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.
Believe it or not we are all a witness of watching someone litter, or us littering. From planktons, to dolphins to birds can be affected by a simple oil spill in the ocean and especially in a close area like the Persian Gulf can cause great damage. When oil is spilled, toxins in the water spike and will shock the bodily systems of the animals living there, causing a massive amount of death and leading to endangerment. Before disaster had struck in 1991, the Persian gulf has beautiful clean beaches, filled with marine life. Beautiful clear, lushes water.
Personal misfortune through injury or death decrease the size and eminence of work in the labor force. Also damage to buildings and equipment used on a daily reduce the amount of investment needed to provide goods and services. Natural disasters often destroy people’s possessions while also contaminating air and water, killing fish and wildlife, and damage’s other natural assets. Likewise, “U.S. Gulf Coast, a major producer of oil for much of the nation.
In South Africa water is used out to its limit, the pollution comes from traffic associated with crude oil transport from the Arabian Gulf which is contaminated from tanks that spill oil. Some ways we pollute the Everglades, is because of some of the stuff that goes down the drains. Most of the stuff goes into a lake, pond, or canal, most these are connected to the ocean and Everglades. We have to watch what we let go down the drains, such as chemicals, and trash. I think if we make a way where trash that goes down a drain can be separated from the water and goes into another drain leading to a dump.
This would be terrible for the people and creatures that rely on this mighty river to live. Dams, diversions and evaporation losses from reservoirs also contribute to the lessening of water available from the river, causing ecological consequences to wildlife living in and along the river. The Colorado River used to carry up to 85 to 100 million tons of silt or sediment to the Gulf of California where it deposited into the sea. The sediment helped things along the river path grow and flourish. Over the years, the silt has been collecting in Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, and it is predicted that over the next few hundred years this lake will fill up with silt.
The procedure consists of injecting a special fluid made up of chemicals and sand into the ground at high pressures to squeeze the natural gas back up through the rocks. By injecting this certain fluid we are leaving mercury, lead, hydrochloric acid, methane, and other poisonous chemicals left to rest in our earth’s crust. Studies show that more than 90% of fracking fluids are left underground. Because we are permanently polluting our land we are putting our environment at high risks of becoming destroyed and it is effecting human health. One resource that is at high risk of being contaminated due to fracking is water.
Should America Seek Alternative Energy Sources Cars and factories put off many different poisonous gasses into our air. These can make people very sick, cause plants and animals to die, and causes our atmosphere to become hazardous while depleting the Ozone layer. Another problem is oil spillage. About 1,000 barrels of oil seep per day into our ocean waters. About 11,000 barrels of U.S. oil got spilled from tankers from 1980 to 1998.
2013).Pharmaceutical companies sometimes place active chemicals and waste into groundwater sources, in which almost all of the groundwater may be untreated which most likely cause contamination. (Herber, 2002). Abstract: Increase in the emissions of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels is the largest cause of environmental down grading resulting not only in global warming but also causing acid rain which alters the pH balance of ground water. Water is a universal solvent; however, its dissolving properties are very sensitive to changes in temperature and pH. Global economic growth has, unfortunately,
But in recent studies these chemicals have caused health problems such as Liver cancer, fertility problems and other developmental issues in humans and animals. (So basically the dispersants are working but once they do their job, they are sinking to the bottom of the ocean and making things worse) Environmental groups attempted to obtain information regarding the structure of ingredients in Corexit through the Freedom of Information Act but were denied by the EPA. The EPA later released a list of all 57 chemicals in the 14 dispersants on the EPA’s National Contingency Plan Product Schedule after Earth Justice sued on behalf of the Gulf Restoration Network 5 are associated with cancer, 33 are related to skin irritation that is anywhere from rashes to severe burns, 12 with eye irritation and 7 with kidney/respiratory toxins and all are toxic to aquatic life. As you can see in these pictures it is devastating to wild life. Some immediate impacts consist of oil coated bird feathers causing birds to lose their buoyancy and the ability to regulate body temperature.
The Exxon Valdez oil spill was the largest oil spill in the history of the United States (EPA, 2011). The Exxon Valdez oil spill was a major concert in Alaska and 11 million gallons of oil released into the ocean (EPA, 2011). The damage opened the eyes of individuals in the United States because the oil spill posed threats to the food chain, fishing industry, and many species of birds in the particular ecosystem (EPA, 2011). The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 was created in August 1990. The OPA established plans to handle future oil spills easier.