Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[missdaredevil]

Does the combination of words, "human pollution" makes sense?
Is the wording *man-made pollution* better

[bud]

Hi Missdaredevil,

At first I liked "man-made" better... Then it occurred to me that either choice is redundant as a qualifier for pollution. I mean, isn't humankind ultimately responsible for all pollution?

The only reason to use a modifier (that I can think of) is that if in the environmental field they distinguish between man-made pollution and the pollution from, say, farm animals.

Hope that helps.

[missdaredevil]

Hey,
The reason that prompted me to ask if *human pollution* is correct was because an English teacher at an local school used it a lot.
The first thing that came to my mind was the *unconscious damage* caused by human beings.
Am I right about that?

Thanks

[bud]

Well, "unconscious" is not a thought that would come to my mind at hearing the expression. Even so, your interpretation could well be the correct one. And if it is, then probably "human" does work better than "man-made."