🌤️ Be the Change — Let’s Clean the Air, Water, and Land Together

🌤️ Be the Change — Let’s Clean the Air, Water, and Land Together

Introduction

Every day, our planet provides us with air to breathe, water to drink, and land to live on. However, these basic elements of life are under attack — air pollution, contaminated water, and degraded land. We are at a fork in the road: we can allow our planet to continue to decline, or we can be the change that protects it. Using India as a perfect example of how air, water, and land are being damaged — and what it would take to correct this trend— this blog reviews the extent of the crisis, its causes, effects, and what we can each do.

A Succinct Overview of Environmental Degradation in India

India has not been without environmental concerns for many years. The changes brought on by growth in industrialization and urbanization during the latter half of the 20th Century and a rising population all placed stress on the environment.

The Government also passed the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, to begin to address air pollution.  

Soon thereafter came an all-encompassing environmental framework: The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, to address all areas of the environment.  

The history of environmental degradation, however, is not new; the data paint a troubling picture: air quality degraded over the 9 years from 2009 to 2018 in 33 of the 88 industrial clusters. Water quality degraded in 45 clusters, and land pollution degraded in 17 clusters of the same locations.  

Down To Earth

Every day, volumes of water are spilled into waterways on industrial properties to remediate land from toxic spills. Resources normally considered inexhaustible have been tarnished or depleted. 

In an example from the Najafgarh drain basin in Delhi, the "Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index" (CEPI) air-quality rating increased from approximately 52 in 2009 to greater than 85 in 2018. Down To Earth

The result is clear: laws are not enough; we need to enforce programs for monitoring environmental disasters and degrading conditions. The point has been made: the change needs to be made...now.

The Importance of Air, Water, and Land — And the Dangers They Face

Air

Air is literally the most immediate medium of our existence. Air that has been contaminated causes harm to lung health, [causes] cardiac issues, mental issues, and even life itself. 

In 2016, more than 320 of the 521 monitored rivers of India were found to be polluted, illustrating the interconnectedness of air, water, and land degradation. 

Cities in India are often on, or near, the top of global air pollution reports [global air pollution lists], including many of the most polluted cities in the world in 2023. 

Sources of Air Pollution: Emissions from vehicles, industry, dust, waste burning, and crop burning.

Water

Water is our lifeblood, and its contamination has a cascading effect. In India:

In a 2015 report, as much as 80% of surface water can be contaminated.

According to the Central Groundwater Board, groundwater testing throughout India illustrates that nearly 20% of the samples tested exceeded safe levels for pollution and that as much as 56% of districts showed evidence of nitrate pollution.

From 2004-07, groundwater monitoring from major cities revealed evidence of widespread anthropogenic contamination (waste infiltration, depletion).

Land

Land is the foundation: for agriculture, for ecosystems, for human settlements. However, land is also under pressure. Land degradation is caused by several sources: soil erosion, heavy metal contamination, above-ground landfills, industrial waste, and unplanned construction. For example:

The CEPI data for land pollution indicated deterioration in several industrial clusters, such as the one in Manali (Tamil Nadu), which showed the industrial land-pollution index increased from ~58 in 2009 to over 71 in 2018. 

And, there are also well-known waste‐dump sites, such as the Bhalswa landfill in Delhi, which is now more than 62 m high. This landfill is not only a land problem, but also a source of air and water contamination and pollution.

India as an Illustration: Trends, Information, and What It Tells Us

Let's look at the data in detail and what it says about India as an illustration of the problem internationally.

The Industrial Cluster Analysis

The non-profit organization Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) examined 88 Industrial Clusters across India ( identified by the Central Pollution Control Board and State Boards), looking for deterioration in air, water, and land quality between 2009 and 2018.

Air quality decreased in 33 of the clusters.

Water quality decreased in 45 of the clusters.

Land degradation increased in 17 of the clusters.

Among the worst, the cluster at Tarapur(Maharashtra) had an overall CEPI score over 96 in 2018 (compared to the baseline of 2009).

