Burning of fossil fuel is a major cause of air pollution.
The 20th century is synonymous with industrialization as well as pollution. With the increase in industries, pollution jumped by leaps and bounds. So much so that today, humankind is faced with the biggest challenge ever, to undo the damage it has done to the environment. Early studies showed that pollution was increasing at a rate directly proportional to the industrialization rate. However, governments all over the world neglected such studies until they could no longer ignore the issue. Today, the issue of air pollution has reached great heights.
Basic Measures against Pollution
Many governments today, having understood the relationship between pollution and public health, have initiated different kinds of pollution control measures. Prime among these are reducing emissions from automobiles and harmful gas emissions from industries. Making pollution laws even more stringent is also on the agenda of most countries. However, all these measures do not seem enough to successfully combat this issue.
Reducing Air Pollution
No country can exist today in this materialistic world without industries. Unfortunately, every industry adds some pollutant to the environment. Instead of enforcing laws to make industries pollution-free, it simply lays down laws to regulate the level of harmful pollutants released into the environment. This is because governments are more concerned with the economic benefits of industries than implementing costlier mechanisms of pollution control.
Automobiles as a Source of Pollution
Automobile numbers are on the rise all over the world. India and China constitute the two largest populations on Earth. The number of automobiles plying the roads here are enormous to the point that any pollution control law is negated. Cleaner engines and low-emission kits can reduce the pollution produced by each automobile unit, but considering the large number of cars running worldwide, they do not do much good in cleaning up the environment.
Failure of Pollution Control Measures
A case study done on Mexico City, which is tagged "the most polluted city on Earth," shows that the strict pollution control strategies employed here have not removed the tag. Mexico City employs some of the most stringent control measures such as mandatory six-month car emission checks, a weekly one-day ban on personal vehicles, and it closes many manufacturing facilities on the most polluted of days. Regardless of all this, it is not able to remove air pollution. Hence pollution control can reduce but cannot remove pollution altogether.
Need of Removing Air Pollution
The call of the hour is a smart strategy or some kind of mechanism that can remove pollution altogether and not just control it to a limited extent. This is the only way that the environment can return to an equilibrium. Keeping in mind the importance of manufacturing units and other industries in this modern world, there needs to be strategies that can remove air pollution to ensure a healthy life for all human beings.
