Bill Mckiibben Waste

Waste: The Killer of a Nation As humans, we waste that is an understatement we waste a lot. We waste to the point that landmarks that existed before I was even born such as the Great Barrier Reef no longer exist. In Bill McKibbens essay “Waste Not, Want Not” he explains the effect of being wasteful can have on the environment. The are three types of waste that McKibben identifies that I believe are most harmful to the environment government waste, nuclear waste, and factory pollution.
First, let us begin with government waste. In America, we tend to spend money on things we do not need. Things like war. McKibben says, “we spent up to a trillion dollars on the war in Iraq.” (334). Then there was the war in Afghanistan another country effected
With all the money, we spend on the nuclear industry they nor the government have come up with a plan to get rid of the waste that does not involve dumping it in the ocean or the desert. McKibben states, “Congress is being lobbied really, really hard to fork over billions of dollars to the nuclear industry” (333). One thing about nuclear energy that can never be forgotten is the fact it can be turned into a weapon. The destruction nuclear weapons can cause is and always will be horrifying. During World War 2 a nuclear bomb was dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The bomb destroyed most of their island, killed most of their population, and left the country filled with radiation. Nuclear weapons can cause radiation sickness, different forms of cancer, and malformations to children ("What's the Damage?"). Even factories that use nuclear energy are harmful they destroy soil used for farming and water sources. Nuclear energy contains elements such as uranium, strontium, benzene and many others ("What's the Damage?"). These are the materials that keep nuclear energy radioactive even after it is disposed of, plus it can cause birth
Factory pollution effects everyone and everything on this planet. Factories were the first form of pollution with the harsh chemicals that were used it destroyed much of the Ozone layer. Without the Ozone layer there will be nothing to stop the suns rays from heating the earth to outrageous temperatures(Wikipedia). According to McKibben, “not using the latest technology and so spewing: particulates into the air, or maybe sewage into water” (332). The gases and chemical used in these plants kill trees, makes the air unbreathable, and poisons our water supply. According to Hashemi and Farajpour “In countries that produce batteries their pollution cause loss of smell, rotting of teeth, and lung cancer”