Pollution is the method of introducing toxins into the natural world, resulting in negative consequences (Nwona, 2013). Environmental pollution can take many forms, including chemical substances and electricity, such as noise, heat, and light (Ard & Fairbrother, 2016). Pollutants that cause environmental contamination may be either foreign substances or substances found naturally in the atmosphere (Korfiatis, 2017). The rising rates of urbanization and industrialization have hastened ecological pollution, which poses several risks, including economic losses and detrimental effects on people's lives in the United States of America (Zeng, 2015). The problem associated with the environmental pollution has posed serious restrictions to the sustainable development of different societal settings in the American society. This paper will discuss the major causes of the environmental pollution, the potential social threats which are as a result of the environmental pollution in the American society and the social perspective of the environmental pollution.
There are different types of environmental pollution; air pollution, land pollution, light pollution, noise pollution, thermal pollution, visual pollution, and water pollution, which have either direct or indirect effects on the social lives of the people living in the United States of America (Korfiatis, 2017). Even though the development of the industrial zones has led to great economic growth in the United States of America, it is evidently clear that it also has some negative effects more so on the environment (Ard & Fairbrother, 2016). The elimination and disposal of the industrial wastes have been a major concern in the recent years since these wastes which are emitted on air do lead to air pollution while those disposed of in the water bodies can lead to water pollution (Zeng, 2015). We live in the society where the action of one has potential effects on the lives of the many. Depending on what action it is, this observation can either be good or bad (Burbank & Martins, 2012).
The mistakes which have been made by the human beings have led to the pollution of the environment in which the same human beings live in. The most unfortunate thing is that instead of focusing on the potential measures which should be taken in ensuring that the effects of the environmental are reduced, the same mankind still tends to reserve the damage (Korfiatis, 2017). The most important thing to take into consideration is that every positive action do always count, hence however small effort it is, and it can act as a start of the journey towards a greener environment and hence can be a healing ripple effect (Ard & Fairbrother, 2016). The threats which originate from the pollution of the environment are considered as the deadliest and massive slow poison in the world (Zeng, 2015). It threatens the lives of the human beings, plants, and animals, but it is miserable since it cannot be noticed by the saner elements in the society (Burbank & Martins, 2012).
As a social issue, it can be said the environment represent the life of the human beings while the pollution stands for their death (Barboza, 2013). This statement is right because it is evidently clear that wherever there is a modicum of pollution, there is always an obvious spread of human diseases which can eventually lead to their deaths if adequate care is not taken (Burbank & Martins, 2012). Some negative effects of the environmental pollution will not be manifested immediately, but instead, they can take time, for example, the effects of climate change and global warming may not have immediate effects on the environment, but they will pose threats on the coming generations (Ard & Fairbrother, 2016).
Since a lot of the sources of the environmental pollution come from the industrial wastes and the industrial development is as a result of the increasing rate of population growth in the United States of America, it is justifiable to note that there is a direct relationship between the rate of population growth and the environmental pollution (Korfiatis, 2017). Therefore, to understand the issues which are associated with the rate of population growth and the magnitude of the environmental pollution, there are various types of sociological perspectives, such as functionalism theory, the conflict theory and the symbolic interactionism theory, which can be employed.
The Functionalism
The functionalism theory takes into consideration that the population growth together with its various important components such as migration, mortality rate, and birth rate is normal and very vital processes in the society. Therefore the population and the environment affect each other since it impossible for the society to survive without its members but only if it can meet the future challenges (Barboza, 2013). The environmental pollution is in most cases as a result of the society being overpopulated, which makes it difficult in the management of wastes (Korfiatis, 2017). Therefore, the environmental problems are mostly expected in the society which is industrialized, just like in the case of the United States of America, and that the severe environmental problems are certainly dysfunctional for the society (Zeng, 2015).
According to this theory, the economic state of the society play a key role in determining the level of environmental pollution, since the more a country is industrialized, the more it will be economically stable, and the more its environment will be polluted (Nwona, 2013). Even though there are a lot of public awareness education on the importance of protecting and conserving the environment, not everybody in the United States of America does always adhere to these teachings (Korfiatis, 2017). Most of the industries are profit-oriented (Ard & Fairbrother, 2016). Hence they do not always care much about the mechanism of their industrial wastes disposal.
