Josh Blum
Professor Dochterman
WRIT150
4/21/22
The Silent Destructor to our Earth
Many people have not seen pollution as a severe issue throughout our history. However, it is one of the most significant problems we face as a civilization, “more than 3 million kids under the age of 5 years die every year due to environmental factors like pollution” (Conserve Energy). Due to our world being so large many people never directly see its impact when indirectly it is destroying our world. Pollution comes in many different forms whether it be air pollution, water pollution, or land pollution. Locally and globally our world needs to consider minimizing all the forms of pollution as our number one priority. Some say that pollution is not that bad, but I argue that it has been damaging to our environment and the people living in it for decades. Because the hazardous chemicals filling our habitats and water are putting populations at a health risk, actions need to be made immediately to stunt the spread.
When people think of pollution they tend to identify this issue with emissions, whether it be from car exhausts, oil fracking, or even factories. In reality, we don’t acknowledge the drinking water situation all over the world, even in our own country. Just a couple of years ago there was a very serious situation in Flint, Michigan in which the community around it had contaminated drinking water. The town of Flint decided to switch out of the Detroit water system to the Flint River, when they made this transition it contaminated the water source with unhealthy amounts of lead and Legionella which is responsible for an illness known as the Pontiac Fever.
This is only a small part of the overall larger issue, “approximately 46% of the lakes in America are extremely polluted and hence dangerous for swimming, fishing, and aquatic life” (Conserve Energy.) That means that water pollution is a very serious issue even in a developed nation, now imagine the problems undeveloped nations face with this issue. Globally we like to believe that unstable governments, international gangs, and gun violence are greater dangers for children when in reality it’s these nations’ drinking water. The UN found that “children under age 15 are almost three times more likely to die from diseases due to lack of clean water and sanitation than from violence in countries in conflict” (Ryan). This can put into perspective the argument for taking on a greater investigation into pollution because of the damaging effects it has on our country and the amount of lives polliution puts in danger.
To further this investigation, not only is it affecting humans but also marine life, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is responsible for the death of over one million mammals (WWF). Known as the “island of floating plastic trash” it has become home to over 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic, the patch’s surface area is twice the size of Texas! The garbage patch is killing marine life, mammals are consuming this generated trash, and oftentimes humans are eating these marine mammals which leads to underlying health conditions. Because of the volume of trash located in the patch, it will continue to be damaging to our future, however, changes can be made today. This includes, but is not limited to reducing plastic use, recycling, and participating in cleanups.
Land pollution many times is overlooked by humans due to private companies doing their best to hide these spots, many old landfills are covered up by soil after usage. However, the ones that are still active are typically put in very remote areas or in places where nature naturally hides them. The issue with these landfills is that it contaminates soil, which ends up destroying the organic components of the ground matter. As this process begins the trash leaks into the ground, destroying all of the natural chemicals and nutrients found in the soil, the soil then typically begins to dry up and crumble due to its weak nutrient matter now. Besides the trash ruining the soil, the matter it leaks into the earth can end up contaminating the groundwater below which only causes more problems to the environment. Finally, these landfills overall hurt the ecosystem as they make the land, groundwater, and other earthly parts not suitable and sustainable for nature and its course. Heavily ruining the habitat for the wildlife especially vegetation as there are no more organic compounds for the plants to grow and sustain, which then affects smaller species as they feed off these plants. However, there are a few solutions to this problem. A very direct and easy method is soil washing in which the soil contaminants are flushed out of the water with a liquid wash solution. Another way in which we all can do our part is to properly recycle our items, the biggest infiltrator of this pollution is improperly recycled batteries due to their acidity, with recycling batteries properly instant changes would be made to our environment.
An extreme example that land pollution can have on our earth is Chornobyl, Ukraine. A city that was home to an amazing nuclear facility that helped supply unbelievable amounts of energy and electricity to the area just outside of the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv. In 1986 the fourth reactor ended up failing a safety test and blew up instantly killing 31 operators at the facility. Despite it only killing 31 people instantly it has been estimated that it is responsible for “the ultimate Chornobyl mortality toll, though difficult to estimate, may yet turn out to be significantly higher. Current estimates place it between the 4,000 deaths estimated by United Nations agencies in 2005 and the 90,000 suggested by Greenpeace International” (Plokhy). Not only did this accident cause damage to the population but it also created an environmental catastrophe where the Chornobyl area will now not be habitable for over 20,000 years!
The main reason for investigating this topic is the major problem Houston has had with air pollution. In an article I read, it stated, “Houston already releases more toxic air pollution than the top five metropolitan economies combined.” (Air Alliance) My passion for furthering the research is because of the number of people affected by the air quality problem in my hometown. The underlying health conditions are extreme from breathing in this air over time and have led to various types of cancers. It’s very sad to see and hear as many people in power have yet to consider this as a very serious issue and rather just talk about the very catchy political stuff like immigration, and crime while pollution is slowly killing our world.
In my home state of Texas, there is a small community by the name of Sandbranch which has not had running water for decades now. The only source of water that persists for this small town is bottled water. Showering, brushing teeth, cooking, and anything regular activity that needs to be done must rely on a case of bottled water. What does this have concerning pollution? It is one of the indirect effects of air pollution in which water supply is getting more and more limited day by day.
