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Effects of groundwater pollution
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Groundwater Pollution
Groundwater is vital for life and although 71% of the earth’s surface is covered by water only 2.5% of all the water is freshwater. Earth’s freshwater is located 1.2% on the surface and other freshwater bodies, 30.1% is groundwater, and 68.7% is in glacier and ice caps. Of the earth’s total water supply only 1% is freshwater that is accessible and is trapped in snow field and glaciers, In short, only 0.007% of the planet 's water is available to fuel and feed its 6.8 billion people. Further expanding the point of how important it is to protect this vital resource. Groundwater is defined as rain water or water from surface water bodies, like lakes or streams, that soaks into the soil and bedrock and is stored underground in the tiny spaces between rocks and particles of soil. Groundwater pollution occurs when hazardous substances come into contact and dissolve in the water that has soaked into the soil. The
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Wells used for domestic wastewater disposal (septic systems, cesspools, drainage wells for storm water runoff) are of concern to groundwater quality if they are located close to drinking water wells. Improperly storing or disposing of household chemicals (paints, detergents, solvents, oils, medicines, disinfectants, pool chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers, and batteries) can lead to groundwater contamination. Also, when stored in garages or basements with floor drains, spills or flooding can introduce these contaminants into the groundwater. When these contaminates are thrown into the household trash, these dangerous products will eventually end up in the landfill. Ultimately, these item will contaminate the groundwater because the landfills are not equipped to handle hazardous materials. Also, wastes dumped or buried in the ground will eventually contaminate the soil and seep into the
The article, Hidden Waters by Joanne Zygmunt describes how water is used in almost everything in the world. The article begins by stating agriculture soaks up the majority of all water and is depleting the limited supply. Roughly “70 percent of global freshwater withdrawals are for irrigation” (Zygmunt 8). Zygmunt, sates there are many unknown uses of water. For example, A hamburger contains “2400 litres of embedded water” (10). It is also stated the are different types of embedded water, “blue” and “green”. “Blue” is the water used in daily life. “Green” is water that is found underground (Zygmunt 11). Unlike other natural resources, there is no substitute for water. The effects of water shortage depend on water utilization, environment
Politicians can learn a lot from the Information Security Research arena, if they took the time to close the loop with regards to confirmation bias, and understood data, without judgement. One of the biggest problems with information disclosure in the security realm, is the matter of trust. When information is disclosed in the information security world, researchers that I have spoken to, first look at the source of the information, followed by the content of information being disclosed: “Who is making this statement, and what is its purpose.”
Water pollution is a very serious problem as it affects one of the most essential ingredients to our very livelihood. The earth is covered in water, in fact about 70% of the Earth is covered in water, only
Freshwater is quite scarce, but it is even scarcer than one might think: about seventy percent of all freshwater is frozen in the icecaps of Antarctica and Greenland and is unavailable to humans. Most of the remainder is present as soil moisture or lies in deep underground aquifers as groundwater. It is not economically feasible to extract this waster for use as drinking water. This leaves less than one percent of the world’s fresh water that is available to humans. It includes the water found in lakes, reservoirs, groundwater that is shallow enough to be tapped at an affordable cost. These freshwater sources are the only sources that are frequently replenished by rain and snowfall, and therefore are renewable. At the current rates of consumption, however, this supply of fresh water will not last. Pollution and contamination of freshwater sources exacerbate the problem, further reducing the amount of freshwater available for human consumption. Something must be done if humans want to even survive in the near future: the lack of clean drinking water is already the number one cause of disease in the world today. The first step is worldwide awareness of the water crisis: governments and the citizens they govern worldwide need to know about this problem and be actively involved in solving this problem.
Water is on of the most precious natural resources that exist on our planet. “It is delivered from the atmosphere in the form of rain, snow, hail, fog, and condensation and returns to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration” (Hannigan 1969). Although many of us love activities that have to do with water, we disregard it and pollute out rivers, lakes and oceans. Slowly but surely we are going to harm out planet till no return. Protecting and conserving nature will secure a better future. 71% of earth is covered with oceans. Sounds like a lot right? Imagine ...
It might be easier to live a healthy life for many people, but for others it can be very challenging. I have tried to be healthy so many times, but I always fell off the wagon. For many days I would “feel” healthy, but in reality I was not the healthiest person mentally or physically. I knew that I had to change my behavior, and become healthier (or at least almost healthy) if I wanted to live a longer life. I began my journey by drinking more water, balancing my eating with exerting, all while trying to stay mentally well.
