Two very important types of pollution the world is affected by are air and water pollution. According to Webster’s Dictionary, air pollution is a substance in the air that has harmful effects to the health of living organisms. The types of air pollutants that can harm people are sulfur dioxide, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and ozone. These can come in either a gaseous or particulate form. Water pollution is defined as “The form of environmental degradation occurs when pollutants are directly or indirectly discharged into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compound” (Webster’s Dictionary). Water pollution affects lakes, rivers, oceans, groundwater, and sometimes the water we drink.
Air pollution can come in many different
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Littering is a form of land pollution, the destruction of land and misuse of land resources (Smith), that affects both water and air pollution. Littering is defined by Merriam-Webster as, “things that have been thrown away and that are lying on the ground in a public place.” “Drive along any road in the country and you'll likely see aluminum cans, paper products and other trash. Altogether, it adds up to around fifty-two billion pieces of litter cluttering up the landscape. That breaks down to more than 6,700 items per mile” (Lake). Littering can effect soil and water quality, which …show more content…
This does not only spill toxins into the ocean, but it also is killing marine animals. Animals who occupy the ocean mistake trash dumped into it as food. Therefore, these animals are killed from eating the garbage that is spilled into the ocean. An example of this is seabirds mistaking plastic for food. “Over one million seabirds are killed by plastic waste every year, and over one-hundred thousand sea mammals are killed per year due to pollution” (Gifford). Recycling can also contribute to saving the lives of many animals, such as the seabirds, but garbage dumped into the water is not the only form of pollution in
When it comes to nature, trees, rivers, the sky, air pollution also affect the environment. Air pollution can harm the ecosystem. “Nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide cause eutrophication and acidification of lakes and streams, damaging ecosystems” (Melamed et al, 2016). This can harm the environment and contribute to the human health problems. We drink water, and water plants with water. Even more particulate matter interact with cloud formation processes and may impact the amount and location of precipitation (Melamed et al, 2016). This is the reason of flooding and water problems.
Water: Pollution affects our water through rain clouds, because if the pollution gets into the rain clouds, it makes the water in the cloud more acidic, and if it becomes acidic enough it turns to acid rain, which is obviously not good to drink, wash, or use.
Groundwater pollution is a major problem that is growing in all over the world. Of course the united states America also facing this problem. People of Mississippi State are worried about groundwater pollution due to the several human activities. Groundwater is a main source of their water supply. Disposal of solid waste in landfills is an economic option for many municipalities in developing countries where alternatives like incineration and composting are costly. However, groundwater pollution from the leachate generated within the landfill and migrating through the bottom liner material into the underlying groundwater aquifers remains a major public health concern I studied chemical parameters of groundwater in Alcorn State University as a part of my project.
In the documentary “Inside the Garbage of the World”, the main social problem being explained is that there has been a great influx of plastic and other type of garbage in oceans and their beaches. This buildup of pollution has largely affected the wildlife population ranging from animals on the beaches to the creatures of the ocean. In oceans, what is called ‘garbage patches’, a large buildup of garbage that flow to one area in the oceans, are being created. Approximately 50 percent of all plastic sinks to the bottom of the ocean floor but about 2 times that much is actually already on the ocean floor. In fact, according to the documentary, there is a garbage patch that is to the left of California that is the size of half of the United States. Each year, about 4.7 million tons of plastic goes in the ocean a year and it is estimated that by 2050, there will be another 33 billion tons of plastic added to the present amount. Eighty percent of the current pollution comes from the land. According to marine researchers, twice as much plastic debris is one the ocean floor than it was 10 years ago. In the futures, plastic will break down into smaller pieces of plastic, creating a bigger problem from the habitat. This plastic pollution is one of the leading cause for beach and ocean inhabiting creatures be extinct because animals are mistaking these plastic pieces for food. When scientist began to dissect beach animals such as birds, they discovered that at least fifteen pounds of
For decades, oceans have been one of the biggest dumpsters used throughout the world. Plastics among other pollutants have affected our oceans and freshwater as well as marine life. Plastic pollution effects not only the ocean and its’ marine life, but humans as well and not just in the United States, but everywhere. Landfills are running into water systems every day, carrying more plastics and trash into all of the oceans. For instance, in the Mediterranean Sea, sewage is untreated and that totals eighty percent. Sewage can lead to eutrophication, which is an enrichment of chemicals in an ecosystem, but it can cause human diseases as well. (Oceans) In reality, exposure to all marine organisms will be some sort of toxin or chemical, whether it is from the ocean or contaminated from human chemicals like pesticides. Deliberately dumped plastics and toxins spread into water systems daily. During the 1970’s dumping radioactive waste, chemical weapons, pesticides, and plastics have been disposed into oceans. The reason being was that people believed that since the oceans were so big that all the pollutants should be diluted, broken down, and dispersed throughout the ocean floor. In reality after disposal has continued for years, not a single pollutant has disappeared. In fact, 80% of plastics float, which means they will float for years until someone has picked them up or they have been broken down into smaller parts of oceans. Ocean pollution should end, even if it is recycling
