Pollution is the presence of harmful substances in the air, water, or land that damage the environment and can harm living things. It often comes from human activities like factories, cars, and waste disposal.
From Latin *pollutio* “defilement,” from *polluere* “to soil, contaminate,” literally “to smear.” It originally referred to moral or ritual defilement before becoming strongly associated with environmental harm.
The word once focused on moral “uncleanness,” but now we mostly think of smoke and plastic. That shift shows how our idea of what’s truly damaging has moved from invisible sins to very visible toxins.
Environmental pollution affects people differently based on gendered roles—for example, exposure patterns for women responsible for household fuel use or men in certain industrial jobs. Historically, environmental policy and discourse often overlooked these gendered exposure patterns and decision-making roles.
When discussing pollution, consider how gender roles and inequalities shape who is exposed and who has power to address the problem, rather than treating impacts as uniform.
Women environmental activists and researchers have been central in highlighting how pollution intersects with gender, poverty, and health.
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