Matter as we know it consists of atoms – arranged in certain ways so that they make up forms – rocks, rivers, stars, puppies, humans, and everything in between. I don’t really see life as having a beginning and end, I only see the rearranging of matter. Example: Your pet hamster dies, you bury it in the back yard, and sometime over the next few years, the atoms that formed that little piece of life will be used for something else – a flower to bloom, a worm to have lunch, or a raindrop to form. For me, “Life” is just a label that we put on our time in the current state of existence. I guess all animate life has an ego, it wants to perpetuate its genes, reproduce, and some go so far as to desire eternal life in its immediate form. I don’t know that a pebble wants to live forever, being that I cannot communicate with it, or see its body language or mannerisms, but my guess is that on some level, as with all matter, it wants to continue in its current state, it wants to continue being a pebble. Other life forms are more obvious – a tree puts out spores or seeds, a dinosaur finds a mate and hatches little dinosaurs (well, they did until their life form ceased to exist for whatever reason) and humans and cockroaches make babies faster than we can count. I believe that all life forms – both animate and inanimate – meaning everything that is made up of atoms – has the desire to live – or continue in its current state of being. The human, having the spec of intelligence and ability to reason that it does, has an overinflated ego as one of its peripheral properties – causing it to want to live on forever, to produce as many offspring as possible, and to continue to dominate and pathologically control the world it lives in. Some of us are constantly looking for other worlds, other planets that might be able to sustain human life, or possibly be manipulated into doing so. Some of the places are geographically light years away. I believe that the rearranging of atoms is a natural cycle that will happen, no matter what any life form wishes – no matter how much we fight it, try to prevent it, or try to deny it. There will come a time when there will no longer be a human race, cockroaches, Earth, sun, or even our mighty galaxy. I believe that this cycle is somehow built in at the atomic, or even the sub atomic level – as is gravity, magnetism, and other phenomenon that we may or may not understand.

Ok, now here’s something I’ve not heard in any documentaries, or printed media, that I need to talk about. If nothing external comes along and makes the earth uninhabitable by humans, then our gene pool will eventually deteriorate, and we will be gone. The “Gene pool will deteriorate?”, you ask. Well, yes, this is common knowledge and is proven by every instance of incest that occurs in the world as we know it. There are certain areas of our planet that were and/or have been isolated for so many years that the local population either disappeared or was severely damaged. At some point we will all be marrying our cousins, brothers, and sisters, it’s inevitable. It is, of course, possible that before that time comes, the planet will be rendered uninhabitable by life as we know it – by some external force – a giant asteroid, a freak explosion on the sun, or even the human race having polluted the planet to the point where life can no longer exist, or, the earth raging against and destroying the virus known as the human race.

It’s also possible that a new, more intelligent life form may appear. If so, being that it is not possible for a human to mate with an ape and reproduce, it stands to reason that if there are any humans still in existence if or when a new life form appears, that it will not be possible for us to mate with that life form either – in fact, we probably won’t even be able to communicate with it – that’s again of course, if any humans even still exist.

What is this stuff about the universe constantly expanding? There’s also the theory that the galaxies are closing in on each other? So, which is it, and how can anyone know these things? I guess they don’t, they are nothing more than unproven theories. I don’t know that there is an end to the universe – either timewise or spacewise. We’re too puny to know such a thing, or to even venture a guess. This brings me back to the human ego, which again, causes many of us want to live forever, some to pass on their genes in hopes that their family line can be perpetuated till infinity, and to have the need to control anybody and anything in its line of sight. Many of us think that we should defy nature, alter our genes, invade other worlds, carry on in our current state till the end of time (that’s of course, a figure of speech). Lucky for the universe that it has the built in atomic map, where the elements feel the need to spread out and do other things – build other worlds, become other forms of life. Maybe they do the same as we do – they simply get bored after a few million years or so, and need to move on. Whatever the case, nothing stays as it is indefinitely, there will come a time when human, earth, and sun will disintegrate, and its building blocks will be blasted into deep space. It will land somewhere, congregate somewhere, and new worlds and life forms will be created.

When it’s my time to contribute my little atomic legos to the universe, so that they may become something else, I will welcome it; I mean hell, I’m 56, and I’m bored now, I can’t imagine what I’ll be like when I’m 70 or beyond.

