Hello listeners and welcome to Fighting Failure, the podcast where we discuss solutions to the climate crisis. I am Hisham as many of you know, and I will be your host for this episode. Oscar was unavailable to record today, but he is eternally with us in spirit...and in editorial power. (evil laugh) I can almost hear him speaking to me through the editorial power (cue Oscar whispering “just start already” [edited in]). BUT today we have a very special guest...my understudy Taran. Everyone, please welcome Taran. (clapping)

And he did a spectacular job filling in for me on the Palm Oil episode hosted by Sandhya. Anyway, today is going to be all about the pollutants. The pollutants are all generally anthropogenic problems. This means that they are all human caused. We have already looked into some of these pollutants in prior episodes, and you definitely know them from around.

So, why don’t we start on the problems:

Problems

Air pollution

Air pollution is the most dense in urban areas. Oftentimes, the buildings, trap the air pollution, leading to what is commonly known as “smog” - a word combination of smoke and fog - that is visible in the air, and causes a hazy, obstructed sight.

• Let’s start with the most basic problem that I hope we all already know. The greenhouse effect...
• Concentrated particulate air pollution in cities (a great, yet severe example being Delhi, India, the most polluted city in the world) can be a common source of health-related problems. Some common short-term, yet deadly risks are diseases such as pneumonia and bronchitis. They are also a source of discomfort, and can be irritants to the eyes and skin. Some long-term effects include lung cancer, heart disease, and the exacerbation of respiratory diseases such as asthma. This forces a lot of people into discomfort, but more importantly is the cause of innumerable deaths annually.
• This provides a very similar problem for bird-life and surrounding animals in the urban ecosystem, by directly harming them, and often being a leading cause of their death.
• Sulfur dioxide (which generally comes from electric utilities and charcoal burning) and nitrogen oxide (which is generally put out by automobiles) are sources of air pollution, and can lead to acid rain. This can raise acidity levels in the soil and surrounding bodies of water, leading to the destruction of microbiomes, and detriment to surrounding plant-life. Further, when acidity levels in bodies of water rise substantially, this can lead to the death of many fish, and be a leading cause in the reduction of biodiversity. This then causes the collapse of entire ecosystems. For example, surrounding bird-life is indirectly effected, as they then have a reduced food source

Plastic pollution

Probably the most well-known and guilty types of pollution, as a result of how immediate, visible, and publicized the threats are.

• Problem number one is the detriment this directly has on ecosystems. Pelicans scooping plastic out of the water, thinking it was a fish, and soon-after dying. Whales eating plastic out of the ocean and dying. Penguins getting plastic stuck around their necks, and dying. Crows and other birdlife around town pecking at some - and ultimately eating - some plastic and dying. We have all heard these stories and seen these pictures. It’s truly devastating and heartbreaking...
• Next on the agenda is indirect plastic pollution. The most basic, common and stripped-down scenario is: plastic is thrown away, maybe onto a road near a river, is blown into the river, carried down the river and into the ocean, breaks down into micro plastics, is mistaken for food by small fish and krill which are eaten by larger fish, which are eaten by dolphins, which are then poisoned by the accumulation of micro plastics in their systems, which works it’s way into their system, and their young - while drinking the mother’s milk - end up being poisoned by the micro plastics and end up dying. Nothing environmentally beneficial has ever come from the introduction of plastic.
• The real problem of plastic pollution is just carelessness...

Oil pollution

• 14 of the worlds 17 largest cities on the planet are located on the coast. This is so, because many of these cities were initially established as waterfront trading hubs or ports. This makes coastal cities a hotspot for commercial and industrial boating. The proximity to cities, and hence the oil refining industry also makes the nearby coast an ideal location for oil drilling
• Oceanic oil spills (generally the most detrimental oil spills) can occur when an in-ocean oil rig is broken, pouring out tons of oil. But, these spills can also occur when an industrial shipment of oil sinks or on a smaller scale, when boats have small leaks. Regardless of how the spill occurred - however - the problem is the same.
• ...Effect on ecosystem, sea birds and marine life...

Noise pollution and light pollution