Pollution

Pollution is any type of harmful contaminant that enters the environment.

Pollution reduces the quality of our air, water and land and has widespread impacts on human and environmental health.

Pollution can be natural or caused by human activity and comes in many forms such as air, water, land & soil, light & noise:

• Air pollution – Air pollution is the release of chemicals and particles into the atmosphere. It comes from a variety of sources, including factories, cars, trucks and planes, agriculture, aerosol cans and cigarette smoke, as well as natural events such as bushfires. Air pollution is one of the main causes of the thinning of our ozone layer and includes greenhouse gas emissions, the main driving force behind climate change. Air pollution can also directly contaminate water and soil when it falls back to earth.
  
  Poor air quality has severe impacts on human health and is one of the leading risk factors for death and disease across the globe. Animals, plants and even whole ecosystems can also suffer health effects. In some extreme cases reproductive failure or defects in animal birth. In addition, it increases the chance for toxins to enter the waterways during rainfalls, resulting in damage to water ecosystems.
  
  
• Water pollution – Our creeks, rivers, lakes, dams and oceans are filling up with litter, harmful chemicals, bacteria and other pollutants. Water is particularly vulnerable to pollution because it so good at dissolving other material. On top of this, most other forms of pollution (i.e. air and land) eventually make their way into water, with around 80% of water pollution coming from a land-based source. Major sources include agricultural runoff, which often contains fertilisers, pesticides and nutrients, and wastewater, such as sewage and stormwater runoff.
  
  Water pollution has a huge number of environmental, social and economic impacts, including serious consequences for human health. Every year, around one billion people become sick from drinking or swimming in water contaminated with bacteria and viruses. When pollutants enter waterways, they cause harm to all forms of aquatic life and can throw entire ecosystems out of balance. It can harm wildlife by causing the death of important organisms or the proliferation of invasive species. For example, an excess of nutrients flowing into waterways can cause toxic algal blooms and create dead zones where nothing can survive. Chemicals and heavy metals can poison animals and many others die from getting caught up in or eating marine debris. Rising acidity from dissolved carbon dioxide in our oceans is also impacting the survival of shellfish and coral.
  
  
• Land pollution – Land pollution is the contamination of soil and groundwater and is primarily caused by development activities, improper waste disposal, mining or runoff from industrial activities or unsustainable agriculture practices. When waste materials like heavy metals, pesticides, litter and other toxic chemicals are dumped on land, they slowly leach into our soils and degrade them over time. This can lead to a loss of fertile land and food shortages, harm to wildlife and habitat loss, and impacts to human health. Polluted land often also becomes drier, increasing the risk of bushfires. Pollutants can also leak into groundwater supplies. If groundwater is polluted, it can be unsafe to use for irrigation, industry or as drinking water.  Plant and animals that come into contact with pollution can suffer health risks. In addition, the people consuming these plants or animal products can also be at risk.
  
  
• Noise and light pollution – There is increasing evidence of the impact of noise and light pollution on ecosystems and human health. As our towns and cities become noisier and brighter, we are feeling more anxious, more depressed, and getting less sleep. For wildlife, especially nocturnal animals, excess noise and light can alter behaviour and affect their ability to rest, find food, reproduce, migrate and avoid predators. Artificial light threatens the survival of baby sea turtles by drawing them away from the safety of the ocean after they hatch on the beach. Migrating birds rely on natural light patterns and may start their journey too early or too late or be driven off course by the bright lights of cities, where many die from colliding with tall buildings. Deep water drilling, military sonar and noise from shipping can directly damage the ears of whales and dolphins, impacting their ability to hunt, navigate and communicate with each other, and even leading to mass strandings. For some birds, insects, and reptiles, it has been found that light pollution can alter their reproductive and developmental cycles which are regulated by natural light patterns, resulting in a threat to their survival.