences of this series of events. With a 5–4 court, Chief Justice John Roberts could steer the justices through more moderate waters by casting the deciding vote in major cases. Barrett’s confirmation created a 6–3 court where Roberts became marginalized and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito took the reins. Roe v. Wade fell less than two years later. A flurry of other hard-right rulings also followed.

Even before Ginsburg died, Trump’s appointments of Gorsuch to replace Antonin Scalia and Justice Brett Kavanaugh to replace Anthony Kennedy had ensured that conservatives would likely control the court for at least a generation. Ginsburg’s death all but cemented it. By some estimates , liberals may not have a chance to appoint a majority of Supreme Court justices until the 2050s. If Barrett stays on the court until she is the same age as Ginsburg, she will serve until at least 2059.

Against this backdrop, liberals have begun urging the oldest member of their voting bloc to retire whenever feasible. Calls for Stephen Breyer to retire emerged almost immediately after Biden was sworn in in 2021. The 83-year-old ultimately announced his decision to step down in January 2022, allowing Democrats to confirm the 51-year-old Ketanji Brown Jackson as his successor. With Breyer gone, Sotomayor naturally became the next one up in the batting order.

It is hard to fault liberals for this attitude, given the seismic effects of Ginsburg’s passing. But her situation was an extraordinary one. By 2014, Ginsburg was 81 years old and had already gone through two bouts with cancer: first with colon cancer in 1999 and then with pancreatic cancer in 2009. The latter sparked the most concern since pancreatic cancer is notoriously hard to detect early and its long-term survival rates are grim. A reoccurence in 2020 ultimately proved fatal.

Sotomayor, by comparison, has not given Americans nearly as much to be worried about with her health. Her only publicly known medical condition is type 1 diabetes, which is not life-threatening if treated properly. She received treatment from paramedics for low blood sugar in 2018, but no other serious incidents have been reported beyond that. As macabre as it may be to point out, at 69 years old, she has not even reached the average U.S. life expectancy yet.

Other justices have had much greater health scares over the years. Roberts, for example, was hospitalized overnight for a fall he suffered at a country club in 2020. He previously suffered major seizures in 1993 and 2007. Thomas, who is 74 years old, spent a week in the hospital in 2022 for an unspecified infection with “flu-like symptoms,” according to the court. Serious medical problems can arise suddenly and without warning, of course. Antonin Scalia had no publicly known health issues before he died suddenly in his sleep during a hunting trip in 2016. But that is as true for the other eight justices as it is for Sotomayor.

If anything, it may be Scalia’s death that is the most instructive here for liberals. His death was a potential ideological turning point for the court in the other direction. If Obama had been able to confirm a replacement, it would have given the high court its first liberal majority since the 1960s. Not only would it have secured the future of precedents like Roe, but it also would have allowed liberals to break new ground on civil rights, worker protections, LGBT rights, and more.

Conservatives reacted to this potential existential threat in two ways. First, Mitch McConnell and other Republican senators refused to confirm any nominee that Obama put forward. Second, they mobilized their voting base. Trump vowed multiple times that he would appoint “pro-life” judges and justices. He released short lists of potential Supreme Court nominees to secure major endorsements. He claimed that Hillary Clinton would “abolish” the Second Amendment if elected. “By the way, if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks,” Trump warned at an August 2016 rally.

Trump’s strategy worked. Fear of a liberal Supreme Court majority allowed Trump to consolidate a GOP electorate that was still somewhat skeptical of him at the time. A CNN exit poll in 2016 found that Trump won 56 percent of voters who said that the Supreme Court was the most important factor in their vote. Clinton, on the other hand, only narrowly won among voters who said it was an important factor and a minor factor.

If Democrats want to ensure that Sotomayor’s replacement is a liberal, then they can and should make an equivalent case to the voters themselves. It should be easy since the Supreme Court has already done half of the job for them. Democrats did better than expected in the 2022 midterms in large part because of the backlash to the Supreme Court overturning Roe. Right-wing rulings on the abortion pill, IVF access, gun control, and other issues should also be easy to mobilize voters around.

