Source: IQAIR
Air Pollution needs no introduction today. In fact, one of the first topics primary school children study when they open their science books is "Air Pollution and its Effects." When we come to think of it, it is indeed sad that as time passes, we are leaving behind more and more environmental problems for our future generations, one of the most pressing of them being the issue of Air Pollution.
Now, Air Pollution happens to be a multi-faceted problem, branching into several different aspects. It is not possible to solve all or even some of the aspects related to Air Pollution with the same strategy. In this essay, we will be looking at two of the related aspects and potential strategies to resolve them: Air Pollution caused by the use of Fertilisers and air pollution caused by garbage burning. These problems and solutions are elaborated upon from the viewpoint of the situation in India
Air Pollution due to use of Fertilisers
In India, the Fertiliser industry is highly subsidised. This has been done since the time of the Green Revolution to facilitate the modernisation of agriculture. However, as recent studies have found, the Fertiliser subsidy has outlived its usefulness and is now benefiting the fertiliser industry more than the farmers. These factors, combined with the fact that the release of these chemicals in the air directly as well as after condensation of vapour with the contaminated particles causes air pollution, are proof that it is now time to rethink this policy. The government should take steps towards reducing and eventually stopping the subsidy to fertiliser industries. Instead, a more primitive form of fertiliser could be promoted. Instead of burning stubs, they can be mixed with the soil for this purpose. With the induction of cement houses in the rural areas, cow dung is losing its utility as cow dung cakes to be pasted on the outer walls. These, along with other kitchen biodegradable waste, can be converted into compost and used as fertiliser. This can be done on the farmers' fields itself after harvest season each year and would suffice along with a very small quantity of chemical fertilisers. This provides an effective way of biodegradable waste management, eco-friendly use of fertilisers, and not to mention, is an economic measure.
Burning of Garbage
One point of effective utilisation of biodegradable waste has already been elaborated above. The main point, though, deals with large-scale organisation and management of waste. The government should launch waste management strategies nationwide, starting from the metropolitan cities. Every locality (7-10 kilometres apart) should have a green and a red dustbin for biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste, respectively. This especially applies to public areas of gathering like concert halls, gardens, parks, cinema halls and restrooms along with streets. The responsibility is to be delegated to state governments and further to local governments. The waste should be either composted or recycled, depending upon its nature. Some punitive measures should also be put into action to de-incentivise people from burning garbage. Anyone found to be burning waste, intentionally mixing up biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste or littering should be heavily fined. At the same time, citizens should also be incentivised not to burn garbage. If a locality is able to keep itself clean for a certain time period of time with no or minimum mixup of garbage and no reported cases of waste burning for a certain period of time, say 6 months, all the residents receive certain "Cleanliness Points" that can later be redeemed as either tax benefits or ration benefits. This responsibility, again, can be distributed to the lower tiers of government for effective management. The same measures might also be applied while encouraging citizens to adopt eco-friendly energy.
These measures, coupled with awareness campaigns, would in time potentially help reduce air pollution, at least when it comes to the two aspects elaborated above.
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