SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE OF INDUSTRIAL WASTE PRODUCTS

SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE OF INDUSTRIAL WASTE PRODUCTS

            Industrial waste products are currently contaminating our environment which leads to climatic changes. Plastics have been extremely dangerous to aquatic life and vegetation lives. Other industrial waste materials such as carbon pollute the air environment and eventually influence climatic change through destruction of the ozone layer of the atmosphere which protects us against ultraviolet light rays. Chemical waste from manufacturing industries and mining fields waste are channeled into water bodies which contaminate them. To handle this menace appropriately it is important for community and various governments through globalization take initiatives to curb the catastrophe.

Industrial waste products are one of the significant challenges that the present society faces and has become a considerable concern in various disciplines. Since industrial wastes are inherently a challenge to the society, sociologists have not adequately developed methodologies to handle present challenges. Industrial waste products which cannot be recycle poses threats to human life and other forms of nature so the sociologists should influence people into adopting strategies that minimize industrial waste.. Sociology is widely applied in developing strategies that assist the society in structuring patterns of consumption plus various habits that support in the creation of solutions. Critical sociology offers an array of concepts and methodologies that are applied in studying and solving industrial waste products issues.

Industrial wastes are one of the significant environmental challenges today and have drastic results on the society and world ecosystems. It represents one of the catastrophic concerns that sociology needs to address adequately. Effective management of industrial waste and elimination of dangerous ones and confining them in safe places can assist in influencing climatic changes positively. Various industrial waste affect aquatic lives since some of the chemicals are dangerous, they also contaminate water bodies that human lives depends on. Recently there have been deaths of whales and sharks where the autopsy indicated presence of large quantity of plastics (Qambrani, N. A.,et al., 2017). Sociologists should influence people to opt for safe materials for production where waste is not harmful and destructive to the environment. Industries should be provided with regulations that control the amount and type of waste products they produce. This strategy will support keeping of environment clean and influence positive climate changes.

A lot of economic process from industrial industries leads to waste products which negatively affect the environment. Some of the industrial waste contains chemicals and other pollutants which affect the ozone layer thus leading to severe climatic conditions. There are initiatives such as fuel fewer automobiles such as electric cars which minimizes the release of pollutants into the environment. Liquid waste products which are channeled into the river and other water bodies affect the aquatic life which is the source of food for humans (Manahan, S2017). It is essential for sociology to devise mechanisms of influencing the society to participate in activities which assist in preserving the environment. Industrial wastes make the situation worse for farmers where production patterns have shifted enormously, that is high temperature, and extreme changes in rain patterns are a threat to crops which produce food for human sustainability. Industrial wastes worsen the situation.

The development of the human population is affected by the disease, social factors and weather patterns (Song, & Zeng, 2015). The greenhouse effect is affected by the amount of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons and methane which are released into the environment through various human activities. The deficiency of food is a direct result of degraded farming lands through pollution and waste which alters the chemical composition of the soil. The industries used by humans to develop technological products produces harmful waste materials that when is released to the environment profusely affect human lives.

Industrial waste products and human activities contribute to the release of greenhouse gases that degrades the environment. The current environmental challenges are linked to human history, cultural factors, economic drivers and political influences that control power relations and the accessibility of resources. Sociology has been undermined adversely in research activities which are associated with industrial waste challenges even though some claims relate that sociologist does not want to relate with environmental issues (van et al 2018).

Sociology can be applied to influence people into conducting activities such as platting of trees, conservation of wildlife initiatives and communal clean up groups that assist in protecting the environment. Sociologist should educate the society about various ways of handling industrial waste challenges, there have been cases where communities have been forced to migrate due to health risks. Some of the industrial waste causes various inflections to humans, the chemicals from underground waste are harmful to plant life which is the water catchment bodies. (Cole, C., 2018).         The impact of industrial waste  on climate has captured the attention of various research communities and policymakers since human cause plus results of climatic changes have become a concern of social scientists. Various social researches have indicated that industrial waste has caused several deaths among the community close to the disposal locations. The vegetation and soil which is used for agriculture loses its value due to chemicals that are present in the industrial waste. Socio environmental organizations presently have developed initiatives that campaign for world free of industrial wastes. There are various strategies for recycling of plastics and metals plus other waste which are not able to decompose over period of time. The chemicals from mining wastes are harvested and the remains are neutralized or get processed in other forms. Sociology contributes to industrial waste catastrophe through creation of attention on the intersection of political protocols and economic orders which contributes to mitigations of industrial wastes globally based on social theories; political economy evaluates the connection between the emission of carbon and effects on global climate, economic concerns and the organization of the society.

