This app talks about pollution and provides some resources. "Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment." (credit National Geographic)
Pollution can harm our environment, our food, and ourselves if it gets too out of hand. We should be mindful of what we consume and try to not fill our landfills. In the U.S, there are around 2,000 landfills, an estimate of 5.25 trillion pieces of trash in our ocean, and 8.3 million tons, a ton being 2,000 pounds for reference, are disposed in the sea yearly. In 2022, the U.S had an estimate of 66 million tons of pollution in the air. This is just for the U.S. Extensive exposure to pollution can cause a variety of issues and diseases, or it could worsen ones already, like asthma. Pollution can also destroy plants/crops, and it is also the primary reason for climate change.
National Geographic Pollution World Health Organization Pollution EPA
Pollution is caused by many factors, it can be natural (forest fires, volcanic ash) or not (like cars, planes, ovens, factories, cigarette smoke, harmful gases, etc.) To prevent pollution, recycling might seem like a good option, but only 1 out of 4 things that were "recycled," were actually recycled. A better option would be to reduce how much plastic you use. Or, you can lower how much you drive your car, and switch to electric products. Around 7-8 million people die annually to pollution, with the numbers increasing. Our food and water could get polluted, and when we consume that food or water, we can get sick or even die When contaminated water is consumed, it can cause a list of issues, such as polio, typhoid, cholera and more. Collecting trash could help, but there's 2 billion tons on Earth so it won't make a major difference.
Pollution has become a great problem in our current world, and it's not our own planet anymore that's polluted, now space. It is mainly parts or debris from satellites or rockets, but it could cause an issue if a rocket or satellite just so happens to run into them.
