POLLUTION ON EARTH
Pollution is one of the most critical issues effecting our environment and health.
People, animals, and other wildlife are being hurt and killed by the overpowering filth on our planet. Air Pollution, Land Pollution, and Water Pollution have been increasing as our earth's population continues to grow, and the facts are shocking.
Air Pollution
Pollutants in the air kill 800 people every hour, or one death every 13 minutes, and more than three times the amount of people that die each year from malaria, tuberculosis, and AIDS combined. Household air pollution caused the premature deaths of 3.8 million people, mainly in the developing world. Populations living in high density areas, which is a majority of the population, have a 20% higher risk of fatal lung cancer. Surprisingly there are more than 500 million cars in the world and by 2030 the amount is expected to reach 1 billion, causing air pollution to double unless initiatives are taken to stop toxic emissions.
Land Pollution
The United States alone produces 30% of the world's waste and uses a quarter of the planet's natural resources. U.S. consumers also buy more than 29 million bottles of water each year, but only 13% are recycled. Back in 2010, composting and recycling helped prevent 85 million metric tons of waste being dumped. Interestingly half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made in the last 15 years, and production has increased exponentially from 2.3 million tons in 1950 to 448 million tons by 2015. Plastic production is worryingly predicted to double by 2050.
Water Pollution
The ocean has 8 million metric tons of waste added into it each year, that equals approximately the amount of one garbage truck dumped per minute. Sadly, plastic is the main pollutant floating throughout our seas. The Great Pacific Ocean Patch that floats between Hawaii and California, has 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic, which is twice the size of Texas. Shockingly, about 1,000,000 sea birds and 100,000 marine mammals are killed from plastic pollutants annually. Where does all this waste come from? About 80% is directly from the overflow of land pollution into waterways; including chemical run-offs, dumping, and leaks.
Sources:
http://news.trust.org/item/20190604234358-dr1my/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/plastic-pollution/
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/08/world/world-oceans-day-2019-pollution-facts-trnd/index.html
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-pollution-facts.php
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