Water
​ Pollution alters patterns of rainfall, evaporation, and the hydrologic cycle.
Saltwater
We're polluting the seas. ​ "150 million metric tons of plastic are ... in our oceans."
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"Half of the oxygen ... humans breathe" is produced by oceanic phytoplankton.
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The small planktonic organisms ingest microplastic, which can end up in seafood.
As pollution creates an atmospheric greenhouse effect, oceanic temperatures rise.
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Water "around the equator has already become too hot for many species to survive."
CO2 pollution also causes Oceanic Acidification.
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"This process harms [shellfish] and reduces the ocean's" ability to act "as a carbon sink".
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When the saltwater warms, the world's magnificent coral reefs die. ​​​​​​
Also horrible is Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing:
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"On top of ... pillaging fish stocks, IUU fishing is associated with organized crime."
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"Human rights abuses and forced labor ... are common."
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For more on this, visit the Corruption page.
Freshwater
Nearly "half of the [USA’s] rivers and streams" are unfit "for swimming, fishing, or drinking."
Agricultural pollution is often the biggest culprit, i.e., from the (1.) raising and (2.) killing of cattle.
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​​1. They’re fed grains from "fertilizer-intensive monocultures." "Excess fertilizer causes water pollution."
2. Slaughterhouse pollution stimulates "algal growth, sucks up oxygen, & creates 'dead zones'."
Slaughterhouses "paid little to no fines for their illegal water pollution."
"Millions of [groundwater] wells are at risk of running dry" in the USA, China, India & Pakistan.
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Worryingly, China doesn't get along with India, which doesn't get along with Pakistan.
Unfriendly neighbors Israel, Iran and Saudi Arabia also live in an already dry region.
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For a historical map of water as a weapon of violence, click on the "Water Conflict Chronology".
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"Water is becoming increasingly scarce –
by 2050 about half a billion people are likely to be subject to water-stress."
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As with clean air, access to clean water will be partly determined by economic inequality.
“Madagascar ... is experiencing its worst drought in four decades.”
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In some spots, there's no water for crops, no water for livestock, and no water for humans.
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It's “because of no rain ... and whenever it does rain, it's never enough rain.”
Without tap water, people turn to bottled water.
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"Roughly 32-54 million barrels of oil went into producing ... bottled water." (USA 2007)
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"It takes [7] liters of water to make a ... half-liter PET plastic bottle."
This not-really--recyclable bottle will end up in a dump, in our air (incineration), or the ocean.
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Private companies (Coca-Cola, Nestle) have tried to take advantage of poor people's efforts to find drinking water. Investors have seen some benefit from this, but the less-well-off, generally, have not.
"Water pollution causes approximately 14,000
deaths per day,
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mostly due to contamination of drinking water by untreated sewage."
There are 3 countries whose citizens use more water, per person, than all others: Niger, Bolivia, and the USA.
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For tips on how to conserve clean water, check out The Wildlife Trusts, or Waterwise.
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How much water does it take to make beer?
Depending on location, the ratio may be: 300 to 1, or 45 to 1.
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Soda-pop? More than 200 to one, including the plastic bottle.
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It takes roughly 20 gallons of water to make a pint of beer, as much as 132 gallons of water to make a 2-liter bottle of soda, and about 500 gallons, including water used to grow, dye and process the cotton, to make a pair of Levi's stonewashed jeans.
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“Agriculture is both a cause and a casualty of water scarcity."
Crops such as coffee, almonds, cotton, and rice use huge amounts of water.
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"A quarter-pound hamburger [uses] 462 gallons of water [including] ... cattle feed ...
a [cotton]...T-shirt takes 712 gallons." (see Food, Shopping) Discover your water footprint - Here
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