To summarise: even in places identified in 2009 as critical for all 3 areas of pollution, water, air, and land quality, pollution has continued to escalate, indicating that industrial growth, growing population, less regulation, and enforcement have outpaced regulatory efforts.

The Importance of Change and Its Immediate Effect on Health

Human health is negatively impacted by pollution of the air, water, or land, including cancer, heart disease, asthma, neurological disorders, and developmental problems in children. A clean environment leads to a healthier populace.

Loss of Ecosystems and Biodiversity

Polluted water kills aquatic life, smog and toxins endanger ecosystems, and degraded land loses fertility. In the end, we lose the ecosystem services that we rely on.

Financial Expenses

Heavy financial burdens are caused by poor health, decreased crop yields, lost labor productivity, cleanup expenses, and degraded land. Early environmental investment pays off handsomely.

Ethics and Intergenerational Accountability

We owe a habitable world to future generations. They also have a birthright to fertile land, clean air, and safe water.

What Can Be Done: A Change Road Map

Three levels of change are required: individual, community/institutional, and systemic/regulatory. Everybody plays a part.

1. Fortify Institutional and Regulatory Frameworks

Non-compliance must be monitored, enforced, and penalized by authorities (as the CSE data indicates, nothing significant has changed in many clusters).

Increase the capacity of pollution control boards and make data (air, water, and land) more transparent.

Encourage the circular economy, zero-waste, and sustainable industrial growth.

Integrate the environment into urban planning to protect groundwater, manage waste, and lessen the load on landfills.

2. Institutional and Community Action

Local communities should keep an eye on industrial effluents, landfills, and water bodies. For instance, a Punjabi village discovered yellow water from contaminated groundwater and organized a community response.

Universities, NGOs, and schools can engage young people and raise awareness.

Businesses should make investments in pollution prevention as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Green belts, wetlands preservation, and buffer zones surrounding industries are all examples of urban design.

3. Personal Initiative — Since Every Individual Matters

Cut back on the amount of time you spend driving (walking, bicycling, public transportation).

Reuse/Recycle: cut down on waste, separate it at the source, and stay away from single-use plastics.

Preserve water by repairing leaks, cutting back on wasteful use, and encouraging rainwater collection.

Utilize cleaner energy by turning off appliances, selecting models that use less energy, and supporting renewable energy sources.

Advocate: Speak up for clean air, safe water, and land in your neighborhood, at work, and on social media.

Keep yourself updated by monitoring local air and water quality indices and advocating for data transparency.

The Future of India: What Could Success Look Like?

Consider India ten years from now, when:

Major cities' air-quality indices gradually decline toward WHO standards.

Lakes and rivers exhibit quantifiable improvements in biodiversity and pollutant load.

Fertile soils are restored, landfills shrink, and land contamination is tracked and cleaned up.

Best practices are adopted by industries, pollution clusters start to disperse, and environmental justice issues (affected communities) are addressed.
Many other countries can advance if India, with its enormous population, fast growth, and variety of environmental issues, can.

Urging You to Be the Change

Choose one visible civic duty today, such as avoiding plastic, planting a tree, or riding your bike to work.
Participate in a school project on pollution, organize a community clean-up, and keep an eye on a nearby body of water.
Examine your company's or organization's environmental impact, make a commitment to adopting clean technology, and report openly.
Collective action adds up to change.

conclusion

The living fabric of our planet and our daily existence is made up of our air, water, and land; they are not distinct compartments. Using India as an example, we have seen how deterioration occurs when laws are in place but not properly enforced, when growth exceeds sustainability, and when people's awareness is lacking. However, we have also witnessed the resources, routes, and optimism for transformation.

"Be the Change — Let's Clean the Air, Water, and Land Together" is a catchy title. Let that become a lived reality rather than merely a catchphrase. For the benefit of present and future generations, let's restore our environment. Today, let's make the decision to walk on land that supports life rather than destroys it, breathe cleaner air, and drink safer water.