Biden himself knows how effective these tactics can be. His presidential campaign almost fell apart in 2020 before he won South Carolina, buoyed by Black voters’ support and the endorsement of the influential Representative Jim Clyburn. Biden won that support in part because he promised to appoint the first Black woman to the Supreme Court if elected—a pledge he fulfilled in 2022 by nominating Jackson to replace Breyer.

Naturally, Democrats need to be realistic and honest about what can be achieved. Most of the party’s elites—Biden included—are profoundly averse to the more radical solutions that some court reformers have proposed. Suffice it to say, there won’t be a viable way to pack the high court anytime soon, as some liberals previously sought. But recent events have demonstrated why holding the ground you have is so important. A lot can happen in four years; Democrats have the opportunity to assure voters that they’ll be ready to act when opportunity presents itself.

There may never be a better election year than this one for Democrats to make judicial nominees a centerpiece of their campaign. Biden could even adopt some of Trump’s 2016 tactics. Releasing a short list of Supreme Court nominees for a future vacancy would make it more tangible for supporters, as it did for Trump. And while presidents would, ideally, not promise specific outcomes in cases from their nominees, Trump already let that genie out of the bottle.

I do not begrudge liberals for focusing on strategic retirements after Ginsburg. And if Sotomayor’s health takes a sudden and serious turn for the worse in the next few months, she should consider stepping aside. But the real lesson of the Trump era is that pressuring individual justices to retire is no substitute for making the case to voters about control of the Supreme Court. The best way to ensure that Sotomayor (or Kagan, or Jackson if you’re really pessimistic) retires under a Democratic president and a Democratic Senate majority is to elect them.

Matt Ford is a staff writer at The New Republic.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito reclines in a chair.

  • Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

New York Takes Crucial Step Toward Making Congestion Pricing a Reality

The board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted to approve a new $15 toll to drive into Manhattan. The plan still faces challenges from six lawsuits before it can begin in June.

Multiple cars are stopped at a traffic light at a Manhattan intersection. A person responsible for controlling traffic stands nearby wearing a yellow reflective vest.

By Winnie Hu and Ana Ley

New York City completed a crucial final step on Wednesday in a decades-long effort to become the first American city to roll out a comprehensive congestion pricing program, one that aims to push motorists out of their cars and onto mass transit by charging new tolls to drive into Midtown and Lower Manhattan.

The program could start as early as mid-June after the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that will install and manage the program, voted 11-to-1 to approve the final tolling rates, which will charge most passenger cars $15 a day to enter at 60th Street and below in Manhattan. The program is expected to reduce traffic and raise $1 billion annually for public transit improvements.

It was a historic moment for New York’s leaders and transportation advocates after decades of failed attempts to advance congestion pricing even as other gridlocked cities around the world, including London, Stockholm and Singapore, proved that similar programs could reduce traffic and pollution.

While other American cities have introduced related concepts by establishing toll roads or closing streets to traffic, the plan in New York is unmatched in ambition and scale.

Congestion pricing is expected to reduce the number of vehicles that enter Lower Manhattan by about 17 percent, according to a November study by an advisory committee reporting to the M.T.A. The report also said that the total number of miles driven in 28 counties across the region would be reduced.

“This was the right thing to do,” Janno Lieber, the authority’s chairman and chief executive, said after the vote. “New York has more traffic than any place in the United States, and now we’re doing something about it.”

Congestion pricing has long been a hard sell in New York, where many people commute by car from the boroughs outside of Manhattan and the suburbs, in part because some of them do not have access to public transit.

New York State legislators finally approved congestion pricing in 2019 after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo helped push it through. A series of recent breakdowns in the city’s subway system had underscored the need for billions of dollars to update its aging infrastructure.

It has taken another five years to reach the starting line. Before the tolling program can begin, it must be reviewed by the Federal Highway Administration, which is expected to approve it.

Congestion pricing also faces legal challenges from six lawsuits that have been brought by elected officials and residents from across the New York region. Opponents have increasingly mobilized against the program in recent months, citing the cost of the tolls and the potential environmental effects from shifting traffic and pollution to other areas as drivers avoid the tolls.

