Water Pollution from Landfills
Our fresh water supplies are vital to survival, but every year pollution from landfills makes a portion of the fresh water supplies in the world unusable. Landfill conditions, where trash cannot degrade easily, increase the amount of pollution that enters fresh water streams, […]
How Much Water Does It Take to Make All Our Stuff?
It’s easy to not think about how much water is used to make things that we use everyday. However, besides implementing tips for water conservation, understanding how water is used to make things is important in our goal of reducing water consumption. It’s not just […]
Water and Sanitation Access: A Global Need
In July of 2010, the United Nations declared access to safe drinking water a human right. This resolution follows years of global campaigning to bring recognition to the problems of safe water and sanitation access. About 884 million people cannot access safe drinking water, […]
Uranium in Water: Pollution from Uranium Mining
Uranium is a naturally occurring heavy metal used in nuclear power generation, atomic weapons and nuclear medicine applications. It occurs in trace amounts in our air, water and soil, and in more concentrated amounts in rock formations that can be mined. According to the […]
Petroleum Pollutants and the Consequences of Oil Refinement
An Overlooked Petroleum Crisis In today’s society, many of us have become accustomed to the sight of birds and marine animals struggling for life on an oil-slicked beach after a massive oil spill. We have also become more aware of the devastating effects […]
Marine Pollutants: Thermal Pollution
Thermal Pollution Thermal pollution occurs when a body of water’s temperature is changed because of human activities. In nature, even a slight change in temperature can have dramatic changes on the ecosystem; it can cause some life to die off and others to […]
Introduced Species
What Are Introduced Species? Introduced species are species that now live outside of their native range. These species are introduced to new areas–usually over previously inaccessible bodies of water–by human activity, either deliberately or accidentally. The Environmental Protection Agency defines introduced species as “species that […]
Five Major Marine Pollutants
The world’s oceans are so vast that they might seem immune to the influence of human waste. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Marine pollutants are a problem, and despite regulation and laws like the Clean Water Act, marine pollutants continue to be […]
Chemicals in Water
An Introduction to Chemicals in Water Chemicals in water come in a variety of forms, safe and unsafe, organic and inorganic. They also come from a variety of sources, from pollution to water treatment. Organic and Inorganic Chemicals in Water While some chemicals […]
How Much Drinking Water is Left?
Fresh water is important for life. Without fresh water on earth, nothing can survive. Over the past few decades, drinkable water has become more and more scarce. Some even say that we have reached peak water. Why is that? And how much drinking […]