Environmental Science Final Project
Water Resources and the Environment
By:
Amanda Orsborne
04/03/2011
The problem we are having today is water pollution. Although pollution in general is a huge problem, water pollution is on the top of the list. We use water for everything in our day to day lives from drinking, and cleaning, to taking care of our plants and animals. The sad thing is that for as much as we use water we do not take care of it. Our garbage is the biggest pollutant. There is garbage in the oceans as well as small lakes and rivers. Plastic is the most dangerous, it is made up of materials and chemicals that are non-biodegradable. Once a plastic item is produces such as a water bottle, soap containers, grocery bags, unless it is recycled it never leaves the earth. It will never change or break down. Our wildlife in the ocean suffer the most. Plastic rings that around pop bottles, or the rings that hold pop together get caught around sea life. When this happens it can kill them or they grow around the ring. It will deform them, cut of circulations, and will affect them the rest of their life. We produce more plastic than can ever be recycled. Plastic is the hardest item to recycle, the process is very difficult. This is because the heat it takes to melt down plastic is hard to achieve and the oils that are produced affect the process. We use two million plastic bottles every five minutes in the United States alone. We have become known as the “throw away nation.” When our trash makes it into the ocean it travels over time and mainly ends up in the Philippines. Japan is another area with mass pollution. Their trash travels as well and ends up in the United States. It is a never ending battle. There is a trash patch twice the size of Texas floating around the ocean. It includes items like hard hats, toothbrushes, and even kayaks. We have three giant trash swirls. Trash swirls are like tornadoes of trash that get stuck in one area due to the wind and currents
By:
Amanda Orsborne
04/03/2011
The problem we are having today is water pollution. Although pollution in general is a huge problem, water pollution is on the top of the list. We use water for everything in our day to day lives from drinking, and cleaning, to taking care of our plants and animals. The sad thing is that for as much as we use water we do not take care of it. Our garbage is the biggest pollutant. There is garbage in the oceans as well as small lakes and rivers. Plastic is the most dangerous, it is made up of materials and chemicals that are non-biodegradable. Once a plastic item is produces such as a water bottle, soap containers, grocery bags, unless it is recycled it never leaves the earth. It will never change or break down. Our wildlife in the ocean suffer the most. Plastic rings that around pop bottles, or the rings that hold pop together get caught around sea life. When this happens it can kill them or they grow around the ring. It will deform them, cut of circulations, and will affect them the rest of their life. We produce more plastic than can ever be recycled. Plastic is the hardest item to recycle, the process is very difficult. This is because the heat it takes to melt down plastic is hard to achieve and the oils that are produced affect the process. We use two million plastic bottles every five minutes in the United States alone. We have become known as the “throw away nation.” When our trash makes it into the ocean it travels over time and mainly ends up in the Philippines. Japan is another area with mass pollution. Their trash travels as well and ends up in the United States. It is a never ending battle. There is a trash patch twice the size of Texas floating around the ocean. It includes items like hard hats, toothbrushes, and even kayaks. We have three giant trash swirls. Trash swirls are like tornadoes of trash that get stuck in one area due to the wind and currents