INTRODUCTION
Pollution
is a man-made disease that can be cured only by man and remedies adopted by
them. Man’s quest for advancement has entered in a competition of
industrialization and information technologies. Incomplete and inefficient
technology coupled with increased population is the main cause of man-made
pollution.
E.
P. Odum (1971) defined pollution as “an undesirable
change in the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of air, water
and soil which affects human life”. Today, the problem of pollution has
become a major challenge to scientists, environmentalists and humanists. The
pollution of various components has undergone to such an extent that we are
unable to breathe fresh air, drink pure water and get healthy food. If man has
to survive, he has to fight and overcome this gigantic problem before it
overcome him and wipes out his existence. So it is very essential to reduce and
the spread of pollution. Each and every individual should be aware on his role
in the prevention of pollution.
Role
of an Individual in the Prevention of Pollution
Administrative
director of UNEP, M. Kolba (1992) suggested that care and share is the simple
and best method to control pollution. This is being followed in advanced
countries but in developing countries, people have began to understand what
care is but they do not follow to share.
The
main causes of pollution in developing countries
i.
Increasing population
ii.
Illiteracy and poverty
iii.
Rapid industrialization
iv.
Failure in pollution management
Individually
man can participate in solving the problem of pollution mainly in two ways:
1. Direct role
2. Indirect role
Ø Direct
Role of an Individual
Direct Role of an Individual involves those functions which are done by
individual himself. Since nature cannot solve the problem of pollution on its
own basis, it is the duty of man to find means to solve this problem.
Since the cause of
pollution is mainly human beings, only they can minimize it by preventing its
increase and spread. One can remember the old saying that prevention is better
than cure. A man should regulate and reduce the causes of pollution at every
step. Some simple principles to reduce the pollution are as follows-
v Preventive
measures for Air Pollution
1.
Establish or transfer factories or industries away from residential
areas.
2.
Reduce the use of automobiles and make use of public transport system.
3.
Keep vehicle filters clean and use only quality fuels.
4.
Make vehicle’s engine off while taking or standing at any crossing.
5.
Use CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) as fuel for auto engines instead of
liquid petroleum.
6.
Use self or low noise horns and avoid blowing them unnecessarily.
7.
Use efficient silencer in vehicles.
8.
Use of crackers should be avoided.
9.
Use LPG for cooking instead of wood, coal.
10. Do not burn plastics.
11. Quit smoking.
12. Reduce the use of air
conditioners, refrigerators etc.
13. Support companies that
are committed to sustainable manufacturing practices and reducing pollution in
the air.
14. Plant trees around
our home and in our community that can help to reduce air pollutants.
v Preventive
measures for Water Pollution
1. Sewage disposal is the
main cause of water pollution in big cities. One should take care of proper
disposal of sewage.
2. Sewage should be released to water only after
treatment.
3. Industrial effluents
should be released into water bodies only after proper treatment.
4. Use of chemical
pesticides, weedicides, insecticides etc. should be minimized. Promote the use
of bio-pesticides, fertilizers etc.
5. Proper checking of super
tankers in the sea in order to prevent oil spillage.
6. Use the minimum amount of
detergent.
7. Use only phosphate free
soaps and detergents.
v Preventive
measures for Solid Waste Pollution
1. Divide the domestic
wastes into biodegradable and non biodegradable components before discharging
2. Biodegradable wastes can
be used as fertilizers.
3. Non bio degradable waste
should be collected and disposed for recycling processes
4. One should never allow
scattering of domestic wastes
5. Recharge batteries rather
than using disposable.
6. Give items to charity or
sell in a yard sale rather than throwing them away.
7. Use of cloth bags rather
than plastics.
8. Buy environmentally
friendly electronics.
9. Recycle & reuse items
rather than sending them to the landfill.
10. Ensure the proper
disposal of solid wastes.
Ø Indirect
Role of an Individual
Man
can participate in various activities for solving the problem of pollution.
1. One should support expansion of
environmental education by participating or
supporting the system.
2. One should make efforts to develop awareness of environmental
pollution by:
- Publishing information on pollution
- Organizing
various exhibitions or competitions
- Sponsoring
environment related advertisement
3. One should make Non Governmental
Organizations or encourage and help in developing NGO for social services
against environmental pollution.
4. One should celebrate environmental dates
as festivals of society and develop them as non-caste and non-religious
occasions for all.
5. One should organize special programmes
and rallies on Tree Plantation Day (7 July) & World Environmental Day and
raise the slogans in the society.
6. One should encourage to follow
Environmental Laws by making them popular and help people to respect.
ICONS OF ENVIRONMENT
INDIA
ANNA
HAZARE
v A retired military man of
village Ralegan Siddhi of district Ahmednagar, Maharashtra.
v In 1976, he started
integrated development programmes based on watershed management, soil
conservation, afforestation, promotion of use of biogas & solar cooking devices.
v The popularity of using
alternate energy strategy led his village declared as an Urja Gram by the
government.
v Voulntary services of
villagers, dedication of Hazare and well planned cooperative system developed
Ralegan Siddhi as a symbol of community development and cleanliness.
RAJENDRA SINGH
v Rajendra Singh - General
Secretary of Tarun Bharat Sangh.
v Helped Bhaonta Kolyala Village, Rajasthan to
become an example of sustainable development and prosperity.
v Helped in regenerating
Johads to collect rain water and solved the problem of water scarity.
v Helped to regenerate this
village with healthy environment and economic prosperity.
v The
village has been awarded the Down to Earth- Joseph C Award in 2002.
v Dr.
Singh has been honoured with Magsaysay Award.
SUNDAR LAL BAHUGUNA
v Bahuguna agitated against
contactor system of extraction of forest resources
v This movement became
famous as Chipko Movement.
v Bahuguna
marched more than 3000km from Kashmir to Siliguri to develop awareness and
started movement in all parts of Himalayas. This march became famous as Kashmir
Kohima chipko foot march.
v It developed an ideology of planting 5Fs food,
Fodder, Fuel, Fibre and Fertilizer.
v It got involved in
protecting environment & bringing peace, prosperity and happiness to
mankind.
v Bahuguna earned several
national awards for his contribution including Sanjay Gandhi Award for
Environment, Padma Shri, Rashtriya Akta Puraskar, Padma Vibhushan(2009).
CONCLUSION
Pollution is a man made problem created as a
result of irresponsible over exploitation of nature. Only man can minimize
pollution by preventing its increase and spread. If man has to
survive he has to overcome this gigantic problem. Though global efforts are
being made, the responsibility of an individual is equally significant. The
individuals of developed countries behave with care and precautions but those
of developing and undeveloped countries are lagging behind. It is very
essential to aware people on their role in the prevention of pollution then only
we can reduce and control pollution.
It
is our duty to protect our environment from pollution. An individual can adopt
several preventive measures to reduce pollution. Individuals can
contribute several indirect roles to minimize pollution. Several Indians
have shown exemplary contribution towards developing pollution free environment
& bringing social prosperity. Anna Hazare, Rajendra Singh, S.L. Bahuguna
are such icons.
REFERENCE
·
S.P. Misra & S.N. Pandey (2011).
Essential Environmental Studies. Ane Books Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi.
·
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/pollution/role-of-an-individual-in-prevention-of-pollution/28301/
·
http://www.kprblog.in/cse/sem3/role-individual-prevention-pollution/
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