Environmental pollution and livestock By Allah Dad Khan

2.  Many animals are dying because of pollution.
All types of environmental pollution have
negative impact on animal's health, and the
worst types of pollution are air, water and
noise pollution. Even small levels of
environmental pollution create discomfort
for many animals while on the other hand
more excessive pollution leads to diseases
and deaths of animals.

3.  Pollution occurs when pollutants contaminate
the natural surroundings; which brings about
changes that affect our normal lifestyles
adversely. Pollutants are the key elements or
components of pollution which are generally
waste materials of different forms. Pollution
disturbs our ecosystem and the balance in the
environment.With modernization and
development in our lives pollution has reached
its peak; giving rise to global warming and
human illness.

4.  Pollution occurs in different forms; air, water,
soil, radioactive, noise, heat/ thermal and
light. Every form of pollution has two sources
of occurrence; the point and the non-point
sources.The point sources are easy to
identify, monitor and control, whereas the
non-point sources are hard to control. Let us
discuss the different types of pollutions, their
causes and effects on mankind and
the environment as a whole.

6. Air pollution does not only damage the air; it
also damages environments on Earth’s surface
and their inhabitants. Plants and animals are
harmed by air pollution. Sometimes it is the
pollutants themselves that cause damage. Other
times pollutants combine and change the
resources that plants and animals depend upon
such as water, soil, and nutrients. Read on to
learn more about the ways that air pollutants
can damage environments and the living things
within them.

7. Chemical reactions involving air pollutants can create acidic compounds
which can cause harm to vegetation and buildings. Sometimes, when an air
pollutant, such as sulfuric acid combines with the water droplets that
make up clouds, the water droplets become acidic, forming acid rain.When
acid rain falls over an area, it can kill trees and harm animals, fish, and other
wildlife.

8. 
Rain can carry and deposit the Nitrogen in
some pollutants on rivers and soils.This will
adversely affect the nutrients in the soil and
water bodies.This can result in algae growth
in lakes and water bodies, and make
conditions for other living organism harmful.

9. 
Chemical reactions involving air pollutants
create a poisonous gas ozone (O3). Gas
Ozone can affect people’s health and can
damage vegetation types and some animal
life too.

10. 
Air pollutants can be in the form of particulate matter
which can be very harmful to our health.The level of
effect usually depends on the length of time of
exposure, as well the kind and concentration of
chemicals and particles exposed to. Short-term
effects include irritation to the eyes, nose and throat,
and upper respiratory infections such as bronchitis
and pneumonia. Others include headaches, nausea,
and allergic reactions. Short-term air pollution can
aggravate the medical conditions of individuals with
asthma and emphysema.

11. Long-term health effects can include chronic
respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart
disease, and even damage to the brain,
nerves, liver, or kidneys. Continual exposure
to air pollution affects the lungs of growing
children and may aggravate or complicate
medical conditions in the elderly.

12. 
Air pollutants called chlorofluorocarbons(or CFCs)
destroy ozone molecules in the stratosphere.This has left
places in the layer where the ozone is thin.These areas of
thin ozone are called ozone holes.The ozone layer, located
in the stratosphere layer of Earth’s atmosphere, shields
our planet from the Sun’sultraviolet radiation. Ultraviolet
radiation causes skin cancer and damages plants and
wildlife. In recent decades the number of CFCs released
into the atmosphere has decreased significantly due to an
agreement between the nations of the world called the
Montreal Protocol. Although it takes a long time to see the
impact, the ozone holes might someday be smaller.

13. 
Ozone molecules in the troposphere damage
lung tissues of animals and prevent plant
respiration by blocking the openings in
leaves, called stomata, where respiration
occurs.Without sufficient respiration, a plant
is not able to photosynthesize at a high rate
and will not be able to grow. Ozone is also
able to enter the stomata and decay plant
cells directly.

