Urbanization
Urbanization refers to the current trend in the shift of populations from living in rural areas to urban areas. During this process, cities and towns are created as more people begin to live and work together (Mills & Song, 2020). Globalization refers to the opening up of economic processes such as production and marketing leading to the creation of a single global economy. It is also a social and political process since it impacts culture and domestic policies (Beck, 2018). One of the environmental impacts that both urbanization and globalization have had on the environment is air pollution.
Air pollution
Air pollution refers to when there are pollutants in the air which can be a mixture of air and solid particles. These are called pollutants since they are usually destructive to both human well-being and their surroundings. Air pollution occurs when fossil fuels are combusted which releases harmful gases and chemicals into the air. Examples of these include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, benzene, lead, mercury, and others. These can be classified as either primary or secondary pollutants. Primary pollutants are released directly into the air. Secondary pollutants are created from the interaction of primary pollutants (Landrigan, 2017). The most commonly known pollutant is carbon dioxide, which has caused adverse effects on the climate. This, together with other pollutants, has affected many such as air, land, water, and human life.
How urbanization and globalization have caused air pollution
In urbanization, a large group of people lives together in a small area. This means that they emit a lot of pollutants which are then concentrated over the small area that they live in. urbanization also requires a lot of industrial processes such as manufacturing, which emit pollutants. Globalization, on the other hand, globalization implies that there geographical separation of production and consumption. In bridging this gap, energy consumed leads to the creation of pollutants. Shipping contributes up to 30% of the world’s nitrogen and Sulphur oxide pollution. Airfreight also contributes to 11% carbon dioxide emissions (Beck, 2018).
Effects of air pollution on human health
Being exposed to air pollution can lead to both short and long term effects. Disturbance to the nose, throat, eyes, and skin are examples of short term effects. People may also develop diseases such as pneumonia and bronchitis. Long term effects are those which can persist for a lifetime or even lead to death. These are serious illnesses such as heart diseases, respiratory problems, and lung cancer. It may also damage organs such as the brain, kidneys, liver, and nerves. Some conditions such as asthma and heart diseases are made worse when people suffering from such are exposed to air pollution. Every year, 2.5 million deaths related to air pollution are recorded (Landrigan, 2017).
Effects of air pollution on water
Water is polluted when acid rain falls. Acid rain is that which contains substances such as sulfuric and nitric acid. It is formed when the pollutants sulfur and nitrogen oxides in the air react with water and oxygen. They reach the land in different forms such as rain, fog, and snow. When water bodies are exposed to acid rain, they experience an “acid shock”, which can destroy aquatic plants and animals (Burns et al., 2016). This acidity can last for a long time if there is continuous exposure to acid rain. In Nitrogen-deficient ecosystems, water bodies can experience eutrophication. This refers to the presence of excess plant nutrients such as phosphorous which leads to unusually high growth of algae and other organisms. These prevent light penetration and oxygen absorption required to support underwater life.
Effects of air pollution on soils
As discussed above, air pollution causes acid rain. When it falls on soil, it alters the chemical composition of the soil, which affects the growth of plants. When the acidity of soil increases, its ability to retain minerals such as calcium and potassium reduces. These are then transported by water, making them unavailable for plants to use. Plantlife has significantly been affected in areas that experience acid rain. It also affects forests as trees thrive on healthy soil. For example, in the past 25 years, half of the red spruce in the Mountains of Vermont have died Harmful metals such as aluminum and mercury are leached from the soil when they react with the acid rain (Burns et al. 2016).
Greenhouse gases
Greenhouse gases bring about warmer temperatures and climate change by trapping heat in the atmosphere. These include carbon dioxide, methane, and ozone. The concentration of greenhouse gases on the earth’s atmosphere has increased by 45% since the industrial revolution began, as more fossil fuels are burnt (Kweku et al., 2017). This increase has brought about a phenomenon known as global warming, where the temperatures of the earth have significantly increased. This has brought about effects such as heatwaves, increased rainfall, and longer droughts. Oceans have also warmed up which has intensified tropical storms. These extreme weather changes have brought along catastrophic incidents where human lives have been lost.