SOCIAL SCIENCES

Pollution

For most of the time that humans have inhabited the earth our wastes were only of significance on a local level. In recent decades society has started to take seriously the impact of human actions on the planet in a broader sense. Pollution of the air, land and water comes from a variety of sources and continues to be a major issue for communities and countries across the globe. While measures have been taken to address pollution in various ways across many dimensions – from local waste collection and recycling programs to international hazardous waste protocols -- globalization has magnified the problems as pollution is often exported along with good and services. One of the major challenges of the 21st century is to find ways for a growing human population to reduce the amount and impact of contaminants we discharge to our shared natural resources.

Air Pollution & Air Quality

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or microscopic organisms into the atmosphere; in particular, when concentrations of those substances cause adverse metabolic change to humans or other species. The most common and widespread air pollutants include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. 

Presently, the greatest occurrences of air pollution are in China, India, Indonesia, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. Each year air pollution is the cause of millions of human deaths, and even larger numbers of respiratory, circulatory, and cancer-related disease occurrences. Also, indoor air pollution is a significant source of human death and disease—mortality and morbidity—through indoor burning of wood and charcoal (especially in developing countries), tobacco smoking, radon trapping and a host of chemical substances found in paints, printing supplies and cleaning products.