https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2017/03/16/00/32/beverage-cups-2147902_960_720.jpg ^{[This would make sense much later. Image: Pixabay ](https://pixabay.com/en/beverage-cups-cup-plastic-cups-2147902/)} Hey guys, good day, been trying to make these articles every now and then. The week started as a drag, but things are gradually coming to. Don't worry, you won't get it, and I'm really not in a talking mood, Unless it's science, of course! So, the other day, I was traveling back from school after a long semester that seemed like it wouldn't end and looking out the window of the bus, I couldn't help but notice how bad the streets and roads were. Empty cans and plastics, polymer wastes and stuff all scattered around a major highway somewhere in eastern Nigeria. Sure, I'd very much have loved to mention the place and maybe upload a picture or two to add to that effect if I wasn't *oh so* patriotic. But where would that leave us anyways? all talks and no action?. After doing a bit of research late at night on the gravity of what seems to be neglected, I decided *what the hell*, it's high time someone raised some awareness! it's pretty sobering how much we've let things slide. How much trash do you think you throw away on a daily basis anyway? I know it's a lot harder to keep track of stuff like this than it is learning to ride a unicycle. I mean, after all, it's trash! ain't that? Out the window and it's off the mind! But before you go thinking this article is about Africa alone, you might be just wrong, you see, it concerns all of us, and waste management is a global issue. Did you know that in the U.S., each American on average tosses out just about 2 kg of unwanted stuff and food items every day?. From production in factories and manufacturing hubs to consummation at different levels, humans constantly generate wastes, and as long as we're here, we just have to find a way to deal with all of it because it cannot be banished from existence by simply wishing it goes away, or even hauling it into the curb. ##### What are we looking at? Well, wish all you want, but some of these wastes we generate are potentially harmful to health and the environment too. For one, a whole lake could be rid of its aquatic life if toxic chemical wastes aren't taken care of or disposed of properly. The exhausts of automobiles, and power plants using fossils release tons of gases that are pollutants to the air we breathe in our cities and towns, Nuclear wastes, perhaps the most deadly, is said to be just s toxic as it is today in 20,000 years time. It's dead serious, and would be the most monumental let down if we're to believe that somehow, the environment could absorb and neutralize all of the effects of these pollutants without some backlash. C'mon, let's get serious! # The problems. -- Pollution's toll! ![705807092_2a9c5f9974_b.jpg](https://gateway.ipfs.io/ipfs/Qmc3GsYQ22pBc7VmjBJdiZBHua8qhQXUc42vtwiCRe925N) ^{[Image source: Jeff kubina, CCO. Flickr.](https://www.flickr.com/photos/kubina/705807092/)} The pollution these wastes bring about isn't inconsequential at all. No matter how much we neglect it, slowly yet surely, it has petty effects here and there, which coagulate to bring on some serious damages to health and general safety of the nation. A century of unrestrained pollution has seen rainforests and lakes rendered almost lifeless. Did you know that over 80% of Poland's deep wells are polluted? and that about 1/4 of its soil is way too contaminated to be of any use to agriculture? Sad, isn't it? How about Bulgaria, where about 1/3 of its forests were damaged so badly by air pollution and acid rain (acid precipitation), so much that intensive efforts had to be put in place to curb and reverse the damages? I guess you could understand that it isn't just talking, these wastes actually bring along with it far more expenses and damages than it would have cost if they were managed properly. ![](https://steemit-production-imageproxy-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/DQmQxFHN8MLpuNaxp6bPkR41frELqpuP21qMr7suAKvqWd8) ## Endangered waters. Even though every human *-whether educated or not-* seem to understand the dire need for water in order to function in the circle of life*(and for a host of other things),* we've put on a darn good casual attitude towards it, and have not treated it with the urgency it deserves. Every single day in homes and offices across nations, wastes are poured down sinks, flushed down toilets or dumped into rivers and lakes without considering where they might end up. These substances end up killing sea life and damaging beautiful corals and shorelines.

