Pollution

In the classroom, students were very excited because the teacher had promised to take them on a trip. All the students were waiting for the teacher.
“Good morning, class,” the teacher finally entered the class, and the wait ended.
“Why is Ali absent?” the teacher inquired after noticing the absence of a bright student.
“Dear teacher, Ali is sick. He has been suffering from a bad throat and burning eyes.” Ali’s neighbour told the teacher.
“That must be due to the smog. You all are well aware of the prevailing pollution condition in our country, aren’t you?” the teacher replied in a sad mood.
“What is pollution?” a student asked the teacher.
“Pollution is when something is added to the environment that is harmful or poisonous to the living things.” Moreover, she said, “There are three types of pollution: air pollution, land pollution, and water pollution, and Ali has gotten sick because of air pollution. Air pollution occurs when gases, dust, smoke, or odour get into the air and make it unclean. It’s unhealthy to animals, plants, and humans.”
“Does rainwater help in clearing all the pollution?” another student asked after a while.
“No,” she explained further, “sometimes, the air gets polluted due to volcanic eruptions, dust storms, wildfires, smoke from factories and power plants, vehicle chemicals, fumes from spray cans, and methane from landfills. When humans burn fossil fuels, a lot of gases are released into the air. It causes serious problems, like headache, dizziness, nasal agitation, lung diseases, burning eyes, and coughing,” the teacher exemplified to all students while walking them to the bus.
Suddenly, she saw a student throwing biscuit wrappers outside the window. She decided to use this opportunity to state a real-life example. So, she said, “Littering and tossing garbage or waste material on the ground is a form of land pollution. Litter from farms, homes, schools, and industries releases chemicals that harm the animals’ and plants’ habitats. They may even harm people who eat the contaminated plants and animals, which can later cause indigestion, diarrhoea, etc. Finally, disposal of hazardous, radioactive wastes incites lung cancer, heart diseases, and even brain damage.”
After reaching the destination, students went to the lakeside. There, they saw a lot of garbage and scrap.
“Now, this is water pollution,” the teacher said. “Dumping of industrial waste and garbage can make water polluted and undrinkable. For instance, factories dump a lot of waste, like oil and chemicals, into water bodies. Furthermore, water pollution is also caused by animal waste, pesticides, and construction debris. This polluted water often gets into the main water supply and affects many animals. Drinking polluted water can affect people’s lives by spreading water-borne diseases, such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio.”
“It means pollution is dangerous for living organisms, and we should control it,” another student added.
“Yes, we should take satisfactory steps to control pollution. For instance, we should use public transport or bicycles to cover short distances or, even better, walk to our destination. All these are ways to reduce air pollution. Next to it, always remember to carry paper bags rather than plastic bags to reduce land and water pollution.”