Introduction
Much recent publicity surrounding climate change has focused mostly on global warming, but little direct correlation has been given in the media with regard to the impacts that environmental pollution has on climate change, and also on human health. Although studies of pollution and the environment have been carried out since the time of the Industrial Revolution, it only relatively recently that attempts to measure environmental on a global scale have been undertaken. Environmental pollution is a major cause of global concern, not only for the effects that it has on the physical environments, but also for its potential impacts on human health such as infant mortality, perinatal disorders, cancer, allergies and respiratory disorders and cardiovascular problems.
The major causes of environmental pollution are industrialization, urbanization and greenhouse gas emissions which are the cause of global warming and factors contributing to pollution include harmful emissions and waste from factories and manufacturing plants, agricultural pesticides, mining – especially of gold, coal and oil, and food additives. Six types of pollution are generally recognized: Air, land, water, soil, light and noise pollution but the three which cause the greatest impacts on human health – air, water and soil pollution – will be discussed in this paper. Between these, numerous detrimental health effects have been recognized, some of which include respiratory illnesses, cholera, damage to DNA, mental health disorders and lead poisoning, particularly in children. This paper attempts to gather data related to three types of environmental pollution, to examine the impacts that each has on human health and to support the hypotheses 1.that environmental pollution is a contributing factor in climate change and 2.that climate change has negative impacts on human health. If, by undertaking research, it can be proved that the hypotheses are valid, measures can be undertaken to further investigate the effects that environmental pollution may have on human health, and to mitigate the impacts.
This paper will discuss the research methodology undertaken and the findings of the research. Causes of environmental pollution will be discussed and linked with the reasons for climate change, its causes and impacts. Three types of pollution – air, water and soil- and their causes, will then be examined and the impacts on human health will be considered. A brief discussion of air pollution and its impact on food security is also undertaken. Conclusions and validation of the hypotheses will be discussed at the end of the paper.
Methodology
This study attempts to answer the question of whether environmental pollution, associated with climate change, has an impact on human health. Data for this paper was gathered by generating internet searches to find academic journals on the subject, which were available in the public domain. The searches were undertaken using the terms, environmental pollution, human health, climate change, global warming, types of pollution. No attempt was made to utilize academic journals where a financial cost was required to access information. Numerous academic journals were discovered in each search category and two of the most relevant journals related to each search term were selected for scrutiny and review. A list of these journals appears in the “Works Cited” section at the end of this paper.
Findings and Discussion
Causes of Environmental Pollution
Both natural causes and anthropogenic activities allow hazardous chemicals to escape into the environment and these can cause adverse effects to both the environment and to human health. Anthropogenic environmental pollution has been occurring to some degree since the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution in the middle of the Eighteenth Century. However, it is mostly in the last one hundred years, that increasing human demand for energy has accelerated these processes and has contributed to changes in the earth’s atmosphere. The burning of fossil fuels has been the biggest contributor to atmospheric change, releasing pollutants such as sulfur dioxides (SO2), methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX), ozone (O3) and other organic compounds, particulate matter and heavy metals. All of these compounds differ in their respective chemical properties, diffusion abilities and atmospheric longevity.
Destruction of huge tracts of rainforest, particularly in the Amazon, is another large contributor to environmental pollution. Rainforests act as a sink for much of the world’s carbon by their ability to transform atmospheric CO2, into oxygen (O2) and also act as the interface for carbon exchange between the earth and the atmosphere. When vast numbers of trees are destroyed, the atmospheric CO2 is no longer converted into O2, resulting in elevated levels of atmospheric CO2 . Other pollutants entering the environment include such things as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from aerosol spray packs, air-conditioners and refrigeration, lead emissions from mining and the burning of petrol from motor vehicles, pesticides used in agriculture which enter waterways, and a multitude of chemicals such as cadmium, lead, beryllium, chlorine, mercury, phosphors and bromines which can leach into soils and the water table from the improper disposal of electronic waste.
Causes and Impacts of Climate Change – The Greenhouse Effect
The “Greenhouse Effect” is a natural phenomenon whereby gases such as water vapor and CO2 present in the atmosphere, act as insulation for the earth’s surface, helping the planet to maintain its temperature to an average of 20C and it is essential for maintaining our current climate and ecosystems . However, as the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increases, the thicker this insulation blanket becomes. The radiant heat emitted from the surface of the earth is being trapped in the atmosphere by this blanket and is not being released into . This causes increases in the temperature of the earth’s surface, resulting in the current phenomenon known as global warming. Houghton (2009 3) notes that since the beginning of the industrial revolution, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased by about 40 percent and predicts that concentrations of CO2 will increase in the 21st Century to at least double to three times its pre-industrial level, if steps are not taken to reduce atmospheric omissions from the burning of fossil fuels. Although some natural phenomena such as the El –Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), increases in solar radiation reaching the earth, and volcanic activity which cause an increase in SO2 and particulate matter in the atmosphere, all impart some impact on global warming, these usually occur for a very short time and only on a regional level. However all of these aforementioned events will impact on human health.
Increased earth temperatures will affect the availability of water resources. More evaporation of water sources will occur as the planet heats up, resulting in more water vapor entering the atmosphere and increased precipitation. Increased atmospheric water vapor held in clouds results in the release of increases in the latent heat of condensation. This release of latent heat, which is the source of the energy which drives atmospheric circulation, will result in disruptions to the hydrological cycle. Changes in water resources will ultimately mean that the earth is subjected to hotter and longer periods of drought, and more frequent and intense flood events. These events can have widespread and devastating impacts on the health of human populations.
