In addition to the famous impacts of atmospheric carbon on global warming, there is an equally worrisome effect of carbon dioxide on the oceans: ocean acidification (or OA for short). Here at I2SEA we have a series of resources about OA, including Our Acidifying Ocean, which is an introductory activity and virtual lab (note: now mobile compatible!).
A student suggested that we start a conversation topic about OA, and here it is! Have you heard about Ocean Acidification? If so, are you worried about it? How do you think we can best raise awareness about it among your fellow students and the general public? Have you seen particularly good links or films about OA that you would like to share? What are you doing to address the problem?
Ocean Acidification >
Water Pollution
Water pollution occurs when harmful substances, often chemicals or microorganisms, contaminate a stream, river, lake, ocean, aquifer, or other body of water, degrading water quality and rendering it toxic to humans or the environment. Water is uniquely vulnerable to pollution. Known as a “universal solvent,” water can dissolve more substances than any other liquid on earth. It’s the reason our world is so abundant with water, but it is also why water is so easily polluted. Toxic substances from farms, towns, and factories readily dissolve into and mix with it, causing water pollution. There are many categories of water pollution including, groundwater, surface water, ocean water, agriculture, and wastewater. There are also several ways we can reduce water pollution. One of them is to reuse the water that we have used daily and we use fresh water for cooking purposes, drinking purposes, and even for washing purposes. Using recycled or clean water is also a very important part of environmentally friendly water management. According to, https://www.water-pollution.org.uk/prev … pollution/, reducing water waste at home is not as hard as some make it out to be. Conserve water by turning off the tap when running water is not necessary. This helps prevent water shortages and reduces the amount of contaminated water that needs treatment. Take great care, not to overuse pesticides and fertilizers, this will prevent runoffs of the material into nearby water sources. Don’t throw litter into rivers, lakes, or oceans. Help clean up any litter you see on beaches or in rivers and lakes, make sure it is safe to collect the litter, and put it in a nearby trash bin. Although water covers almost all of the Earth, safe drinking water is scarce, so we need to do our best to protect the amount we have.
Very very very good !
Love this, water pollution also leads to animal extinction and habitat extinction.
Love this so much, it's very informative. Water pollution also effects our food sources. Way more fish are dying, and that leads to big fishing companies over fishing in normally protected areas, and once all those fish are gone, we'll have an even bigger fish shortage than we already have.