When Christopher Columbus came to the Americas back in 1492, it was a world of opportunities, and was accessible for all to utilize. As the years went on, the aquirement and utilization of the world was apparrent. Technology gave the world advancements that would usually seem impossible and unimaginable. However, it’s those advancements that have acted as the gateway for the problems that haunt mankind today. Perhaps the biggest problem that humans have caused as a direct result of our own hands is water pollution. Humans are always in constant struggle with nature. We are always trying to overcome it, and many times we succeed. However, its those times that we turn our backs for that split second, that we will pay an eternity for. The world is involved and entangled in one of the biggest battles one could imagine. The great bodies of water are becoming contaminated before our eyes, and more importantly, by our own hands. Water pollution has turned into a global concern that must be addressed immediately.
The first area that should be dealt with in the entire spectrum of what water pollution is, is to define what it actually initials. "...water pollution is anything, whether physical or chemical, that affects the natural condition or intended use of water"1. Water pollution occurs when water is over exposed, or contaminated with materials and components such as organic wastes, infectious agents(domestic sewage), synthetic organic chemicals(detergents/pesticides), inorganic chemicals and sediments, radioactive pollution, and lastly, temperature change2. In addition to these components of pollution, there are some far more obvious types of pollution such as floating debree, and an excess of dead organisms. This will usually cl...
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... "Marine Blues" The Unesco Journal. Jul/Aug 1998, 51. (p.47)
4)Boukhari, (p.47)
5)Boukhari, (p.47)
6)Boukhari, (p.47)
7)Boukhari, (p.47)
8)Wilber, (p.73)
9)Wilber, (p.74)
10)Wilber, (p.74)
11)Anonymous. "U.S. Targets Mississippi River Polluters" Civil Engineering. Nov 1998, 68.
(p.26)
12)Anonymous, (p.26)
13)Anonymous, (p.26)
14)Anonymous, (p.26)
15)Jibrin, Janis. "Water Warning" Parenting. May 1998, 12. (p.173)
16)Jibrin, (p.173)
17)Jibrin (p.173)
18)Jibrin (p.173)
LIST OF WORKS CITED
- Wilber, Charles G. The Biological Apects of Water Pollution. Illinois: Charles C.
Thomas, 1969.
- Boukhari, Sophie. "Marine Blues" The Unesco Journal. Jul/Aug 1998, 51
- Anonymous. "U.S. Targets Mississippi River Polluters" Civil Engineering. Nov 1998, 68
- Jibrin, Janis. "Water Warning" Parenting. May 1998, 12.
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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
'Water pollution is any chemical, physical or biological change in the quality of water that has a harmful effect on any living thing that drinks or uses or lives(in) it. ' (Azeem 1). In Canada, most people live in the southern part along with many agricultural and industrial activities causing the worst cases of water pollution. Water pollution is caused by population growth and industrialization, but can be prevented if proper controls are taken into consideration to help reduce the discharge of waste materials. Water pollution has been a huge disadvantaging concern for humans as well as wildlife for over many decades, but can actually be prevented if attempted. Preventing waste materials from being dumped into lakes and rivers, controlling
I chose to look up the topic of water pollution. I discovered this topic by going through the themes of the sci-fi books we are currently reading. In the book Feed, by M.T. Anderson, one of the themes was environmental impact on humans so I based it off of that. This topic has always been something that I was curious about because I always wondered how water pollution affected fish. Not only does water pollution affect fish, but it also affects a lot of people. The water pollution of the Mississippi halts people from doing recreational activities like water skiing, tubing, and fishing. Before I started researching this topic, I knew that phosphorus runoff from fields affected the waters health. Some questions that I asked myself during my
“Water is the driving force of all nature.” Leonardo da Vince once said. Water is a huge part of life, and everything that lives requires water to make it through its days on earth. A lot of people think that the world has massive amounts of water available for use; therefore, most roll their eyes when conserving water is mentioned. After all, 71% of the earth’s surface is made up of water. However, the truth is that only 2.5% of that is clean, drinkable water, and two-thirds of that percentage is unavailable because it is stuck in ice caps and glaciers (water). The water ordeal in America is bigger than many realize, and the United States needs to begin looking at how we can solve this issue. The U.S. needs to acknowledge the impending dangers and help the states that are already suffering by putting water conservation methods in place and investing money into research for alternatives.
