Advocating For A Change In Environmental Policy: Addressing Pollution Caused By Industrial Plants And Vehicles

Background on Pollution and Climate Change

Pollution is a compelling issue that not only has devastating effects on the environment and human health but also one of the key drivers of climate change. The effects of pollution have been highlighted on numerous cases through studies, seminars, conferences, and even taught in schools. Despite the fact that many people are taught or informed on the implications of polluting the environment, there is little effort particularly at the grassroots level to curb this practice that notable for causing havoc on the environment and on the health of human beings.

Therefore, the purpose of this essay to advocate for a change in the environmental policy that would help address the problem posed by the growing number of industrial plants and vehicles that are responsible for the increased release of toxic gases and waste materials into the environment. Moreover, this particular community has experienced an increase in the use of vehicles and fertilizers, which are both dangerous to the environment. The implementation of the recommendations posed in this paper will help reduce and curb this growing problem for the benefit future generations.

Discussion

Pollution and climate change are close terms that are characterized by negative implications that cause havoc on human health and destroys the natural habitats of the wild habitats. Existing evidence report that the use of fossil fuel is known to have increased the atmospheric carbon dioxide levels leading to changes from around mid-20th century up to date (Smith & Bond, 2014). The consequences of human activities have been rampant over the last century with the cases multiplying in the current century.

For instance, the documented devastating effects of the gases and chemical released into the environment is associated with adverse health complications that includes severe respiratory problems, lung cancer, threat to extinction of certain wildlife animals, and high likelihood of eliminating the aquatic life (Abdel-Shafy & Mansour, 2016; Hansen et al., 2013; Udeigwe et al., 2015). These problems are coupled with global warming and climate change challenges that will impact the next generations. Therefore, when this problem is not resolved at the community level, then many people will suffer for lack of advocacy on similar cases in other communities and even countries.

In addition to the challenge of the growing emissions of carbon dioxide in the air, there are no substantive measures adopted to curb or help manage this issue. In addition to the complexities caused on humans and the environment evidenced with acidic rain, carbon dioxide released by the growing number of factories has been proven to be the climate’s worst foe. This problem coupled when coal and other fossil fuels are used for energy production. This is the same energy that humans use for cars and phones, so it cannot be dismissed or rendered entirely useless.

Proposed Changes in the Environmental Policy

Therefore, the initial the goal of is to reduce (not wholly get rid of) the amount of carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere in the quest to reduce global warming (Houghton, 2007; Jacobson, 2009). The rising healthcare burden, therefore, elicits for the need to adopt measures that will help monitor the gases that these emerging factories release into the air with the supposedly waste released without proper treatment.

The proposed changes on the current environmental policy should provide clauses that ascertain the assessment of the operation of these factories. These factories will be required to file reports on the various mitigations plans that they have adopted for protecting community members living in the locality. The environmentalists in the area should take the initiative and guide the corporations on addressing pollution issues, for instance, researching and embracing new technologies to contain the gases and waste materials they release into the environment. Failure to adopt suggested measures of cutting down the emission of gases and waste materials or retreating them should be met with stringent measures.

In addition to fostering and ensuring these companies adhere to the principles of the proposed and amended environmental policy, there is the need to create awareness that will ensure all the people in the community become responsible. Transportation is one of the leading sources of carbon emission and citizens should, therefore, work towards reducing the amount of this gas emitted into the air by seeking alternative methods of transport. In this regard, switching from private means to mass transit is one of the best solutions. Secondly, moving closer to one’s working place might sound dramatic but very achievable where they can also choose cycling to reduce the number of vehicles releasing carbon into the air (Lomborg, 2010; Xia et al., 2015).

Shoppers should be encouraged to think green while shopping for stuff, and it is important to consider purchasing goods that will last more to reduce the number of substances disposed of. For instance, while buying a car, it advisable that one gets a motor that will last longest and one that has the least impact on the environment. A thorough campaign with a strong campaign message should be coined informing the public that they also have a role to play in ensuring that climate change does not go any further

Conclusion

Conclusively, despite having listed down the above solutions, many questions challenging their effectiveness are likely to arise. The world is operating on a harsh economy, and there is a need for speed purposely to address these issues. Similarly, all the solutions mentioned in the pretext are environment-friendly; but at the same time, they are bound to have economic implications. Therefore, advocating for these changes will enable the factories and the community members to cut down and minimize the amount of gases and waste materials released into the environment. The advocacy campaign will create a platform for other communities in the region to follow suit an aspect that will help reduce the implication caused by the environment.

References

Abdel-Shafy, H. I., & Mansour, M. S. (2016). A review on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: source, environmental impact, effect on human health and remediation. Egyptian Journal of Petroleum, 25(1), 107-123.

Hansen, J., Kharecha, P., Sato, M., Masson-Delmotte, V., Ackerman, F., Beerling, D. J., … & Rockstrom, J. (2013). Assessing “dangerous climate change”: required reduction of carbon emissions to protect young people, future generations and nature. PloS one, 8(12), e81648.

Houghton, J. (2007). Global Warming: the complete briefing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Jacobson, M. Z. (2009). Review of solutions to global warming, air pollution, and energy security. Energy & Environmental Science. California: Stanford University.

Lomborg, B (2010). Smart solutions to climate change: comparing costs and benefits. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Smith, S. J., & Bond, T. C. (2014). Two hundred fifty years of aerosols and climate: the end of the age of aerosols. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 14(2), 537-549.

Udeigwe, T. K., Teboh, J. M., Eze, P. N., Stietiya, M. H., Kumar, V., Hendrix, J., … & Kandakji, T. (2015). Implications of leading crop production practices on environmental quality and human health. Journal of environmental management, 151, 267-279.

Xia, T., Nitschke, M., Zhang, Y., Shah, P., Crabb, S., & Hansen, A. (2015). Traffic-related air pollution and health co-benefits of alternative transport in Adelaide, South Australia. Environment International, 74, 281-290.