Water Pollution and Its Effects on the Environment
Water is probably the most important resource we as people have. Humans can survive without food for several weeks, but without water we would die in less than a week. On a slightly less dramatic note, millions of liters of water are needed every day worldwide for washing, irrigating crops, and cooling industrial processes, not to mention leisure industries such as swimming pools and water-sports centers. Despite our dependence on water, we use it as a dumping ground for all sorts of waste, and do very little to protect the water supplies we have.
Water pollution is starting all over the world. Water pollution occurs when waste products or other substances, such as microorganisms,
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Right now, the oceans are facing destruction. Each day new pollutants find their way into the ocean's waters. The pollutants that contaminate the ocean take many forms. Each year millions of gallons of oil are put into the ocean. Toxic materials are dumped into the oceans and add up to deadly proportions. Tons of trash such as plastics and paper are pulled out of the ocean each day. This trash contaminates the water and causes many deaths of marine animals. Everyone on the planet has polluted the oceans one way or another. Factories that are in various industries make an enormous contribution to ocean pollution. These factories use unbelievable amounts of water to make their products. The Natural Resource Defense Council says, "More than four out of every ten gallons of water used in the US are used for industrial purposes." A large amount of this water is dumped back into the oceans. This water is usually not clean, and may contain thousands of different chemicals. When this happens it can kill marine life, contaminate food supplies, and endanger people who use waters for fishing, swimming, or drinking. Water is also dumped back into the oceans by power plants who use it to cool reactors. This water is placed back into the oceans at high temperatures. Dumping water at these high temperatures causes a disruption in the marine environment. According to the book by Peter Weber, "The water from power
Pollution is a major problem in water systems all around the world and in our creek. In our area, eutrophication and acid rain are the two main pollution problems in our area. Eutrophication can be caused by sewage treatment plants, home sewage systems, and farm fertilizer runoff. Acid rain can be caused by the burning of fossil fuel. Eutrophication causes plants to die and when the plants die, the bacteria from the dead plants use up the oxygen from the water, which causes the fish to die.
For nearly my whole life, my family and I have lived beachside near the popular tourist attraction Ron Jon’s in Cocoa Beach, Florida. With that being said, since the beach lures in many tourists, these tourists dispose of their trash irresponsibly and in many scenarios the trash ends up in the ocean polluting the water. Furthermore, water pollution is significant to acknowledge because due to the pollution, there are typically negative consequences that follow interfering with the surrounding marine life or the environment in general. For instance, sometimes runoffs occur that later contaminate the water fabricating toxic fungal blooms within the body of water. When this happens, it has been believed that cancer levels rise in the area from this occurrence worsening the health of humans nearby in the surrounding community. Also, sometimes when pollutants enter bodies of water the overall temperature rises. This raise in temperature easily creates ecological dead zones where fish are forced to evacuate the area in search of cooler waters where they can survive and thrive properly. Therefore, different modes of media that aid the process in explaining water pollution and its effects include environmental documentaries, more specifically one titled “Troubled Water” by Paul Manly, educational song covers, which include “Clean It Up” to the tune of the song “Lips are Movin” by Meghan Trainor, and news articles, like the New York Times piece titled ““A Sea of Health and
ATTENTION!!!!!! Water has come out with its new, outrageously risque album, “Make Them Wet”. Their top singles, “toxicWASTE”, “I Got Fishes”, and “#fertilizer” are included on the album. This album has gotten negative reviews by the EPA, claiming that it causes eutrophication and affects the environment of its listeners, calling it “industrial waste”. However, Water has already sold 2 million copies of “Make Them Wet” worldwide, and has announced its next album, “Pollute Me, Baby”. Dirty, isn’t it? Water wasn’t always this dirty. For the past 30 years, we have been experiencing the harsh effects of water pollution, which continues to get worse.