Impacts on Human Health
Perhaps the most serious acute and chronic effects on health are caused by air pollution even in very low concentrations and levels of exposure. It is not yet clear to many researchers whether or not a threshold level exists for pollutants such as ozone and particulate matter below which no adverse effects occur.
Air pollution has numerous effects including irritation of mucus membranes, asthma, respiratory symptoms (coughing, wheezing, and bronchitis), reduced energy levels, disruption of immune, endocrine and reproductive systems, cardiovascular and neurobehavioral disorders, cancers and even death . Both long-term and short-term exposures to air pollution have been linked with reduced life expectancy and premature death.
Water pollution also has effects on human health. Water pollution caused by climate change includes an increased influx of pesticides, nutrients and chemicals entering waterways due to increased precipitation, and an increase in waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid and jaundice due to increases in disease-carrying vectors and destruction of sanitary facilities due to increased floods and heavy rains Increases in nutrients and chemicals in water sources can cause blooms of toxic algae resulting in diarrhea, gastroenteritis, encephalitis and hepatitis. Harmful chemicals called dioxins are created when the disinfectants used to treat drinking water come into contact with toxic algae, which can occur during storm water runoff or flood events. Dioxins have been linked to risk factors for developmental and reproductive health, and also to cancer .
Soil pollution is another contributor to adverse effects on human health. Several chemicals which can be contained in soils, such as lead, cyanide and mercury, can be released into the atmosphere or waterways during periods of extended drought or heavy rain, which will increase due to climate change. Drought can cause the release of lead in soils when lack of water causes topsoil-retaining plants to die and wind and atmosphere currents then suspend the lead particulates in the atmosphere. Lead and mercury can also be washed from soils into waterways during periods of heavy rains and floods. These chemicals were originally deposited into soils from mining or leached into soils from poor waste management. Lead in the atmosphere can cause damage to brain development in children and mercury can cause liver and kidney damage and perinatal deformities. All of these chemicals can also cause damage to the central nervous system, neuromuscular problems headaches, rashes and irritations and can cause certain cancers, including leukemia.
Other impacts of environmental pollution are likely to affect agriculture and ultimately global food security. Whilst many studies have been undertaken regarding the potential impacts of climate change on agriculture, little work has been done on the effects of environmental pollution, specifically in the form of atmospheric ozone concentrations, on food crops . As temperatures increase, so does ozone production, caused by a reaction of organic compounds and nitrogen dioxides to sunlight.
A recent study by Heald (2014) investigated the production of four essential food crops – rice, wheat, corn and soy and found that some crops are more affected by ozone pollution than others. Whilst the study predicts variations between regions, those areas with more stringent air pollution control measures are likely to suffer fewer crop losses than those with poorer control measures – usually underdeveloped countries. It is predicted that global food production will need to increase by 50 percent by the year 2050 to meet the world demand for food, any reduction in the current production of these four crops, which provide 50 percent of human consumption of calories, could spell disaster for global food supplies and potentially have enormous impacts on human health.
Malnourishment is a major health burden in developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia. The largest cause of malnourishment in developing countries is protein-energy malnutrition, which causes diseases such as marasmus and kwashiorkor. Most of the protein and carbohydrate requirements are provided by the grains and legumes mentioned earlier, so any decrease in these crops would lead to severe malnutrition and impacts on human health. Malnourishment also allows the human body to be more susceptible to severe infections . Heald (2014) found that air pollution is a decisive factor shaping the future of nourishment in developing countries. Rates of malnourishment are predicted to increase from 18 percent to 27 percent by 2050, under the current air pollution scenarios currently being experienced in these countries, however, if air pollution concentrations were brought under control, the increase could still be as much as 22-23 percent.
Conclusion
This paper set out to examine the links between, environmental pollution, climate change and human health and to discover whether environmental pollution is a contributing factor in climate change and whether climate change has any impacts on human health. A review of the literature available online was undertaken in which two academic journals found from each search term utilized was selected on the basis of applicability.
While it can be seen that some natural phenomena contribute to global climate change, most of the causes of climate change since the industrial revolution can be attributed to anthropogenic activities. As can be seen from the foregoing discussion, while air pollution both causes and is caused by climate change, water and soil pollution generally occur as a result of human activities and climatic changes caused by global warming.
Research of scholarly articles has highlighted the vast array of negative impacts on human health, ranging from headaches to malnutrition, that have been found to be associated with environmental pollution. Some surprising results were found in the link between environmental pollution and future food security, particularly for developing nations.
This study was somewhat limited in that the prescribed length of the paper somewhat restricted the number of journal articles that could be addressed, however, the implications gleaned from these findings is that environmental pollution can have a major impact on human health in the future in light of impending climate change. More research needs to be undertaken to understand the trichotomy of the diverse elements of environmental pollution, climate change and human health. Further research is also necessary into the link between air pollution and food security, particularly in developing countries.
Works Cited
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EPA. Nutrient Pollution. 20 August 2015. <https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/effects-human-health>.
Heald, C. “Climate change and air pollution will combine to curb food supplies.” Ecology, Environment & Conservation (2014): 957.
Houghton, J. “Global Warming, Climate Change and Sustainability.” Briefing Paper 14, 3rd Edition. 2009.
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