Did you know 14 billion tons of garbage is dumped into the ocean eve year? And most it is plastic. If you like going to the beach you should know what you are swimming in. If you like hiking, you should know when trails are victims of erosion. If you know anyone who enjoys nature you should inform them how we as humans are killing it. I have gone to the following beach: Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, La Jolla, Imperial Beach, and Solana Beach. While visiting I have seen birds eat cigarette buds. Stepped on plastic on my way in, seen people throw trash on the floor because they are to last to walk a little more. I have been to different hiking trails such as: Cowles Mountain, Mission trails, Torrey Pines, and Lake Murray. {INSERTR MAIN POINTS}.
I want you to imagine you are heading beach, it’s been a half a year since you have gone for a swim. Naturally once you get there you are filled with joy; hence, you skip into the water. Once you are hip deep in the cool icy water you feel something near you. As you look down horror comes upon your face when you see a dead seagull intertwining between your legs. When you try to fight it off you feel something else with your hand. It’s another bird, at this moment you notice no one is in the water because of all the dead birds. When there is a massive amount of dead animals in the ocean it is called a dead zone. The Mississippi river is estimated to care 1.5 million metric tons of nitrogen pollution that create dead zones like the one you may have encountered. Do you drive a car, a truck, ride the bus or a train, or even work on a ship? If you so any of this transportation accounts for 90% of cancer risk that is associated with air pollution. Worldwide, more than 500 million people drink wate...
... middle of paper ...
...lash floods and your favorite hiking trail in great conditions.
Works Cited
Kukreja, Rinkesh. "What Is Land Pollution?" Conserve Energy Future. Conserve Energy-Future, 2013. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. .
Association for Environmental Health and Sciences Foundation. Association for Environmental Health and Sciences Foundation, Inc, 2010. Web. 6 Oct.2013..
"Causes and Effects of Water Pollution." Go Green Academy. go green academy, 2013. Web. 6 Oct. 2013.
LEED AP, Mauro. "Causes and Effects of Air Pollution | Go Green Academy." Go Green Academy. GoGreenAcademy., 13 July 2012. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.
Katz, Brian D., and Kristin Brinner. "Surfrider Foundation San Diego Chapter." Surfrider Foundation San Diego Chapter. Surfrider Foundation, 2013. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.
"Ocean Pollution." MarineBio Conservation Society ~ Marine Biology, Ocean Life Conservation, Sea Creatures, Biodiversity, Research... Web. 19 May 2014.
On July 9, 2011, a major fish kill (fish kill I) was observed by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (OKDEQ) in the Red River, near Ketchum’s Bluff, Oklahoma. The Red River, with headwaters in the Texas panhandle, flows for 917 kilometers, between the borders of Oklahoma (OK) and Texas (TX), before emptying into the Mississippi River. During this fish kill, hundreds of large bottom feeder fish (i.e., catfish and buffalo) were observed as either dead, struggling, or actively dying. Nearly two months later, on September 14, 2011, another fish kill (fish kill II) occurred further south along the Red River, approximately 130 km downstream from Ketchum’s Bluff near Lake Texhoma. Again, it was observed that hundreds of only the large bottom feeder fish were affected by an unknown toxin(s). OKDEQ believed that the two fish kills were related, with the unknown toxicant(s) traveling further downstream from the first fish kill (July 9, 2011), but causing fish mortality 60 days later downstream. The following year, on June 13, 2012, another fish kill (fish kill III) occurred, again near the area of Ketchum’s Bluff and Red Creek confluence. And a final fish kill (fish kill IV) occurred on January 31, 2013, in the same watershed, near Red River and Beaver Creek confluence. Environmental samples (i.e., water, sediment, and fish) were collected, by OKDEQ and the United States Envi...
The Earth's oceans cover approximately three-fourths of the world's surface. Less than one century ago, it would have been difficult to imagine that humans could significantly pollute these vast bodies of water. For as long as there have been human inhabitants along the coast, people have been utilizing the ocean as a dumping ground for garbage and other rubbish. Although several view the ocean as endless and thus, having plenty of room for the waste; this belief is not true. The ocean can not accommodate dumpings without being permanently damaged. Furthermore, the immense technological revolution of the last century has increased society's ability to cause greater damage to the world's oceans.
We, as humans, need to take action, be accountable for our oceans and prevent the waste we produce from entering our waters. On a daily basis, thoughtless men, women, and children are polluting our waters and killing our marine life.