In order to protect the environment, it is therefore important for everyone in the society to be responsible for the actions they take or the activities they take part in (Nwona, 2013). One of the greatest threat to the environmental pollution is the global warming, which is a creation of the mankind (Zeng, 2015). Even though the global warming will adversely affect the environment, the humankind will be affected more since they largely depend on the environmental resources for their survival (Barboza, 2013). The effects associated with global warming such as excessive drought, depletion of the ozone layer, occurrence of the hurricane winds and El Niño rainfalls, will not only affect those who are not economically stable in the society but also those who are economically upright, including those who contributed to the environmental pollution through their careless industrial wastes disposals (Korfiatis, 2017).
Different studies conducted by the environmental management scientists have indicated that the environment will always give back to the society what they society fed into it in a more advanced state (Nwona, 2013). Therefore, if the society feeds the environment with healthy substances, as in the case of organic farming, the environment will provide the very society with very nutritious and healthy foods (Ard & Fairbrother, 2016). On the same note, if the America society feeds the environment with very harmful and toxic substances, the environment will react by giving out more dangerous products such as diseases, food shortage among others. However, how much the rate of population growth and industrial development can lead to certain forms of the environmental problems, the consequences of the environmental pollution have adverse effects on the people living in the United States of America, and can even extend to the whole world, depending on the magnitude of the pollution (Zeng, 2015).
The Conflict Theory
According to the conflict theory perspective, the high rate of population growth does not have any serious problem since the American’s environment do have enough food and other resources, all which should be equitably distributed (Korfiatis, 2017). The theory, therefore, pose that the environment has sufficient resources and foods which can meet all of the needs of the growing population (Weir, 2015).
Since the high rate of population growth is directly proportional to the high rate of environmental pollution, the conflict theory perspective therefore insinuate that there is no need of coming up with many industries which are to produce excess goods in the name of serving the American population since such activities will only expose the environment to extreme pollution (Ard & Fairbrother, 2016). The environment was developed in a self-sustainable manner, a mechanism which can only be achieved if the environmental protection policies are strictly adhered to (Korfiatis, 2017).
The problems associated with the environmental pollution such as the food shortage and global warming are clear reflections of the decisions taken by the economic and political leaders in the United States of America to benefit from such resource in the expense of the other Americans (Weir, 2015). The operations of the multinational companies (MNCs) in the United States of America also play a key role in exposing the environment to various types of pollution through careless and unlawful industrial waste management. The practices of these multinational companies and weak regulations on the waste management have accounted for many environmental problems (Ard & Fairbrother, 2016).
These problems pose a lot of threats to the lives of the human beings. Some of the common health-related side effects of the environmental pollution on the human beings and the ecosystem include; weakening of the immune system and development of diseases such as cholera, heart diseases and cancer, shrinking of the biodiversity, depletion of the natural resources thus leading to shortage of important commodities such as clean air and water, and food, and affects the economic development through slowing down the process of development and hinder the economic development cycle since it negatively affects each uplift activity (Korfiatis, 2017).
The multinational corporations through the help of the political class and weak environmental protection regulations have for very many years left a reputation for leaving large carbon footprint in the environment of the United States of America (Barboza, 2013). This type of disregard for the environment, either through the greenhouse gas emission or pollution of the native habitats, expose the environment to sufficient negative effects from the cost of doing business in the United States of America’s market (Weir, 2015). The environmental problems are further advanced by the activities of these companies through conducting of operations on the global scale-up where they use the reserve natural resources such as energy and fossil fuels, thereby leading to their depletion (Weir, 2015).
The Symbolic Interactionism Perspective
The symbolic interactionism perspective exhibits different forms which can be used to understand the environmental pollution. Firstly, it seeks to determine why most people do not take part in activities which are supposed to promote healthy environment such as recycling (Barboza, 2013). Secondly, it emphasizes on the perception of the society about the relationship between the growth of population and the environmental pollution (Ard & Fairbrother, 2016). The third aspect which this perspective takes into consideration is that it assumes that the environmental problems such as pollutions are to some extent the construction of the society (Burbank & Martins, 2012).