A court hearing is scheduled for April 3 and 4 on a lawsuit brought by the State of New Jersey, which is seen as the most serious legal challenge. The mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., Mark J. Sokolich, has filed a related lawsuit.

Four more lawsuits have been brought in New York: by Ed Day, the Rockland County executive; by Vito Fossella, the Staten Island borough president, and the United Federation of Teachers; and by two separate groups of city residents.

Amid the litigation, M.T.A. officials have suspended some capital construction projects that were to be paid for by the program, and they said at a committee meeting on Monday that crucial work to modernize subway signals on the A and C lines had been delayed.

Nearly all the toll readers have been installed, and will automatically charge drivers for entering the designated congestion zone at 60th Street or below. There is no toll for leaving the zone or driving around in it. Through traffic on Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive and the West Side Highway will not be tolled.

Under the final tolling structure, which was based on recommendations by the advisory panel, most passenger vehicles will be charged $15 a day from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. The toll will be $24 for small trucks and charter buses, and will rise to $36 for large trucks and tour buses. It will be $7.50 for motorcycles.

Those tolls will be discounted by 75 percent at night, dropping the cost for a passenger vehicle to $3.75.

Fares will go up by $1.25 for taxis and black car services, and by $2.50 for Uber and Lyft. Passengers will be responsible for paying the new fees, and they will be added to every ride that begins, ends or occurs within the congestion zone. There will be no nighttime discounts. (The new fees come on top of an existing congestion surcharge that was imposed on for-hire vehicles in 2019.)

The tolls will mostly be collected using the E-ZPass system. Electronic detection points have been placed at entrances and exits to the tolling zone. Drivers who do not use an E-ZPass will pay significantly higher fees — for instance, $22.50 instead of $15 during peak hours for passenger vehicles.

Emergency vehicles like fire trucks, ambulances and police cars, as well as vehicles carrying people with disabilities, were exempted from the new tolls under the state’s congestion pricing legislation .

As for discounts, low-income drivers who make less than $50,000 annually can apply to receive half off the daytime toll after their first 10 trips in a calendar month. In addition, low-income residents of the congestion zone who make less than $60,000 a year can apply for a state tax credit.

All drivers entering the zone directly from four tolled tunnels — the Lincoln, Holland, Hugh L. Carey and Queens-Midtown — will receive a “crossing credit” that will be applied against the daytime toll. The credit will be $5 round-trip for passenger vehicles, $12 for small trucks and intercity and charter buses, $20 for large trucks and tour buses, and $2.50 for motorcycles. No credits will be offered at night.

Grace Ashford contributed reporting.

Winnie Hu is a Times reporter covering the people and neighborhoods of New York City. More about Winnie Hu

Ana Ley is a Times reporter covering New York City’s mass transit system and the millions of passengers who use it. More about Ana Ley

IMAGES

  1. Best Essay On Pollution [With Facts]

    pollution essay in points

  2. Pollution and Its Effects Essay

    pollution essay in points

  3. Water Pollution Essay In English (350 Words)

    pollution essay in points

  4. 10 Lines Essay on Pollution in English

    pollution essay in points

  5. Air Pollution Essay

    pollution essay in points

  6. Paragraph on Pollution in English [100, 150, 200, 250 Words]

    pollution essay in points

VIDEO

  1. Pollution essay in english।। essay on pollution in english।

  2. Essay on pollution || Pollution essay || Pollution paragraph || Essay on pollution in English

  3. 5 Lines Essay On Noise Pollution In English / Essay On Noise Pollution / Noise Pollution Essay

  4. Essay on Causes of Pollution || Causes of Pollution Essay || Essay Writing

  5. Essay on Water Pollution in english//Water pollution essay/200 words essay on water pollution

  6. essay on pollution ll some lines on pollution

COMMENTS

  1. Essay on Pollution in 500 Words

    Increased level of carbon dioxide will lead to global warming. Further, the water is polluted in the name of industrial development, religious practices and more will cause a shortage of drinking water. Without water, human life is not possible. Moreover, the way waste is dumped on the land eventually ends up in the soil and turns toxic.