So, folks, if I have any advice to offer, it’s to get over yourselves. We are just passing through, we are nothing more than atoms arranged in a particular way to make us what we are, and at some point in time, the giant atomic transporter will break us down and rearrange our particles somewhere else. That’s not to say we shouldn’t value our lives, and make the best of the time that we are here, I’m only saying we need to be reasonable, and not be so damn selfish.

See y’all on the next plane (of existence).

Maybe you’ve heard the popular adage which says if you’re not part of the solution you’re part of the problem. No where is that pearl of wisdom truer than when we talk about the pollution of the world’s water resources. We have used and abused the water we have for so many decades now that the problem is finally catching up with us, clean, fresh water is disappearing, and we’ve no one to blame but ourselves. Ecologists have been telling us of the impending water shortage crisis, but we haven’t been listening. We made the mess, so it seems only fair that we clean it up.

It may be that you’ve gotten so used to doing things a certain way that you don’t even realize that you are contributing to the contamination in our water systems. Tips for doing your part to clean up the water include:

* Make it a habit to use less water. Take showers instead of tub baths, wear clothing more than once before tossing it into the laundry, or forget about watering your lawn. Make sure that there are no dripping faucets or toilets running in your home to cut down on water waste. The less water you use, the smaller the quantity that you are sending into our reclamation systems.

* We all need to be very careful with our use of chemicals. Everything from the cleaners you use in your home to the fertilizer you put on your lawn can infiltrate the water systems. Any time you pour a bucket of caustic materials down the storm sewer near your home, you’re just as guilty of pollution as big industry. Such things as soaps and shampoos that contain phosphates are also big culprits when it comes to water contamination. Read the ingredients a product contains before you buy.

* There are simple tasks we can all do that will help clean up the environment and, thereby, keep harmful materials out of our water. Cleaning up waste after your pet can keep it from washing into the waterways as can properly depositing your cigarette butts instead of throwing them on the ground. Many people think it’s okay to flush almost anything down their toilets, and so they dump in chemicals, unwanted drugs, and dirty water they’d rather not put down their sinks. Next time you start thinking about doing this, think about where that stuff is going to end up.

* You may have heard that recently 240,000 fish were discovered along a Tennessee riverbank in Alabama. The cause of their demise? Nothing but water pollution. Freshwater fish are those most often affected by our contamination of their habitat.

Our water is a precious commodity which all living things need to sustain life. It isn’t the plentiful and sustainable resource that many people seem to think it is, and people who aren’t working to save it are adding to the problem. It’s easy to make a difference, so you should think about how you can make yours.

For too many years people have been exploiting the environment, and now that it’s time to take steps to correct all the problems we have created, people are turning a deaf ear. It’s like when the government talks about cuts and everyone says, “That’s a good idea, but don’t cut anything that affects me!” Every year we pour millions of gallons of waste products into our existing fresh water resources and, if we think about it at all, we consider it the “other guy’s” problem. No one seems to comprehend how serious the situation is to everything that is living on this planet. We all need to do what we can to change, and we need to do it now.

The amount of waste that is infiltrating our water is growing proportionately with the increasing population. The Water World Assessment Program estimates that people worldwide dump 2 million tons of waste into our water each day. At least 70% of industrial wastes are drained into the water in developing nations where they don’t yet have anti-pollution precautions and laws in place. Here in the United States, we have a major problem in that agricultural waste products, from such things as fertilizer run-offs and hog confinements, and the wastes we pump into our water are being carried into the lakes, rivers, and oceans. In the 1970s, the United States banned the use of DDT, yet 40 years later, traces of the substance are still being found in our oceans.

We live in a country filled with plenty, and there are those who believe that our water can never run out; however, 20% of the people in the world have no access to clean, safe drinking water. When you hear 20%, do you know how many people are being affected by water shortages? That’s a whopping 1,200 million. The problem is so drastic in some areas that it has become the major cause of death for children under the age of five in some areas of the world, and scientists are saying that within the next few decades this same thing could happen to us unless we initiate measures as soon as possible.

Obviously, we don’t want this to happen to us. Imagine watching your child wither and die of dehydration because they can’t get adequate water to drink, and there’s nothing at all you can do about it. Don’t depend on laws passed by the government to take care of the problem, because that alone can’t begin to conquer the crisis. If we all do our part, together we can make a difference.

