CONTENT

No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Appreciation Question Article 1 Article 2 Article 3 Appendices Bibliography

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ARTICLE 1

Pollution faced in Malaysia

Land pollution : Agriculture still plays a very important role in the development of Malaysia and a lot of emphasis has been laid on it. Too much perhaps, the wildlife that thrives so abundantly among us has been placed in danger. In Cameron Highlands, in the state of Pahang, one of the many places where vegetables as well as tea which it is famous for, is planted, human activity has taken its toll on the fragile environment. Large scale farming has caused thousands of acres of forest land to be ploughed up and the habitat of thousands, maybe even millions of wildlife has been destroyed. Many wildlife flee or migrate to escape the dangers and activities of man. Unknown to them, they cause an imbalance in their ecosystem, making some areas too densely populated with predators and not enough food to go around. Pesticides used in agriculture also plays a main role in the degradation of the environment. Many of these pesticides contain non biological ingredients and can cause abnormal changes in any wildlife that comes across it. In other words, these chemicals can cause wildlife to mutate. Not only insects to which the pesticides are aimed towards are affected, but also the animals which feed on them and they can eventually end up in human bodies. Pesticides pollute the earth, making it useless as well as poisonous after all the nutrients have been sapped out from it. Thus the land may lay barren and empty for years before it is able to recover its normal pH level and nutrients. Pesticides also flow into the rivers and streams and eventually seas, causing pollution as it continues its seaward journey. Pesticides, if used at a minimal amount, is harmless and even helps in the production of agriculture by eliminating unwanted pests. But pests soon build up a defense system and are eventually immune to the effects of the pesticides and become very hard to get rid off. So, farmers have no choice but to increase in the amount of pesticides. The effects are unimaginable. Logging too has made its mark in the degradation of nature. ( I bet you already know the effects, guys. So needless for me to say anymore!) Malaysia is forced to become a dumping site to the millions of tons of rubbish thrown every week due to her sharp increase in the population. This has become a major headache to everyone in the country.

Air pollution: Malaysia has risen to the industrial age, not wanting to be left behind in the dark ages anymore, but at the cost of the environment. Many industrial zones have been approved by the government to be set up in mostly forestland and uninhabited areas. One very good example of the industrial zone is of Shah Alam in the state of Selangor. As a result, trees has been cut down to accommodate towards the building of large industrial factories. Not only has the oxygen supply been decreased, these factories are spewing out poisonous gases in the course of its production. Naturally, people would flock to industrial zones such as Shah Alam because of the high pay and high opportunity of jobs involved. Shah Alam is now one of the most densely populated areas as well as one of the most highly polluted areas in the country, and yet it is not the only one. One can imagine the amount of people who will be affected by the long side effects of the pollution from the gases. The increasing amount of cars in Malaysia also has lent a hand in the pollution. Excess poisonous gases and heat are emitted daily (you should know the rest). Open air burning, despite it being banned by law, has not been heeded by the people of Malaysia. Burning is also the only way right now to get rid of the excess rubbish. Smoke and heat is released.

Water pollution: As Malaysia is fast becoming an industrial country, many of her rivers have become polluted due to the many wastes that have been poured out into her rivers. Such as the paper making industry, it requires chemicals, often poisonous in its production. The rivers are used as an outlet for the chemicals to drain away, in turn harming the waters and the lives that revolve around them. There are many ethnic aboriginal groups that still exist in Malaysia and the people depend on the rivers and streams to survive. They depend on the river for food, water supply for drinking, bathing and for their crops. the river happens to be the main centre of their livelihood and without the rivers the whole tribes cannot survive as their ancestors had done generations before them, all of them depending on the rivers. The rivers have become a tourist attraction and this has prompted the construction of hotels and resorts around the area. As a result, many of the forests surrounding the river areas have been chopped down. The surrounding soil have no roots to hold on to and soon erode when the rains come. The soil runs into the rivers and soon the rivers become murky and shut out all the sunlight from reaching the aquatic life in the rivers and streams. This causes them to die. A good example is the construction of a new golf course near the waterfall at tourist attraction Frasers Hill in the state of Pahang, causing it to become extremely murky and dirty due to the
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silt and sand that comes from the construction. The waterfall which has been the centrepoint of the hill has now lost all its attraction just because of the overwhelming need to attract more tourists to the place by building more facilities. Main Pain: Another example of the tourist industry in being the cause of pollution is the water area. At Chini Lake (Tasik Chini), just so that 'eco-tourists' don't have to get their feet wet, the Government built a dam at the river draining Pahang's Tasik Chini. But now the dam has drowned thousands of trees surrounding the lake, threatening fisheries as well. In a cautionary tale of the times, Andrew Sia who won the ICI-CCM Environmental Journalism Award (Honourable Mention) for his 1994 story, Damming the Lotus Lake, revisits Tasik Chini to seek out the real picture behind the ostensible 'tourist pampering' rationale of the dam.

