Hello to you, Welcome.
It's been a great time writing this piece and I am sure you would enjoy reading it.
Let's look at these statistics.
Water pollution has become a popular threat to Nature's Ecosystem. It is salient that we account for these outrageous happenings. Over the last century and even more, the amount of waste deposited in our waters has risen significantly.
Pervaded with squander, extending from drifting plastic sacks to synthetic wastes, our water bodies have transformed into a pool of toxins.
This increase in pollution is harming our food supplies, drinking water and environment. It's very sickening.
It is also killing our oceans. They are no longer safe habitats for our fishes. Their Ecosystem is failing. This is primarily faults of Humans.
This article tends to provide you with an exposed explanation of what water pollution has done to our waters, the causes and how many can practically reduce these problems, taking off the risks to the bearest minimum.
Water covers 70% of the Earth's surface. This is no strange news to us. There are numerous causes of Water Pollution but we would take a peak at the majors :
DUMPING OF SOLID WASTES
These range from litterings in rivers to wastes from items like Aluminum, Glass, Plastic, and other solids. They are very difficult to eradicate, most of which carry toxic chemicals along with them.MINING
Mining is one of the biggest causes of direct water pollution in many areas of our waters bodies. When mining is present, it is much more likely to find dangerous minerals in fresh water supplies. Although a small amount of minerals present in water is natural and sometimes even beneficial for humans and animals alike, an overabundance of any of these can potentially cause severe illness and even death when that water is consumed. It can also cause plant life in the area to die out quickly as water is no longer able to be absorbed appropriately by these plants.OIL SPILLAGE
These have their sources from Oil spills from Tankers and Ships that carry oil vessels. Oil cannot dissolve in water making thick sludge form on water surfaces. Very sad.
FACTORIES
Factories remain the leading causes of industrial water pollution around the world. Runoff from those factories can easily enter water supplies either through surface water. This can severely impact the quality of the water in the area. Depending on the type of factory, it might cause the water to become much too alkaline or acidic for existing fish and plant life to survive, and it might even so severely damage the water that it becomes unsafe for human use.SEWAGE FROM DOMESTIC WASTES
Domestic wastes may include both wastes from Households, Factories or Buildings. They have quite a lot of disadvantages especially when people flush chemicals and other pharmaceutical wastes through the toilet!!
We can emphatically say that, Water pollution plays a big role in the survival of ocean animals like Fish (Which is for our consumption). So, if we end up killing millions of them, what then do we eat??
Fish rely on the clean water to pull oxygen. Water pollution also affects algae growth which limits the amount of sunlight that can penetrate the water.
Fish and other marine birds that have been affected by the pollution one way or the other become sick, diseased with deformities. This is quite sad.
We may not know how many times we have eaten poisoned animals. They are not fit for consumption.
The dream of every thriving community, state or country is the see their water bodies clean and uncontaminated. This is true.. This cannot be 100% accomplished but to an average extent, it could surpass. Let's point to some key things here :
For factories, construction sites and chemicals waste facilities. These are places where large amounts of toxic wastes are made. Therefore, they are to ensure their wastes are disposed properly.
Proper containment of spilled toxic substances before they reach the oceans would go a kind way towards improving the condition of our water bodies.
Introducing eco-friendly chemicals should go a long way to replace toxic chemicals and sprays.
Toxic fumes created by industries should be contained, filtered, routed and cleaned, before making their way to the atmosphere.
Recycling is modern form of reprocessing items, allowing them to be used again. It can be used for either what it was initially or another item.
Recycling some of these used products or waste considering our subject, is a smart way companies can reduce the amount of materials they elude frequently as waste.
This is one of the measures that industries that release large amount of pollutants can take to reduce the risk of failing water systems.
Over 200 million people live in areas where they consume and rely on polluted water for survival.
Only about 5% of the world's water Is considered as Fresh Water.
The same chemicals used to keep our homes clean are highly toxic and may find their way into our cleaner bodies if not discarded properly.
It is estimated that as many as 200,000 marine animals or even more are killed every year by water pollution.
In areas of high water pollution, the risk of acquiring lung cancer and other heart related diseases is relatively higher.
All these are negative facts. Yes!! But what can we do?
Sadly, not all humans can adhere to strict environmental rules imposed on them. But if we can cooperate to an extent, we can effectively control pollution. Here are some of the things we can do :
Keep your automobilesy [cars, motorcycles] well maintained and serviced immediately you observe oil leakages, thus, preventing toxic fumes from exhaust.
Proper disposal of toxic chemicals rather than dropping them down the drain. This will only cause more havoc to the present dilapidated state. Let's avoid this.
Like I stated earlier, support recycling. Support the recycling of wastes. Burning is not an option now. The idea of making use of a recycled grocery has rather than treat regular plastic bag minimizes plastic wastes.
Be friendly with your environment. Don't drop wastes in places where you should not. It's harmful to health.
To conclude, there is a wise approach I learnt years back but I have modified it to something I call being "WATER WISE".
Therefore,
**To be “Water Wise” means that a person will:
- Have the utmost RESPECT for water.
- Use water carefully and not WASTE it;
- Not POLLUTE rivers with liquid and solid waste
- PAY for water services
- Take ACTION to solve any water problems and finally,
- CONSERVE water, and thereby CONSERVE the natural Ecosystem.
I am very optimistic about the future of water conservation and where it will get to if we collectively challenge these menace it heralds before us today. I urge you to be part of it
THANK YOU FOR READING
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