Water pollution is one more substance that builds up in the water; it causes problems to oceans, lakes, and the animals that drink the water that we contaminate. Our oceans and other waters are being “squeezed” by human activities, but their quality is reduced; poor water quality means water pollution. Pollution is a current issue with serious consequences; it goes on every day in our lakes and oceans 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage and industrial waste are thrown into the water.
Life came from the ocean; the ocean is huge, housing 140 million square miles, and 72 percent of the Earth’s surface. Not only have the oceans always been the main source of nourishment for the life they helped generate. There was a growing concern over the toll taken on coastal fish stocks by Long distance fishing fleets and over the threat of pollution and waste from transport ships and oil.
Tankers held large amounts of noxious cargoes that piled sea routes across the world. Even now, when the Holed have been mapped, and their insides made accessible by road, river, and sky; most people of the world’s people live no more than 200 miles from the sea and relate closely to it. The danger of pollution was ever present, threatening coastal resorts and all forms of ocean life. The navies of the maritime powers were competing to maintain a presence across the globe on surface waters and even under the sea.
Water is the core of sustainable development and is critical for socio-economic development, energy and food production, a healthy ecosystem, and human survival itself. Water is also at the heart of adaptation to climate change, serving as the crucial link between society and the environment.
Water also has a problem; as the global population grows, there is an increasing need to balance all of the competing commercial demands on water resources so that communities have enough for their needs. In particular, women and girls must have access to clean, private sanitation facilities to manage menstruation and maternity with dignity and safety. At the human level, water cannot be seen in isolation from sanitation. Together, they are vital for reducing the global burden of disease and improving the health, education, and economic productivity of populations. Unclean water and poor sanitation are leading causes of child mortality. Childhood diarrhea is closely associated with insufficient water supply, inadequate sanitation, water contaminated with communicable disease agents, and poor hygiene practices. Diarrhea is estimated to cause 1.5 million child deaths per year, mostly among children under five living in developing countries.
As technology improves, scientists are able to detect more pollutants, and at smaller concentrations, in Earth’s freshwater bodies. Containing traces of contaminants ranging from birth control pills and sunscreen to pesticides and petroleum, our planet’s lakes, rivers, streams, and groundwater are often a chemical cocktail. In the developed world, regulation has restricted industry and agricultural operations from pouring pollutants into lakes, streams, and rivers.
Technology has also offered a solution in the form of expensive filtration and treatment plants that make our drinking water safe to consume. Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These harmful materials are called pollutants. Pollutants can be natural, such as volcanic ash. They can also be created by human activity, such as trash or runoff produced by factories. Pollutants damage the quality of air, water, and land.
All living things—from one-celled microbes to blue whales—depend on Earth’s supply of air and water. When these resources are polluted, all forms of life are threatened. Pollution is a global problem. Although urban areas are usually more polluted than the countryside, pollution can spread to remote places where no people live. For example, pesticides and other chemicals have been found in the Antarctic ice sheet. In the middle of the northern Pacific Ocean, a huge collection of microscopic plastic particles forms what is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Air and water currents carry pollution. Ocean currents and migrating fish carry marine pollutants far and wide. Winds can pick up radioactive material accidentally released from a nuclear reactor and scatter it around the world. Smoke from a factory in one country drifts into another country. Polluted water is unsafe for drinking and swimming. Some people who drink polluted water are exposed to hazardous chemicals that may make them sick years later. Others consume bacteria and other tiny aquatic organisms that cause disease. The United Nations estimates that 4,000 children die every day from drinking dirty water.
Sometimes, polluted water harms people indirectly. They get sick because the fish that live in polluted water are unsafe to eat. They have too many pollutants in their flesh. There are some natural sources of water pollution. Oil and natural gas, for example, can leak into oceans and lakes from natural underground sources. These sites are called petroleum seeps. The world’s largest petroleum seep is the Coal Oil Point Seep, off the coast of the U.S.
The Coal Oil Point Seep releases so much oil that tar balls wash up on nearby beaches. Tar balls are small, sticky pieces of pollution that eventually decompose in the ocean. Human activity also contributes to water pollution. Chemicals and oils from factories are sometimes dumped or seep into waterways. These chemicals are called runoff. Chemicals in runoff can create a toxic environment for aquatic life. Runoff can also help create a fertile environment for cyanobacteria, also called blue-green algae. Cyanobacteria reproduce rapidly, creating a harmful algal bloom (HAB).
Harmful algal blooms prevent organisms such as plants and fish from living in the ocean. They are associated with “dead zones” in the world’s lakes and rivers, places where little life exists below surface water. Buried chemical waste can also pollute water supplies. For many years, people disposed of chemical wastes carelessly, not realizing its dangers.
In India, the water is often contaminated, and no way to get clean water. Not everyone is fortunate enough to enjoy clean water. people are standing in long lines in the hot sun filling buckets with water from a tap.