  2. Essay on Pollution: Elements, Type, Format & Samples

    Sample Essay on Pollution in 250- 300 Words. The biggest threat planet earth is facing is pollution. Unwanted substances leave a negative impact once released into an environment. There are four types of pollution air, water, land, and noise. Pollution affects the quality of life more than any human can imagine.

  3. Pollution

    The world's largest petroleum seep is the Coal Oil Point Seep, off the coast of the U.S. state of California. The Coal Oil Point Seep releases so much oil that tar balls wash up on nearby beaches. Tar balls are small, sticky pieces of pollution that eventually decompose in the ocean. Human activity also contributes to water pollution.

  4. Pollution Essay in English for Students

    Kinds of Pollution. There are mainly three kinds of pollution - 1) Air Pollution, 2) Water Pollution, and 3) Soil Pollution. Air Pollution occurs due to the presence of harmful gases and substances in the air. It is due to vehicle emission, dust and dirt, poisonous gasses from the factories etc.

  5. Pollution

    Pollution, addition of any substance or form of energy to the environment at a rate faster than it can be dispersed or stored in a harmless form. The major kinds of pollution are usually classified by environment and include air, water, and land pollution. ... Low-cost sensors can point to solutions for world's most polluted cities. Mar. 23 ...

  6. Essay on Environmental Pollution: 100 Words, 200 Words

    Essay on Environmental Pollution - 100 Words . The presence of contaminants in the environment is referred to as pollution. Gases like Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Carbon Monoxide (CO), among others; solid pollutants like plastic, sewage, etc.; and chemicals like fertilisers, as well as those produced as byproducts in manufacturing, transportation, etc., are a few examples of polluting substances.

  7. Essay on Pollution

    An essay on pollution is an essential concept for students as it reveals the consequences of human activities on the environment. Read on to explore how to write an intriguing and engaging essay on pollution. ... Use bulleted points to present content wherever possible; Incorporate factual data, such as dates, names and places wherever possible.

  8. Air Pollution

    Air pollution consists of chemicals or particles in the air that can harm the health of humans, animals, and plants. It also damages buildings. Pollutants in the air take many forms. They can be gases, solid particles, or liquid droplets. Sources of Air Pollution Pollution enters the Earth's atmosphere in many different ways. Most air pollution is created by people, taking the form of ...

  9. Air Pollution: Everything You Need to Know

    A number of air pollutants pose severe health risks and can sometimes be fatal, even in small amounts. Almost 200 of them are regulated by law; some of the most common are mercury, lead, dioxins ...

  10. Air Pollution Essay for Students in English

    Effects of Air Pollution on Human Health. Air pollution has adverse effects on human health. Breathing polluted air puts you at higher risk of asthma. When exposed to ground ozone for 6 to 7 hours, people suffer from respiratory inflammation. Damages the immune system, endocrine, and reproductive systems.

  11. Water pollution

    water pollution, the release of substances into subsurface groundwater or into lakes, streams, rivers, estuaries, and oceans to the point that the substances interfere with beneficial use of the water or with the natural functioning of ecosystems. In addition to the release of substances, such as chemicals, trash, or microorganisms, water ...

  12. Environmental Pollution Essay for Students in English

    Essay on Environmental Pollution. The environment is the surrounding of an organism. The environment in which an organism lives is made up of various components like air, water, land, etc. These components are found in fixed proportions to create a harmonious balance in the environment for the organism to live in.

  13. Essay on Air Pollution

    Please consider adopting the following points when writing an essay on air pollution. These tips are also helpful for other essay topics as well: Always begin with an introductory paragraph about the topic, preferably detailing its origin. Unless the topic is technical, try to avoid jargons. Present content in bulleted points wherever possible

  14. Environmental Pollution Essay

    Environmental pollution has serious impacts on both humans and the environment. It affects air quality, water quality, soil fertility, and public health. Poor air quality affects the respiratory system, leading to respiratory illnesses like asthma and bronchitis. Water pollution can lead to the spread of diseases like cholera, typhoid, and ...

