Krishna Prasad Sapkota
Now the world is standing at such a stage, from where there is a danger of extinction of many existences. Before the devastating fires that spread widely in Australia could not be properly extinguished, the world was affected by the epidemic of the noble corona virus, i.e., Covid-19. Viruses such as An epidemic struck, which have not been fully controlled so far and are now widely spread in various countries, are facing challenges.
Along with this challenge, there was a very long drought in various countries of Europe. As soon as the drought was over, there was a huge loss of wealth due to excessive rain. Why did such challenges arise? To find the answer to this question, we must understand the health condition of the big house that we live in, that is, the earth.
The number of planets, satellites and stars made of stone and soil like Earth is so large that even scientists have not been able to calculate it yet. But there is life only on earth, there is no life on other planets. Why is there life on earth? Why is there no life on other planets? Because the environment necessary for life is on Earth, not on other planets.
The environment necessary for life is balanced atmosphere, heat, light, gravity etc. If the balance of the atmosphere is disturbed, the balance of heat is disturbed, the balance of light and gravity is disturbed, then life is not possible on earth.
In fact, the earth is like a living body. Earth is the shelter and guardian planet of innumerable creatures. Just as diseased animals cannot take care of their offspring, in the same way, if the earth becomes sick, it cannot provide shelter and care for the animals. If the environment is good, the health of the earth will also be good, if the environment deteriorates, the health of the earth will also deteriorate.
As a disease attacks the body of an organism, the temperature rises as a symptom, which is called fever. The same rule applies to Earth. Even on Earth, the symptoms of temperature rise appear along with the deterioration of the atmosphere. In the last few years, the earth has shown this symptom.
According to scientific studies, the average temperature of the atmosphere around 1850 before the start of the industrial revolution was 14 degrees Celsius, now it has reached 15.1 degrees. That is, the average temperature of the entire atmosphere has increased by 1.1 degrees. At first glance, it may seem like 1.1 degrees, but this is a big change. Because 37 degrees Celsius is the temperature of the human body, but with an increase of 1 degree to reach 38, people feel very uncomfortable.
With an increase in body temperature by one degree Celsius, the whole life of a person is destroyed. The same is true for the earth. The average temperature has increased by 1.1 degrees due to the increase in heat energy in the atmosphere. If the temperature of the earth rises only 1 degree Celsius, how much will the sea level rise? How much does the height of the snow line increase? How much does the oxygen supply decrease? What is the increase in harmful gas? The answers to the questions and others are very interesting.
Gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and steam, which have greenhouse properties in the atmosphere, allow light and heat (power, energy) from the sun to penetrate to the earth, but block some of the radiation that goes back. Moving from one place to another through various processes, this energy changes from one form to another. In this process, the elements needed for many life in the water, land and atmosphere are available. The heat is stored in the ground, air and water and the warmth needed for life is reached and a living environment is prepared. Countless streams of life are running on the earth from those elements and powers.
This system has been running in balance for millions of years. However, in recent times, due to humans, this balanced system has reached the point of being disturbed. Earth is facing crisis due to temperature increase. Due to the added greenhouse gases, the heat coming from the sun to the earth cannot go out of the earth in a balanced amount. That extra heat power (energy) is circulating in the water, land and air.
No matter how many seasonal problems have increased, it can be said that all of them are a game of this power. According to a statistic, 24 percent of deaths from heart disease and 25 percent of deaths from heart attacks are caused by air pollution and 13 people die every minute due to pollution.
How is the balance of the environment disturbed?
There are many reasons for environmental imbalance. The environment is being polluted for different reasons according to different countries, times and conditions. But there are many common causes of environmental pollution. Excessive population growth, lack of environmental education, lack of public awareness, unorganized industrialization and increasing urbanization, destruction of forests, excessive use of pesticides and medicines, unscientific agricultural system, nuclear weapons competition, etc. are the reasons.
Other factors of environmental pollution are waste disposal or non-management, increased use of plastics and burning of plastic products, use of old vehicles, destruction of forests, lack of environmental education and lack of public awareness, etc. The use of fossil fuels like coal, diesel, petrol increases the temperature of the earth.
Ban forest is very important to keep the temperature balanced. Deforestation, over-exploiting farming methods, unorganized settlement expansion increase the greenhouse gas emissions. These gases have the ability to absorb and store heat. They absorb or absorb unnecessary heat from the earth. Due to more stored heat energy, the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere, water and land has increased, causing climate change due to the global warming process.
The problems arising from environmental pollution are mainly destruction of ozone layer, increase in global temperature, increase in greenhouse effect, floods, landslides, lack of rain, excessive rain, drought, drought and erosion, acid rain, decline in biological diversity, decline in agricultural production. , human health problems etc. There are problems caused by environmental pollution. Air pollution, water pollution, land pollution, sound pollution, and chemical pollution are also considered as its problems and causes.
Scientists estimate that if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the current rate, the average temperature of the earth in the year 2100 may increase by two degrees compared to the year 1850. As the average temperature increases by one degree, we have already started to experience increasing droughts, big storms and heavy rains in this decade. If the temperature rises above two degrees, the climate everywhere will be more unstable than today. After the overall climate changes, its impact will be on the snow system, water sources, rivers, lakes, forests, vegetation, and all the creatures of the earth.
All the causes of environmental pollution are not the same in all countries, in all places. Some are more, some are less. But the use of plastic and plastic products is so widespread that perhaps no person is untouched. How does air pollution occur during the production of plastic and plastic products? After the use of produced plastic and plastic products, in what proportion the environment is polluted? The answer to that question is very interesting.
