The Water Pollution Crisis Essay

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.

Still people make the argument that oil is just too important to stop drilling and that if anything we should drill more. Again author Margaret Haerens talks about how “According to the nation academy of Sciences, current cleanup methods can only remove a small fraction of the oil spilled into the ocean, leaving the remaining oil to continue affecting ocean ecosystems over time” (126). The long term impacts of offshore spills continue to corrupt the oceans and who knows when they will completely be gone. The effects of the oil directly on sea life such as sea birds, fish, shellfish, and other sea life are extremely dangers. “Studies have shown that tiny amounts of oil – as little as one part per billion – can harm pink salmon and cause their eggs to fail” (Haerens Margaret). Imagine swimming in the ocean when a large pool of toxic oils comes floating along right into you when you are trying to enjoy a day at the beach. Not only is offshore drilling have one of the longest lasting ecological impacts on society and living things on and off shore, it effects our economy as well.

Offshore oil drilling is a controversial topic because when oil spills, it does extensive amounts of damage to the environment. Countries capable of mining oil in the ocean reap the economic benefits in addition to reducing their dependency on external oil. While it is uncontroversial that offshore drilling is a massive boon for those countries, the environmental consequences of a spill also affect the economic welfare of nearby residents. Oil contaminates animals through a process called biomagnification, where chemicals progressively become more detrimental to the animals the higher they are on the food chain. When oil spills into the ocean, it impairs the growth of native species and deteriorates the ecosystem. As a result, the livelihood of people in the tourist industry, fisherman, and shrimpers is crippled and may take decades to recover.

Throughout history, humans have had many adverse effects on the ocean. However, in the past century, a new threat to the ocean has arisen. Oils spills are one of the most dangerous human effects on the ocean, partly because they’re so difficult to reverse after they’ve happened, and because many of the chemicals that get released into the water are extremely toxic to a lot of creatures. Oil spills are usually caused by two ships colliding with each other, a ship colliding with another object, or as in the case of the BP oil spill, an explosion.

For example, crude oil tankers accident can release lots of oils which will be detrimental to the aquatic lives, agricultural land and environments as a whole and will cost lots of money in clean-up. According to the National Strategy for the Marine Transportation System (2008) “approximately 100,000 tons of oil from sources other than natural seeps is released annually into North America’s waterways and sea lane. Petroleum products spilled into waterways can have both short- and long-term effects on water quality and living resources”. There are lots of environmental impacts such as water pollution and contamination that can result in hazardous waste being discharged in the maritime ports which increases risk of illness, such as respiratory disease or cancer, causes significant damage water quality, and consequently affects marine life and ecosystems and human

During use, new oil picks up toxic chemicals, carcinogenic hydrocarbons, and heavy metals which harm the environment and public health when used oil is disposed of improperly. One pint of oil can produce a slick covering approximately one acre of water. Used oil in waterways threatens fish, waterfowl, insects and aquatic life. In salt water, oil kills the microscopic plankton and algae that form the base of the marine food web. Very small amounts of oil spilled in the habitat of fish and shellfish can contaminate their flavor. Used oil seeps through landfills and soils to contaminate groundwater supplies. One quart of oil can foul the taste and purity of 250,000 gallons of water. Used oil applied to roads as a dust suppressant causes water

“If we do nothing, it doesn 't matter how we feel. And that’s exactly what oil companies are banking on: out of sight, out of mind” (Hart, 24). Petroleum is a naturally occurring oil found under deep layers of rock (“oil drilling”). Oil drilling is when a pipe penetrates through these several layers of rock in order to reach the petroleum oil underneath. This oil can then be purified or turned into gasoline for energy use. Offshore oil drilling, like its’ name describes, is specifically oil drilling on the ocean floor, away from a shore line. Offshore oil drilling provides one of the most consumed American energy resources, but also provides a risk to the environment (Crawford et al. 2&7). The United State’s

For instance, Rufe, who is a scientist, states that we have not developed an approach that can clean more than 3 to 5 percent of the spilled oil” (Mufson, 2012). Furthermore, In the Gulf of Mexico, although 205.8 million gallons of oil have been spilled, just 51.8 million gallons have been collected, which equals approximately 25 percent. Moreover, in order to clean the Gulf from the oil spills almost 2 million gallons of toxic dispersants were used. Unfortunately, the toxic dispersants did not truly purify the spilled oil, but fractured them into tinier particles. As a consequence, that may make the oil more harmful for some ocean animals and plants ( A Center for Biological Diversity Report, 2008). However, with the increasing of offshore oil drilling accidents, and with no solution to solve the problem efficiently. The hazardous impact is not going to affect only on animals and plants. It might affect people who depend on the polluted area for food, ecological enrichment, and entertainment ( A Center for Biological Diversity Report,