US Enviromental Protection Agency. (2010, December 13). Retrieved January 20, 2011, from US EPA Human Health: http://cfpub.epa.gov/eroe/index.cfm?fuseaction=list.listByChapter&ch=49
Now it is the third most polluted river in the nation. The pollution on the Mississippi has caused a very negative effect on aquatic life. The Mississippi is home to a variety of animals including sea-lions, crabs, bass, and etc. This pollution is causing “dead zones” in the water which are areas in the water with little to no oxygen where aquatic life cannot survive. Talking about the dead zones, EPA stated, “Also known as hypoxia (dead zones), these areas are caused by algal blooms consuming oxygen as they die and decompose. Aquatic animals must leave the affected area or die. Young fish and seafloor dwellers like crabs and clams are most likely to die in hypoxic areas.”(EPA, 3) The Gulf of Mexico has the largest dead zone in the U.S. measuring 5,840 square miles. Where does this pollution come from? You guessed it, the Mississippi. Not only does the pollution of the Mississippi affect marine life, but it also effects human recreation. People that live on the Mississippi have a hard time doing activities like jet skiing or water skiing because if you fall off you could possibly suck into yourself some of the nasty polluted water and that can cause health problems. People should be realizing these problems and trying to stop them, but instead they just keep on dumping disgusting toxins into the river like it doesn’t affect anything or anyone. If I had more time to research this topic I would like to figure out how many fish die from dead zones every
5. Health Risks Associated with Air Pollution. 2001. American Lung Association of California. Viewed October 9, 2001
The fact that so much garbage is floating out in the ocean is not only a problem for us but for the wild life in the ocean. Given that humans are the primary cause of all this a research conducted
Environmental Health Sciences. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 1 05 2011. Web. 29 Nov 2013. .
Approximately 100 000 sea mammals die every year because of pollution. The ocean belongs to the animals, the sea lions, otters, whales, seals, etc. Every time we drop even one wrapper, we could, possible be killing an animal. It could travel to the ocean, get eaten and then suffocate the animal. That is why we need to stop pollution to begin with, and clean it up before it hits the ocean, before any animal have to die. While the ozone layer is breaking, the earth is heating up from all the pollution, causing the ice to melt in the Arctic’s and causing major habitat loss for polar bears and wild animals. Do any other animals need to die because of humans? If you think about it, if everyone consumed and reused and reduced, we could all have a happier life and
Water Pollution is a current issue that has serious consequences; it progresses everyday in our lakes, oceans, rivers and other bodies of water.
As our world becomes increasingly globalized, numerous people travel to urban areas in search of economic prosperity. As a consequence of this cities in periphery countries expand at rates of 4 to 7 percent annually. Many cities offer entrepreneurs the potential for resources, labor, and resources. With prosperity cities also allow the freedom to of a diversity of way of life and manners (Knox & Marston, 2012). However, in the quest to be prosperous, increasing burdens are placed on our health and the condition of our environment. These burdens are amplified as the area is further urbanized; increasing demands for fossilized fuels, food, water, and property for additional urban construction. The impact of industrialization has transformed human life and produced extensive ecological deviations. In order to understand how the environmental impacts of ever expanding industrialized technology might linger to impact our health and that of our environment, offers facts that should be studied. This paper suggests that extra research be conducted to enhance perception concerning advancing modern technology disadvantageous consequences on the safety of humans and their surrounding environment.
Cunningham, William, and Mary Ann Cunningham. "Chapter 18: Water Pollution." Environmental Science. ; A Global Concern. 12th ed. McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2011. 396-421. Print.
According to World WildLife Fund, many ecosystems around the world are being destroyed, eliminating many plant and animal species that inhabit them (“Pollution”).
The oceans need to be protected because it is where life began and if not taken care of, life as we know it will end. When dangerous substances go into the ocean, ecosystems are suffer and become endangered along with lives of people and of marine life. Surfrider Foundation recognizes the importance of protecting and preserving the quality and biodiversity of the world's coasts because they are truly irreplaceable. There is also historical evidence of ocean pollution being present in the past, but the problem still lingers today. Heal the Bay discovered that,“Did you know there is a DDT and PCB hot spot off the coast of Palos Verdes? This superfund site (which indicates it's one of the most polluted places in the United States), is left over from a 1930's era chemical plant. Because DDT takes so long to break down in the marine environment, it persists to this day, contaminating certain species of fish. There are also highly polluted sediments in the Long Beach area, a sign of the heavy shipping in the port. Heal the Bay works on developing effective capping and removal plans to keep those toxins from spreading” (Heal the Bay). DDT is still highly concentrated in the South Bay area and still contaminating different species of fish. Even after more than 80 years DDT, a toxic insecticide, is still very concentrated and during upwellings, DDT particles come back up and continue to harm marine life. If humans are careless about what is thrown on the floor or sprayed on lawns, it can lead to disastrous affects when it comes to the condition of the ocean's ecosystems, and can endanger life itself leading to a problem that only we can mend.