Visual pollution is everything that affects or disturbs display of a certain area or breaks the aesthetics of the landscape. Unfortunately, we are encountering this problem more and more, both in large cities and in rural areas. The human brain has a certain capacity to absorb data that is exceeded by the enormous amount of "unnatural" elements in the landscape, which are also constantly changing. Excess information in colors, lights and shapes, which makes our brain unable to process it properly and, in the end, ignore a part and leave a lot aside, stored in memory, even if we do not realize it. All this harms us, from the health of the eyes to that of the brain and even alters tension and produces stress, and these are just some of the consequences of this type of pollution. In Green Ecologist, we will talk about the visual pollution, its causes, consequences and possible solutions. In addition, we also detail examples of visual contamination very clear.
What is visual pollution: definition and examples
As we said at the beginning, the definition of visual pollution it may be that a visual impact serious, which disturbs i that even severely affects the visualization of the landscape or environment and, therefore, the state of our brain, like the rest of the animals in the affected area, because the brain receives too much information at all times.
Visual contamination: examples
Some examples of visual contamination they are the billboards in great quantity in some big cities, like London or Tokyo, electrical cables, antennas, poles, etcetera.
All these elements could not pollute by themselves, since they do not expel waste such as polluting gases, but their excessive use, their location and their size, among other aspects, all of them arranged by humans, turn them into elements or pollutants in a visual way that produces various conditions and disorders. You can see more examples of Cities with the highest visual pollution in this other post.
In addition, a good part of visual pollution is made up of light pollution or excess light. Here we tell you everything about Light Pollution: definition, causes and consequences.
The causes of visual pollution
Now that we have seen the definition of visual pollution and some examples, it is convenient to know the main causes of visual pollution can be reduced to one: the excessive use of artificial elements in the environment by people. Some more specific examples of visual pollution and that you will surely have encountered in excess in your day-to-day life at some point in your life, are the following and can be considered as causes of visual pollution:
- Billboards.
- Air traffic.
- Wired electricity poles.
- Television antennas.
- Satellite dishes.
- Lightning rod.
- Garbage or landfills.
- Graffiti
- Run-down buildings.
- Electrical distribution networks.
- Excess traffic signs.
- Windmills that generate clean energy but litter, in a certain way, the natural setting. This is a clear example of visual impact in an environment surrounded by nature.
The main consequences of visual pollution
How does visual pollution affect? The truth is that it affects more than we might think at first. In fact, its consequences are diverse and some are quite worrying, so it is advisable to know well the main consequences of visual pollution, to be aware of it and try to avoid it as much as possible in our day to day.
- Landscape aesthetics affected.
- Decreased efficiency.
- Headache.
- Bad mood.
- Stress due to saturation of elements and colors.
- Attention disorders.
- Nervous system disorders.
- Accidents caused by visual obstruction while driving.
These are just some examples of the consequences of the visual impact that this type of pollution produces, but there are others that are produced in a more indirect way.
Possible solutions for visual contamination
Some solutions for visual contamination that affect not only our sight, but also the brain and the entire central nervous system are, among others, the following:
- Reduce the number of ads, since we live in a world of excessive advertising).
- Keep track of urban regulations rational, avoiding aggressive or overloaded elements.
- Improve urban regulations and laws to promote health in this regard.
- Choose a way of life in which there is less consumerism.
- Raise awareness and educate the youngest that this problem exists, which usually goes quite unnoticed, so that it can continue to be studied and in the future, hopefully not too far away, more solutions to visual pollution will be found.
Perhaps visual pollution does not seem to be one of the most serious, especially considering the serious state of others such as atmospheric or water pollution. However, those who have it around them sooner or later begin to feel some of the consequences mentioned above and it is worth trying to do something to improve this situation, since after all health is very altered.
If you want to read more articles similar to Visual pollution: causes, consequences and solutions, we recommend that you enter our Pollution category.
