Free Essays, Term Papers, Research Papers at Anti Essays

Save Our Water!



Water pollution and increased water usage is becoming a large problem that we have to confront. Water is our most valuable resource. Seventy percent of the earth’s surface is covered with water, yet we are not able to use it all. Only 3% of all water is fresh and drinkable. Of that three percent, 75% is frozen, which leaves a grand total of only about 1% of the water on the Earth’s surface that humans can actually use. Taking these facts into account, anyone can see why the conservation and protection of the Earth’s remaining fresh, usable water is very important. Water is a resource that humans use for recreation, industry, transportation, agriculture, and hydroelectric power. As individual people, we use water for sanitation, drinking, and many other needs. The average American uses 140 to 160 gallons of water each day. Before water pollution and over-usage of water can be stopped, the sources of these problems must be known.
Water pollution is contamination of water, caused by humans. Water pollution reduces the usefulness of water for humans and other organisms that depend on water. Pollutants such as pesticides, hazardous chemicals, and fertilizers can find a way into our water supply. When water is polluted, it can harm human, plant, and animal life unless it goes through a very expensive and extensive purification process. There are many causes and effects of water pollution.
Pollutants can come from pipes that discharge water from factories, or other industrial buildings into bodies of water. This can harm the aquatic life that lives in the water. Pollutants can also come from large areas of agricultural land, which have been covered with pesticides or fertilizers. The pesticides and fertilizers can wash off, and soak into the ground water, which will contaminate drinkable groundwater. Pollutants can also harm the beauty of the water.
As the population increases, so does the amount of...