According to a sociological research, various dependencies ranging from urban setting, rural setting, type of economic activities, governmental policies and their effects on various issues relating to industrial waste the study indicated that highly populated regions such as urban centers have a concentration of automobiles and industries that emit carbon. Political influences and globalization have contributed to large industrial industries having their production plants located in third world countries and other places with abundant raw materials (Manahan, 2017). Due to the high level of production, the wastes highly degrade the environment in such locations. Human economic activities such as mining excavate chemicals alongside minerals that are harmful to the human environment. Sociologists have analyzed the social-related factors that contribute towards excess production plus consumption which results in high volumes of wastes (Evans et al. 2017). However, there are strategies which have been initiated towards recycling waste to minimize the harmful materials.

The human consumption habits influenced by advertising trends result in economic and human consequences which are destructive. The uneven dynamics of power influence the social mobility patterns and access to economic, social and political resources. Understanding social inequality assists sociologists to study the trends in industrial wastes globally. The effects of industrial waste products are not evenly distributed around the globe. (Sholl & Lively, 2016). One of the significant results of industrial waste products is the migration of human beings from poor regions to highly developed countries.

The inequalities are further affected by industrial waste disasters and limited mitigation strategies to counteract them. Likewise, the migration of people imposes a strain on resources plus social fabrics of the received segment of the society and depletion of human capital on the sender communities. The variations in people, vulnerabilities and communities on industrial waste impacts are a component of inequality structure in world. The unequal dispensation of impacts plus vulnerabilities to industrial waste effects is highly associated with age of the population and the social class. Sociology influences on the society make the industrial waste catastrophe is a vital issue for protecting vulnerable populations which entail the elderly, women, the poor and children (Folberth et al 2015). The effort to reconstruct the communities and resources redistribution pays paramount attention to the difference in power that controls access to protection during disasters.     Tackling social aspects of industrial wastes creates opportunities since it expands the capacity of communities and enhances the objectives of social development.

Addressing social aspects initiates mobilization towards constructive handling of industrial waste through robust avenues. Industrial wastes products influence sectors that are of central importance for poor communities such as temperature changes, water, droughts and agriculture (Song & Zeng, 2015). The communities who their livelihood depends on nature are mostly affected. Effects of industrial waste products on the environment interfere with the water cycle, and the poor communities depend on natural water in farming for food production. That determines the impact of the adverse effects of industrial waste products is the lack of societal development on developing mitigation strategies for adverse industrial waste. Poor communities play vital roles in actions to mitigate detrimental industrial wastes even though they occasionally cause little effect in curbing the greenhouse effect it is important for developed nations to lead in the agenda towards minimizing industrial waste and dealing with effects of industrial waste products on the environment (Haas, Krausmann, Wiedenhofer & Heinz, 2015). The waste from industrial industries affect the composition of soil used for farming which is saturated with various chemicals .these chemicals are absorbed by plants which are eventually consumed by people. The intake of these chemicals imposes health risks such as cancer which is a menace to current society.

The greenhouse effect pollutes the environment which affects human health; this is evident in the present low life expectancy. Pollutants from industries affect the ozone layer which screens humans from ultraviolet rays from the sun. As such, this has resulted in various health risks (Cole, 2018). Some of the chemicals which are extracted during the excavation of minerals also find their ways into water bodies which are being consumed by humans hence taking in of disastrous compounds which put people health at risk. Poor communities engage in activities such as charcoal burning which leads to clearing of vegetation cover which attracts rainfall which is essential for food production (Sholl, & Lively, 2016). The waste products other than industries are poorly disposed of, hence exposing humans to harmful chemicals and on the other hand, some of the waste products do not integrate and find their ways into the human food chain and puts individuals at health risk. It is therefore essential for sociologists to implement social mechanisms that will educate people on the handling of waste products, recycling of various by-products to clean our environment (Evans et al. 2017). Some of the technological innovations such as the invention of electric cars which produces zero carbon emissions help conserve our natural environment and influences climate changes positively.

Conclusion

The paper discusses the destruction of the natural environment as a significant influence on industrial wastes. Industrial activities which emit carbon, destruction of vegetation cover, improper disposal of waste products significantly affect our natural environment. Human activities should be regulated, and policies should be developed to place environment conservation at the top of the list of strategies to influence positive climate changes. Even though sociologists have been given minor opportunity towards influencing society positively, they should be involved rather than depending on scientific research solely to assist in devising mechanisms of influencing the society to contribute towards the preservation of natural environment positively.

References

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