For many years plastic has been choking sea animals and harming or killing them!! According to, IFL Science “The whale discovered in the Netherlands is only the fifth whale confirmed to have died from ingesting plastic.” According to BTN “Each day around 3 and a half million pieces of plastic wash into the sea. Once there, they can harm marine animals that mistake plastic for food or get tangled in it.” A fact from Plastic Oceans “8 million tons of plastic waste ends up in the ocean every year.” In conclusion, when we don’t recycle when we need to, our animals get injured or
In the ocean, plastic debris injures and kills fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Marine plastic pollution has impacted at least 267 species worldwide, including 86% of all sea turtle species, 44% of all seabird species and 43% of all marine mammal species. The impacts include fatalities as a result of ingestion, starvation, suffocation, infection, drowning, and entanglement. For example, Leatherback turtles often mistake floating plastic bags for jellyfish. A plastic bag can cause a turtle to choke and eventually die. Our marine life is hurt as a result of our irresponsible actions and it's on our power to change
Research indicate that garbage such as plastic can create a problem for humans as well as marine species. Pollution in the ocean endangers defenseless marine creatures that wander in the ocean. Occasionally, when scientists dissect marine life fragments of plastic that has littered the ocean floor is found in their digestive systems. Animals are not equipped to distinguish between trash and food. If individuals experienced conditions similar to the ocean marine life, they would probably hesitate before discarding litter in the water and on the beach. Just like creatures in the sea humans can be exposed to the toxic chemicals from manmade debris. Sea turtles are especially susceptible to choking from discarded plastic. We can preserve beaches
Environmental pollution is an enormous problem in the United States. Environmental pollution is a substance that is harmful or poisonous to the environment. Air pollution, water pollution, thermal pollution, and soil pollution are major types of environment pollution. Pollution is linked to some of the most deadly diseases. “Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas which is poisonous at high levels. CO bonds with hemoglobin more easily than oxygen, so that it reduces the body's ability to deliver oxygen to organs and tissues” (Neidell, 1005). Air pollution is the most harmful out them all because we inhale it every day. "Ozone (03) is a secondary air pollutant formed by nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in the presence of
Plastic bags, balloons, glass bottles, shoes, packaging material—if not disposed of correctly, almost everything we throw away can reach the sea...This garbage can also come back to shore, where it pollutes beaches and other coastal habitats.” Whenever one litters, a lot of that garbage will eventually find its way to the ocean, causing the oceans to become filthy. But, the garbage does not only just stay in the ocean, the garbage comes back to the land to the shores and causes pollution on the coasts. Another quote from the article is, “Plastic garbage, which decomposes very slowly, is often mistaken for food by marine animals. High concentrations of plastic material, particularly plastic bags, have been found blocking the breathing passages and stomachs of many marine species, including whales, dolphins, seals, puffins, and turtles. Plastic six-pack rings for drink bottles can also choke marine animals.” This quote explains how the garbage in bodies of water impact the marine species, the marine animals can even die from the garbage. Both of these quotes tie in with our topic because the article gives information on the impacts of
Litter is made up of household toxic substances and trash that are disposed improperly in water or on land.Little or big, intentional or unintentional, littering has a forever lasting effect on the environment.
There is quite a few types of pollution in the world, but the three main ones I want to address are the types of pollution that affect Humans and animals. The three main types of pollution that can negatively affect humans and animals are air, water, and soil pollution.
makes up 70% of the earth so water pollution affects animal life such as the animals
In today's society, one of the main problems we face is pollution. The role of plastic playing in the daily lives of people is interminable. The main problem with plastic is that it is tossed into the ocean and that it can travel long distances with the currents and winds. Marine animals and other animals that depend on the ocean for sustenance wind up eating the trash thinking that it’s food. This is especially true for plastic trash (Parker, 2015). For those of us who live on the coast, a mere walk on the beach gives us insight to how much our misuse of plastic has become. The number of seabirds that have ingested the plastic waste and have died is increasing, however, efforts to clean the plastic has stopped due to the cost of the clean-up.
There are many types of pollution. Water, thermal, air, and even noise pollution. While all types of pollution need to be addressed, the most damaging types of pollution plaguing today's society is air and thermal pollution. Air pollution is the contamination of air that people breath in every day which causes many health problems that will only worsen over time. Thermal pollution is the process of taking water from a body of water, using it to cool things like machines, and then dumping the water back to its source, while it is still warmed. The main effect of these problems is the rising rates of lung-related health issues, the rising average global temperature, and the loss of animal and plant species along with their habitats.