How are we going to survive as a society faced with increasing pollution problems and a lack of fresh drinking water? Unless measures are taken now, this could be a real situation for our descendents. In some areas of the United States, aggressive measures are already being taken to stop the contamination at its point of origin and deliver water to the people which is both safe and healthy to drink. With everything from road salts to chemical wastes to over-the-counter medications being pumped into our sewer systems, it seems to be a monumental task, but for the continued well-being of the world’s population, someone needs to tackle it.

A conference organized by the Hudson River Environmental Society was held at Vassar College to discuss the contamination problems. During this seminar, various speakers emphasized the causes and effects of our water crisis as well as ideas for ways we can solve them. Participants were taught to recognize what pollution actually is, how it’s getting into our water systems, ways in which it is effecting the ecosystems, and strategies for correcting the different situations.

Most of us give no thought to how water pollution affects anyone but humans. Examples were provided to conference attendees based on extensive research done by such research facilities as the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. A study was done there that involved ways that Tagamet, a antihistamine that controls stomach acid, affects invertebrates. The study found that invertebrates use histamines as neurotransmitters, utilizing them for such things as olfactory and photo reception. If lobsters ingest the drug, their neurological pathways are disrupted and fail to perform properly.

Combined sewer overflows are the major culprits in this scenario. Although they are responsible for only 10% of all of our treated or untreated wastewater discharge, they contain around 90% of the discharged compounds. These overflows introduce the built-up contamination into a variety of ecosystems. To combat the problem, cities are instituting measures, such as grey and green infrastructure. Gray infrastructure includes such additions as holding tanks which keep excessive stormwater under control until it can be processed. Although steps like this are effective, they are also very expensive. New York City, for example, paid $400 million for a 50 million gallon tank.

Green infrastructure is done in smaller steps, such as encouraging landowners to collect and divert stormwater before it can run into the sewers. A renovation on Vassar’s own campus was given as an example. It involved the redesign of a parking area near one of the college’s townhouse complexes. The project involved bioengineering depressions, known as swales, to catch runoff and direct it to specially-created holding areas. In those areas, plants and special soil mixtures break down pollutants such as gas, salt, and oil, before the water can mingle with with that in the storm sewers.

It may be easy to define pollution but the impacts of pollution are definitely fatal. The process which fully or partially disturbs the natural or balance composition of any part of the nature is called pollution. Flow of untreated waster water into the water bodies, mixing of poisonous or harmful gases into the air or absorption of hazardous waste in soil are dismal examples of the process of pollution.

As a matter of fact pollution can’t be defined as enthusiastically as it can be condemned and censured. Why? Because pollution definition is not as much important as its remedial measures are of utmost importance to save human life from its hazards. Anyway, whatever disturbs the natural composition of any thing is called pollution.

The definition of pollution can rightly be found at a place either at land or water which has been impaired by its hazards. A densely populated commercial hub of backward metropolis, a village at the coastal belt of Asia or Africa or an agriculture land damaged by undue spray of chemical fertilizer and pesticide can unequivocally tells the sorry state of harms of pollution.

In slums of huge city the harms of pollution are visible in its standard of living. Squalid streets, unhygienic food, smelly restaurants, footpaths with heaps of garbage and dirty urchins are enough to tell the fortune of people who lives in such underdeveloped areas. It shows the nexus of pollution and poverty. More the pollution, higher the poverty level and it is proved in poverty-ridden areas of the world.

In the process of pollution it does not evince what is affected most but results are same of all kinds of pollution. Either it is air pollution, water pollution or land pollution; they directly impact the human life apart from marring the natural beauty of environment. We breathe in air but can not feel the level of pollution in it. It dawn upon us when after some times we face problems in breathing. We don’t know how land pollution is contaminating the food we eat but when it becomes hard to digest even softer kind of food we come to know that our digestive system has totally been disturbed.

Therefore, definition of pollution is definitely important to understand how pollution is made but more important is to realize the harms of pollution wherever we observe that pollution is directly or indirectly affecting the natural fabric of our lives. In this way we would be able to take precautionary measures to protect ourselves from its harm and to make efforts to contain it to the lower possible level.