Oil spill are defined as the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment. Oils spills are often caused by accidents involving tankers, barges, pipelines, refineries, drilling rigs, and storage facilities. Which usually happens when people are careless, equipment breaking down, illegal dumping and unlikely events such us, a natural disaster like a hurricane. The effects of a little spill and a bigger spill is very different because a little spill in a situation may demonstrate considerably more hurtful than a bigger spill at some other time in another or even the same environment. Indeed, even little spills can have harmful impacts. Oil spills can influence creatures and plants in two courses: from the oil itself and from the reaction. Understanding both sorts of effects can help spill responders minimize general effects to biological groups and help them to recuperate substantially more rapidly. Spilled oil can hurt living things in light of the fact that its substance constituents are noxious. This can influence organic entities both from inner introduction to oil through ingestion or inward breath

Since the dawn of the industrial revolution, mankind has increasingly become reliant on fossil fuels such as oil for energy. Oil fuels our car, warms our homes, generates our electricity, and creates a myriad of goods including everything that contains plastic. In our global economy, oil must be transported great distances to reach markets throughout the world. With seemingly increasing frequency, these journeys sometimes end in accidents that result in oil being spilled into the ocean. The most devastating oil spill, The Deepwater Horizon oil spill, occurred on April twentieth of this year.

Oil drilling affects thousands of marine animals in their ecosystems and has caused massive damage before. For example, on April 20, 2010, 210 million gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. It is considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in the world and the largest environmental disaster in U.S History. (“Deepwater Horizon.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 06 July 2017. Web. 06 July 2017.) “As the Deepwater Horizon disaster shows, it’s hard to contain and remove oil that is spilling into the ocean.” (Hamalainen, Karina. "DRILLING FOR OIL." Science World Sep 27 2010: 8,12,TE8. ProQuest. Web. 30 June 2017.) This clearly states the known severity of oil spills. Oil in the ocean is hard to clean up, imagine how the animals that live in the affected areas struggle to survive. It stays in the water for

Oil suffocates fishes. If directly exposed to the oil, a mucous like film covers the body and gills. Crude oil has a toxic compound that is easily dissolved in fish tissue. One of the toxic compounds is Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH). Oil can cause abnormal development and deformities in fish larvae if they come in contact and can affect fish population. “Spills in rivers and streams disperse the oil by agitation and are similarly more toxic to fish.” (ehow)

Water Pollution is a problem we have been facing for years but yet have found no success in fixing the problems behind water contamination. America has gotten to the point where we can fix the problem in one area just for it to happen all over again in the same or different area a couple months later. Every year, more people will die from unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war (Decade, Water for Life). The main reasons behind water pollution is due to plastics, ship waste and how those can affect human civilization.

As the worlds population grows, it is forced by circumstances that it has created to face the limitations of the worlds resources. Most people in the US have always been fortunate enough to have enough of whatever they wanted. When something they like breaks or wears out, they throw it away or buy a new one, and they often don’t even make an attempt to repair an item. They neglect basic maintenance until they damage their belongings beyond repair, and expect that they’ll always have enough. But some things are beyond their control, beyond there power or financial ability to replace or repair. The world’s drinking water supply is one of these without concern, without attention, without preventative maintenance and reclamation and

Since the past few decades, owning a car has become a necessity in order to commute from one place to another. However, cars do not work automatically, they require fuel. Since the past decade, the petroleum industry has become one of the leading industries impacting the nation’s economy. Oil has become an essential commodity as it is utilized in transportation vehicles, serves as a raw material for manufacturing plastics, and is utilized in homes for cooking. America’s economy is greatly dependent on petroleum as it is the “black gold” of the nation. The considerable significance of oil has led to the drilling of it, which is not only limited to land, but also the oceans. Offshore drilling is a method in which petroleum is extracted from underneath the seabed. It is one of the significant technological advancements in the past few decades. However, the ones who are involved in the process of offshore oil production are humans, and humans tend to make mistakes. In 1969, due to a human error, an oil spill occurred and natural gas, oil, and mud shot up the well and oozed into the ocean (“Offshore Drilling”). The oil spilled led to an environmental disaster which killed thousands of marine animals and distorted the environment. In order to prevent the same error, the government passed a moratorium in 1981, banning more than 85 percent of the country’s oil drilling sites (“Offshore Drilling”). The moratorium restricted the United States to mass-produce its natural resource.