  15. Essay on Pollution in 500, 250 Words

    130620. Essay on Pollution in 150, 250, 500 Words- Students of almost each class get an assignment or homework to write an essay on pollution. The word limit can be 150, 250 or 500 depending upon the class they study. Students from class 1 to 12 can take help of this short essay about pollution taking important points.

  16. Essay on Land Pollution (in English) for Classes 1, 2 & 3: 10 Lines

    Key Points To Remember When Writing An Essay On Land Pollution For Lower Primary Classes; 10 Lines On Land Pollution In English For Kids; ... As a topic, a land pollution essay in English is one of the most significant things children can write about. They must learn the facts and express them compellingly so that the narrative influences the ...

  17. Essay On Pollution In English For Students

    Essay on Pollution in 200 Words. Pollution is a global challenge that poses a threat to the health of our planet and its inhabitants. It manifests in various forms, including air, water, soil, noise, and light pollution. The consequences of pollution are far-reaching, affecting ecosystems, biodiversity, and human well-being.

  18. AI Garbage Is Already Polluting the Internet

    A.I.-Generated Garbage Is Polluting Our Culture. Mr. Hoel is a neuroscientist and novelist and the author of The Intrinsic Perspective newsletter. Increasingly, mounds of synthetic A.I.-generated ...

  19. Essay on Environmental Pollution

    Key Points To Remember When Writing An Essay On Environmental Pollution For Lower Primary Classes. Environmental pollution is one of the very common topics of essays in junior classes. It is necessary to understand the structure of an essay to write a perfect essay. Let's understand how to write an essay on environmental pollution.

  20. New Report Reveals NYC Areas Most Hurt by Environmental Inequities

    A new report from the Mayor's Office of Climate & Environmental Justice digs deep into the social inequities that contribute to environmental problems in New York City neighborhoods. Some areas ...

  21. Pollution and Its Effects Essay for Students in English

    Short Essay. The pollution problem in the world today is one of the most disturbing. We will talk about the extent of these effects and their harmful effects in this short paper on pollution and its effects in English. In this essay on pollution and its effects, the author aims to eradicate pollution from the earth.

  22. Air Pollution Essay In English For Students

    Air Pollution Essay 250 words. Air pollution is a big problem that needs quick attention and complete solutions. It's bad for people, nature, and the weather. The main things causing air pollution are factories, cars, farms, and burning fossil fuels. These things let out harmful stuff like carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and ...

  23. 10 Lines on Pollution for Students and Children in English

    10 Lines on Pollution: Pollution is the process of making land, water, and air dirty by doing a lot of damage to the earth. Or we can say that Pollution is the introduction of impure and harmful substances into the environment. These harmful and impure substances are known as pollutants. These pollutants can be natural […]

  24. Asbestos victims take Warren Buffett railroad to court

    Victims of asbestos pollution that killed hundreds take Warren Buffett's railroad to court: 'At some point, probably everybody got exposed to it'. BY Matthew Brown, Amy Beth Hanson and The ...

  25. Oil companies, government point fingers over cleanup of World War II

    Valero Energy, the owner of Valero gas stations, is a global oil producer based in Texas. Of the 13 oil refineries it operates today across the United States, 12 were a part of Roosevelt's effort to produce fuel for everything from military trucks to airplanes during World War II. Post-war inspections found that hazardous waste produced at ...

  26. Opinion

    Guest Essay. My Story Was Told in 'Hotel Rwanda.' Here's What I Want the World to Know Now. ... At some points in the crisis, as many as 10,000 people were butchered in a day, primarily by ...

  27. Sonia Sotomayor's Retirement Is Not the Point

    As macabre as it may be to point out, at 69 years old, she has not even reached the average U.S. life expectancy yet. Other justices have had much greater health scares over the years.

  28. NYC Congestion Pricing and Tolls: What to Know and What's Next

    Fares will go up by $1.25 for taxis and black car services, and by $2.50 for Uber and Lyft. Passengers will be responsible for paying the new fees, and they will be added to every ride that begins ...