Pollution

History of Pollution

• The start of pollution dates back between 10 thousand and 40 thousand years ago.
• After WWII, pollution became an even greater issue.
• Toxic materials such as plastics and inorganic pesticides began to accumulate in the environment, increasing rates of cancers, birth defects, and other health related problems.

Water Pollution

• Human waste has been carried in American rivers for centuries.
• Freshwater sources have sewage, and industrial waste dumped into them.
• Antibiotics have saved millions of lives that have come in contact with this water.
• Industrial companies still find ways to dump trash into the water, causing massive wildlife dieoffs, elevated cancer rates, and birth defects.

Air Pollution

• Air pollution first appeared in England in 1273; coal-burning fires created clouds of smoke over the cities.
• In 1987, a hole was found in the ozone layer, showing that air pollution is a serious threat to the world.
• All around the world, engine powered vehicles contaminate the air we breathe.

Acid Rain

• Gasses released by burning fossil fuels (related to air pollution) makes rain more acidic, causing it to be corrosive.
• Acid rain kills plants, trees, and damages structures.
• It accumulates in rivers and streams, killing many of the creatures that live in the water.

Land Pollution

• The United States disposes more than half of its solid waste into landfills. This adds up to over 110 million tons of waste per year.
• Much land pollution is caused by agricultural activities such as grazing, pesticide spraying, fertilizing, plowing, etc.
• More than one million bushels of garbage are thrown out of car windows by Americans each year.

Chemical Pollution

• Chemical pollution primarily refers to a body of water that is polluted by harmful chemicals.
• Our entire aquatic ecosystem could be at risk because of the highly poisonous chemicals in the water.
• These dangerous chemicals can enter the food chain, effecting other animals and even humans.

FOX News

• The FOX News article focused on air pollution and how it's effecting children inside and outside all over the world.
• This article seemed negative and biased by statistics. They focused on children's death (600 thousand a year) because of air pollution.
• Sources weren't provided, which made these facts seem less likely to be true and made up.
• Link: video.foxnews.com/v/5192418354001/?#sp=show-clips

CNN News

• The CNN article focused on "beating" air pollution. It talked about vehicle fuels and how it effects our air.
• This article also seemed negative and biased by omission. The author only talked about urban areas creating the air pollution.
• The author has tweeted about climate change a lot in the past, which is connected to pollution.
• Link: cnn.com/2016/08/18/world/Eco-solutions-air-pollution

Pollution: Minor or Major Issue?I've always been aware that pollution is worldwide issue, but after reading about all of the different types of pollution and hearing about what it does to animals and humans, it's made me realize that it's a much greater issue that what we think.

Sources:

• www.pollutionissues.com/fo-hi/history.html
• poopy.org/land-pollution/land-pollution-facts
• pollutionarticles.blogspot.com/2012/03/chemical-pollution-facts.html