Direction (1 - 9): Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions. |
1. Environmental pollution refers to the introduction of harmful pollutants into the environment. The major types of environmental pollution are air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution, thermal pollution, soil pollution and light pollution. |
2. Deforestation and hazardous gaseous emission also lead to environmental pollution. During the last 10 years, the world has witnessed severe rise in environmental pollution. We all live on planet Earth, which is the only planet known to have an environment, where air and water are two basic things that sustain life. |
3. Without air and water the Earth would be like the other planets -- no man, no animals, no plants. The biosphere in which living beings have their sustenance has oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, argon and water vapour. All these are well balanced to ensure and help a healthy growth of life in the animal world. This balance does not only help the life-cycles of animals and plants but it also creates the perennial sources of minerals and energies without which the human civilisation of to-day could not be built. |
4. The sources and causes of environmental pollution include the following: Industrial activities: The industries all over the world that brought prosperity and affluence, made inroads in the biosphere and disturbed the ecological balances. The pall of smoke, the swirling gases, industrial effluents and the fall-out of scientific experiments became constant health hazards, polluting and contaminating both air and water. The improper disposals of industrial wastes are the sources of soil and water pollution. |
5. Pollution by Vehicles: The smoke emitted by vehicles using petrol and diesel and the cooking coal also pollutes the environment. The multiplication of vehicles emitting black smoke that, being free and unfettered, spreads out and mixes with the air eve breathe. The harmful smoke of these vehicles causes air pollution. Further, the sounds produced by these vehicles causes noise pollution. |
Rapid urbanisation and industrialisation: The urbanisation and the rapid growth of industrialisation are causing through environmental pollution the greatest harm to the plant life, which in turn harms the animal kingdom and human lives. |
Population overgrowth: Due to the increase in population, particularly in developing countries, there has been surge in demand for basic food, occupation and shelter. The world has witnessed massive deforestation to expand absorb the growing population and their demands. |
6. There surely cannot be any radical solution, for the existing factories cannot be bodily lifted to a place far from the populated zone. However, the following attempts can be made to solve the problem of environmental pollution. The Government can atleast see that future factories are set up at a distant place, an industrial complex far away from the township. Researchers may find out how to avoid harmful smoke from running vehicles. |
Deforestation should be stopped and forestry should be devolved. Discharge of factory wastes in rivers should be banned so as to make the river-water free from pollution. We can very well notice the abnormal behaviour of the seasons - the cycle developing clogs in its wheels; and the worried experts fear that the disturbed balance in the biosphere has assumed such serious proportion that very soon our world would be uninhabitable like Hiroshima of 1945. But it is heartening to find the entire world is aware of the menace. If we fail to restore the ecological balance right now, it would be too late tomorrow. |