ARTICLE 2

POLLUTION

One of the most serious problems facing the world today is pollution, which is the contamination of air, land and water by all kinds of chemicals such as poisonous gases, waste materials and insecticides. Pollution has upset the balance of nature, destroyed many forms of wildlife and caused a variety of illnesses. It occurs in every country on earth but is most prominent in industrial countries.

Breathing polluted air is very common to most people, especially those living in cities. In heavily industrialised areas, fumes from car exhausts and thick smoke from factory chimneys can be seen darkening the atmosphere. This reduces visibility and makes the air unpleasant to breathe. Large scale burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, gas and oil, in homes and industries also produces a wide range of pollutants. This includes sulphur dioxide, which damages plants, destroys buildings and affects health. Other known pollutants are carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and dirt particles. The fumes produced by car exhausts and factories would normally disperse in the air, but sometimes they are trapped by air layers of different temperatures. The result is a foglike haze known as smog. Britian and some other countries introduced smokeless zones and smokeless fuels some years ago and smog no longer occurs, but still remains a very real problem in Japan and the United States.

The motorcar is a major source of pollution. In densely populated cities where there are millions of car on the roads, the level of carbon monoxide in air is dangerously high. On windless days, the fumes settle near ground level. Fumes from car exhausts also pour out lead and nitrogen oxide.

The testing of nuclear weapons, and the use of atomic energy for experimental purposes in peaceful times, have exposed some people to levels of radiation that are too high for safety. Crop spraying by aircraft also adds chemical poisons to the air.
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Domestic rubbish is another very serious pollution problem. The average American citizen throws away nearly one tone of rubbish every year. Much of this consists of plastic, metal and glass packaging that cannot be broken down naturally. Instead it lies with old refrigerators, broken washing machines and abandoned cars in huge piles for years without decaying. Each year the problem of rubbish disposal becomes more serious.

Sewage causes another form of pollution. Most of it flows straight into rivers, where it is broken down by tiny bacteria. The bacteria need oxygen for this process, but water, causing the death of countless fish and other river life. Rivers provide a very convenient outlet for industrial waste, as well as being a source of water for colling in nuclear and other power plants.

Like rivers, oceans have been used as dumping grounds for waste of all kinds. One of the recent sources of sea pollution is oil and millions of tones of it spill into the sea each year. Oil not only pollutes beaches, it also kills fish and seabirds.

ARTICLE 3

Pollution
Pollution is the addition to the ecosystem of something, which has a detrimental effect on it. One of the most important causes of pollution is the high rate of energy usage by modern, growing populations. Different kinds of pollution are found. In this section, we will discuss about air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution.

Air Pollution
Air pollution is the accumulation in the atmosphere of substances that, in sufficient concentrations, endanger human health or produce other measured effects on living matter and other materials. Among the major sources of pollution are power and heat generation, the burning of solid wastes, industrial processes, and, especially, transportation. The six major types of pollutants are carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, particulates, sulfur dioxide, and photochemical oxidants. Examples of Air Pollution

Noise Pollution Noise pollution or unwanted sounds that are carried by the air have an irritating and detrimental effect on humans and other animals. Careful planning of streets and buildings in towns and better control over noisy vehicles may add to the control of noise pollution.

Tobacco Smoke Tobacco smoke is one of the major forms of pollution in buildings. It is not only the smoker who is infected, but also everyone who inhales the polluted air. There is a very strong connection between smoking and lung cancer. Bronchitis is common among smokers and unborn babies of mothers who smoke also suffer from the harmful effects of smoking.

Exhaust Gases of Vehicles Pollution from exhaust gases of vehicles is responsible for 60% of all air pollution and in cities up to 80%. There is a large variety of harmful chemicals present in these gases, with lead being one of the most dangerous. Combustion of Coal

The combustion of coal without special precautions can have serious consequences. If winds do not blow away the poisonous gases, they can have fatal effects and may lead to death.

