Pollution and Ecosystems

Pollution and Ecosystems

Pollution is the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects. Among the planet is a natural habitat which is the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism. Local pollution and habitat affects the planet and its ecosystem. Ecosystem is a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

In class we talked about the earth's ecosystem and habitat, and pollution that we experience. An interesting point that was made was that extinction is not a bad thing in every case (helps with diversity). This is similar to how controlled burns help with invasive species and sort of "resetting" a natural habitat. When talking about pollution, the presenting group handed out common household products that create pollution and used these as examples. The group covered bioaccumulation of pollutants which was interesting. That is when cells and therefore entire food chains slowly build up pollutants in their biological systems, eventually moving all the way up the food chain affecting everything. 

The presentations on pollution were really eye-opening.  I knew that pollution was a big deal, but I was unaware that practically everything in my daily life causes some form of pollution.  I think that pollution is tied directly to what the first group presented on: population.  There are simply too many people who produce too much waste for there to be an efficient and convenient way to dispose of it all.  I have learned in my short life so far that humans especially Americans are lazy.  As a species we always try to find the easy way out and that goes for waste disposal too.  We need a cultural change that will help promote that the little extra work it takes to safely dispose of waste and byproducts will have a vast difference on whether or not our species will continue to be able to survive on this planet.

I really enjoyed learning about population and ecosystems in this weeks class. Each presentation approached the differences and affects on the different ecosystems and how everyday  items and habits affect it. Understanding pollution and its affect on our planet helps me understand what I can do to thrive and sustain the future.

Being able to notice what small changes we can do as a whole with household items, habits and lifestyle changes can make a huge difference over time. I have begun to use a wash rag instead of paper towels to clean my sink as well as shower with my significant other to conserve water as well as the water bill. Also being able to start using healthy household items such as DIY sprays/scents and cleaners to protect my furniture as well as what I have been inhaling on my own. I will not be protecting the environment from pollution but my body some inhaling toxins.