Pollution. Many people know what this term means in the aspect of how it negatively affects the lives of human beings. However, many people generally don’t care about this problem (Buchanan and Horwitz). Pollution is a serious problem that deserves to have immediate action done to prevent it. This issue has ruined the lives of many people, especially the elderly and young children (Bily 42, 43). Pollution is a deadly and lethal problem, but can be fixed by passing new laws, having people conserve resources, and have jobs that are made for pollution clean up.
As a whole, pollution affects people and the environment. Statistics from the EPA show that about 630,000 children in the US are born with a risk of brain damage due to elevated levels of mercury in the mothers (Bily 58). And, according to a study in Sweden, lymphoma occurs five-times more in people exposed to herbicides (Bily 73). This means that farmers are at the highest risk of lymphoma because of their constant exposure to herbicides. An unfortunate fact about the US is that 45 states have issued warnings of fish having mercury poisoning (Bily 124). Another issue that has negative impact on society is acid rain. When rain and nitric acid mix together to form acid rain, it can destroy trees, buildings, and statues (Tennesen).
One pollution problem our planet has is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This floating mass of 3 1/2 million tons of trash is about twice the size of the state of Texas. The main component of the Patch is plastic. Specifically, they are tiny pieces of plastic. A downside to having plastic garbage is that it will not biodegrade for hundreds of years. On average, the Patch kills about one million birds and 100,000 ocean animals every year. Furthermo...
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This pollution problem is so ubiquitous plastic can be found throughout the marine environment from coastlines to near shore lagoons to remote ocean hotspots where plastics caught up in marine currents. And gathered up into huge garbage patches that swirl
originally been discarded on land” ( Weisman.) Moore estimated that the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” alone has roughly three million tons of plastic waste in it, and has grown by 100 percent over the past 40 years. It’s crazy to think we are polluting the only home humans have; filling the oceans of the world carelessly with waste.
Large mammals such as whales, consume over 24,000 tons of plastic per year. The survival of many species, including the Hawaiian Monk Seal and the Loggerhead Turtle are being jeopardized and are nearly extinct. “The economical effects of plastic pollution cause an estimated $1.27 billion dollars in vessel damages per year and the cost of removing this debris cost $1,500 to $25,000 per ton” (Sounds Like Garbage). That’s over 13 billion dollars the government is using each year to try and remove some percentage of the plastic debris that has accumulated over the years. Plastic pollution also releases toxic chemicals that are being absorbed by the plastic, increasing the concentration a million times more. Which results in toxic chemicals entering our food chain that leads towards cancer, malformation, breast cancer, and even death. If plastic pollution continues to go unsolved, the ecological, economical and eco-toxicological effects it has had will basically begin, no it has already began, to destroy Earth and we are the ones who did this to
The desperate plight of the environment should by all means be the first priority for every single government and person on this planet. With today’s common knowledge of what might happen in the near future if significant changes aren’t made in the lifestyle of most people it’s hard to understand why 70 million cars continue to vomit their poison into the air everyday. All around the world environmental activists fight to preserve our patches of rain forests and wetlands, as well as protect a variety of fragile but important ecosystems. In all major cities, advocates of environmental conservation annually propose plans with alternative modes of transportation and energy-efficient appliances that will every citizen would be mandated to use. Even if instituted gradually, these ch...
Its harming the environment and humans. Pollution is very dangerous, it could cause early death, suffering from lung and heart disease. Pollution is affecting the ozone. Pollution is caused by smoke, ash, and toxic fumes from volcanoes. (“Pollution” 2014) Pollution causes smog(“Pollution” 2014) Finally, 33% of ocean pollution comes from atmospheric toxins.(“We” 1942)
Recently, an uninhabited island in the South Pacific Ocean was found to be polluted with 38 million pieces of plastic that had been carried over by currents (Wang, “No one lives on this remote Pacific island”). The island, dubbed ‘trash island’, is home to diverse animal populations that have all been devastated by the pollution. On the beach, hundreds of birds were seen dead by reporters and scientists. When analyzed, the primary cause of death turned out to be consumption of plastic. When animals ingest plastic, it clogs their stomach and poisons their body with toxic chemicals. These toxic chemicals cause an array of issues, such as reproductive and endocrine problems. Eventually, this leads to death (Knoblauch, “The environmental toll of plastics”). But due to the nature of plastics, it can take hundreds or even thousands of years to completely degrade, meaning that as plastic pollution continues to build up, more places like ‘trash island’ will be discovered. According to conservation scientist Alex Bond, “…[The island] is just an indicator of what’s floating around out there” (Wang, “No one lives on this remote Pacific
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest garbage dump in the world. According to estimates made by experts, the patch holds approximately three and a half million tons of garbage. Majority of this garbage is made of plastic. This waste is a threatening problem to the patch’s surrounding wildlife. Many animals are caught in the floating pieces of trash and it is the cause of the deaths of about one million birds and about one hundred thousand other sea animals. Due to the oceans nature and constant moving currents, the trash is also constantly moving. Therefore the size of the patch never stays the exact same. However, scientists believe it be approximately two times the size of Texas. The plastic is mostly broken down from larger materials into small pieces. The patch has been referred to as one scientist as a, “plastic soup”. This garbage poses such a threat mainly because it does not biodegrade. These plastics will be in the ocean essentially forever. Many plastics also contain chemicals, and absorb other chemicals and pollutants they become exposed to. These newly absorbed toxins are then leaked and distributed back into the ocean over time. The chemicals can directly enter the bodies of the animals which consume them. A study was being conducted by scientists of the fish that inhabit the area around the patch. What the researchers found inside the belly of one fish (that was no larger in size than that of a finger), was eighty four small fragments of plastic. It does not take scientists to recognize the impact of this problem, Zach Gold, who is sixteen, is from Santa Monica California. Zach enjoys s...