Acid rain Acid rain is the term for pollution caused when sulfur and nitrogen dioxides combine with atmospheric moisture to produce highly acidic rain, snow, hail, or fog. The acid eats into the stone, brick and metal articles and pollutes water sources. Coal in South Africa is rich in sulphur and the power stations in the Mpumalanga Province could be responsible for acid rain over other areas of our country.

Control Measures

Although individual people can help to combat air pollution in their own immediate environment, efficient control can be best achieved by legislation. Some commonly enforced control measures include

the establishment of more smokeless zones; Control over the kinds of fuel used in cars, aeroplanes, power stations, etc.

Water Pollution
Water pollution is the introduction into fresh or ocean waters of chemical, physical, or biological material that degrades the quality of the water and affects the organisms living in it. This process ranges from simple addition of dissolved or suspended solids to discharge of the most insidious and persistent toxic pollutants (such as pesticides, heavy metals, and nondegradable, bioaccumulative, chemical compounds). Examples of Water Pollution

Industrial affluents Water is discharged from after having been used in production processes. This wastewater may contain acids, alkalis, salts, poisons, oils and in some cases harmful bacteria.

Mining and Agricultural Wastes

Mines, especially gold and coal mines, are responsible for large quatities of acid water. Agricultural pesticides, fertilisers and herbicides may wash into rivers and stagnant water bodies.

Sewage Disposal and Domestic Wastes Sewage as well as domestic and farm wastes were often allowed to pollute rivers and dams.

Control Measures The following measures can be used to stop water pollution:

every intelligent people should be wise enough not to pollute water in any way; by research and legislation the pollution of water bodies, even though not entirely prevented, must be effectively controlled.

Land Pollution Land pollution is the degradation of the Earth's land surface through misuse of the soil by poor agricultural practices, mineral exploitation, industrial waste dumping, and indiscriminate disposal of urban wastes. It includes visible waste and litter as well as pollution of the soil itself. Examples of Land Pollution Soil Pollution Soil pollution is mainly due to chemicals in herbicides (weed killers) and pesticides (poisons which kill insects and other invertebrate pests). Litter is waste material dumped in public places such as streets, parks, picnic areas, at bus stops and near shops. Waste Disposal The accumulation of waste threatens the health of people in residential areas. Waste decays, encourages household pests and turns urban areas into unsightly, dirty and unhealthy places to live in. Control Measures The following measures can be used to control land pollution:

anti-litter campaigns can educate people against littering; organic waste can be dumped in places far from residential areas; inorganic materials such as metals, glass and plastic, but also paper, can be reclaimed and recycled.

APPENDICES Land Pollution

Land pollution is basically about the contamination of the land surface and soil of the Earth. Read more about it here.

Land pollution basically is about contaminating the land surface of the Earth through dumping urban waste matter indiscriminately, dumping of industrial waste, mineral exploitation, and misusing the soil by harmful agricultural practices. Land pollution includes visible litter and waste along with the soil itself being polluted. The soil gets polluted by the chemicals in pesticides and herbicides used for agricultural purposes along with waste matter being littered in urban areas such as roads, parks, and streets. Land Pollution Comprises Of: Solid Waste and Soil Pollution Solid Waste: Semisolid or solid matter that are created by human or animal activities, and which are disposed because they are hazardous or useless are known as solid waste. Most of the solid wastes, like paper, plastic containers, bottles, cans, and even used cars and electronic goods are not biodegradable, which means they do not get broken down through inorganic or organic processes. Thus, when they accumulate they pose a health threat to people, plus, decaying wastes also attract household pests and result in urban areas becoming unhealthy, dirty, and unsightly places to reside in. Moreover, it also causes damage to terrestrial organisms, while also reducing the uses of the land for other, more useful purposes. Some of the sources of solid waste that cause land pollution are: Wastes from Agriculture: This comprises of waste matter produced by crop, animal manure, and farm residues. Wastes from Mining: Piles of coal refuse and heaps of slag. Wastes from Industries: Industrial waste matter that can cause land pollution can include paints, chemicals, and so on.
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Solids from Sewage Treatment: Wastes that are left over after sewage has been treated, biomass sludge, and settled solids. Ashes: The residual matter that remains after solid fuels are burned. Garbage: This comprises of waste matter from food that are decomposable and other waste matter that are not decomposable such as glass, metal, cloth, plastic, wood, paper, and so on. Soil Pollution: Soil pollution is chiefly caused by chemicals in pesticides, such as poisons that are used to kill agricultural pests like insects and herbicides that are used to get rid of weeds. Hence, soil pollution results from:

Unhealthy methods of soil management. Harmful practices of irrigation methods.

