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In early 1974, scientists warned governments across the globe that the release of certain industrial chemicals, such as CFCs and Halons, could result in a thinning of our ozone layer. The ozone layer is a part of our atmosphere that prevents most Ultraviolet rays from entering the earth’s surface layer. It allows only enough high-energy radiation to enter so that Vitamin D in humans can become active. Too much radiation, and certain human mutations begin to occur. In 1985, a hole in the ozone layer was discovered over Antarctica. Over the past 10 years, more and more holes were discovered over different parts of the world. Since then, skin cancer rates have skyrocketed, as well as levels of radiation among human beings. “Almost 4% of the world population will encounter some type of skin cancer within the next five years.”⁵ Contrary to popular belief, skin cancer can be deadly if not treated properly. All of these problems stem from air pollution created by factories and plants. If we can reduce air pollution, the air may be clean within the next 100 or 150 years.

The “Green House Effect”

The greenhouse effect is a benign feature of the ecosystem . Certain gases in the atmosphere, such as CO2, CH4 , N2O, O3, CFC, allow the sunlight reach the earth but prevent the heat from escaping and thus the temperature of the earth remains stable. These five different gases have different influence on the "greenhouse." If CO2 can have twice as much effect, then CH4 can have ten times as much, N2O a hundred times and CFC ten thousand times. Besides, the steam of water can also lead to the greenhouse effect. The sensitivity of the climatic system to greenhouse gases is such that the equivalent of a doubling of CO₂ could ultimately increase the average global temperature by somewhere between 1°C and 5°C.

But nowadays the greenhouse gases absorb sunlight and infrared radiation which produces heat and it increases continuously. In principle, the temperature of the earth also increases. And this is so-called "Green House Effect".

At present, the concentration of carbon dioxide doubles that before the Industrial Revolution . And the global temperature has increased about 1.5~3.5¢J. Human beings have altered the composition of the atmosphere. Coal-burning factories and motorcycles release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than oceans and forests can absorb. Consequently, the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere could double the present level within the next fifty years.

People may ask: "Is it a serious problem? " My answer is: "Yes!" The global warming can effect us in many aspects, first of all, the level of the oceans has risen. A rise of sea level may accompany global warming, possibly in the range of 0 to 60 cm. The part of some land will be covered. Strictly speaking, some islands may disappear quietly and without leaving a trace. In addition, the global warming causes crisis to the ecosystem and agriculture. Some animals and plants suffer a lot of difficulties due to the global warming. To sum up, the greenhouse effect not only affects human lives but also causes pecuniary loss.

The global warming affects our human daily lives. And we must find the strategies to decrease the effect, which are caused by global warming. Indeed, human being have caused a lot of harm to nature, but the final victims who will be badly hurt will also be humans themselves.

The centrally "planned" economies produce the most greenhouse gases per unit of economic output. The United States-with the largest transportation needs of any nation-produces approximately one-third, or 1.0 metric ton/$1,000 GNP, of the centrally planned output of CO₂. All of the nations that produce less than the United States are smaller geographically. Japan, often cited for its efficiency, is second from the bottom of the table, but almost all its citizens live near each other, and the country is highly nuclear. France, the cleanest of all, is also the most nuclear and emits .34 metric ton of CO₂/$1,000 GNP⁶.

Water pollution

Water pollution occurs mostly when people overload the water environment with wastes. It’s defined as contamination of streams, lakes, underground water, bays or oceans by substances harmful to living things.

Water is necessary to life on earth. All organisms contain it, some drink it, some live in it. Plants and animals require water that is moderately pure, and they cannot survive if their water is loaded with toxic chemicals or harmful microorganisms. If severe, water pollution can kill large numbers of fish, birds, and other animals, in some cases killing all members of a species in an affected area.

Pollution makes streams, lakes, and coastal waters unpleasant to look at, to smell, and to swim in. Fish and shellfish harvested from polluted waters may be unsafe to eat. People who ingest polluted water can become ill and if they’re exposed for a long time, may develop cancers, or have children with birth defects.

