Question

Describe briefly the impacts of industrial practices on the ecosystem.

Answer 1

Almost all economists believe that industrialisation is essential to a country’s economic development. At the same time and on the negative side, industrial practices adversely affect the ecosystem. Some of these important impacts are explained below:

1. Impact of mining:
   1. Mining activities adversely affect the local landscape due to the large-scale digging process.
   2. A large amount of waste generated during the mining operations often contaminates the soil with toxic heavy metals and acids.
   3. Mining has significant adverse impacts on the environment, including air, water, land, and soil.
2. Impact of urbanisation:
   1. The migration of people from rural to urban areas in search of employment and better living conditions has made cities overcrowded, thereby stressing their limited resources, such as land, water, energy, and transport services.
   2. Urbanisation increases demand for more dwelling units, but at the same time, more land for cultivation is required to feed so many mouths.
   3. Urbanisation leads to defacement of land.
3. Impact of Energy Generation: 
   1. Mining coal from the Earth’s crust harms the environment. And its use as a source of energy involves burning it. Burning of coal releases toxic and noxious fumes and gases, causing air pollution.
   2. Petroleum exhausts produce gases like NO, NO₂, that cause corrosion, attack skin and lung congestion.
   3. Hydroelectric power is also not environmentally viable. Big dams submerge the agricultural lands and displace people.
4. Impact of Automobiles:
   1. Automobiles or vehicles alone are responsible for more than 80 percent of total air pollution in urban areas.
   2. Motor engines also give off burnt waste products.