Land pollution is caused by farms because they allow manure to collect, which leaches into the nearby land areas. Chemicals that are used for purposes like sheep dipping also cause serious land pollution as do diesel oil spillages. What are the Consequences of Land Pollution? Land pollution can affect wildlife, plants, and humans in a number of ways, such as:

Cause problems in the respiratory system Cause problems on the skin Lead to birth defects Cause various kinds of cancers

The toxic materials that pollute the soil can get into the human body directly by:

Coming into contact with the skin Being washed into water sources like reservoirs and rivers Eating fruits and vegetables that have been grown in polluted soil Breathing in polluted dust or particles

How can Land Pollution be Prevented?

People should be educated and made aware about the harmful effects of littering Items used for domestic purposes ought to be reused or recycled Personal litter should be disposed properly Organic waste matter should be disposed in areas that are far away from residential places Inorganic matter such as paper, plastic, glass and metals should be reclaimed and then recycled

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Air Pollution

Comes From Many Sources

Photograph by Peter Essick Smog hanging over cities is the most familiar and obvious form of air pollution. But there are different kinds of pollutionsome visible, some invisiblethat contribute to global warming. Generally any substance that people introduce into the atmosphere that has damaging effects on living things and the environment is considered air pollution. Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is the main pollutant that is warming Earth. Though living things emit carbon dioxide when they breathe, carbon dioxide is widely considered to be a pollutant when associated with cars, planes, power plants, and other human activities that involve the burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline and natural gas. In the past 150 years, such activities have pumped enough carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to raise its levels higher than they have been for hundreds of thousands of years. Other greenhouse gases include methanewhich comes from such sources as swamps and gas emitted by livestockand chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were used in refrigerants and aerosol propellants until they were banned because of their deteriorating effect on Earth's ozone layer. Another pollutant associated with climate change is sulfur dioxide, a component of smog. Sulfur dioxide and closely related chemicals are known primarily as a cause of acid rain. But they also reflect light when released in the atmosphere, which keeps sunlight out and causes Earth to cool. Volcanic eruptions can spew massive amounts of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, sometimes causing cooling that lasts for years. In fact, volcanoes used to be the main source of atmospheric sulfur dioxide; today people are.

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Industrialized countries have worked to reduce levels of sulfur dioxide, smog, and smoke in order to improve people's health. But a result, not predicted until recently, is that the lower sulfur dioxide levels may actually make global warming worse. Just as sulfur dioxide from volcanoes can cool the planet by blocking sunlight, cutting the amount of the compound in the atmosphere lets more sunlight through, warming the Earth. This effect is exaggerated when elevated levels of other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap the additional heat. Most people agree that to curb global warming, a variety of measures need to be taken. On a personal level, driving and flying less, recycling, and conservation reduces a persons "carbon footprint"the amount of carbon dioxide a person is responsible for putting into the atmosphere. On a larger scale, governments are taking measures to limit emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. One way is through the Kyoto Protocol, an agreement between countries that they will cut back on carbon dioxide emissions. Another method is to put taxes on carbon emissions or higher taxes on gasoline, so that people and companies will have greater incentives to conserve energy and pollute less.

Water Pollution Water pollution occurs when a body of water is adversely affected due to the addition of large amounts of materials to the water. The sources of water pollution are categorized as being a point source or a non-source point of pollution. Point sources of pollution occur when the polluting substance is emitted directly into the waterway. A pipe spewing toxic chemicals directly into a river is an example. A non-point source occurs when there is runoff of pollutants into a waterway, for instance when fertilizer from a field is carried into a stream by surface runoff.