There are two types of water pollution; point source and nonpoint source. Point sources of pollution occur when harmful substances are put directly into a body of water (such as an oil spill). A nonpoint source is when pollutants enter the water indirectly through environmental changes (like when fertilizer is carried into a stream by rain)

The major water pollutants are chemical, biological, and physical materials that lessen the water quality. Pollutants can be separated into eight different classes:

1. Petroleum Products - oil and chemicals from oil are used for fuel, lubrication, plastics manufacturing, and many other purposes. The petroleum products get into water by accidental spills from ships, tanker trucks, and leaky underground storage tanks. Many petroleum products are poisonous if ingested by animals and spilled oil damages the feathers of birds and the fur of animals, often causing death.

2. Pesticides and Herbicides - chemicals used to kill unwanted animals and plants may be carried into streams by rainwater. The chemicals in these that are not biodegradable can remain dangerous for a long time.

When an animal eats a plant that’s been treated with certain non-degradable chemicals, the chemicals are absorbed into the tissues or the organs of the animals. When other animals feed on a contaminated animal, the chemicals are passed up to them. As it goes up through the food chain, the chemical becomes more harmful, so animals at the top of the food chains may suffer cancers, reproductive problems, and death.

More than 14 million Americans drink water contaminated by pesticides, and the EPA estimates that ten percent of wells contain pesticides. Nitrates can cause a lethal form of anemia called blue baby syndrome in infants.

1. Heavy Metals - heavy metals, such as copper, lead, mercury, and selenium, get into the water from industries, automovile exhaust, mines, and natural soil. Heavy metals also become more harmful as they follow the food chain. When they reach high levels in the body, they can be immediately poisonous, or can result in long-term health problems. They can sometimes cause diarrhea and, over time, liver and kidney damage. Children exposed to lead in water can suffer mental retardation.

2. Hazardous Wastes - chemical wastes that are either toxic, reactive, corrosive, or ignitable. If not treated or stored properly, they can pollute water supplies. They can reach toxic levels when animals eat one another.

3. Excess Organic Matter - fertilizers and other nutrients used to promote plant growth on farms and in gardens may fine their way into water. At first the nutrients will help the plants and algae in the water grow, but when they die and settle underwater, microorganisms decompose them, while decomposing them the microorganisms take in oxygen that is dissolved in the water. The oxygen levels in the water may drop so low that fish and other oxygen-dependent animals in the water suffocate, and die.

4. Sediment - soil particles carried to a stream bed, lake, or ocean, if in large amounts, can also be a pollutant. Soil erosion can damage a stream or lake by adding too much nutrient matter. Sedimentation can also cover stream bed gravel where many fish lay their eggs.

5. Infectious Organisms - many disease causing organisms that are present in small numbers in most natural waters are considered pollutants when found in drinking water. These parasites can cause illness, especially in people who are very young or very old, and in people who are already suffering from other diseases.

6. Thermal Pollution - water is often taken from rivers, lakes, or the ocean to be used in factories and power plants. The water is usually returned to the source warmer than when it was taken. Even a small temperature change in a body of water can drive away the fish and other species that were originally there, and attract other species in place of them. Thermal pollution can speed up the biological processes in plants and animals or lower the oxygen level in the water. Fish and other wildlife near the discharge source, may die.

Another cause of pollution, pathogens (bacteria, viruses , and protozoan) can cause many illnesses from typhoid and dysentery to minor repiratory and skin diseases. They enter waterways through untreated sewage, storm drains, septic tanks, runoff from farms, and boats that dump sewage.

To help, we need to learn about ways for disposing harmful household wastes so they don’t end up in sewage treatment plants or landfills. In our yards, we should determine whether or not we need to add nutrients before fertilizers are applied, and look for alternatives where fertilizers may run off into surface waters. We need to preserve existing trees and plant new trees and shrubs to help prevent soil erosion. Around the house we should we need to keep litter, pet waste, leaves, and grass clippings out of gutters and storm drains, and buy as many heavily packaged foods, certain boxes, cartons, bottles, etc that are made with polluting dyes.

Toxic waste pollution

Another type of pollution that is definitely a threat to human safety is toxic waste pollution. This type of contamination is caused when the byproducts of chemical reactions are basically just dumped anywhere the company that produced them so pleases. Although there are supposedly safe ways of disposing of these wastes, there is no natural way of ridding the planet of them. Therefore, most toxic waste is just left out to seep into water sources and into areas of human development. Usually, the outcome is very serious. Toxic waste dumpsites near Toms River, NJ have been under fire in recent years due to the unusually high cancer rates in that town. According to John Whitestone, since these toxic waste disposal sites have been abandoned, cancer among 12 to 16 year olds has almost quadrupled. (196) Serious diseases have become a huge debate on the issue of toxic waste disposal, and many people think there needs to be a safer way of disposing this kind of waste or that alternatives to the chemical processes that produce these chemicals need to be established.

