POLLUTED ENVIRONMENT

1.Intro
Good morning everyone, we are students of Nha Trang University, and our major is the English
Language. Today we are honored to share our thoughts on a very urgent topic concerning people in
the whole world and Vietnam, which is environmental pollution.
The reason we have chosen this topic is that, as we have experienced in recent years, the proportion
of natural disasters that have occurred is dense and unpredictable across the planet. Particularly
such as widespread flooding has been taking place in Australia, the tsunami in the Pacific islands,
global warming, the Covid-19 pandemic, and other deadly diseases occurred consecutively.
Vietnam is no exception when our country has just suffered from typhoon Noru, a storm that was
rated as the strongest storm in the past 20 years, which has severely damaged property and people.
Hence, why these things are related to environmental pollution, let's find out with our lovely team
members.

2. What is environmental pollution?

According to Jerry A. Nathanson, Professor of Engineering, Union County College, Cranford, New
Jersey, environmental pollution is the addition of any substance (such as solid, liquid, or gas), or
any form of energy (such as heat, sound, radioactivity) to the environment at a rate faster than it can
be dispersed, diluted, decomposed, recycled, or stored in some harmless form.
The major kinds of pollution are air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution. Besides, modern
society is also concerned about other types of pollutants, such as noise pollution, light pollution, and
plastic pollution.
Pollution of all kinds can have negative effects on the environment, wildlife, human health, and
well-being. With the establishment of permanent settlements by great numbers of people, environ-
mental pollution became a serious problem.

3. Causes of environmental pollution

There are some reasons for environmental pollution. The first reason is the indiscriminate littering
of land and water surface, releasing toxic emissions into the atmosphere. Many companies and busi-
nesses discharge waste and polluted water into lakes, rivers, and streams, causing water pollution.
Such impurities are a serious threat to the existence of mankind.
Second, environmental pollution may be caused by human activities such as the burning of indus-
trial raw materials, firewood, coal, oil, and gas. Many industries have come up owing to rapid ur-
banization. Furthermore, there is an ever-increasing demand for petrol and diesel for running vari-
ous means of transport. As a result, a heavy amount of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, sulfur diox-
ide, and many more gases are polluting the air. 
Thirdly, the excessive use of pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides in agriculture also affects signifi-
cantly the entire ecosystem and human health.
Fourth, the major threat to humanity comes from the development of nuclear sciences. Radioactive
substances are also the cause of environmental pollution, they are created by nuclear explosions,
wars, and natural activities such as the radioactive decay of radon.
Finally, Environmental pollution is also caused by a number of natural activities such as volcanoes
and floods.

4. Harmful effects of environmental pollution

Pollution causes a lot of harm that not only animals but also humans are directly affected. With hu-
man health, environmental pollution indirectly causes dangerous diseases when they eat, drink, or
use contaminated water. Organisms that die due to heavy lead cause food poisoning, which has in-
creased the incidence of incurable diseases, especially in Vietnam, which is currently the second
country in the world that has the high rate of people suffering from cancer. The increasing impact of
environmental pollution in the world has caused the greenhouse effect causing ozone depletion. As
a result, sunlight contains many harmful pigments that strongly affect human health such as ultravi-
olet rays, UV causes skin cancer,...
Moreover, these phenomena are signs of ecological imbalance, increasing the earth's temperature,
which is the main cause of current natural disasters such as forest fires and floods. In addition, pol-
lution cause people to lack living water, arable land, and even pure air to breathe. Since then, new
diseases from crops and livestock appeared and taken many human lives, especially the Covid-19
pandemic that took place and coexisted with human life from 2019 until now.
With social psychology, this phenomenon is causing confusion and worry for people, harming the
economy when they develop serious illnesses and making treatment costs extremely high, affecting
the quality of life and their work.

5. The solution
Through the harmful effects of environmental pollution, this has alerted us – human beings living
on earth. We need to work together to protect the environment. As residents, we need to protect the
environment from the smallest actions such as garbage classification, and garbage collection in the
right place.
For factories and industrial parks, there should be an appropriate direction for wastewater and ex-
haust treatment. For the authorities, when detecting any violation or causing environmental damage,
it is necessary to strictly sanction. In addition, we need to actively plant more trees.
It is the responsibility of every individual to save our planet from these environmental contamina-
tion agents. If preventive measures are not taken then our future generation will have to face major
repercussions. The government is also taking steps to create public awareness. Every individual
should be involved in helping to reduce and control pollution.

6. Action/ conclusion
Here are some simple ways each member of our team does every day that can help the environment
and motivate others to be more environmentally aware. Firstly, replace disposable items with reus-
able ones, for example, bring your own reusable cup or water bottle, supplies, and containers, reus-
able bags.
Second, limit paper use for example print as little as possible; if you must print on both sides, stop
using paper towels and incorporate washable fabrics.
Third, save water and electricity for example turn off the sink when brushing your teeth, and turn
off anything that uses electricity when not in use (lights, televisions, computers, printers, etc.); Un-
plug appliances when possible; even if the device is turned off, it can still use electricity; Consider
signing up for a renewable energy producer that uses 100% renewable energy to power homes.
Fourth, support local & eco-friendly by start buying locally to reduce plastic and paper waste, in-
crease cost efficiency, help support your neighbors, and build the local economy.
Finally, recycle as confirm that you are using the appropriate segregation containers for your house-
hold according to your local recycling services. Educate yourself about what can and can't be recy-
cled, as not all plastic and cardboard are acceptable (e.g. pizza boxes, due to grease); Learn how to
identify and dispose of hazardous waste properly.
Each person contributes a little effort but it is enough to improve the current environmental
situation. From there we will have a healthier and cleaner living environment. TOGETHER
WE CAN MAKE IT.