Threat From Pollution
Water pollution happens when harmful chemicals, organisms or microorganisms often times contaminate a body of water, deteriorating water quality and making it toxic to the environment or humans. Industrial waste is different from these substances in many ways. While harmful wastes may pollute lakes and rivers, hazardous wastes are those discharged or emitted by factories into the air, water, or on the ground that ultimately make their way back into the ocean and the air. Virtually all chemicals in the world have the potential to be hazardous to marine life or the ocean’s delicate ecosystem, threatening both aquatic life and the delicate climate of the earth. Ocean litter and air pollution both threaten to further deplete ocean supplies and affect ocean-related research and conservation efforts.
Ocean litter and air pollution have a direct effect on human health and the ecosystem. Human consumption of seafood has been linked to the increased prevalence of certain types of cancer. Scientific research has linked pollution to altered ocean chemistry, resulting in a decline in the food chain and contributing to overfishing and overgrowth of predatory fish. Ocean pollution also reduces the productivity of fisheries, which in turn can hurt the economy of countries dependent upon seafood as a major source of revenue.
Ocean pollution results not only in direct harm to humans and to the environment but it can also have a significant indirect effect on the global food chain. Overfishing has led to an increase in the abundance of certain contaminants like PCBs and dioxins that can form a part of the food chain. As a result, a substantial portion of seafood is contaminated with toxic compounds that have been linked to a variety of diseases. Some of these diseases include cancer, immune system compromise, neurological disorders, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.
Ocean pollution results not only in direct human health effects but also indirect effects on the environment and the entire food chain. Pollutants like PCBs and other chemicals are emitted into the air, land, and water and travel through the food chain to affect plants and animals. They accumulate in the food, feeding off natural productivity. Ocean contamination by pollution can persistently create toxic chemicals that remain in the soil, air, and water that eventually become a source of contamination for future generations. As a result of this contamination, long-range ecological and sustainable management is required to protect the long-term health of human and non-human populations.
To achieve the virtual elimination of chemicals contaminants in our bodies, we need to adopt practices that promote recycling, reduce consumption, and reduce our dependence upon foreign oil and fossil fuels. These practices can be implemented globally by individuals, communities, and government agencies. Several environmental organizations and international pollution watchdog groups have developed programs that focus on these four components of environmental management. These programs provide evidence-based steps that can reduce pollution while preserving ecosystems and the resilience of the global food chain.
The Basel Convention on the High Seas (BSHCC) and the Convention on Biodiesel Production (CCBP) are two of the most important international agreements designed to protect the world’s oceans, lakes, and rivers from harmful chemicals and hazardous wastes. Both the B SHCC and CCCP encourage the voluntary development of national programs to control the production of environmentally and agriculturally hazardous waste and to protect the aquatic systems that are crucial to aquatic ecosystems. Both the B SHCC and CCCP also require Parties to prepare and maintain detailed plans for their activities that comply with their conventions. The Basel Convention and the CCCP also identify the roles of voluntary organizations and the media in assisting the voluntary management of hazardous waste and in promoting safeguards at national, regional, and global levels.
Another important area of concern is the polluted lakes and rivers that feed our Great Lakes and lead to massive contamination of surface water and groundwater supplies. Virtually all the contaminants in the lakes originate from factories, agricultural facilities, and other sources that discharge pollutants into the atmosphere. Efforts by governments, conservation agencies, and scientists have been slow to resolve these issues. The Clean Water Act, which were enacted in 1920, but never implemented fully due to the resistance of certain industries, was one of the major reasons for the creation of the Great Lakes Commission in the first place. Partly as a result of the commission’s work, today there is a ban on most new and innovative wastewater treatment technologies such as reverse osmosis and high pressure treatments that are detrimental to the cleanliness and health of our great lakes and rivers.
The threat to human health and the environment posed by hazardous waste are enormous. Harmful substances are present in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the soil in which we work and live. These toxic wastes are also present in the natural habitat through pollution and runoff from land, water, and air. Mapping pollution has become an essential tool for monitoring the progress of the problem. However, even with the best mapping software, if we do not address the problem in a drastic way, then pollution will continue to increase and threaten human health and the environment for years to come.