Further areas of environmental contamination are nuclear waste, nuclear disaster, and nuclear war. All three of these are directly related to each other in that all can result in immediate death and death well after contamination. Nuclear wastes are the byproducts of nuclear reactions in power plants. There is a very safe way to dispose of nuclear waste, but it has been proven in the past that many of these techniques can be harmful to human beings if they are not properly completed. Nuclear waste contains high levels of radiation. Radiation, in levels of that height, can kill a person within hours. At lower levels, such as levels of radiation that someone would encounter over long periods of time, radiation can cause cancer and leukemia. Radiation is used advantageously in X-rays and cancer treatment, but it has not truly been proven if these tactics are actually safe, due to the short period of time of their use.

Nuclear disaster is just that: a disaster. This can occur at any nuclear power plant, and it is usually due to a system error in the plant’s computer. A nuclear disaster will release radioactive gas into the air, threatening the lives of the people living in that area. The most notable nuclear disaster occurred in Chernobyl, Ukraine, in April 1986. An error in the nuclear reactor’s core released radioactive gas into the air, immediately killing 30 people and raising the radiation levels of areas as far away as 31 miles to 148 times higher than normal. “Radiation released by this accident is expected to cause about 1000 deaths in Europe over the next 40 years.” (Whitestone, 320) Nuclear disaster can be avoided if a different energy source is found, but since nuclear energy is a big money maker, some companies are reluctant to research cheaper and safer ways to receive energy.

Nuclear weaponry is not necessarily a form of pollution, but it is definitely a wasteful, contaminating threat to our environment and well being. Nuclear weapons use the same type of energy as nuclear power plants, but that energy is used for mass destruction. Although many countries in the world have nuclear arsenals, only two atomic bombs have actually been dropped on human beings, both during World War II on Japanese soil. The first one was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the second on Nagasaki almost a month later. Obviously, these bombs were meant to kill people, but it is not clear if anyone knew the long-lasting effects of their damage.

One reason nuclear weapons are so useless is that their sheer power can be detrimental for years afterwards, and cannot bring peace, only death. “Besides the actual number of people killed by the immediate impact of the two atomic bombs, it is estimated that almost 100,000 people a year feel the effects of these bombs through cancer and other radiation-linked diseases.”⁷ Nuclear weaponry is just as damaging to advancement in human development as any other type of pollution.
This paper should have made it obvious that human beings are directly responsible for violating their own human rights. Since most people have no say in the pollution that is silently killing them, there is no way for them to know how to change that. Only education and power taken from Big Business can result in a turnaround for the people of the world. If everyone becomes more involved in curbing pollution, one day we will live in a pollution free society. There are many ways to begin that. Children should learn more and more about recycling and pollution from an early age, and adults should learn how to prevent pollution in their community. Research needs to be done to come up with less dangerous ways of disposing of waste and even producing less waste in the first place. If alternatives to artificial processes are used, pollution may no longer be a problem in the future; we will live in a pollution free society, filled with healthy, happy people. Of course, if we keep polluting like this, then there may not be a future. Our rights as humans are simply that: our rights. If we keep polluting, then we will no longer have a choice in how healthy our lives are. These rights are ours to lose, and we have to push our governments to create laws that will enable us to keep those rights forever.

Environmental movements

Environmental movement is a term used for any social or political movement directed towards the preservation, restoration, or enhancement of the natural environment. Most environmental movements have similar value systems and moral codes, although they often diverge in details such as emphasis, priorities, means of action, and specific goals. They often share the notion that the perception of one's environment is strongly connected with that of one's self. In this regard, some environmentalists distinguish themselves from conservationists. Environmental movements often interact or are linked with other social movements with similar moral view.

The earliest major environmental issue in New Zealand was the raising of Lake Manapouri⁸ for a hydro-electricity scheme. The campaign was successful in preventing the lake level from being raised. Other major issues were nuclear energy, preventing native forest logging on the West Coast and halting the growing of GE⁹ food crops.

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