The Rhine river, Germany. Image: Pixabay.

Ogoni land oil spill. Image: Kegbara, Flickr.![](https://steemit-production-imageproxy-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/DQmQxFHN8MLpuNaxp6bPkR41frELqpuP21qMr7suAKvqWd8) ## Destruction of land. ![](https://steemit-production-imageproxy-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/DQmWNN8t4Q7gKfqn3K2mfxxq2cAYYwDWkwqs2aNCvjRJTah) ^{**This is supposedly a street. Image: Mine!**} Modern agriculture has come to rely heavily on mechanization, fertilizers, and pest control methods using pesticides for greater yield. As good as it seems, there are consequences that at least someone *(like myself),* shouldn't fail to point. Frankly, the excessive use of fertilizers is probably not the best thing to do, since it does damage the soil by of-setting its pH value, just like the waters we discussed earlier.

Dump-site, right in front of an apartment building. Image: Mine.

2 when stuff made of carbon is burnt. As such, burning polymers increase the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. As for simply jilting or throwing away polymer-based materials, well, take a look at the picture above, and then this one. Yeah, it's crazy, the images were taken somewhere in my school surroundings, and I once shared it with a friend of mine when she made [this post on littering](https://steemit.com/health/@annieben/littering-and-its-effects-on-the-environment-why-we-need-to-fix-this), totally worth reading, later, of course. Normally, over 80% junk is tied up in nylon based materials and thrown away. Over time, while its content may decompose, they get into the soil and block plants from taking root and could lead to desertification. They also find their way into rivers, get stuck and clog up channels. Did you know that polymers have been known to kill animals when they get entangled?

Apollo beach power plant, CCO. Wikimedia.

The pH scale. Image by Phil Holliday. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons![](https://steemit-production-imageproxy-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/DQmQxFHN8MLpuNaxp6bPkR41frELqpuP21qMr7suAKvqWd8) ## Air pollution. https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2017/07/01/17/01/city-2462053_960_720.jpg ^{[Image source: Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/en/city-sun-clouds-smog-sky-yellow-2462053/)} I had previously talked about man's activity and air pollution in my articles on [the ozone layer](https://steemit.com/stemng/@pangoli/our-sky-s-interaction-with-solar-radiations-the-ozone-layer-it-s-depletion-and-what-we-could-do-to-save-our-planet) and [the greenhouse effect](https://steemit.com/steemstem/@pangoli/the-greenhouse-effect-earth-s-jacket). In case you missed them, there are the links, but keep reading on, I promise to include the links again at the end of this article. Before the acid rain ever occurs, the atmosphere would have long been affected by the fossil-based smoke already. While a part of its effect is the depletion of the ozone layer, the other is on the increase of greenhouse gases, hence making the planet even hotter. If the ozone should further decrease, we may experience sunburns and develop **Cataract** *(an eye condition that may lead to blindness if not treated).* Shockingly, experts estimate that each 1% drop in the atmospheric ozone leads to a 3% increase in the risk of skin cancer. Thus the already recorded 6% drop is estimated to have increased cancer rate by 18 to 20%. In addition, with the 6% increase in UV hitting the earth, the basis of all oceanic food webs *-the ocean's planktons-* has declined productivity. Global warming is rumoured to be looming around the corner, and scientists think that the world's average annual temperature would rise by 1.5 to 4.5^oC by the year 2100. By simply looking at it, it doesn't look like a big deal, does it? But global warming could have disastrous effects on the earth's climate pattern. Ice caps could melt and cause sea level to rise, even tall houses might be flooded. Rainfall would be affected and we could see droughts and possibly famines and all of that ill. ![](https://steemit-production-imageproxy-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/DQmQxFHN8MLpuNaxp6bPkR41frELqpuP21qMr7suAKvqWd8) ## Summary.

Renewable energy sources. Image: Pixabay.

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