Industries are single-handedly considered as one of the major things that create pollution.
12 Biggest Polluting Industries In The World
1. Agriculture
Yes, that’s right. As much as it is important to fulfill our basic needs and we cannot live without them, we also cannot ignore the fact that it is one of the most polluting industries in the world. They hold more than 15% of the world’s greenhouse emissions and most of that comes from cattle production. Be it burning forests, overgrazing, deforestation, overuse of chemical fertilizers, etc, it is hampering our nature in many ways. One way you can avoid this is by turning into a vegan.
2. Food Retail
After growing food, the next step is its packaging, transportation, and selling. This industry uses a huge amount of plastic to pack their majorly non-decomposable products. All this plastic either goes to the landfills or ends up being in the ocean, hurting the marine creatures too. Make sure to use reusable bags whenever you go shopping and avoid taking any plastic bags from the retailers.
3. Passenger Transport
Even though travel has slowed down due to the pandemic, this industry still tops the list of one of the most polluting industries. You might be surprised but air transports only account for 16% of the total pollution and the major damage is done by land transports. Make a habit of using public vehicles or using a bicycle for small distances.
4. Commercial freight
This is another kind of transportation. It isn’t for the people but it is for the things that are used by people. They acquire almost 40% of the CO2 emission that comes from transports.
5. Tourism
According to a report, tourism holds 8% of the total greenhouse gas emission. There are many ways by which tourism is hampering our nature. Staying in a lavish hotel where the wastage of water and food is very normal or buying gifts for your friends and family covered in cheap plastics. All these things add up to cause major damage altogether.
6. Construction
Construction causes pretty much all kinds of pollution that you can imagine. All these construction sites increase air pollution by 25% and the specks of dust end up in the water, creating water pollution too. Also, you cannot ignore the continuous noise pollution that comes from a construction site. Construction is seriously one of the most ignored forms of pollution.
7. Natural Gas
Due to natural gas, 8 billion tons of CO2 goes into the atmosphere almost every year. It accounts for 1/5th of total carbon emissions. Also, using a huge amount of fossil fuel is doing no good to our planet. People do not realize this fact and they end up wasting a lot of natural gas and causing major damage to the planet.
8. Fashion
The fashion industry has always been one of the biggest polluters. Especially these fast fashion brands harm our planet in many ways. They make clothes from a cheaper material that goes into the dump very quickly. Also, 85% of the items of clothing go into a dump every year which also takes a very long time to decompose. Avoid buying stuff from fast fashion and make a habit of doing thrift shopping. It is not only good for the planet but is also easier on your pocket.
9. Chemical Manufacturing
Every kind of factory and manufacturing uses energy. The more energy you need the more harm it is going to do. They also release many toxic gases into the air and toxic waste into the water, creating both air and water pollution. However, the government has made a law for the factories to treat their waste before releasing it into the atmosphere.
10. The Plastic Industry
Humans have a very toxic relationship with plastics. We all know the uncountable bad effects of using plastic and we still can’t stop using it. But it is high time, if we do not stop it now, then it will be too late. Consume fewer things which includes a lot of plastics. There are a thousand ways by which you can minimize the use of plastics from your day-to-day life.
11. Mining
Just like construction, mining also causes numerous kinds of pollution. It not only damages the land and the plants causing soil erosion, but also releases a huge amount of dust into the air causing air pollution and later on water pollution too. Mining also destructs forests which further hampers the ecosystem.
12. Technology
Now this is a very big sector, and in this era, we cannot even imagine our lives without it. We can’t ignore the contributions that this industry has made to save our planet by making things like solar panels, windmills, solutions of plastics, and solutions for many other environmental problems as well. We also know the damage it is causing to the planet; excess usage of electricity to charge our gadgets, use of AC and fridge, etc, are some of the basic things that are causing major damage.
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