Pollution is one of the most talked about and immediate crises in the world in which we live. Day by day planet earth is subjected to various kinds of pollution such as air pollution, water pollution, environment pollution, sound pollution and much more and is becoming inhabitable. The results are global warming, inadequate pure water resources and a host of other problems. All most all kinds of pollutions are caused by the hands of human beings, the supposedly intelligent and superior beings on the planet.
A major pollution is caused by the use of plastic products. Durable and inexpensive we use plastic for various purposes such packaging, as shopping bags and meld plastic into toys, furniture and equipment. But just as easily we discard them and as plastic takes a long time to degrade it causes harm to wildlife and wildlife habitat. Plastic pollutions adversely effects water bodies such as oceans, lakes, rivers and waterways thereby affecting the organisms living in them.
Organisms depended on these water bodies including human beings are affected as well as different kinds of plastic can release various harmful chemical into the waters.
Another way plastic affects the earth and life that inhabits earth is by way of methane production. How does this work? Used plastic is dumped in a landfill to degrade faster with the help of certain types of bacteria. As the bio gradable plastics are thus burnt down a greenhouse gas called methane is released which plays a significant role in global warming.
So how do we tackle this problem as the intelligent species that we are referred as? The first step would be to create awareness among the public, to educate them on the adverse or the dark side of the using plastic and to use alternative methods to replace plastics.
Shopping malls have begun using cardboard bags as an alternative and supermarkets use cloth bags. Moreover, bags made from twigs, stems and leaves are used as shopping bags in certain parts if the world. A cheap alternative is the use of Calico sample bags and paper bags. Learning to reuse bags is also a good habit. You can easily buy a cloth bag to do your shopping and reuse again and again. Carry a bottle of water with you so you won’t have to buy a discard able bottle. This way you can save money too. Many coffee stores offer their wares in cardboard cups. Better you can carry you own travel mug instead of plastic cups.
Moreover, using Kraft bags or geological sample bags to store samples like rocks, fossil, soil sample and even mineral specimen is a good thing because those bags are substantially stronger and prevent sample leakage and contamination.
Keep on finding ways to minimize the damage caused by us and pass the awareness on.