Pollution Kills 40 Percent of Us – Contaminated Surface Water

Black Lake, or Hells Door in San Francisco

Pollution, in one form or another, kills 40 percent of the worlds population

Thank you for joining me at Twilight Earth, for an in-depth look at the Top Ten Worlds Worst Pollution Problems. You can click here for the feed, which will open in a new tab, to have these sent directly to you, or you can bookmark this site.

The Blacksmith Institute and Green Cross Switzerland have produced a report entitled “The World’s Worst Pollution Problems: The Top Ten of the Toxic Twenty.” The Top Ten is a non-ranked set of global issues, which – in the overall judgment of a panel of expert advisers – represent ongoing activities and conditions that pose the greatest threat to human health. As a result of these studies, a team of researchers studying population growth, pollution and disease found that 40 percent of deaths worldwide are caused by water, air and soil pollution.

If you like, you can click here for an introduction to this series.

Today’s article, the first of 10, deals with Contaminated Surface Water. Also, you’re comments are welcome.

“Almost 5 million deaths every year are due to water related diseases. This is due to growing concentrations of people combined with the increasing industrialization of land use, resulting in rivers, lakes and aquifers becoming highly polluted.

Context

Fresh drinking water makes up less than 6% of the total water on the earth, yet 100% of the population relies on it. This includes the icecaps and glaciers and if these sources are subtracted from the total, only 0.3% of the water on Earth is usable for drinking.

Exposure Pathways

Key pollutants in the water systems are typically pathogens arising from human waste, heavy metals and organic chemicals from industrial waste. Ingestion of pathogens through drinking contaminated water or with food prepared using contaminated water, is the most common pathway.

In addition, human health is affected by crops that take up pollutants from contaminated water used for irrigation or from land flooded by polluted rivers.

Health Effects

World Health Organization data shows that water pollution is one of the greatest causes of mortality that can be linked to environmental factors. In many countries, some diseases may be related to poor hygiene, but this in turn is often a result of the lack of adequate amounts of clean water.

Notable effected areas

It is very hard to note effected areas in reference to contaminated surface water. However, in Northern India, the problem seems extremely pervasive in the upper reaches, around New Delhi.  In China, industrialization has created serious problems in rivers such as the Huai.  Rivers around the world have become urban drains and dumps. Unfortunately, the urban drains are also the main source of water for drinking and daily use for millions of people.

The problem will only worsen as competition for limited or degraded resources intensifies. Over the next few decades, up to two-thirds of the worlds population will be affected by water scarcity.”

As the world tries to loose itself from the bonds of oil dependence, more and more countries are carving out larger and larger chunks of forest and wetlands to grow agricultural based fuels. As the United States and other first world countries start to run out of farm-able acres to not only grow this fuel, but feed themselves, many of the countries that are picking up the slack are already water starved, and the loss of forest habitat and irrigation for these crops only exacerbates the problem.

Better off communities can afford water treatment systems and wealthier people can take avoidance measures such as individual bottle water, but the poor have limited options and need to look towards provisions of public water supplies.

What can be done?

“India has a Ganga Action Plan, to reduce the pollution of the river Ganges, but measurable progress has been slow. In China, investments of billions of dollars over 20 years (along with closure or relocation of many industries) has produced a significant improvement in the Huangpu River, but increasing upstream loads from urbanization and industry are causing measurable deterioration even in the Yangtze.

Ultimately, large amounts of time and resources are typically needed to make any type of impact.”

Contaminated water surfaces are due to not only an increased population, but the steady growth of individual consumption, as economies become stronger, citizens become wealthier and lifestyles become more Americanized.

Even here in the United States, where we are water rich, we are starting to feel the effects of pollution as we lose more and more species of fish and birds due to water pollution. Some local jurisdictions have gone so far as to outlaw car washing in residential settings and imposing strict fines on over fertilizing lawns.

An interesting anecdote.  A woman (who has a superb, lush, neon green lawn) asked a friend of mine why there is so much algae in the water on the border of her property. When he pointed at her lawn and told her that it was because of all the fertilizer washing off her lawn and into the river, she of course didn’t like that and refused to believe him.

Please join me again tomorrow, for another leader in the Worlds Worst Pollution Problems.

And again, You can click here for the feed, which will open in a new tab, to have these sent directly to you, or you can bookmark this site.

As always, keep up the good fight and Alter the Eco.

Source: Worstpolluted.org

Photo courtesy of Pboe31 via Creative Commons license

Related posts:

1. 40 Percent of Global Death Attributed To Pollution
2. Pollution Kills 40 Percent of Us – Artisanal Gold Mining
3. Utilizing Gray Water, by “The Organic Architect” and “The Good Mix”