Water Pollution: A Major Threat

Over two thirds of Earth's surface is covered by water; less than a third is taken up by land. As Earth's population continues to grow, people are putting ever-increasing pressure on the planet's water resources. In a sense, our oceans, rivers, and other inland waters are being "squeezed" by human activities—not so they take up less room, but so their quality is reduced. Poorer water quality means water pollution.

We know that pollution is a human problem because it is a relatively recent development in the planet's history: before the 19th century Industrial Revolution, people lived more in harmony with their immediate environment. As the world is developing at a accelerated rate, so does the pollution rate. More and more polluting of water bodies are occuring. When Earth's population was much smaller, no one believed pollution would ever present a serious problem. It was once believed that the oceans were far too big to pollute. Today, with over 8 billion people on the planet, it has become apparent that there are limits. Pollution is one of the signs that humans have exceeded those limits.

Sad to say, pollution is caused by humans literally. Other than the occasional volcanic eruptions that makes water unclean and forest fires that dirty water, pollution is what we have "achieved" single-handedly. I still vividly remember when my teacher told me about the exxon valdez oil spill. What a terrible incident it was! More than 50 million litres of oil spilled into the sea which spread over a distance of 900km. But, one more of the more major problems are the ways we dispose our waste.