Ocean Pollution
The causes and effects of ocean pollution.
Dear President,
Approximately 40% of the lakes in America are too polluted for fishing, aquatic life or swimming. And each year, 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, stormwater, and industrial waste are dumped into US water. All of this can be helped if we focus more on water pollution.
One of the reasons why we should pay more attention to the oceans is because a lot of chemicals and toxins are dumped into the storm drains. The toxins and chemicals that are being dumped kill sea creatures and their habitats. Also washing a car on your driveway pollutes storm drains. According to Enviropool.com, “Approximately 75,000 liters of detergents and 12,000 kilograms of dirt and other pollutants flow into North Shore City’s streams, lakes and beaches from people washing their cars on roads and driveways. Only carwashes know how to properly dispose of the soap and the other cleaners.” Some people think that not going to a car wash they could save some money, but really, they are just polluting the ocean. In exchange for saving some money.
Another reason why we should pay more attention to the oceans is because some fish and sea creatures eat the waste and get contaminated by it too.
Some of the chemicals fish absorb can cause cancer to people who eat the fish. So by polluting the ocean, we are in a way polluting ourselves.
Along with water pollution, human consumption piles onto it too. Fish are going away.
Another reason is that you may not be able to swim at beaches for a while after storms. A lot of beaches close after storms because of all the trash that’s brought in the water. The toxins in the water can really harm your body.
Someone may argue that we have more important problems to worry about on land than water pollution, but if we don’t pay attention now, it will affect us dramatically later on. It’s either we deal with this now, or deal with this when it is much much worse in the future.
Now that you know all of the things that can cause water pollution, what will you do to help?
From a concerned citizen,
Alex C