Types of Water Pollution Toxic Substance -- A toxic substance is a chemical pollutant that is not a naturally occurring substance in aquatic ecosystems. The greatest contributors to toxic pollution are herbicides, pesticides and industrial compounds. Organic Substance -- Organic pollution occurs when an excess of organic matter, such as manure or sewage, enters the water. When organic matter increases in a pond, the number of decomposers will increase. These decomposers grow rapidly and use a great deal of oxygen during their growth. This leads to a depletion of oxygen as the decomposition process occurs. A lack of oxygen can kill aquatic organisms. As the aquatic organisms die, they are broken down by decomposers which leads to further depletion of the oxygen levels. A type of organic pollution can occur when inorganic pollutants such as nitrogen and phosphates accumulate in aquatic ecosystems. High levels of these nutrients cause an overgrowth of plants and algae. As the plants and algae die, they become organic material in
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the water. The enormous decay of this plant matter, in turn, lowers the oxygen level. The process of rapid plant growth followed by increased activity by decomposers and a depletion of the oxygen level is called eutrophication. Thermal Pollution -- Thermal pollution can occur when water is used as a coolant near a power or industrial plant and then is returned to the aquatic environment at a higher temperature than it was originally. Thermal pollution can lead to a decrease in the dissolved oxygen level in the water while also increasing the biological demand of aquatic organisms for oxygen. Ecological Pollution -- Ecological pollution takes place when chemical pollution, organic pollution or thermal pollution are caused by nature rather than by human activity. An example of ecological pollution would be an increased rate of siltation of a waterway after a landslide which would increase the amount of sediments in runoff water. Another example would be when a large animal, such as a deer, drowns in a flood and a large amount of organic material is added to the water as a result. Major geological events such as a volcano eruption might also be sources of ecological pollution. Specific Sources of Water Pollution Farming:

Farms often use large amounts of herbicides and pesticides, both of which are toxic pollutants. These substances are particularly dangerous to life in rivers, streams and lakes, where toxic substances can build up over a period of time. Farms also frequently use large amounts of chemical fertilizers that are washed into the waterways and damage the water supply and the life within it. Fertilizers can increase the amounts of nitrates and phosphates in the water, which can lead to the process of eutrophication. Allowing livestock to graze near water sources often results in organic waste products being washed into the waterways. This sudden introduction of organic material increaces the amount of nitrogen in the water, and can also lead to eutrophication. Four hundred million tons of soil are carried by the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico each year. A great deal of this siltation is due to runoff from the exposed soil of agricultural fields. Excessive amounts of sediment in waterways can block sunlight, preventing aquatic plants from photosynthesizing, and can suffocate fish by clogging their gills.

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Business:

Clearing of land can lead to erosion of soil into the river. Waste and sewage generated by industry can get into the water supply, introducing large organic pollutants into the ecosystem. Many industrial and power plants use rivers, streams and lakes to despose of waste heat. The resulting hot water can cause thermal pollution. Thermal pollution can have a disasterous effect on life in an aquatic ecosystem as temperature increaces decreace the amount of oxygen in the water, thereby reducing the number of animals that can survive there. Water can become contaminated with toxic or radioactive materials from industry, mine sites and abandoned hazardous waste sites. Acid precipitation is caused when the burning of fossil fuels emits sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. The sulfur dioxide reacts with the water in the atmosphere, creating rainfall which contains sulfuric acid. As acid precipitation falls into lakes, streams and ponds it can lower the overall pH of the waterway, killing vital plant life, thereby affecting the whole food chain. It can also leach heavy metals from the soil into the water, killing fish and other aquatic organisms. Because of this, air pollution is potentially one of the most threatening forms of pollution to aquatic ecosystems.

Homes:

Sewage generated by houses or runoff from septic tanks into nearby waterways, introduce organic pollutants that can cause eutrophication. Fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides used for lawn care can runoff and contaminate the waterway. As with agriculteral fertilizers, home fertilizers can lead to the eutrophication of lakes and rivers. Improper disposal of hazardous chemicals down the drain itroduce toxic materials into to the ecosystem, contaminating the water supplies in a way that can harm aquatic organisms. Leaks of oil and antifreeze from a car on a driveway can be washed off by the rain into nearby waterways, polluting it.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abraham Sung.(2006).330 English Essays.Batu Caves:Minerva Publication(N.S.) Sdn.Bhd. J.C.Lim. Vital Muet Coursebook, Pustaka Sarjana Sdn Bhd, 2006. Portal Pendidikan Utusan. 2010. http://library.thinkquest.org/11353/gather/malaysia.htm http://www.botany.uwc.ac.za/sci_ed/grade10/ecology/conservation/poll.htmhttp:// http://www.buzzle.com/articles/land-pollution.html http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/globalwarming/pollution-overview/ http://www.mbgnet.net/fresh/pollute.htm

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