Negative Impacts of Industrial Revolutions - Essay Example

? Negative Impacts of Industrial Revolutions Introduction Industrial revolution refers to the period between 1750 to 1850 when changes in mining, agriculture, technology, and transport among other aspects of human life took control of economic, social and cultural conditions. Industrial revolution marks a very important turning point in human behavior and history as almost each aspect of life was affected and changed in some way. Environmental Pollution Although industrialization enhanced mass production and short processes, the machineries used created a lot of pollution to the environment. The machineries used a lot of energy inform of coal and could emit fumes when operating. These fumes are toxic to human being and other living things. For example, children could get lung related diseases more often when exposed to the fumes. The main causes of air pollution were transportation, solid waste, combustion of fuel by machinery and other industrial processes. During the revolution era, waste materials from factories were directed to rivers and streams. This polluted water for both human consumption and living things in the water. As a result, many fish died and others became unfit for human consumption (Yadav and Garg, 2011). At that time, peoples source of water was stream as tapped water was rare; there contaminating the water meant risking peoples’ lives. The main sources of water pollution were agro-based industries and agricultural activities. When farmers were spraying their crops, these chemicals ended up in the streams and rivers. More to that, the processing industries were discharging the used oil and chemicals to rivers and other water sources without any form of treatment to reduce the chemical levels and toxic levels. The invention of ship and water transportation increased the levels of water pollution since ships and other water vessels could leak oil into the waters. At the coastal regions, there were a lot of silts and erosions, human and animal wastes among other wastes instigated by industrialization. Noise pollution was evident since these machines were at a low sophistication level and produced a lot of noise while operating therefore, people could not communicate well. Because of the noise, some workers developed permanent earring impairment. There was land pollution and excessive exploitation of natural resources since mining of coal left the land with a lot of deep trenches and deformities. Cutting down trees for timber led to soil erosions and extensive water logging. Therefore, soli erosion was a major problem as well as flooding which forced people to shift to better and more stable grounds than their former homes. In order to control the level of pollution, the government imposed mandatory environmental conditions to every industry. This meant that industries should use the best available methods with least waste, less harmful to human being and the waste can be recycled for other purposes. The government has also ensured accident mitigations for leakages and damages in both water and road transportation (Yadav and Garg, 2011).. Miners should also be advised to refill sites to their original state after the mining activities. The government should reinforce waste management procedures and emission limits for polluting substances. Exploitation of human labour Although industrial revolution brought about mass production of goods and services, it also caused exploitation of human labour and efforts. This is because labour was very essential for the continuity of production and in large numbers. The population at that time was not sufficient to supply all the industries and machinery for optimum utilization. Therefore, this led to child labour and long working hours. People were being forced to work for longer hours at farms than usual to produce more raw materials for the industries. In return, they were paid peanuts despite working for overtime. In return, this cut short their social life since they could no longer spend enough time with their families and loved ones. Children were also exploited since they were employed at farms at tender age instead of attending school schedules. Children were needed since they were many in number therefore, could increase the working population. Child labour is illegal and hindered their educational ambitions and dream. Generally, people overworked because of high levels of poverty and everyone was willing to work to earn a better life. The employers took advantage of the situation and even encouraged slavery to get enough supply of labour. Children at tender age worked up to sixteen hours continuously and could get beating s if they slept while at work or made mistakes. Mine operators to pull carts full of coal from the coalmines to the coal shafts used children. The workers efforts were exploited since they earned very little despite working a whole day. For the government to stop exploitation of human effort in industries, it established rules and policies governing employment. It stated that, children at age of school going should not be employed but be given their educational rights. The policies further stipulated that, employees should not work for longer hours; they should have breaks in between the work to refresh and relax. In addition, policies on terms of payment stipulated that employees should earn worth payments. This reduced the state of poverty as a standard way of rewarding their effort was established in the factories and farms. The government went on to ban slavery and slave trade. This made sure that every human being had a right to life and movement. Social evils in urban towns Industrial revolution brought up urbanization whereby new towns were created and the existing ones grew in population. This was a positive effect but came along with social crimes in the towns ( Burke, 2010). This is because people from different societies with different cultures overcrowded towns. Social evil like rape, murder, and prostitution emerged. In these towns people cold practice prostitution to earn easy money instead of going to work for a whole day, get tired and get a small pay. Other people considered to mug those who have earned for the day hence promoting theft and disorder in the towns. Children and women were highly raped, as they were considered weak and more likely to comply with orders. Population in towns increased leading to scramble for houses resulting to poor living conditions among the dwellers. This is because people were living in shanties, as they could not afford good houses. The few available worth houses were not enough for everyone. Therefore, these towns played a very big role in growing the social even in the society and environment. For the government to prune out these social evils, policies and programs should be set. The government should establish cheap housing program whereby houses are built and rented out to the public at affordable rates. This shall reduce the number of shanties in towns. Establishment of Police stations is vital to enhance law and order (Burke, (2010). This will make sure that law breakers are disciplined therefore reducing crime and promote peace and order. Conclusion Industrialization is inevitable and cannot be assumed. However, as the world celebrates the innovations and fruits of industrialization, the many negative impacts that are evident need tome immediate control. To realize this, it is the duty of the government and community as a whole to control and minimize the effects. This will make sure that the government and involved industries will not incur many costs to correct the situation. The effects of industrialization will not endanger human life and other living things. References Burke, T. (2010). The Origins of Social Justice: Taparelli d'Azeglio. Modern Age, 52(2), pp. 97-106. Yadav, A., & Garg, V. V. (2011). Industrial wastes and sludges management by vermicomposting. Reviews In Environmental Science & Biotechnology, 10(3), pp. 243. Read More