Introduction

Pollution is a term that refers to the introduction of harmful substances into the natural environment, which leads to adverse climatic changes. Some major forms of pollution are noise, light, and heat. Pollution results from natural sources or human activities, and may be in many forms, such as air pollution, water pollution, sound pollution, and land pollution. This proposal will deal with the measures that can help to address pollution and how to reduce carbon emissions to the atmosphere. Statistics show that the major air pollutants are emissions from motor vehicles, chemical plants, oil refineries, petrochemical plants, livestock farms, metal production factories, and majority of the heavy industries (Bettle, Pout, & Hitchin, 2006).

This research proposal will also deal with the description of the major steps that can help curb and reduce pollution, which causes climatic changes in the world. The paper will discuss such measures as, pollution control legislation for point sources, encouraging alternative transportation, such as walking, and cycling, promotion of fuel-efficient cars, and improving roads. The benefits of the above measures to curb pollution and carbon emissions will be under the scope of this report. The other area of importance in this proposal will be the trade-offs of adopting the above-mentioned measures to control pollution.

Background of the Study

Pollution is on the increase in many countries all over the world, due to human activities and industrialization. The major forms of pollution involve air pollution, water pollution, land pollution, and noise pollution. The causes of pollution can be due to natural disasters, such as hurricanes, which may involve contamination of water from the sewers, petrochemicals from damaged boats, or automobiles (Judith, 2012). Noise pollution is from automobiles, loud music, and industries mostly in towns and industrial centers. The emission of gases such as carbon dioxide causes the greenhouse effect, which leads to global warming. Many countries are putting up measures to help reduce the rate of pollution, to enhance environmental management. The main idea is to control the effluents and emissions into the water, air, and soil, which lead to environmental degradation. The main practices by several countries involve prevention and management of pollution rather than the direct control. Some of the practices to manage environmental pollution include.

Pollution Control Legislation for Point Sources

Point source pollution is the one that originates from a single source, for example a wastewater treatment or a factory (Jeffry & Kurkpatrick, 2014). Legislation on this source of pollution sets restrictions on the kind of pollutants that industries can dispose into the rivers, oceans, and lakes. Different governments from different countries have the clean water act, which contain the laws that guide the industries on what to drain into the water sources. The laws stipulate the kind of punishment, to impose on the persons, who break the law, which include the factory’s closure or imprisonment of the owners (Sharon, 2011).

Encouraging Alternative Transportation, Walking, and Bicycle use

There are programs in several countries, which encourage the bicycle use and walking to reduce traffic on roads and pollution. The main groups that implement the programs are the cycling organizations, employers, local transportation agencies, transportation management associations, and individual businesses (Wilson, Muller, & Renou-wilson, 2013). The aims of the programs are to promote the use of non-motorized means of transport for commuters. The campaigns for non-motorized transport may lead to a long-term change in the travel habits of the people. For this kind of program to kick off, the implementers should provide good conditions for cycling and walking, such as cycling lanes, bike parking facilities, and pedestrians walking tracks.

Promoting fuel-efficient cars

To reduce pollution and global warming, agencies are adopting the use of the fuel-efficient hybrid cars, which do not run on petroleum products. Some cars can be electric hybrid designed to run on electricity or gas (Sharon, 2011). There are other cars, called water hybrid cars, which can run on water and gas as fuel. It is possible to convert cars that are already running on fuel to electric hybrid or water hybrid, instead of buying new ones. Hybrid cars reduce the amount of fuel consumed and are very effective in reducing pollution, since they do not emit poisonous gases into the atmosphere.

Improving Roads

Another measure to take to reduce emissions and pollution is improvement of the roads, so that vehicles do not spend a lot of time in jams before they reach their destination (Zhang & Wang, 2015). One way of improving the roads is having the dual carriageways in the major highways, so that the flow of vehicles is smooth without any congestion. The road construction agencies and the government can invest in building different roads for different vehicles, such as the smaller cars and the heavy vehicles. This action will reduce accidents, and congestion in the roads, which will help to reduce the time the vehicles, spend on the road, hence reducing the amount of gas emitted. Accidents pollute the environment through oil spills, the scrap, and the noise the vehicle produces.