Due to these effects, many southwestern states are facing extreme weather conditions with heat records being shattered year after year. Essential rivers in Arizona and Nevada are drying up and people are beginning to feel the effects. California the past 22 years has witnessed its worst drought conditions yet which broke a record set in the late 80s and 90s. A study (Rogers) observed, “the drought that has parched California and the American West for much of the past two decades ranks as the driest 22-year period in at least 1,200 years, according to a new study published Monday.” Not only is it concerning that it’s the worst in 1200 years but before this current drought, it was the worst drought in 1200 years too. Droughts are only becoming more serious and farmers are beginning to get hurt. Many farmers are losing their jobs over the water shortages as their crops are not getting enough nutrients, this led to “an estimated 8,745 jobs and shoulder $1.2 billion in direct costs as water cutbacks forced growers to fallow farmland and pump more groundwater from wells” (James). Pollution plays a major role in the economies around the world, and as long as no improvements are made to fight pollution the economy will continue to struggle in places affected.
As you can see, in the stated mentioned above, these types of pollutants have taken a toll on the land we live in and the people. Pollutants have inhabited our society for thousands of years, therefore, we haven’t figured out the overnight solution to counter these effects. However, researchers have put together ideas to clear up the atmosphere. Starting with air pollution, reducing the use of machinery that gives gas emissions. To start, taking fewer trips in your cars or switching to electric cars will improve air quality because of the reduction of emissions coming from in and out of the car. And of course, the household chores such as recycling and reusing, turning off lights when not in use, and avoiding smoking or burning of any type. Furthermore, considering all variables of pollution, a step forward would be properly disposing of trash. Recycling plastic goods will keep the environment clean by keeping them out of the water and in landfills. As mentioned before, reducing the use of hazardous chemicals, especially runoff where it can flow to nearby lands and affect the soil. If I want the audience to take away one moral from my paper it is to “reduce, reuse, and recycle!”
Overall with all these forms of pollution, we can see just how much they affect the world we live in, not only do they affect us but also the plants and animals around us too. Pollution is a very serious issue that needs to be addressed, as science has acknowledged this issue as one of the most serious problems many new solutions are arising. These solutions however can’t just be considerations they need to be measures that are taken. This isn’t just for us but it is for the future of our earth and mankind.
Works Cited:
“California Agriculture Takes $1.2-Billion Hit during Drought, Losing 8,700 Farm Jobs, Researchers Find.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2022, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-02-25/california-agriculture-takes-1-2-billion-hit-during-drought.
“How We Can Destroy the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?” WWF, https://www.wwf.org.au/news/blogs/how-can-we-destroy-the-great-pacific-garbage-patch.
Plokhy, Serhii. “Chornobyl Disaster: Deaths, Environmental Damage Continue.” Time, Time, 26 Apr. 2018, https://time.com/5255663/chernobyl-disaster-book-anniversary/.
Rogers, Paul. “Current Drought Is Worst in 1,200 Years in California and the American West, New Study Shows.” The Mercury News, The Mercury News, 15 Feb. 2022, https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/02/14/current-drought-is-worst-in-1200-years-in-california-and-the-american-west-new-study-shows/#:~:text=PUBLISHED%3A%20February%2014%2C%202022%20at,a%20new%20study%20published%20Monday.
Ryan, Kate. “In War, Dirty Water More Dangerous to Children than Violence, Says UNICEF.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 22 Mar. 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-un-water-children/in-war-dirty-water-more-dangerous-to-children-than-violence-says-unicef-idUSKCN1R3018.
“Ground Level Ozone in Washington’s Air.” Ozone Pollution — Washington State Department of Ecology, https://ecology.wa.gov/Air-Climate/Air-quality/Air-quality-targets/Air-quality-standards/Ozone-pollution#:~:text=But%20at%20ground%20level%2C%20ozone,and%20contributes%20to%20smog%20formation.
“Finding Pollution-and Who It Impacts Most-in Houston.” Environmental Defense Fund, https://www.edf.org/airqualitymaps/houston/findings#:~:text=Metal%20recycling%20and%20concrete%20batch,many%20of%20Houston's%20residential%20neighborhoods.
“10 Facts You Should Know about Air Quality in Houston and 10 Questions You Should Ask Your Candidates.” Air Alliance Houston, 12 Mar. 2021, https://airalliancehouston.org/10-facts-you-should-know-about-air-quality-in-houston-and-10-questions-you-should-ask-your-candidates/.
EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, https://www.epa.gov/haps/reducing-emissions-hazardous-air-pollutants#:~:text=These%20steps%20include%3A%20reducing%20toxic,air%20pollution%20though%20voluntary%20programs.
About RinkeshA true environmentalist by heart ❤️. Founded Conserve Energy Future with the sole motto of providing helpful information related to our rapidly depleting environment. Unless you strongly believe in Elon Musk‘s idea of making Mars as another h , et al. “71+ Shocking Facts about Pollution That Are Seriously Eye-Opening.” Conserve Energy Future, 30 July 2020, https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-pollution-facts.php.