There are many types of pollution. The main types of pollution are water, air, soil, thermal, radioactive, noise, and light. The topic for this experiment is Water Pollution. Water Pollution became a problem in the 1900’s when water started being treated like sewage. Earth Day was founded by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson on April 22, 1970 because of 1900’s pollution. Water Pollution also affects humans and animals. There was a Cholera outbreak in 1854, before water pollution became a problem, and a Typhoid outbreak in New York from 1900 to 1915. There are multiple possible causes to Water Pollution. Humans let out chemicals into the environment, and when some of those chemicals
Clean and safe drinking water resources are becoming scarce as the population grows. The world is facing many problems, but the most important thing needed to survive, is water. Water is getting low in many countries, therefore residents are suffering the misfortune of not having the reliable source of clean water. Today many countries are having water shortages meaning rivers, lakes, streams and groundwater are not enough to rely on for supplying water demands. For example, California is facing a drastic water shortage, the natural water resources are not enough to fulfill their water demands.
The problem of water scarcity has increasingly spread throughout the world as of yet, The UN reports that within the next half- century up to 7 billion people in 60 countries which is more than the whole present population will face water scarcity (Sawin “Water Scarcity could Overwhelm the Next Generation”). As well the demand for freshwater has tripled over the past 50 years, and is continuing to rise as a result of population growth and economic development. 70% of this demand derives from agriculture which shows the influence of water on food supply globally as well not just drinking water (Sawin “Water Scarcity could overwhelm the Next Generation”). But increasing water use is not just a matter of the greater number of people needing it to drink and eat; it also comes from pollution and misuse of water supplies, by either dumping or runoff of bacteria or chemicals into water. This also “causes other pollutions as well such as soil and air pollution, accelerating wetland damage and human caused global warming” (Smith and Thomassey 25). According to UN report, recent estimates suggest that climate change will account for about 20 percent of the increase in global water scarcity in coming decades.
Water is our main source of our life. We need it to live, drink, bathe,
Water is the most priceless resource on our planet. Billions of gallons flow through our rivers and lakes. Millions of gallons are consumed by humans each day. Our world’s surface is seventy percent water. With so much water around us, how can 1.1 billion people still lack access to clean water (Cooper, Water Shortages)? People are already using fifty four percent of all the freshwater available on this planet (Cooper, Water Shortages). We cannot afford to neglect something so essential to our very survival. We must defend our most important natural resource—water.
The Causes of Water Pollution Water pollution is very harmful to the environment and living things. Water pollution can come from many different sources. If the pollution comes from only one source, such as an oil spill, it is called point-source pollution. If it comes from many different sources, it is called nonpoint-source pollution. Most water pollution affects the immediate area surrounding the source, but there are some types of pollution, such as hazardous, that can affect areas miles away from the source.
Freshwater in the world makes up only a small portion of the water on the planet. While the percentage of water in the world is nearly 70%, only 2.5% is consumable. Even further, only 1% is easily accessible to basic human needs. According to National Geographic, “by 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will live in areas plagued by water scarcity, with two-thirds of the world's population living in water-stressed regions as a result of use, growth, and climate change.” With this current trend, water will become more immersed in environmental, economic, political, and social changes.
Wastewater is the combination of water-carried or liquid wastes starting in the sanitary conveniences of dwellings, industrial or commercial facilities. In addition to this, surface water, groundwater and storm water may also be present. It is any water that has been badly affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. It contains waste from residential, industrial and commercial processes. Municipal water contains industrial wastewater, sewage and gray water. Gray water is the water from sinks and showers. Large industries also produce wastewater.
Water is one of the most essential non-renewable natural resources on the Earth. Technically, an un-hydrated human being can live no more than three days. In the United States, people consume water mainly from tap water and bottle water. However, the consumption between these two sources is not even but lean to one side heavily. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, people consume from 240 to over 10000 times more per gallon for bottled water than they usually do for tap water. (NRDC) In addition, according to a survey from US National Library of Medicines, only 17% of the participants prefer to drink tap water exclusively.(US National Library) Compared to the bottled water which is shining like a superstar, tap water is like a diligent worker in the shade, unpopular but useful. The extremely unbalance of bottled water consumption implies that a commonly hold conception exists: bottle water is superior to tap water. In fact, scientific evidence proves that tap water is nothing different than bottle water. More importantly, the excessive consumption of bottled water is an irrational use of resources and creates severe environmental issues.