Life Killing Air Pollution and Measures To Stop It.
Introduction
Consider a city in which there are tall buildings, high flyovers, glittering cars and the smoke coming out of the chimneys of the factories showing the great progress of a country but just like a science fiction movie you can notice that there will be some unnatural thing and that is there will be no trees. Just like in the picture below.
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The smoke coming out of the glittering cars is damaging the atmosphere, concrete structures have eaten up the natural beauty of Earth and the toxic fumes coming out of the chimneys of factories blows toxic air. How is unnatural imagination it? What type of progress is it from where the destruction is taking place?
Air Pollution
My todays topic of discussion is air pollution and human actions on it. What is Air Pollution?
Air pollution occurs when harmful substances including particulates and biological molecules are introduced into Earth's atmosphere.
Credits: Wikipedia
Here is the situation about what we are doing with our air in the name of development.
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Trees:
Trees are the great blessing of nature to us, they play the role of natural lungs for us. As our lungs throw out carbon dioxide from our body which is toxic for us and brings in oxygen which is life-saving for a human body and dissolves it into our body that is why the concentration of good and bad gases in our body remains constant and human body can perform daily routine work without any hurdle.
Working of chlorophyll:
In the evergreen leaves of trees, there is a chlorophyll which makes oxygen with the help of carbon dioxide in the presence of sunlight and spread it into the air. These leaves suck carbon dioxide which it uses as a food. These natural lungs maintain the level of gases in the atmosphere for the benefits of humans.
This is how chlorophyll works and photosynthesis takes place.
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The function of Trees:
Trees increase the humidity level in the atmosphere and decrease the temperature overall. They are the cause of rainfall by which the air gets clean. As our lungs do less work while smoking or in a toxic air, similarly if there are more fumes of cars, factories, and fewer trees on the earth then there will be more gases in the atmosphere and the ratio of good and bad gases will be disturbed.
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Opposite to that is happening in Pakistan let's see.
Situation in Pakistan
The increase of Toxic Gases:
In the last few years in the name of development of Lahore, many trees have been chopped down. Those trees have been replaced by the concrete of giant sizes. Citizens not only lost the sunlight and fresh air but also the cleaners of toxic gases, trees, have been reduced and the concentration of gases in the atmosphere has been increased.
Here is the situation in Lahore city, Pakistan.
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Oxygen has been reduced. Toxic gases, mud, and smoke jointly wrap the Lahore in a blanket of toxic fog which is known as smog. Lahore who has now become the city of illnesses. This smog is the first thing. Metro is known as the biggest cause of air pollution throughout the world.
Effects of Air Pollution on Human Health:
If you take a survey of Lahore then you will come to know that there are more patients with rickets, joint pain, breath, skin diseases and cancer after the construction of metro. Air pollution will also increase the number of patients having an illness of vitamin D, pneumonia, and asthma along with arthritis and infertility. Fewer trees and more concrete buildings will also increase the temperature of Earth.
Here are the major effects of air, water and soil pollution
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According to the experts, this is the big factor of global warming. The temperature increases, as a result, the use of air conditioners in cars and houses will also increase as a result the concentration of Chlorofluorocarbons will also increase in the atmosphere which will affect the ozone layer, as a result, the harmful rays will directly come to the earth and cause much damage to us.
Here is the more detailed video about the effects of air pollution on human health.
Video Credits: FuseSchool - Global Education
Or in other words, the progress which we are seeing is actually destruction.
WHO Surveys:
According to a survey,
5500000 people die due to air pollution annually. Most of the deaths are occurring in China and India.
If we look at the report of World Health Organisation (WHO), we come to know that every 1 child out of 5 under the age of 5 years is dying annually due to air pollution. According to this, the children dying annually are round about 1700000. According to another report, these numbers are round about 1350000 in Pakistan. Question is that, do we want to enter into a grave along with our children due to Air Pollution? I think your answer must be no. So we should stand up against air pollution.
World Health Assembly:
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Solutions of Air Pollution
Now the question is that how we can stand up against air pollution and what are the solutions of air pollution?
Step 1:
The solution of air pollution on emergency conditions is to plant more and more trees at large areas. Second is that the routes of metro or orange train should be shifted out of the populated places.
Step 2:
Those houses which are under the routes of metro or Orange train should be shifted to that places where sunlight and air is easily available
Definitely, the progress of country and infrastructure is also considered important for the development of the country but from the experiments of Western countries, we come to know that we should take steps to save our atmosphere from air pollution. Otherwise, the increasing problems of health would increase more chaos in the country
What should the government do?
To cope up with smog following measurements are taken in Delhi and Beijing:
The rule of Even and Odd:
Those vehicles having even number can come to the road on the even dates while the vehicles having the odd number plates can come to the road on odd numbers of dates. In this way, the heavy traffic was reduced to half and also the toxic fumes coming out of the vehicles was reduced
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Traffic Wardens:
The traffic wardens who were at the most risk were given with the best quality masks so that they can take care of their health
Image Credits: https://tribune.com.pk
Luxury SUVs and 2000cc Vehicles:
The registration of Luxury SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles) and the diesel vehicles higher than 2000 cc was eventually stopped. so that the rich people cannot roam in those luxury cars and pollute the environment
Green cess Tax:
Now, what is cess tax?
Cess is a tax. The term is a shortened form of "assess".
It was the official term used in Ireland when it was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, but has been superseded by "rate". The term was formerly particularly applied to local taxation
In colonial India it was applied, with a qualifying prefix, to any taxation, such as irrigation-cess, educational-cess, and the like. They are collectively referred to as "cesses" in government censuses
In modern India, it refers to a tax earmarked for a particular purpose, such as education.
Credits: Wikipedia
The toll tax of heavy vehicles was increased up to 200 on entering the city. This tax is received at toll plazas. In this way, the load of traffic was reduced more.
Improvements on Taxis:
All the taxis running in the city were advised to shift on CNG. Moreover, the vehicles older than 10 years old registration were not allowed to enter into the city.
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Role of National Green Tribunal
1. The National Green Tribunal Act was accepted in India after that National Green Tribunal was established in India whose job was to stop the people from burning the waste and spreading the waste of constructional work. This organization implemented very strictly on this rule.
2. The National Green Tribunal appealed to the government that diesel vehicles should not be bought for the government officials and the public transport vehicles should be shifted on CNG.
3. The National Green Tribunal issued a notice in which they banned burning of crops after harvesting in Delhi and surrounding areas.
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4. According to even or odd rule for the convenience of public 1000 new buses were brought in the next 3 months and also 9000 CNG carriages were brought on contract.
5. On the crime of spreading dust in the city, 38 big projects were fined for about 50 thousand rupees.
6. In the capital of India, Delhi, out of 5 thermal power plants, 2 were immediately turned off and the other three are under consideration to be turned off
7. For the dust of roads, its vacuum cleaning is done which is a weird thing to imagine but it is a better thing for reducing particulate matters which is dangerous for human health.
NOTE:
This article is continued. Rest of the details will be discussed in the next part.
