There are so many types of pollution that people often do not even know how to name or classify them as agents that degrade the planet, thus endangering the health and future of all living things. Visual pollution, for example, is not much debated. Sometimes people notice that something is bothering them – whether it is an excess of signs, lights, billboards, wires, antennas, colors, letterforms, picture decorations, in the street or on screens. Everything can affect vision, interfere with appearance, or attack the eyes.
Ophthalmologist Luis Felipe Carneiro, technical director of ophthalmology at Santa Casa BH, asserts that pollution is every process that makes the world or planet Earth unsafe or dangerous to living things. This usually happens when the natural environment is polluted with something artificial that not only affects people’s lives. “These pollutants can range from garbage, gases, or intangible things like light, sound, and the temperature itself.”
Today there are several types of pollution. We have air, water, soil, sound, plastic, radioactive, thermal and light. Visual pollution has grown, in addition to various advertisements such as banners, billboards and electrical wires, it has reached our hands through screens, cell phones, computers and everything that permeates our daily lives. We often change the name of visual pollution to light pollution to cover these new technologies that cause a lot of harm when used inappropriately,” explains the doctor.
Louis-Philippe explains that visual pollution or light pollution has become a health problem. “Whenever light bypasses a human’s safe environment, it turns into pollution and thus a health problem. We know that excess light alters the secretion of hormones such as melatonin (sleep), cortisol (stress) and the daily cycle. It can cause permanent eye damage, depression and even cancer, due to altering the natural cycle. for the body.”
Visual loss Excessive light can cause various eye problems. “Too much light can directly damage the photoreceptor cells in the retina and lead to permanent vision loss.” He even cites the early position of looking at eclipses without protection. In addition, certain eye tumors, cataracts, and age-related macular degeneration are more common in people who are more exposed to light. Screens in general, when used for many hours a day, can cause weakness of the eye muscles, unnecessary eye strain, headaches and eye pain, and symptoms such as asthenia.”
According to the specialist, visual or light pollution can aggravate skin cancers of the eyelids, conjunctiva and inside the eyes. It still exacerbates dry eyes, infections, and diseases of the ocular surface. Contact lens wearers, for example, are more susceptible to the harmful effects of light.”
Today there are several effective ways to deal with light pollution. The doctor says skin-to-skin sunscreens, hats, and hats avoid direct contact with light. There are even glasses with photochromic lenses, which darken in the dark and protect from UVA and UVB rays.
We have many glasses and contact lenses with blue filters, also known as digital filters, which block the blue wavelength, which is the most harmful to the eyes. Cell phone screens themselves can be configured to reduce the emission of harmful lights and help and protect the user.”
environment and human health
Deforestation, biome destruction, alternation of droughts and floods, atmospheric pollution, social and environmental crimes, global warming, and climate change. The list does not stop here. Do you think it is your problem? Do you think you have any responsibility? Can you do something about this? The fact is that environmental changes affect human health, as well as harm animals and plants, becoming a great alert to the behavior of society in search of new directions.
Rodrigo Salveti, Curriculum Professor of Biology at Centro Universitário N. Senhora do Patrocínio (Ceunsp), Climate change is changing the way meteorological events operate on Earth. The increase in heat in the atmosphere, caused by the release of pollutants, has already reached climatic equilibrium. This means that precipitation is more variable, heat waves and colds are more intense, and there is a greater likelihood of extreme weather events such as tornadoes, tornadoes, and heavy rain. That is, life in general, not just humans, is affected by this condition.”
The biologist warns that heat waves and hotter, drier air can lead to heart and respiratory problems. Lack of moisture damages crops and livestock, causing food shortages, and exacerbation of weather events can cause physical and human damage due to floods, winds and landslides.
“Particles in the air tend to increase in dry periods, which promotes the spread of bacteria and viruses, and polluting particles that cause lung disease. In extreme cold, below 10 degrees, it is possible to develop diseases associated with hypothermia, while in high temperatures Very often, heat stroke, dehydration, and even heart problems are common.”
New diseases Rodrigo Salveti adds that the evolution of society is reflected in the emergence and spread of new diseases. “This progress has two main consequences: the accumulation of people in one place generates a greater demand for natural resources, such as water, food and products in general, as well as the production of a huge amount of waste that must be disposed of. The second is that if urban areas grow, rural areas and protect The environment therefore needs to be deforested and converted into urban spaces.”
These factors contribute to increasing pressure on Earth’s ecosystems, which need to provide more and more resources to humans from smaller and smaller sites. “Deforestation and the use of pesticides put humans in contact with animals, bacteria and viruses that were previously restricted to nature and are now closer to urban areas, increasing the incidence of previously eradicated or unknown diseases,” comments a comment.
“The increase in Earth’s average temperature is causing the polar regions to melt, which can release microorganisms trapped in ice for thousands of years into water and soil, and whose interactions with humans are not known.”
Effects Changing trajectories is no longer possible from a biologist’s point of view. The impact of climate change on society is an inescapable fact. Unfortunately, we have reached the point of no return. What remains is to reduce the damage as much as possible, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation, and restore damaged areas in order to try, in some way, to reduce the unbridled consumption of resources. It is not easy, it involves political, economic and above all cultural issues. It is necessary to make the way of life more sustainable, to discover and use new sources of energy, and to replace forms of consumption with less effective alternatives. It is my homework for this and future generations.”
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