The world pollution, especially from their natural habitats, is not new. However, it is not a coincidence or a difficult activity to prevent, reduce and/or avoid. In this sense, the World Health Organization estimates that 7 million deaths occur each year due to air pollution generated by polluting industries.
the state of the pollution in water and on land is critical, and there are industries that have more responsibility in this problem that affects everyone in the world. Although many companies use marketing strategies to position themselves as green or sustainable, most of the time they are unfair campaigns that the only thing they achieve is to downplay the issue and continue to be polluting industries for the planet.
7 million deaths occur each year due to air pollution.
What are the water polluting industries?
According to the UN report: “Let no one be left behind”About 7.7 billion people currently live on our planet, of which 2.1 billion (3 out of 10) lack access to water supply.
In addition, more than 80% of the wastewater resulting from human activities is dumped into rivers or the sea without any treatment, causing pollution. All this is a product of the human being, especially of the polluting industries that do not take into account the impact that their waste has on humanity.
How is water contaminated?
In the 20th century, when migrations to large cities and rapid population growth led to an accelerated urbanizationIn some places, public sewage systems overflowed, mainly due to a lack of planning.
Thus, a large number of industries that dump their waste into the waterwhich made it dangerous for consumption.
When these residues and pollutants are dumped into the flow of water currents, they are transported by them to rivers, lakes and seas, and also penetrate into groundwater, thus affecting plants and animals alike and damaging the ecosystem completely.
Now, mostly plastic waste is found in the oceans, which accumulates and is transported thousands of kilometers by currents. However, the use of maritime means of transport It also causes a large part of the water pollution due to spills of oil, fuel, or products used to clean them.
Another industry that pollutes water is agriculture.since it is the sector that consumes the largest amount of water resources on the planet and, in addition, in order to maintain production levels, they resort to excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers, which filter into the aquifer and end the most of the time in the water sources used for consumption.
On the other hand, the textile industry It also has a great impact on water pollution, since without this input it could not survive. It is estimated that today it is responsible for 20% of global wastewater.
Agriculture is the sector that consumes the largest amount of water resources on the planet
What are the air polluting industries?
The air or atmospheric pollution It poses a serious risk to the health of both humans and animals. The great concentration of gases such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continues to increase since the explosion of the industrial revolution causing the greenhouse effect.
This pollution is local when it occurs in areas surrounding the air polluting industries, but it can also be global when the pollution occurs in places further away from its source.
the cattle industry, and in particular intensive farming, is responsible for the emission of 15% of greenhouse gases. According to Greenpeace, livestock farming alone emits as many greenhouse gases as all of the world’s transportation.
As with the water-polluting industries, population growth has led to a considerable rise in air pollution, mainly with the increase in the number of automobiles worldwide. the automotive industry it is currently the cause of almost 10% of greenhouse gas emissions.
Air pollution poses a serious health risk to both humans and animals.
What diseases causes pollution in water and air
In addition to being a serious problem for the environment, water and air pollution is critical to the health of many people in all parts of the world. Due to lack of water, millions of people die in the world from malnutrition and diarrhoea.
Respiratory problems such as lung cancer, asthma and strokes are just some of the possible consequences that air pollution can have on human health, with children and the elderly as the main population at risk.
How do you help reduce or generate less waste?
Sources: La Vanguardia, World Health Organization, Greenpeace and BBC.