Question

Water is an essential element of life on earth. A human being can survive for only about one week without water. As the global population expands and increasing industrialization creates ever-growing demands for water, supply of this vital commodity has become endangered. Just as water, clean air is an essential element for the survival of life on earth. Air that is polluted can endanger our health and cause damage to trees, wildlife, and property.

Using the Internet, research on the topic, "Various Health Hazards Caused by Water and Air Pollution.

"Based on your understanding, create a 3- to 4-page Microsoft Word document that includes the answers to the following questions:

What are the hazardous substances that may be found in drinking water and what are their impacts on our health?

Describe how water is made safe for human consumption.

Epidemiologic analyses have demonstrated a correlation between an increase in total daily mortality and an increase in air pollution. Provide examples to explain how historically significant fatal air pollution episodes (that were characterized by extreme increases in air pollution) lead to increase in mortality.

Describe how greenhouse gases contribute to the greenhouse effect.

Explain the term "global warming" and present arguments in favor of and against the proposition that global warming has occurred during the past century. What environmental outcomes have been attributed to global warming?

Answer 1

Among the basic physiological needs of human being, water and air play a crucial role for survival. Decades ago, water and air was so clean and pure that its consumption was never considered a vector for diseases. But in todays scenario water and air is polluted to such an extend that one need to have purifier even for breathing. The contaminated water and air has contributed to an increase in the mortality rates. This problem has increased due to increase in population which has increased the consumption of resources and on contrary less production of resources and more volume of pollution.

The contaminated water contains many hazardous element which have serious impact on one's health. Some of these elements are fluroide, Chlorine, lead,mercury, arsenic, perchlorate, dioxin, DDT, Hexaclorobenzene, dacthal and many more. These elements produced during use of pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, disinfectants in water for purification, combustion process, rocket fuels and explosives, improper waste disposal, reaches to water and air and result in various health hazards. Fluriode is a neurotoxin and endocrine disruptor, Chlorine forms hydrocholric acid with water can lead to respiratory diseases;Lead results in developmental issues, stunted growth deafness, behavioral problems, learning disabilities; Mercury causes brain damage,blindness,nerve damage,cognitive disability,Arsenic causes blackfoot disease,skin,lung and bladder cancer; Perchlorate attack the thyroid; Dioxin affects respiratory,immune,nervous and endocrine system, DDT and Hexachlorobenzene damages liver; Dacthal damages adrenal glands,kidneys, liver.

Therefore, its important that the water should be treated and purified before consumption. The water is made safe for consumption by mainly four process i.e boiling, filteration, distillation and chlorination. There are various modern equipments available for purification of water. Proper treatment of wells and water storage tanks are important. Scientist are also trying to discover ways to use the large source of available water as drinking water.

Air pollution has been fatal issue even in history. These air pollution has been created because of the excessive use of motor vehicles, poisonous gases from industries, deforestation, use of explosives. The mortality rates due to air pollution is corelated. The incidence of health hazards and deaths resulted from the use of nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki is known to every one. This not only caused huge mortality but has effected the future generations with various congenital anomelies.

The atmospheric gases namely watervapor, carbondioxide,methane, nitrous oxide and ozone collectively called as greenhouse gases contribute to greenhouse effect. These gases molecules absorb the heat emitted by the sun and begins to vibrate which releases energy that keep the surface of the earth warm. This is called greenhouse effect. Without greenhouse gases, the temperature of the earth surface will be zero.When the quantity of these greenhouse gases increase in atmosphere it causes rapid greenhouse effect called as global warming.

Global warming can be defined as climate change which may prove fatal for live. The consequences of global warming are rise in sea levels, changing percipitation, expansion of deserts in subtropics. It may also result in extreme weather changes like heatwaves, droughts,floods,heavy snowfall, ocean acidification and species extinction due to shifting temperature regimes. In order to manage the effects of global warming, the production of the greenhouse gases should be reduce. Mitigation, adaptation and climate engineering can be the best response to global warming. In some cases like for agriculture and for environmental benefit like green rainforest, global warming may have positive effects. But the negative effects of global warming out way the positive effects.