Is pollution reversible? or are we just buying some time before the disaster of earth?

Question

I asked this in Earth Sciences & Geology. I chose a best answer, but I was not truly satisfies with it. Maybe it was a wrong platform to address to. Have a go.

Answer 1

Yes. Lake Erie is a good example. It was getting pretty bad in the 1960's. Now it is quite clean.

Answer 2

I'm not going to get into all the details about the different types of pollution and it's effect on the earth; we all know them all so well, for it's trans-boundary and world wide.

Humans are the polluters, (approx. 5-6 billion of them world wide) and until we can educate them  to reverse their wasteful consumption and harmful leakage of toxins into/on our Mother Earth, I'm going to agree with you.  We are just wasting and buying some time.

Answer 3

Most forms of pollution are reversible. The caveat is that most of the reversal procedures are either too expensive to be conducted OR take to long to occur naturally.

Answer 4

Given enough time just about any river lake or stream will clean itself with the natural cycles of rain, evaporation, and condensation. Given enough time forest will come back from even the worst fire, volcano, or thousands upon thousands of tourist. On the human scale with a power source as huge as our nearest star we call the sun i do believe the Earth will survive but I'm not so sure about those creatures that like to build stuff and dream of the stars!..:)