 Effectiveness for each of the above measures

There are several benefits from enacting pollution legislation on the point sources, such as reduction of pollution in the water, which saves the aquatic life. The laws ensure that the water for domestic use is free from the toxic contaminants from the industries. Clean water reduces health risks such as waterborne diseases, ingestion of heavy metals, choking of the water plants, and clogging of the gills in fish and other aquatic life (Clack, 2014).

Cycling and walking reduces congestion on traffic and packing costs as there will be fewer vehicles on the roads at any particular time. There will also be improved health on the individuals who take part in walking and cycling as they exercise when commuting for work (Dunkelberg, Finkbeiiner, & Hirchl, 2014). The major impact of using a non-motorized transportation is conservation of energy and reduction in carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Reduction of carbon emissions is due to shortened motor vehicle trips, which consumes a lot of fuel for every mile travelled. Statistics show that use of non-motorized transportation reduces energy consumption and pollution emission by about 2 to 4 percent per mile (Judith, 2012).

The use of fuel-efficient cars, such as the hybrid cars helps to reduce pollution and promote a clean environment, since they emit fewer toxins in the atmosphere. These cars are very efficient and have a better mileage with a high performance that lowers maintenance costs. Using the electric and water hybrid cars make some countries self-reliant, since they do not need to import petroleum fuels from the producers.

Improved roads minimize pollution and emissions, since the vehicle can reach its destination in a shorter time, which reduces the time for emission. Improved roads also save costs in terms of the fuel consumed, especially in jams. There is a reduction in wear and tear in vehicles, when roads are in good condition, and it is possible to reduce on labor by the traffic police operating busy roads to clear the jams.

Tradeoffs for pollution Reduction Measures

Imposing of legislation measures on industries may face rejection from the factory owners and the business organizations (Sharon, 2011). This is because of the costs involved to purchase and install the devices required for the treatment of the wastes, which leads to reduced profits. Imposing tough legislation measures will discourage investors from investing in the countries with very strict health measures on the ecosystem, leading to under development of the nation. The measures can also lead to strikes by business owners, who engage in industrial production, an action that can destabilize the economy.

The use of non-motorized transportation, such as walking and cycling increases the number of road accidents to pedestrians, the cyclists, and other road users (Clack, 2014). The other setback to this mode of transport is the health risks resulting from colds and adverse weather conditions like the rain and the hot weather. This is because the person walking or riding exposes him/herself to the direct weather. Another challenge may be costs, which the implementers of the transportation incur, which consists of expenses for facilitating the program.

The use of the fuel-efficient cars may be expensive, especially if one is buying a new one, which makes it difficult for many people to acquire one. The other set back to the use of hybrid cars is that they require charging, when the power goes off, which may be inconveniencing, especially in places without electricity. The sources of electric power may be those that involve generation of power from fuels, which is also a source of environmental pollution.

The main trade-off for improvement of roads is the cost incurred by the road authorities. It is very expensive to construct dual-carriage ways for many countries; hence, vehicles have to share common routes.

Decision-making about environmental issues necessitates the maintenance of a fine balance between the effectiveness of measures and the public reaction towards them.” This statement means that any decisions made by the law enforcers on environmental conservation and maintenance must be acceptable to the public for them to be effective. For instance, any policies for preventing pollution and emissions should be clear to the public, who must understand and accept them before implementation. If the public rejects the laws, then, it is impossible to implement them.

Conclusion

Pollution and emission of carbons in the atmosphere is of great concern in many countries, especially the ones with many industries. Some of the causes are emissions from motor vehicles and the industrial wastes dumped in water sources or on land. There are various methods to control pollution as discussed by this paper, some of which are the use of alternative forms of transportation like walking, legislation on pollution to point sources, promotion of fuel-efficient cars, and improvement of roads. According to this research, there are many benefits of using the above methods of reducing pollution and carbon emissions, such as saving on costs, reduction of pollution levels and the global warming, independency for oil importing countries and efficiency in the transport sector. However, there are some setbacks to the methods discussed by this research paper, which include high costs of implementation, conflict with the industry owners, and closure of some industries. There is need for more research on this topic, since pollution is on the increase leading to global warming. A research on how the above causes of pollution can lead to global warming is a necessity.

References

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