Cause of Pollution

The humanity had known pollution, to some extent or another, at least since the times the fire had been invented.

But it was only with the onset of the industrial revolution in the 19th century that people realized the seriousness of the pollution problem and its often devastating effects.

In the last 200 years or so there appeared several fundamental trends which became the major forces behind the surge in levels of air, water & land pollution throughout the globe.

Industrialization is the first fundamental cause of pollution. Among other things, industrialization set in motion the widespread use of fossil fuels (oil, gas & coal) which are now the main sources of pollution.

Population growth is the second fundamental pollution cause. With population numbers literally exploding around the world, the demand for food and other goods goes up. This demand is met by expanded production and use of natural resources, which in turn leads to higher levels of pollution.

Globalization is another major cause of pollution. Globalization has become an effective facilitator of environmental degradation. Developing countries usually have much looser laws on environmental protection. With this “benefit” as well as the population growth and easy availability of cheap labor, big industry prefers to move its facilities to such “pollution havens” rather than work in more regulated markets.

So we won’t be wrong if we consider industrialization, population growth and globalization the fundamental drivers of pollution, the very roots of the gigantic pollution tree.