An environment is made-up of the circumstances, objects or conditions by which a human, animal, plant or object is surrounded. The term environment’ generally refers to the natural world as perceived by humans.

‘Pollution’ refers to harmful environmental contaminants and to the act or the process of polluting the environment. It is adding the unsirable. Generally, the process needs to concern human activity, which results in pollution. Even relatively benign products of human activity are liable to be regarded as pollution, if they precipitate negative effects later on.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines pollution as ‘the presence of a substance in the environment that because of its chemical composition or quality prevents the functioning of natural processes and produces undesirable environmental and health effects.’ Any material that causes the pollution is called a ‘pollutant.’

Pollution can be defined according to its contextual efficacy . Algal Blooms and the resultant eutrophication (the enrichment of an aquatic system by the addition of nutrients primarily caused by leached phosphorous or nitrogen containing compounds in lakes, rivers, bays or other semi-enclosed waters) of lakes and coastal ocean is con­sidered as pollution, when it is fuelled by the nutrients from industrial, agricultural or residential run-off.

Although carbondioxide (CO²) is not toxic and actually stimulates plant growth but because it is a greenhouse gas that fosters global warming, it is sometimes referred to as pollution. More often and more properly, CO² from such sources as combustion of fuels is labelled neutrally as ’emission.’

Traditional forms of pollution include air pollution, water pollution, while a broader interpretation of the word has led to the ideas of ship pollution, light pollution and noise pollution.

Pollutants are thought to play a part in a variety of maladies including cancer, lupus, immune diseases, allergies and asthma

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