When we refine or even dig up oil sands we produce harmful chemicals. Since Alberta oil sands are located near major rivers some of those chemicals end up in the rivers. The most famous case is with the Athabasca River, where the water is contaminated by many harmful chemicals. The Athabasca water ecosystem is slowly being poisoned and so are the people that use the water for their water supply. The oil sands maybe a large part of our social and economic structure, but they are slowly ruining our environment.
Waste management companies and the EPA addressed some of the issues in the 1980s by adopting the “dry tomb” philosophy of landfill construction which focused on isolating garbage from its immediate surroundings. Also new landfills would have liners that protected groundwater from “leaking garbage juice” and a series of pipes to funnel out said juices. Royte points out that the problem is, even the best plastics will ultimately leak and break. Also, this problem is going to exist as long as landfills do. More updated methods of accelerating decomposition have been introduced in more recent years, however, these liquids are still potentially leaking.
30-50 percent on the fluids used to perform fracking as left behind. These fluids are harmful to the environment and cannot be broken down. Chemicals from fracking just sit in large pools above ground where they evaporate into the air. It releases harmful VOCs which are volatile organic compounds which contaminant air, acid air, and ground level ozone. When someone does research on hydraulic fracturing, a majority of the stuff that comes on it is negative
In the US, fracking is also exempted from six other key pieces of regulation relating to hazardous waste and pollution. One of the biggest factors in the legal battles is what they use in chemicals inside the fracking process. The loophole allows them to keep that as a ‘guarded’ secret and they do not have to disclose all the chemicals that are used while fracking. There reservoirs over time have shown wear and tear and even possibly a defect in manufacturing of the well. There have been reports of the well collapsing and creeping into other water sources where the ecosystem around it has become a ‘dead zone’ for any type of life animal or vegetation.
When I go to the beach I see how dirty the water is there. I hesitate to swim in it. Lake Erie is a beautiful lake when it is not so dirty, and we should try and preserve it. If we don’t it will be become so polluted that it will be considered dead, this happened in the 1960s due to all the factories dumping waste in to the Lake. It was literally a dumping ground and it even caught on fire a few times due to the toxic wastes.
The practice of using confined spaces, hormones to promote rapid growth in livestock, chemical insecticides to protect vegetables and lagoons for storing animal waste are methods that leave much to be desired and are harming our environment. Impact of Corporate Farming On Our Water Chemical insecticides and fertilizers have been leaching into our waterways for years. So has the livestock waste stored in lagoons by corporate farmers, some of which are as large as 200 acres. Once these have entered the ground, they will eventually enter our drinking water and all the streams and rivers that lead to the ocean. Not only is the water unfit for human consumption, it is now destroying the marine ecosystem and this is serious business when you consider how important the ocean's health is to human survival.
Africa and Florida’s environment both have issues and damages. The damages of the environment affect the animals that live in the area. Florida is known for its pollution in certain areas and this is what hurts the animals, from ranches and farms polluting the watered area where animals live they die off because of what is thrown in the water. In 1990, Florida Legislature banned drilling. This drilling happened on the coast-line with this happening most drilling comes with oil and with oil in the way of an animal they’ll get covered in it and soon die.
These pollutants have reduced water quality, contaminated soils, and damaged the Lake’s ecosystems. Pollution in wildlife has caused fish consumption to decrease, the spread of disease and viruses to increase, loss of fish and other wildlife stock. The closing of beaches and other recreational activities have been another direct result of the
Also, the excessive manure present in rainwater runoff during heavy storms cannot be called “agricultural stormwater discharges.” In C.A.R.E v Southview Farms, “The run-off was primarily caused by the over-saturation of the fields rather than the rain and that sufficient quantities of manure were present so that the run-off could not be classified as "stormwater. "” (1994). Therefore, Northfield Farms is in violation of the CWA for its disposal method of waste products as well as the manner in which waste floods surrounding private property. References Concerned Area Residents for the Environment v. Southview Farm 34 F.3d 114 (2d Cir. 1994) McAdams, T., Neslund, N., & Zucker, K. (2009).
The extended holding of the waste fluid in the pits could lead to their seepage into the ground, especially if the pits are not lined with plastic. This contaminates the water sources around. In addition, any overflows, for instance caused by heavy rains, allows the fluid to contaminate water in the sources. Large volumes of fluid is required (thousands of gallons of water is used per well) and its disposal is an issue too (Schmidt, 2011). Proper disposal methods should be effected to ensure the water aquifers around do not get contaminated.