Water pollution makes water unhealthy and unlivable. The many types of water pollution negatively impact the health and homes of all forms of life, from plants and marine mammals to vulnerable newborn babies.
Life cannot exist without water. The human body is made up of roughly 80% water; our planet Earth has water covering 70% of the surface, with fresh water, the source we use to drink and sustain life, a mere 3% of the total water supply.
Our fresh water, the miniscule water source we rely on for life, is threatened by pollutants that we release into the environment causing illness, disabilities, and even death to ourselves, our children, our pets, and the plants and animals we raise for food.
Our oceans, home to thousands of different marine species, are also threatened by pollution from our trash, particularly plastic from water bottles and shopping bags.
What is Water Pollution?
There are many causes of water pollution. However, to sum it up, it is caused by anything that makes our water unclean or less pure. This can happen due to chemicals in the water, improperly disposed of medications, oil runoff and spills, trash, and contaminants that go into the air which fall back down with the rain waters.
How does Water Pollution Affect Us?
The negative effects of water pollution depend upon the type of contaminant and the intensity of it. The effects of water pollution at home can range from a mere foul smelling odor to a poisoned drinking water supply. No matter what the cause or the result, each case of pollution should be taken seriously, as a small problem can rapidly become a larger, unmanageable and potentially fatal one.
Mercury Poisoning
As pediatricians attempt to reduce mercury and other heavy metal exposure in young children and babies, a major source of mercury poisoning is in our own water, contaminating the fish that we eat. The most popular type of fish eaten by young children is tuna; it just so happens that this particular fish is more susceptible to mercury poisoning from mercury pollution in the water. Once that tuna fish has been poisoned with this highly toxic heavy metal, it remains in its system as it is caught, cut up, processed and put on the store shelf. It is then served to your child as a delicious and an easy lunchtime option that will not only fill your child’s belly, but could negatively impact his brain and neurological development.
It Doesn’t Take an Oil Spill
We all watched in horror at the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Many stories have been shared over the years by environmentalists about the dangers of a potential oil spill on our water supply and the existence of marine life.
However, it doesn’t take an oil spill to cause a crisis in our oceans. In fact, most of the oil in our water is created by runoff from our cars, trucks, SUVs, boats and other oil and gasoline powered vehicles. Inappropriate methods of disposing of used oil in addition to vehicles that leak oil without repair create a rapidly increasing level of water pollution in both fresh and salt water sources. It is a danger to our health and the health of our ocean life.
Sources and Types of Water Pollution Too Numerous to List
The many different sources of pollution are so numerous that they cannot be covered in a single article: pesticides, herbicides, agricultural fertilizer, medications dumped down the drains, antibiotics, heavy metals, oil run-off, and more. It has been estimated that a single glass of water from the tap contains one or two pesticides in addition to the other contaminants as well. This doesn’t take into account the potential for lead poisoning in water from old pipes that have been improperly maintained; lead poisoning is detrimental to brain tissue and can be fatal after repeated, high-rate exposure.
Where is the Clean Water?
The water pollution facts tell us that 66 percent of the bays and estuaries in the United States are suffering from moderate or severe degradation.
To give you an idea of how extreme of a crisis we are facing, the majority of our healthy, pollutant free fish come from Antarctica. Our fresh water isn’t safe to drink until it’s been treated at a water treatment plant, and then we still feel the need to filter it at home before we consider it clean enough to drink.
Additionally, we cannot rely on bottled water to be a safe, clean source of water. Bottled water is merely filtered tap water. Read our article on water pollution facts to learn more startling information related to water pollution.
We must take drastic steps to ensure the health of all source of life before our children have nothing clean left to drink.