Water is one of the most vital components of human life. It is a necessity, a precious resource that humans need to live, that is taken for granted every day. There is no possible way for life to be sustained on Earth without water – it just cannot happen. The human body itself is composed of almost eighty percent water: almost 95 percent of the human brain is water. It is common knowledge that pure water is the best water – for humans, and for plants and animals. Regardless of this piece of knowledge, humans still find ways to disregard the sanctity of pure water and instead, pollute it. The right to water is not officially a human right. However, because “water is a basic need for human development, health, and well-being… it is an internationally accepted human right” (Thompson 3). Water contamination is an epidemic that is so common these days that it is no longer shocking to even hear that water is contaminated. Water contamination negatively effects water that is used on a daily basis. Continuing on in this way will eventually lead to contamination that will make the existence of clean water impossible.
When you think of problems in the world today, water pollution isn’t one that would normally come up. In fact it is one of the worst problems in the world today. Water pollution, by definition, is the contamination of streams, lakes, underground water, bays, or oceans by any substances harmful to living things. All living things contain water and most need water to survive, so water pollution is a big problem. If severe, the pollution can kill off birds, fish, and any animals that use the water source. In some cases even killing an entire species.
The Earth’s surface is covered by over two-thirds of water. With half of the world being covered by water; pollution in the water is a very big crisis that can actually be reduced to some extent. Water pollution is a human problem because it seems to be a recent development that started round the end of the 19th century. Scientists say that “humans have limits with an estimated 7 billion people on the planet, and pollution is a sign of exceeded pollution. According to the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) pollution is a serious problem. “Pollution from toxic chemicals threatens life on this planet. Every ocean and every continent, from the tropics to the once-pristine polar regions, is contaminated." Now that we know how serious it is, let’s talk about what pollution is, what causes it, the effects, and how we can help.
Water is an essential part of life for any living organism in the world. People use water every day to drink, do daily housework, or to bathe in; while animals use water to survive. Because of the doings of humans, the water that is so essential to all organisms’ well being is being polluted. The water drink and use every day may have oil from large petroleum companies spilling into it. Debris from sewer plants float into the ocean when they overflow. Even prescription pills are contaminating the water. Not only is the water affecting the humans that drink it but also affects the aquatic life. Aquatic species may have problems reproducing which disrupts the whole food chain and biodiversity web of life. How water becomes contaminated should
Water Pollution is a current issue that has serious consequences; it progresses everyday in our lakes, oceans, rivers and other bodies of water.
Transportation is a big issue with pollution. Vehicles create smog, catalysts for ozone, and components for acid rain. Smog contains a chemical called ozone. Ozone can seriously affect a human’s health. It reacts with the molecules in the lining of our airways. This then causes inflammation. Acid rain has many ecological effects, but none is as bad as its impact on lakes, streams, wetlands and other bodies of water. Acid rain makes waters acidic, which causes them to absorb the aluminium that goes from soil into water. When bodies of water become more acidic, the numbers and species of fish and other organisms living in the water begin to decrease. There are many examples of water pollution. Raw sewage running into water, industrial waste spills, and exhaust fumes from vehicles. A big problem with raw sewage is that Bacteria use up oxygen in the water, as they decompose the organic material in the water. The lack of oxygen kills animals and other organisms that live in the water. Many harmful chemicals are in industrial waste. These can become drinking water pollutants if not well managed. Car exhaust creates a wide range of gases and solid matter. This causes global warming, acid rain, and it harms the environment and human health. Engine noise and oil spills also cause pollution. Since most oils float, the marine creatures most affected by oil spills are animals like sea otters, and seabirds that are found on the shore or in
Freshwater in the world makes up only a small portion of 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. Many of these in later years shall need to be addressed as tension rises:
There is a global shortage of drinking water. A person might wonder how this can be if seventy percent of the earth’s surface is covered by water. Most of the Earth’s water is unsuitable for human consuption. Ocean water is salt water, which makes up 97.5% of all water on the planet. Freshwater is only 3.5% of all the water on Earth. Drinking water is sourced from bodies of freshwater.
Water pollutants are of different types such as oxygen demanding wastes, disease causing agents, synthetic organic compounds, plant nutrients, inorganic chemicals and minerals, oils, thermal discharge and radioactive wastes. Of all these water pollutants, heavy metals and synthetic organic compounds cause majority of water pollution. Industries like paper and pulp, tanneries, textiles and coke ovens, pha...
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. Water pollution is something that can be prevented; it is important to be aware of the causes of water pollution to keep the environment safe and clean for the many generations to come.