This has been a fascinating assignment for me, to say the least. Like most people, I am concerned about the state of our environment, but had never really given much thought to my own personal contribution to air and environmental pollution until now. I started by analyzing my basic day-to-day routine, and looking closely at how my habits may be affecting the environment. Just as most of us do, I began my day by brushing my teeth. That doesn't sound too bad, right? Well, once I looked more carefully at my habit, I saw that I turned the faucet on and let it remain running while I actually did the action of brushing my teeth. Unfortunately, I could easily see how I was wasting water by just this seemingly harmless act. As I examined this activity to gain a better understanding of the water I was wasting, I see that running the tap while brushing your teeth can waste 4 gallons of water (Clift, 2008)! That's terrible, and so I quickly adjusted my morning routine to turn off the tap while actually making sure my teeth are clean.
Now, of course, I nearly forgot about the thing I do several times a day, which is using the toilet. I certainly don't like to think about this very much, but it something we all have to do, and likely several times throughout the day. Well, there's not much I can do to limit my impact on the state of he environment just because I need to use the restroom. However, I see that I am adding to the overall burden of pollution just by this very common and simple act. First is the fact that I realize that the act of flushing the toilet is a huge impact on the amount of water that is consumed in my home and elsewhere. In fact, many people in the world exist on 3 gallons of water per day or less. We can use that amount in one flush of the toilet (Clift, 2008). I have learned that it helps to limit the times we need to actually flush the toilet to the times when we have left solid waste. As I have mentioned, this is an area that I don't care to delve too deeply in to, but when I also saw that a single flush of the toilet uses 3 gallons of water, I was shocked.
Furthermore, every toilet in a home is connected to septic tank usually located outside the house. Each time waste is flushed down the toilet; it goes into this tank, where the solid part is separated from the liquid part. Biological processes are used to break down the solids and the liquid is usually drained out into a land drainage system. From this stage, it can escape into the soil and nearly water bodies.
I just can't deny that I am contributing to pollution in this way.
Next, I had to get to my job. Of course, I understand that my car emits a certain amount of fossil fuels to make the car actually run. In addition is the effect of the exhaust that is coming from my auto. Fumes from car exhaust contain dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, hydrocarbons and particulates. On their own, they cause great harm to people who breathe them. Additionally, they react with environmental gases to create further toxic gases (eSchoolToday, 2008). I am humbled to admit that I drive a very inefficient car, and I know that I should be looking to change my habits in this part of my life. For example, I can switch to using public transportation and cut down on the amount of air pollution I create by an enormous amount. I discovered that riding public transit throughout the year makes a big difference in our air quality and use of natural resources. During the summer months, when harmful ozone levels are highest, riding public transit makes an even greater difference -- especially for those with health and breathing problems (DNREC, 2013).
Regrettably, my impact on the environment doesn’t end there. I believe that my habit of driving is a humongous contributor to air pollution, and much worse that I originally thought. Even fueling up can harm the environment if I continue to pump after I have heard the click. It seems that this type of activity can add to gasoline vapors and even spills; these are all terrible for the sanctity of our air.
Even the clothes I wear to work or school have most likely been created in a factory, and there is little doubt that the company emitted a large amount of petrochemicals in to the air while manufacturing my clothes. If I want to relax after work with a barbeque, I can tell you that a charcoal grill adds significantly to airborne pollution with the use of lighter fluid and charcoal briquettes. I can avoid these horrors if I switch instead to a propane grill so to limit my affect on pollution.
Even though there are many ways that I can actually contribute to the issues that affect the cleanliness of our air, most of the solutions are relatively easy, and probably take little effort or work in my every day life. That is why an assignment such as this is so helpful; because it gets people thinking about the impact they are having on the earth and what they can do about it.
References
Clift, J. (2008) Ten Facts About the Water We Waste. http://www.chelseagreen.com/content/ten-facts-about-the-water-we-waste/. Last accessed March 3, 2013.
DART First State (2013) The Environmental Benefits of Riding Public Transit. http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/whs/awm/Info/Pages/OzonePublicTrans.aspx. Last accessed March 3, 2013.
eSchoolToday (2008) What causes air pollution? http://eschooltoday.com/pollution/air-pollution/causes-of-air-pollution.html. Last accessed March 3, 2013.