Environment 4- Pollution

The way we live our lives has greatly impacted the place we live in. As early as 1652, our country has seen the effects of our lifestyles on the environment. During the Industrial Revolution, the amount of pollution that was produced dramatically increased due to the factories and ways of disposing waste. Cities even dumped their waste directly into rivers, oceans, lakes, and other bodies of water. By 1945, the amount of synthetic materials used in manufacturing had an extreme increase. These synthetic materials were highly toxic and not biodegradable- this caused their negative effects to permanently pollute the land, water, and air. In that year, the United States produced one billion pounds of synthetic chemicals and by the 1980s, the United States produced four hundred billion pounds of these harmful chemicals per year which opens the door to the usage of many more possible pollutants. This relates to the one million tons of hazardous waste that was produced in 1945, and the disgusting two hundred and fifty million tons of hazardous waste produced in 1980.

Water pollution has become a major issue. In the 1960s, Lake Earie contained no aquatic life because the pollution levels were so high. In 1969 the Cuyahoga River in Clevland caught on fire! That means the the water in the river had to have been dominantly chemicals in order for in to ignite. That's crazy! That same year 235,000 gallons of crude oil spilled in Santa Barbara and killing tons of marine life and darkening the beaches. In 1989 11 million gallons of crude oil spilled in Alaska killing thousands of birds and sea animals. Through the media, activists showed pictures of the terrible events in hopes of improving the way citizens act environmentally. Unfortunately, some cities still dump their untreated sewage directly into water sources. Don't forget... this is what you drink from! This is also the home of thousands of animals and birds. In fact, due to the way we treat their home, an estimated one million seabirds die a DAY because of the pollution in the waterways.

Air pollution has also become a major problem. There are gases let into the air from cars and buses that use gasoline called hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides. When these gases are reacted with sunlight, it causes a chemical reaction. This chemical reaction forms oxidants... the most common one made is ozone. This causes many health problems and is so harmful to the lungs that citizens with high levels of these oxidants are even warned to avoid exercising outside because these pollutants can damage the lungs if they are let in too deep from deep breathing. Unfortunately, 80 million people live in communites where the ozone is too high; damaging the lungs and health of many citizens.