Water is one of our most important sources of life on earth, without water there would be no such thing as life. However, it seems that humans have not realized how important water is to the survival of all living things. Water pollution is one of the world 's worst forms of pollution. For example, take a look at a glass of water. “It may appear clear, but there are really millions of microscopic pollutants floating in it” (water Pollution). Approximately over half of the earth 's surface are covered by water; water is a very dynamic system, any change to its normal content could affect local, regional, and eventually worldwide drinking water. “Water pollution is the contamination of lakes, streams, bays, underground well water, or oceans by substances harmful to living things” (Smith). If the water pollution continues to grow the humans, plants, and animals that all require water will start dying, because the pollution in the water will get so bad that it will be unsafe to drink.
Pollution is a toxic that wreaks havoc on the environment. Unfortunately, a large portion of the world’s environmental issues stem from human wastes. As we look at past practice and the evolution of the world, we as consumers must realize how we have and still are contributing to the downfall of our society. In an attempt to protect the environment and become eco-friendly businesses have created products that help to put recycling to better usage. Instead of using plastic water bottle that consume landfills and take decades to decompose, we now are using B.P.A. free reusable water bottle that are eco-friendly and stylish. It is challenging to take on pollution as a whole but if everyone makes small adjustments in their everyday lives we could prevent many of the dangers we are encroaching on. Humans can use less water, recycle, reuse bags and bottles, walk or use public transportation to help prevent water, air and land pollutants. It is not an easy task but if we are made aware we make more conscience decisions and the results are endless.
Main sources of water pollution include: industrial discharge of chemical wastes and byproducts, surface runoff containing pesticides or fertilizers, acid rain caused by industrial discharge of sulfur dioxide, discharge of contaminated or heated water used for industrial processes, surface runoff containing spilled petroleum products, silt runoff from construction sites and farms, discharge of poorly treated or untreated sewage, excess nutrients added by runoff containing fertilizers, and underground storage tank leakage leading to soil contamination. Each source of pollution correlates to one or more of the twelve processes through which past societies have undermined themselves by damaging their environment. Thus, water pollution is considered to be a contributor to a possible collapse.
India is among leading countries in relation to water pollution. Water pollution is a problem that has many effects on the environment. Additionally, water is a primary need for all humanity. A factor that has been threatening India’s water quality is poor sewerage and pollution by industries. India has the second largest population globally. As a result, water sources have been strained by the population and residents are unable to access clean water for drinking and daily use. This essay will discuss the environmental impacts that have come as a result of water pollution in India.
Water pollution is the contamination of natural bodies of water by various hazardous waste, such as chemical, physical, radioactive or pathogenic microbial substances. Averse water quality can cause several different types of ailments, for example cholera is spread through contaminated food and water. It is most common in areas without a waste treatment systems, so the sewage seeps into the town’s water supply. There are four classes of water pollutants first being Chemical Pollutants which are “generally atoms or molecules, which have been discharged into natural water bodies, usually by activities of humans.” (Hogan) The second class being Physical Pollutants such as trash or temperature change. The third class is Radioactive substances “a special sub-class of chemical pollutants, and by mass represent the smallest of the contributors to water pollution.”