15. 
Our planet is currently warming much more rapidly
than expected because of additional greenhouse
gasses that are released into the atmosphere from air
pollution. When fuels are burned, some of the
pollutants released, such as carbon dioxide, are
greenhouses gasses.Through the process of
photosynthesis, plants convert carbon dioxide into
oxygen and use the carbon to grow larger. However,
the amount of carbon dioxide released by burning
fuels is far greater than plants can convert. Cutting
down forests exacerbates the problem

16.  Global warming is changing climate globally and
is causing significant changes to various regions
of the world. For example:
 Polar ice melt and permafrost melt are causing
changes in the habitat and resources for plants
and animals living in polar ecosystems.
 Ocean warming, rising sea levels, increasing
runoff, and coral diseases are causing change in
shallow marine ecosystems such as coral reefs.
 Less rainfall in the dry interiors of continents due
to global warming is limiting water resources for
plants and animals.

18.  1.Industrial waste
 2.Sewage and waste water
 3. Sea/River / stream dumping
 4.Accidental oil leakage
 5. Burning of fossil fuels
 6.Leakage from sewer lines
 7.Global warming
 8.Radioactive waste
 9.Urban development
 10.Leakage from land fills
 11.Animal waste
 12.Under ground storage leakage and fertilizers
 13.Pesticides

19.  Water pollution has extremely negative
impact on many animals.Water polluted with
different chemicals can cause decline of
population in some species (such as frog),
while on the other hand water polluted with
nutrients can lead to huge growth of toxic
algae which when eaten by other animals
may cause serious diseases and death to
these animals

20.  Noise pollution is also becoming huge problem for
many animals, especially animals that live in our
oceans and seas. Because of the increased ship traffic
and offshore oil drilling noise pollution has started
affecting very large number of marine animals.
Whales and dolphins are among animals most
affected by noise pollution.This is because they use
their sense of hearing for many purposes such as
hunting for prey, navigation, migration and
distinguishing the members of the same species and
with so many artificial sounds in our oceans they are
having tough time to distinguish them all.

21.  Soil pollution occurs due to incorporation of
unwanted chemicals in the soil due to human
activities. Use of insecticides and pesticides
absorbs the nitrogen compounds from the soil
making it unfit for plants to derive nutrition
from. Release of industrial waste, mining and
deforestation also exploits the soil. Since plants
can’t grow properly, they can’t hold the soil and
this leads to soil erosion - See more at:
http://www.conserve-energy-
future.com/PollutionTypes.php#sthash.tkp2ylE
U.dpuf

23.  Littering can also lead to death of many
animals because of toxic substances in trash
(for instance motor oil, detergents,
pesticides) that once eaten by animals often
lead to their deaths.Animals can also die by
getting themselves entangled in many of the
litter items people dump into our
environment.

24.  Radioactive pollution is highly dangerous
when it occurs. It can occur due to nuclear
plant malfunctions, improper nuclear waste
disposal, accidents, etc. It causes cancer,
infertility, blindness, defects at the time of
birth; can sterilise soil and affect air and
water. - See more at: http://www.conserve-
energy-
future.com/PollutionTypes.php#sthash.tkp2
ylEU.dpuf

25.  Thermal/heat pollution is due to the excess
heat in the environment creating unwanted
changes over long time periods; due to huge
number of industrial plants, deforestation
and air pollution. It increases the earth’s
temperature, causing drastic climatic
changes and extinction of wildlife. - See more
at: http://www.conserve-energy-
future.com/PollutionTypes.php#sthash.tkp2
ylEU.dpuf

26.  Light pollution occurs due to prominent excess
illumination of an area. It is largely visible in big
cities, on advertising boards and billboards, in
sports or entertainment events at the night. In
residential areas the lives of the inhabitants is
greatly affected by this. It also affects the
astronomical observations and activities by
making the stars almost invisible. - See more at:
http://www.conserve-energy-
future.com/PollutionTypes.php#sthash.tkp2ylE
U.dpuf

28.  By reducing all forms of environmental
pollution on our planet we could save millions
of animals but sadly world is currently not
doing enough, and pollution issue is therefore
constantly growing in size. Add to this
climate change and deforestation and you'll
soon realize why so many animals are finding
it very hard to survive.