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The world population is living, working, and vacationing along the coasts. They are contributing to an unprecedented tide of plastic waste. Pollution is defined as the process that alters a substance or molecule on planet earth, the pollution is caused by the physical contact of an organic decaying particle with a clean particle in the same spot, at the time the two particles join together is when occurs pollution in which the environment is greatly altered. Too many, plastic is a modern day miracle, versatile, inexpensive and durable (Rochman 2014). To others, it is a scourge, a non-degradable pollutant that threatens to choke the global environment. Plastic pollution has led to the deaths of many animals, natural resources, and people (Rochman 2014). It is time to change America’s thinking and to learn from past mistakes.
Efforts to improve the standard of living for humans--through the control of nature and the development of new products--have also resulted in the pollution, or contamination, of the environment. Much of the world's air, water, and land is now partially poisoned by chemical wastes. Some places have become uninhabitable. This pollution exposes people all around the globe to new risks from disease. Many species of plants and animals have become endangered or are now extinct. As a result of these developments, governments have passed laws to limit or reverse the threat of environmental pollution.
Pollution is so harmful to human beings. Polluted water can cause many kinds of diseases, such as diarrhea, enteritis, and so on. And sometimes the diseases even take man’s life. Dirty air or air-borne garbage causes stinging eyes and running nose. Pollutants are destructive. They will cause runs in stockings and crack rubber tires and they always eat away at stone and rust iron. Time and time again, there are serious accidents that polluted the air. For example, At 1986 there was a bad accident at a nuclear power station in Russia. A cloud of radiation crossed the whole Europe. It is said that 125,000 people died in Russia as a result of illnesses caused by that accident. In 1984 there was an accident at a factory in India and a dangerous cloud gas covered the town of Bhopal. Over 2,500 people were killed that night, and hundreds and thousands of people were injured. Many of the injured lost their sight, and it really dangerous, even in our imagination.
STATE THESIS & MAIN POINTS: I’m going to persuade you that going green is one solution you could do to help improve the environment by first explaining the problem, then by explaining the factors responsible for pollution, and lastly by listing ways that can help solve this problem.
There are many different types of pollution such as air, water, and land. The pollution of our environment is due to garbage. Garbage is improperly disposed into rivers or other water bodies leading to water pollution. Some countries do not have the technology to treat large amounts of water before letting it back into the rivers and ocean. As a kid from a developing country, I noticed a lot of things when I was on the road with my friend visiting neighboring states in India. I found that piles of garbage were placed near the villages. These piles of garbage were producing a liquid that would flow down and infect the only water source of the villagers. When I came back and researched the topic, I found that garbage could also have other negative effects. Dumping the waste materials on the ground could lead to ground poisoning. Ground poisoning occurs when the ground is regularly in contact with poisonous materials, leading to the ground water being polluted and the land losing its fertility, causing great damage to the ecosystem. Loss of fertility in land can lead to drought. The methane gas produce by the decomposing piles of garbage causes air pollution. Apart from pollution, there is depletion of natural resources because raw materials are constantly being used to produce new products rather than being reused. Furthermore, global warming will become
Every other day a new industries are being set up, new vehicles on roads and trees are being cut to make way for new homes. All of them, indirect way lead to increase in CO2 leads to melting of polar ice caps which increase the sea level and pose danger for the people living near coastal areas. Pollution can have an impact in our health not only affects people with impaired respiratory system such as asthmatics, but very healthy adults and children too. Exposure to pollution for 6 to 7 hours, even at relatively low concentrations, reduces lung function and induces respiratory inflammation and, healthy people during periods of moderate