To come into conclusion about the major causes of the environmental pollution, it is important to take into consideration the reasons which drive the American society to become involved or fail to become involved in the different types of activities which are related to environmental conservation and pollution prevention (Korfiatis, 2017).
Even though there are various programs, both government-sponsored and nongovernmental organization-sponsored which educate people on the need to protect the environment, there are still very many Americans who do not follow these teachings (Burbank & Martins, 2012). Some of the reasons behind these types of observation are the fact that some people influenced by their social perspective and belief about the environmental protection while others just opt not to follow the setup rules and regulations on the environmental protection as a result of negligence (Korfiatis, 2017).
According to the symbolic interactionism perspective these problems, which are as a result of environmental pollution, will not be considered as social problems unless a valuable number of people in the United States of America’s society and the influential organizations in both the public and private sectors recognize them as problems which require the attention of the society as a whole (Ard & Fairbrother, 2016). Even though however small the efforts put by the society in protecting the environment might have a positive result, it is important for every person to take responsibility for the activities which they undertake (Barboza, 2013).
Just as illustrated by the symbolic interactionism perspective, it is important to note that people from different social backgrounds within the United States of America have very diverse understandings of the causes and prevention policies of the environmental issues such as pollution (Korfiatis, 2017). For example, someone who grows up in upcountry may consider any city’s air to be polluted. However few the number of vehicles in that city might be (Burbank & Martins, 2012). Therefore, their respective social backgrounds have great effects on their perception of the environmental pollution.
Conclusion
There are various activities of the human beings which are responsible for the occurrence and spread of environmental pollution. In order to understand the issue behind the environmental pollution as seen in the United States of America’s case, there are three types of sociological perspectives which can be used; the functionalism theory, the conflict theory, and the symbolic interactionism theory (Ard & Fairbrother, 2016). The functionalism perspective beliefs that both the human beings and the environment require each other and that the normal population growth is essential for the environmental protection while but overpopulation might lead to environmental issues (Nwona, 2013).
The conflict theory states that the various forms of the environmental pollution are the creation of human beings through the activities of the political leaders, weak waste management regulations, and the neglectful multinational corporations (Weir, 2015). According to the symbolic interactionism, different people who are found in the America’s society have different understandings of the causes, prevention, and effects of the environmental pollution (Burbank & Martins, 2012).
Application/Reflection
From the above research, I come to realize that there are different social perspectives which can be used to understand the issues surrounding the environmental pollution. One of the greatest cause of the environmental pollution is the highly increasing population growth rate, which has influenced the growth of industries in order to produce enough goods to sustain the overgrowing population. The more the number of the industries in the United States of America, just like in any other country, the higher the rate of environmental pollution. Since the environmental pollution is a creation of the human beings, I have come to realize that it is the sole duty of the same human being to prevent the threats associated with the pollution of the environment through strict adherence to the policies and regulations which are put in place to protect the environment from any form of abuse.
References
Ard, K., & Fairbrother, M. (2016). Pollution Prophylaxis? Social Capital and Environmental Inequality*. Social Science Quarterly, 98(2), 584-607.
Barboza. (2013). Corporate Social Responsibility and Horizontal Differentiation in Imperfect Competitive Markets with Global Warming Effects. Journal of Reviews on Global Economics.
Burbank, P., & Martins, D. (2012). Symbolic interactionism and critical perspective: divergent or synergistic? Nursing Philosophy, 11(1), 25-41.
Korfiatis, G. (2017). Proposed Budget Cuts: Environmental Perspective. Current Pollution Reports, 3(4), 318-319.
Nwona, H. (2013). Climate Change: Causes, Effects and the Need for Science Education for Sustainable Development. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences.
Weir, D. (2015). Civilian protection, environmental pollution and conflict – a role for the public health community. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 31(1), 4-12.
Zeng, E. (2015). A new page for Environmental Pollution. Environmental Pollution, 204, A1.
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