Why Water Pollution is so Important
Nobody ever really thinks about water pollution. People are too occupied with gas pollution and global warming. They never realize how important water pollution is.
Think about it. When trash falls to the bottom of the ocean, it may kill off species we haven't even discovered yet, making them extinct. Over 14 billion tons of trash somehow find their way to our beautiful ocean each year. This is almost completely caused by plastic.
The Problem with Plastic
Plastic is very convenient for humans. It's stretchy and it never decomposes! But that's exactly the problem. When paper bags find their way to the sea, they decompose quickly because they are made of bark. But when a plastic bag finds its way to the ocean, it can take over 500 years to decompose.
Yet even then, there are microscopic pieces of plastic drifting around—which can be even more fatal to sea animals, because they can swallow plastic and not even notice.
Are plastic bottles really that important? We only use them once, then throw them away. That one plastic bottle you used just once could cost an innocent creature its life.
Garbage Patches
Most of the trash that ends up in the ocean collects in one of the five garbage patches on planet Earth. Garbage patches are places where our garbage accumulates—some can be miles and miles long.
Life under garbage patches? Well, there's no life at all. All of that trash doesn't let any light through. The plants die, and then the fish that eat the plants die, and then the predators that eat the fish die.
What You Can Do
Everyone thinks that if you recycle, it causes less water pollution. It does help—but only a little, and compared to the population of Earth, very few people recycle. The company who invented recycling made it a routine: reduce, reuse, then recycle—in that order.
- Reduce the amount of plastic you use
- Reuse your plastic—don't just throw it away after one use
- Recycle plastic instead of putting it in the trash
- Spread the word to friends, family, and your community
- Empower people to help prevent water pollution
- Think up your own solution—the Skipping Rocks Lab invented an edible water bottle!
What's your solution to stop water pollution?