Hello my name is xxxxxxx. My area of interest is “conservation of environment”.
I chose one of my classmates who had a good knowledge of environment and preservation of nature. I asked him three questions as below:-
(a) How can we conserve resources present in our environment?
He replied that resources can be conserved by conscious consumption of energy. He further told that whenever we are leaving home, we must ensure to switch off the fans, lights, air conditioners and all other electrical devices. Air conditioners and water pumps must be used only when required.We must not waste water as fresh water is scarce and close running taps.
Conservation of environment means proper management of natural resources including wildlife, water, air & all earth deposits. Conservationists have an opinion that development is necessary for a better future, but not at the cost of hampering it.
He concluded that environment is a source of life and it needs our effort to conserve it. Every individual should be aware of the importance of environment. For efficient conservation of environment we should use alternative sources that are friendly to the environment and are in abundance like solar , wind power and tidal energy. Government should input strict laws of environmental protection such as ban on illegal cutting of trees, waste disposal methods by the public in open etc.
(b) What are the possible ways to reduce water pollution?
He told that water pollution can be caused in a number of ways, one of the most polluting source being city sewage and industrial waste discharge. Indirect sources of water pollution include contaminants that enter the water supply from soils or groundwater systems and from the atmosphere in the form of rain. First of all the environment laws must be stricter since the chemicals discharged by factories in one country with poor environmental laws can cause problems in neighbouring countries. Environmental laws can make it even tougher for people to cause pollution, but for this to be effective they have to operate across national and international borders too.
Secondly, we need people to be aware of the problem. Many people who’ve grown tired of walking the world’s polluted beaches often band together to organize community beach-cleaning sessions. One of such recent initiatives was taken by a group of people at Versova beach Mumbai.
In addition to this we can take individual action to help reduce water pollution, for example, by using environmentally friendly detergents, not pouring oil down drains, reducing pesticides, and so on.
(c) Why we are facing air pollution such drastically ?
As soon as I asked him this question he exclaimed that whenever he thinks of air pollution, immediately a picture of heavy smog drifting over cities and industrial plants comes to his mind. He listed down few causes of drastic air pollution which are as follows:
Burning of fossil fuels
Chemicals compounds of carbon, sulphur and nitrogen are released during the burning process, which travel straight into the atmosphere. These types of pollutants react with water molecules to yield something known as acid rain.
This is one of the reasons that alternative energy sources, such as nuclear, solar, and wind are being explored in greater detail. They tend to release much less pollutants into the environment to produce equivalent amounts of energy.
Vehicle Exhaust Fumes
Vehicles release high amounts of carbon monoxide into the air. Millions of vehicles are operated on a daily basis, each one leaving its own carbon footprint on the environment. This is why hybrid and fully electric vehicles are making a splash in the automobile marketplace. In addition use of public transport in metro cities can help in reducing this type of pollution to large extent.
Exhaust from Industrial Plants and Factories
Similar to exhaust being released from vehicles, heavier machinery located inside big factories and industrial plants also emit pollutants into the air. Industries can be found everywhere in the world, so the spreading of air pollution is basically global.
Household Activities
Common household chemicals, notably bleach is a source of pollution.
Smoking tobacco through the use of cigarettes and cigars also releases toxic pollutants into the air.
In addition, air pollution creates an imbalance in the natural gases that make up our Earth’s atmosphere. These imbalances slowly aid in the depletion of the Ozone layer, an essential region of the stratosphere that soaks up most of the sun’s damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays.
It was a great experience interviewing my colleague as I learned how we ,as a community, have opportunity to correct the environment , take steps which may benefit environment. we only think that our work is more important than thinking about environment. But there are some people who are working day and night for our environment and researching new innovative ideas for cleaning environment.
After these kind of replies that I received from my colleague, I got more knowledge about my topic.