Growing up in elementary school, environmental education was heavily emphasized.  We were encouraged to bring trash-less lunches, we had garbage pick-up days, and were reminded constantly of the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.  However, there’s only so much a 6-year-old’s brain can understand…so I guess to sum my learnings up: pollution sucks. It’s a growing problem caused my the human race that has manifested life on land, life above land, and life below water.

One of the most obvious forms of pollution is air pollution.  The air we breathe is filled with pollutants that are detrimental to the entire biosphere.  Air pollution causes 9% of deaths worldwide and is a factor that greatly increases risk of developing diseases or conditions that hinder quality of life.  We have all seen pictures of smog-filled cities with crowded inhabitants wearing masks, but how did the air turn from crisp and clear to tainted translucent film?  The biggest reason is the burning of fossil fuels.  Whether it’s from car exhaust, factory manufacturing, household functions, coal energy production, livestock byproduct, or smoking, greenhouse gases are being released rapidly into our atmosphere.  This only acts as fuel to the fire (no pun intended) due to the greenhouse effect which traps these gases and heats air temperature, making it an ideal environment for smog to accumulate.

Another way in which humans have trashed their environment is on land.  When I think of “land pollution”, littering immediately comes to mind.  However, on a wider scale, the problem lies in the consumption of materials and their careless disposals.  (Read my previous post about trash disposal.) Landfills are taking up so much space, not to mention the large percentage of materials that could actually have been recycled, or the amounts of hazardous waste materials that leak into local ecosystems.  Additionally, the excess trash left stagnant on the ground is often found by wildlife, leaving them with plastic in their stomachs, or metal around their necks.

Lastly, pollution of the hydrosphere is an area that is often overlooked when discussing pollution.  Everyone has heard of the common VSCO girls’ “Save the Turtles! SKSKSKSKSKS” and it is now brushed aside as a joke.  But the amount of trash and (micro)plastics found in bodies of water is unacceptable.  Sea creatures greatly suffer from this through hazardous ingestion, habitat loss, or biomagnification.  Moreover, humans of a tendency to get rid of anything they don’t need by tossing it in the ocean.  Oil and other hazardous chemicals are spilled into the ocean, along with the residue from increased storm water runoff.  Most importantly, oceans are the largest carbon sink, meaning they absorb CO2 through a variety of processes.  This means that even if we plant as many trees possible (which we won’t) our biggest outlet for carbon would still be non-functioning.

Speaking about all this on a global level seems kind of daunting to everyone, and the question that follows is often about what can be done about it.  Many people are also skeptical about how their seemingly small actions can make a difference.  On a local level, there are so many ways to increase awareness and action towards pollution.  Some easy ways to address air pollution include carpooling often, taking public transit, walking or biking instead of driving.  One of the biggest ways we can address land pollution is by reducing our food waste on campus (*hint: we waste A LOT of food in the dining commons).  And lastly, to reduce the amount of trash islands showing up in oceans, we can reduce our single-use plastics like non-reusable water bottles, plastic straws, plastic utensils, and avoid unnecessary packaging through consumer choices.