This is a heartbreaking image of a poor turtle being effected by pollution. Pollution is an ongoing issue that needs to be stopped. Image that your home is filled with trash and that you are forced to stay there for your entire life. Sea animals have no choice but to live in filth. Humans pollute the water, and the animals suffer the consequences.
Why you should care is simple. Listed below are reasons that I care about it so strongly about:
- Water pollution hurts our health
- Water pollution kills many living things including animals, plant life, and HUMANS
- Water pollution is destroying the planet
- Water pollution contaminates our drinking water
- Water pollution can cause disease and illness
How Water Pollution Effects Our Health
Any type of pollution is going to have effects on our health. However, water pollution is most important because our bodies are around 60% water. It is important that we are not putting polluted water into our body because it will cause major health issue or even death.
Some issues that may arise when polluted water is consumed, enters, or touches the body are:
- Gastroenteritis
- Diarrhea
- Encephalitis
- Stomach cramps and aches
- Vomiting
- Respiratory infections
- Cholera
- Dehydration
- Shock
Diseases and illness are found at the Centers For Disease Control and Prevent and Environmental pollution Centers.
https://blogs.cdc.gov/global/2017/03/21/the-consequences-of-contaminated-water/
https://www.environmentalpollutioncenters.org/water/
https://www.environmentalpollutioncenters.org/water/diseases/
Water Pollution Kills Life
Any pollution is terrible for life. Water pollution is extremely deadly for marine and wildlife. Animals consume harsh chemicals, plastics, or other items that should not be in the water. Their bodies are not capable of breaking the sustances down. Or, animals can get caught in the debris and not be able to get free and starve.
Some statistics on how many animals are effected because of water pollution.
- “Over 1 million seabirds and 100,000 sea mammals are killed by pollution every year”
- “Approximately 40% of the lakes in America are too polluted for fishing, aquatic life, or swimming”
- “Over 100 million marine animals are killed each year due to plastic debris in the ocean”
- “Three hundred thousand dolphins and porpoises die each year as a result of becoming entangled in discarded fishing nets, among other items”
- “Every marine animal is affected by man-made chemicals released in the water”
- “Oil spills suffocate marine life to death, and leads to behavioral changes and a breakdown in thermal insulation to those that do survive”
- “Toxic metals can destroy the biochemistry, behavior, reproduction, and growth in marine life”
- “Plastic debris can absorb toxic chemicals from ocean pollution, therefore poisoning whatever eats it”
- “Fertilizer runoff creates eutrophication that flourishes algal bloom (rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in aquatic systems) which depletes the oxygen content in the water that affects marine life”
Statistics are from the following websites, please go to these sites to learn more about the effects of water pollution.
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-ocean-pollution-facts.php
https://conserveturtles.org/information-sea-turtles-threats-marine-debris/
https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-pollution
How Pollution is Destroying Our Waters
This is a pretty esay concept to grasp. Our waters are being destroyed and contaiminated by the countless chemicals, materials, and just plain waste being dumping into them. The chemicals spread through the water contaminating everything in its path. Making our water unsafe to swim, drink, or harvest food from.
Some materials that are dumped daily include:
- garbage
- plastic bottles and other plastics
- hazardous chemicals
- human waste products
- by products from manufacturing
- runoff
Why YOU Should Care
People should show concern for water pollution because it is destroying our water sources, killing millions of animals, and causing sickness and disease. Water pollution is an ongoing issue that needs to come to an end. With your help, we can find a solution. Now, what are you going to do to help stop water pollution?
STOP POLLUTION 