It will take your breath away, literally.

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants in the form of chemical substances or energy such as noise, heat or light into the environment that causes adverse change. A lot of people think that pollution started because of the Industrial Revolution, but it started way before. In the ancient times, man used to light fires in the caves to cook food and this started polluting the environment. In fact, “soot” found on the ceilings of the caves is evidence of extreme levels of pollution. Though this was pollution caused by humans. There were natural causes also like volcanoes, forest fires, etc. Approximately after 1000 A.D., humans started using coal as fuel. It was used in forging metal and was the leading cause of pollution at the time. Then, during the Industrial Revolution, this problem turned into a worldwide crisis. In the 17^th century, the emergence of industries across the world seriously contaminated air and water and threatened human lives as well as wildlife. Due to air pollution, people started having respiratory problems, cardiovascular diseases, throat inflammation, chest pain, congestion, etc.  Noise pollution causes hearing loss, high blood pressure, stress, sleep disturbance, etc. Water pollution causes diarrhea, vomiting, skin diseases, respiratory problems, etc.

It was very important to spread awareness about pollution in the general public because the damage was so bad, that the government alone couldn’t clean the environment. Though, the government did make efforts that made some impact. In the 19^th century, the US government passed the Clean Air Act (1970) and the Clean Water Act (1972) for pollution control. Rules and regulations were included in these acts with regard to emissions of pollutants from automobiles, industries, factories, etc. These acts allow emission of pollutants but up to a certain limit. Whenever a company manufactures a product, it must not cross the limit to maintain pollution control. Many other efforts were made by many governments of the world, but the pollution was at such a large scale that could not reduce pollution substantially. Therefore, it was necessary to create awareness.

Organizations like United Nations Environment Program, Green Peace, Delhi Greens, etc. have made a lot of contributions in cleaning the environment and spreading awareness. Sir J.P. High School has also taken a small step to discuss pollution control. Its 16^th Annual Day is going to be celebrated on the 1^st of January, 2020. This Annual Day will have “Pollution” as their theme. The goal is to educate students about pollution control and how it could be achieved. We have used the “Best out of Waste” formula and created all the decorations by using recyclable materials. Of course, it would be injustice to disclose more details about the event, but the efforts made by the school are aiming to discuss the seriousness of the problem and the importance to save the environment now to have a safe future.

– Anukul Thete