Final: Water Resources and the Environment
Nicole Braddock
SCI/275
2/10/2013

Final: Water Resources and the Environment Pollution happens on a daily basis by everyone in the world, and pollution is a major cause of the world’s problems we face today. One type of pollution problem that we face would be water pollution, which is a huge problem. We use water for everything in our daily routine lives, such as for drinking, cleaning, swimming, bathroom, and taking care of our plants and animals. This should be enough of a reason to want to take care of water, and to make sure that we do not abuse the fact that it is there. Unfortunately, this is not the case at all. It is sad that for as much as we use water we do not take care of it at all, and this is how we have water pollution. One of the biggest parts of water pollution is everyday garbage. There is always some kind of garbage in our oceans, lakes, and our rivers. Plastic garbage is by far the worst; it is made up of materials and chemicals that are non-biodegradable. Some materials that are made of this would be water bottles, soap containers, grocery bags, and unless you recycle this material it never leaves the earth. Wildlife in the ocean suffers by plastic rings that hold pop cans together, because they can get caught in the rings. It can cause them to lose circulation; they may grow around the ring and become deformed, and with ingestion can cause internal problems or death for some. Around the world we produce more plastic faster than we can ever recycle it. Plastic is probably the hardest product to recycle, and the process to do this is very complex. This is because the heat it takes to melt down plastic is hard to achieve and the oils that are produced during the procedure affect the process. In average we consume two million plastic bottles every five minutes in the United States alone. Currently, we are known as the “throw away nation.” Over time when our trash makes it into the ocean it tends to travel, and makes it to the Philippines most of the time. Another area that is known for a big mass of pollution would be Japan. Also over time there trash tends to make it to the ocean as well, and ends up going to the United States most of the time. This can seem as a never ending battle of trash and pollution. The trash that is in the ocean floating around is twice the size of the state of Texas. Wind and currents tend to push this trash around from one area to another, and sometimes can get stuck in a certain area for a good time. The trash can include many different items such as clothing, personal items, tires, and even cooking items. Overall, trash and water pollution is not just a problem in the United States it is a global issue, and only humans can make this waste that nature cannot digest.
Everyone and everything is being affected by water pollution. The ocean is a non-living factor in water pollution; however it is the one that is mostly affected by this situation. For instance, if you run a strainer in a random part of the ocean more than seventy percent of what you might find will be plastic particles when you pull it out. Although keep in mind plastic is not the only problem with water pollution, all trash around the world is the problem. On a typical day all around the world we consume more water than nature can produce. If we do not find something soon to alter the problem, there is a possibility all around the world we could lose our clean water supply.
The sole reason of water pollution is trash, which trash is made by humans, and humans dispose of the trash in improper ways. Therefore, the main cause of this comes all down on all humans. Humans are the biggest negative impact on Mother Nature all around the world. On a daily basis we consume, and abuse nature. We have practice this for many years now, and somehow it has become just the way we live life. The most devastating part is that most of the damage we have created, it is too late to reverse. Even if every human around the world did their share in cleaning up pollution, it still would only make small improvements because the damage done is so intensive. All companies make it very expensive for consumers to be able to afford the tools needed for the improvement of our lives. There are many people out there that have a positive impact on this situation currently as well.
There are people out there who strive to make this earth a better place, and want to reverse what our ancestors have created for our futures. Therefore, many researchers have found ways to recycle and reuse many of our everyday products, but there is a lot of more work that still needs to be done. If we do not take a stand now our children and their future children will suffer the worst from the years of abuse that we have done. We should start to teach our children good habits now, so that they can take it into their adult lives and teach their young. The damage that has taken place to nature is very intensive already, and it may seem as it cannot get any worse. Although, this is not the case at all and it can get worse. This is why it is very important to step up and start helping in taking care of Mother Nature, and hopefully it can recoup from all the devastation damage it has endured over all these years.
Some actions that we are currently doing to keep our environment going would be called the “Three R’s.” This is probably the biggest and also one of the oldest actions that has been taking place since 1993, and it was previously known as recycle rex. The Three R’s stands for reduce, reuse, and recycle. This was originally aimed at children, and since then it has become nationwide campaign for everyone and that has become very successful. One of the newest trends would be “Going Green”, and I mean everyone is trying to go green, even companies. You can now purchase environmental friendly products for almost everything such as, cleaning your house, and conserving energy. There have been many groups formed in the effort to clean up all the centuries of mess we have created over time. One group would be the Environmental Cleanup Coalition located in Maui. This group has been raising money over time to help clean up the trash that swirls in the ocean. For the amount of trash in the ocean, it could take many years of cleanup to even put a dent in some areas, but hopefully by this group setting an example more groups will form. There are currently cities that are coming together as a community to try and get there land and home areas cleaned up. Now, if we could only come together as one whole world on this topic. These actions that are set in place are very few currently, in order to make some kind of change there needs to be more humans on board. When it comes down to it the main root of the problem is pollution caused by, and created by humans. The plan should be to educate more communities on the issue at hand, get more groups together to take action, and also by following my advice and setting a good example among others. Over this course I have learned a lot, and I have also notice others learning a lot as well. People simply do not realize how much on a daily basis they are abusing the earth. By getting the word out and educating the communities on the issues at hand, is the key to all of this. We need to teach people on how to recycle, what you can reuse, and what they can do to reduce the use of pollution in their daily lives. We also should set as an example to our children so that they pick up on what we are doing to help the earth, and so that they can teach their children as well. Only half of the students currently taking this class will actually remember what they have learned and implement it in their daily lives. The numbers need to be much larger then this to make any kind of change. It needs to be in our faces every day, in the news, on the internet, commercials, posters, and even billboards. I believe the more reminders the better chances of people not forgetting, and taking some kind of action. People also need convenience in today’s society, and therefore if it is not something that is easy or fast to do more than likely no one will do it.
Another idea that comes to mind would be building more recycle stations. There should be more stations for everything that can be recycled or reused, and I would say within a twenty miles readiest apart. I know personally the way I take to work every day there is only one reuse station for books, so In order to recycle other items it would be out of my way. We should also teach others not to throw away everything into the trash that gets taken away to a dump. Just because it is out of sight out of mind does not mean that it is not their problem. Pollution is everything, and most people tend to not even know to care. The earth is dying every day, and we need everyone on the earth to know what is going on to make change.
There may be many problems and obstacle that can come in the way while trying to educate people. The first one that comes to mind would be money, to advertise, promote, make brochures, have meetings, and hire professionals can always become very expensive. In order to start something like this you would need to find a way to raise money for the cause. No one should expect the research they have done will be enough to per sway someone into motivation. Another challenge is going to be making global campaigning. The internet and technology makes this a little easier, however it still is not enough. Now, we should focus on how we are going to get everyone to care about the environment, and maybe join our cause. There are so many people around the world that just think it is not something they should have to worry about. Which this could be true if they are only worried about what is happening to them right now, and not what they are going to leave for their loved ones in the future. Everyone needs water, and if we damage all the current water with pollution there will be nothing left for our family in the future. We cannot have one campaign and expect everyone in the world to remember and change right away, or simply remember it. It needs to be consistent, refreshing, and something that should be introduce all times throughout the year.
We as the people of earth need the support from every race, every age, and every social status. It does not matter if you are rich or poor, old or young, just as long as we all come together and get our acts cleaned up. We have been the ones that have caused this problem in the first place, and we are the only ones that can try to fix or reduce it. This could take a very long time for everyone to be on the same page, break old habits, and start reducing pollution. Even though we have to start somewhere, and why not start now? I strongly believe that we can make this a better, cleaner, and safer place to live for everyone and our future generations to come.