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We all are Contributing to the Key Causes of Water Pollution

13th May, 2010 - Posted by health news - No Comments

Before you start pointing the finger of blame at certain industries claiming they cause water pollution, you should turn it around so that it’s pointing at yourself instead. During the mid 20th century, industrial waste was the foremost reason for pollution, but as soon as the government passed numerous acts in the 1970s which forced them to correct how they discarded waste products, so now industry isn’t the main culprit it used to be. The simple fact is you and I are the ones polluting our lakes, rivers, and streams, and until we take it upon ourselves to avoid our dirty habits, the issue is only going to deteriorate.

The population in the United States continues to increase by leaps and bounds. The pollution brought on by one individual may seem negligible, but when you have the contaminants placed in the water sources by huge numbers of people… Well, you understand the issue. Your neighbor is out changing the oil in the car. Since he isn’t sure how to eliminate the previous oil, you see him throwing it down the storm drain. Your old car is leaking gasoline. You don’t want it on your driveway, and that means you park the old heap out in the street where gas leaks out and runs down the storm drain. You help your brother paint his bedroom, and watch as he goes out into the street to clean the brushes with turpentine.

You must admit, these things happen on a regular basis. Whether it’s children throwing things down the storm drains in play, a restaurant getting rid of rancid cooking oil, or perhaps you yourself spraying pesticide sprays and fertilizer onto your lawn that can sooner or later wash off into the drains, it’s all adding to the problem of pollution within this country.

The bad thing is, the majority of people aren’t even conscious of what they’re doing. Not enough people put a little something into a storm drain and give thought to where it goes. They’re just glad to be rid of it. However, out of sight doesn’t mean that it isn’t causing problems in the waterways. Water in the drains runs to lakes, rivers, or streams, merges with other polluted water already coming from upstream, and passes into larger bodies of water, like the Mississippi River as well as the Gulf of Mexico. In the Gulf, these contaminants are harming the aquatic life that lives there.

Water pollution is a problem that will continue to grow along with our increasing population. With experts forecasting water shortages by the mid 21st century, we all need to get serious now with cleaning up our major causes of water pollution such as through municipal water filtration or emergency water treatment methods. If unfortunately we cannot, what sort of a world are we going to leave to our children?