After refining petroleum products, diesel petrol is extracted, and the remaining material is processed and given the required shape and type to make plastic products. Polythene is manufactured by determining how much load it can bear, what color it gives and how many times it can be used.
Various forms of plastic are used in human life, including common electrical materials, various types of toys, utensils, umbrellas, shoes, slippers, clothes. Since it is safe from water and bacteria, easy and lightweight, plastic is used for various purposes from packaging of medicinal products.
Plastic has become the main factor affecting human health from water, land, animals, due to not being properly used and managed. In 2018, some cows died in Andhra Pradesh, India. During the treatment, 80 kg of plastic was removed from the stomach of a cow, but the cow did not survive. Even in Nepal, environmentalists say that there is an increased risk of animals eating plastic in urban areas. When plastic is burned, harmful gases such as carbon monoxide, dioxin, furan and benzene are released and it directly affects human health.
The impact of burning plastic is not limited to one village or place, rather it is having a global impact beyond the borders of the country. In most of the villages in Nepal, plastic or polythene is used to light the fire quickly. Such activities are directly affecting the breathing of housewives and pregnant women and people working in the kitchen.
Scientists have considered plastic as one of the factors of climate change, which is increasing as a global crisis. As the half-life of plastic is about 500 to 1,000 years, experts say that plastic that is thrown randomly will accumulate for generations and have a bad effect on the environment.
Plastic is made from a combination of different chemicals to prevent degradation in the environment when exposed to light, moisture, temperature or microorganisms. Plastic materials can move in different conditions without any chemical processing. This can be as subtle as a change in temperature or light. Due to this, toxic elements evaporate and mix in the air. People breathe this polluted air. Also, these particles can be absorbed by human skin.
Plastic has moved into our body without us knowing. For example, breathing in air that burns plastic waste, opening a new plastic item with a strong smell, drinking hot coffee from a Styrofoam cup, reusing a water bottle, eating microwaved food in a plastic container, or eating food that has been frozen or stored only for a short time in a plastic container. Easily transferred to the human body.
In addition, garbage and plastic are being thrown into the river indiscriminately, and these materials gradually end up in the sea. Wind and water will turn the plastic that accumulates into small pieces. Therefore, in the coming centuries, those plastics will be converted into microplastics, i.e. microscopic particles that cannot be seen by the eye, and will enter the human body and have a bad effect on health.
Nepal in plastic use
Kathmandu is one of the most polluted cities in the world. The World Air Quality Index states that the open burning of organic materials is one of the main reasons for the pollution of Kathmandu. Researchers say that humans have produced 9.1 billion tons of plastic in the world and that plastic will ultimately harm both animals and the environment.
According to the International Center for Mountain Development (ICMOD) 2018 data, 4.7 million to 4.8 million plastic bags are used daily in Kathmandu alone and 16 percent of that is plastic in urban waste. More than 10 lakh plastic bags are thrown away in Kathmandu Valley every day. According to the statistics of 2021, a Nepali person throws away 357 grams of garbage daily, of which 20 percent is plastic.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution causes both immediate and long-term health problems, increasing the risk of health problems such as respiratory infections, heart disease and lung cancer. According to WHO, 24% of deaths from heart disease and 25% of deaths from heart attacks are caused by air pollution and 13 people die every minute due to pollution.
Section 15 of the Environment Protection Act 2076 can determine the necessary standards for minimizing or eliminating the impact of any vehicle, device, equipment, industrial establishment, hotel, restaurant or other place or goods or any activity caused by pollution or the release or emission of hazardous substances. is mentioned.
The government had banned the production, storage, sale, distribution and use of plastic bags smaller than 20 inches in width and 35 inches in length and thinner than 40 microns within the Kathmandu valley with effect from Baisakh 1, 2072, but the government could not implement the ban due to the non-destructive earthquake.
Similarly, in order to reduce the risk to the environment and human health, the government announced a policy announcement in the public statement of income and expenditure of the fiscal year 2078-079 to completely ban the production, import, sale, distribution and use of plastic thinner than 40 microns from 1st Shravan 2078. Again, the government’s announcement was not effectively implemented.
Even the Supreme Court issued an order in the name of the government to effectively comply with the ban announced by the Government of Nepal on 28th Shravan 2078 and to ban the production, import, sale, distribution and use of plastic bags throughout the country. To implement that order, the government has also approved the action plan related to plastic bag prevention, 2078.
Emphasis has been placed on implementing action plans at the provincial and local levels as well as imposing a complete ban on the production of plastic bags thinner than the standard across Nepal, regular monitoring of the industry, approval of procedures for subsidizing the industry to produce bags thicker than 40 microns, and the production and use of alternative bags.
The government of Nepal does not have a single statistic of how many plastic manufacturing industries there are in the country. A year ago, during the monitoring of the Balaju industrial area, it was found that plastic thinner than 20 microns was produced.
Plastic cannot be completely destroyed. If we burn it, it causes a lot of air pollution, which is extremely harmful to human health and the overall environment. Therefore, there is no alternative to proper use and management of plastic. But how? Ordinary citizens should know and understand what plastic is, what is harmful about it, they should know.
Household plastic items i.e. garbage should be kept separately. For such knowledge, plastic and environment-related subjects can be given priority in study and teaching from the school level. Instead of burning or throwing away plastic, it can be reused in various ways. Even if it is recycled, production and supply will automatically decrease. We can avoid the dangers of plastic.