Water quality is a necessity to human life and all other species. According to Turk, J., & Bensel, T. (2014) the Clean Water Act The primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution, whose purpose is to "restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation 's waters (Turk, J., & Bensel, T. 2014) According to Water Quality and Water-Related Disease “The global public health impact of water contamination is significant for many reasons: (1) safe drinking water is vital for human survival to prevent dehydration; (2) water is essential for basic hygiene and modern sanitation methods, including wastewater treatment; (3) water use is key to every sector of an industrialized, transitional, and
For both countries there are various sources where pollutants found in water are derived. There are two types of water pollution, known as point source and nonpoint source. As defined by Chiras and Reganold, in Natural Resource Conservation: Management for a Sustainable Future, point source has an identifiable source, for example a sewage treatment plant or a factory, which contaminates either surface water or groundwater (283). Nonpoint source water pollution is defined as not from a specific source, for example farmland, streets, and lawns where chemicals are released into surface water and groundwater supplies (283,285). Chiras and Reganold also explain that there are 7 chemical
Throughout history, humans have been polluting this earth without even knowing it; so far managing to dump over five trillion pieces of trash into the oceans, which is almost three hundred thousand tons of garbage. This harmful act is creating hazardous effects on the environment, killing over fourteen million birds, and one hundred thousand sea mammals. The environment is coming back for revenge on humans by contaminating drinking water. The quality of drinking water is getting significantly worse for humans compared to what it was one hundred years ago Where the industrial revolution created new sources of water pollution, resulting in the clean water act of nineteen forty eight. This was the first law to regulate pollution, and set the stage for how people should treat the environment. Although this law has basic fundamentals needed at that point in time, it is not a strict enough policy for today's society. From oil spills to toxic waste, humans have been inconsiderate to themselves and the environment around them, ignoring the clean water act. An example of this tragic history would be the Exxon oil spill of 1989 where a large company (Exxon Valdez) accidently spilled almost eleven million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Alaska. This single example affected the lives of billions of living organisms, not to mention the effects on humans (Corporate Pollution n.pag.). Along with these chemical spills comes the chemical trichloroethylene (TCE). This chemical is a
Water is an essential to human life, our body uses water for hydration and various functions. For example, metabolism, digestion, and elimination of waste. Dehydration causes our bodies to feel tired and weak which is why we need about 20 liters of fresh water a day to survive. Water gives our bodies plenty of benefits for example: cleanses the skin, keeps joints lubricated, removes toxins,etc. Drinking plenty of water will reduce the amount of headaches you get and it will severely boost your immune system. If you want to keep your weight steady and healthy, water will sure do the job at helping with that. Since our brains are seventy-five percent water, drinking it will help you focus, think, concentrate, and be much more alert.
Water pollution is a widespread environmental issue that impacts not only the environment, but the human quality of life, the economy, society, and politics. There are many sources of water pollution, one of those being the non-point source that is agriculture. Agriculture, specifically in the state of Massachusetts, affects surface and ground water quality. Depending on if a farm is growing crops or taking care of livestock, pollution to our ground and surface water often occurs on and around farm land. Fertilizers that are used on crops are filled with nitrogen and phosphorus to increase growth of the crops. However, when there are excess nutrients that the plants don’t need, they can leach into ground water or be taken off into surface
Anybody of water that is contaminated with pollutants, is called Water Pollution. There are two types of water pollution, Nonpoint and Point specific pollution. Nonpoint pollution cannot be found by a specific location and can be caused by runoff water, an example of this pollution is pesticides (Flinn Scientific, 2009). Chemicals and fertilizers can run off into the water supply(Mary Beth Abel Hughes, James Sammons, Scott Eddleman, Pamela J. W. Gore, Daniel P. Murray, Patsy Eldridge, 2007). Water moves over the ground and picks up chemicals and other waste into a body of water (Flinn Scientific, 2009). Pollution that can be pinpointed at a specific place and can be found and reduce the problem of pollution, an example of this pollution is factories, is known as Point Specific Pollution. (Flinn Scientific, 2009). Since Earth is becoming industrialized, water is being used and more waste is thrown into usable water (Flinn Scientific, 2009) About 70% of factories and industries dump waste into usable water(40factsaboutwaterpollution, 2013). Waste is produced by Industries and is dump it into the nearest water source (Mary Beth
This paper will talk about research conducted about the environment and ways to prevent pollution. Some of the examples talk about the situation will be trash pollution, water pollution, and CO2 emissions. In the following discussion by these authors talking about carbon dioxide emissions. (EHLERT, ZICKFELD, EBY, GILLETT) (2017). Along the years the best option is for people to prevent the rising temperatures around the globe. Also, the paper will discuss research related to pollution in the environment and rising temperatures. A relationship between people and environment will be described to the key to success for society. The articles about water pollution talk by (Barghoutie, Marie) (2016) will provide several examples of what must be done to the environment and water pollution. In the start will talk several alternatives to a contamination free environment. The best chance can be to start small in the community and soon move from there. Best examples are found in the article (Trash Causes More Pollution) will discuss the effects of increasing amount of plastic in the environment and how people are contributing to more pollution best shown by the irregular distribution of trash around the planet.