Whatever we do, from the food we eat to the electricity which we use, affects the world around us. but this wasn’t always that way. The Industrial Revolution has changed the way we create everything, be it food and energy to sanitation and manufacturing technologies.
So how has industrialization impacted the environment ?
The Industrial Revolution started in the middle of the 1700s, when the world’s population had finally started recovering from the Black Plague in the 1300s, which wiped out more than 75 million people. The planet’s population exploded, reaching 1 billion by 1800 and then doubled again by 1926. By the beginning of the 21st century, the population had grown again to 6 billion.
It was coal which shifted the balance of power — using coal as a power source changed the way that we then looked at industry, from energy generation to manufacturing. We have been using coal since the 13th century, but it wasn’t until the 1800s that industrialization started.
Back then, we did not think about the potential impact of burning coal and other fossil fuels to power our new equipment and machinery — we rather thought of growing as much, as fast and as far as possible. It is only in recent years that we have started assessing the kind of impact that we’ve had on the environment as a direct result of this exponential growth.
The 4 major impact points when it comes to industrialization are :
The first and the biggest problem is air pollution, which is caused by the smoke and emissions generated by burning fossil fuels. The United State’s EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) regulated more than 80 different toxins that could be found in industrial pollution, from asbestos and dioxin to lead and chromium. In spite of these regulations, the industries are among the worst generators of air pollution in the world.
Water Pollution is also a major problem in these areas, specifically in the regions where factories are built next to natural water sources. These toxins come in a variety of forms such as solid, liquid or gaseous. Moreover, they can all end up contaminating the local water supplies.
Soil contamination is another problem which goes hand in hand with industrialization. Lead is one of the most common form of soil contamination, but other heavy metals and toxic chemicals can also leach into the soil and contaminate the crops which grow there.
Finally, industrialization has led to a massive habitat destruction. Forests have been cut down for their lumber, and ecosystems have been destroyed to create roads, strip mines and gravel pits. Destroying these habitats not only upsets local ecosystems but also leads to plant and animal extinction if the species are unable to adapt to their new surroundings.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comments