1. Industries: Industries have been polluting our environment especially since the beginning of the industrial revolution, as mentioned above, notably due to the increasing use of fossil fuels. In the 19th century and for a significant part of the 20th century, coal has been used to make machines work faster, replacing human force. Though pollution by industries mainly causes air pollution, soil and water contamination can also occur. This is particularly the case for power-generating industries, such as plants producing electricity (May they be a dam, a nuclear reactor or some other type of plant).
Also, the transportation of this energy can be harmful to the environment. We can take as an example of the transportation of petrol through pipelines; if there is a leak in the pipeline, the soil will automatically be polluted. At the same time, if the tanker transporting petrol from its production plant to the place where it will be consumed leaks or sinks, the water will get contaminated.
2. Transportation: Ever since men abandoned animal power to travel, pollution of the environment has become higher and higher. Its levels have only been increasing until now. Similarly to industries, pollution caused by transport can mainly be attributed to fossil fuels. Indeed, humans went from horse carriages to cars, trains (which, before electricity, used to be propelled by coal), and airplanes. As traffic is increasing every day, pollution follows that evolution.
3. Agricultural Activities: Agriculture is mainly responsible for the contamination of water and soil. This is caused by the increased use of pesticides, as well as by the intensive character of its production. Almost all pesticides are made from chemical substances and are meant to keep diseases and threatening animals away from the crops. However, by keeping these forms of life away, the harm is almost always made to the surrounding environment as well.
Furthermore, as agriculture gets more and more intensive to feed the increasing world population, more environments and ecosystems are destroyed to make space for the crops. Some of them, like rapeseed –used to make oil – demand a lot of space for a relatively small output.
4. Trading Activities: Trading activities including the production and exchange of goods and services. Concerning goods, pollution can be caused by packaging (which often involves the use of plastic, which is made from fossil fuels) or transport, mainly.
5. Residences: Finally, residential areas provide their fair share of pollution as well. First, to be able to build homes, the natural environment has to be destroyed in one way or another. Wildlife and plants are driven away and replaced by human constructions. As it requires the work of industries, construction itself is also a source of contamination of the environment. Then, when people settle in, they will produce waste every day, including a part that cannot be processed by the environment without harm yet.
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