Pollution Today

It is no mystery that water is a fundamental human need. When our water is polluted, it is not only destructive to the environment, but to human life as well. Water is considered polluted when it is deemed unfit for its expected use. History shows this can happen when the water is gravely affected by the addition of materials such as toxic substances, and both organic and inorganic compounds. Human beings have exploited the seas by utilizing them as a dumping ground for soda bottles, food wastes, angling equipment, and other sorts of debris. Because of this, sea life is dying at an alarming rate, recreational uses are dwindling, and fresh drinking water is becoming finite.

In a study done for Science Magazine, researchers reported that as much as 4 million to 12 million metric tons of plastic washed ashore in 2010 alone (Jambeck et al., 2015). To add to the catastrophic global pollution, researchers also stated that scientists still don’t know where more than 99% of ocean plastic debris actually ends up. This is very concerning, and may be devastating once we find out.

Luckily, several organizations have studied and taken action to help the water crisis. For instance the organization Water for Good raises awareness to the communities in Africa who lack access to clean water. They work with the communities to establish sanitation practices and improve agriculture. For more information on their wonderful work, please visit https://waterforgood.org/.

It is important that our society becomes more aware of the circumstances that are going to have to take place if action is not taken. Creating plans for lasting environmental change isn’t enough to end this problem. We must persuade decision makers to adopt these innovative solutions in order to make a positive impact on this crisis.

Sources:

Jambeck, J. R., Geyer, R., Wilcox, C., Siegler, T. R., Perryman, M., Andrady, A., . . . Law, K. L. (2015, February 13). Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Retrieved July 8, 2017, from http://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/768

Photo taken from www.citytoday.news