Ecology

Science Project
By Abdullah Ahsan
8A
 Global Warming - Introduction

• Global warming is the phenomenon of a gradual increase in the temperature

near the earth’s surface. This phenomenon has been observed over the past one
or two centuries. This change has disturbed the climatic pattern of the earth.
However, the concept of global warming is quite controversial but the scientists
have provided relevant data in support of the fact that the temperature of the
earth is rising constantly.

• There are several causes of global warming, which have a negative effect on
humans, plants and animals. These causes may be natural or might be the
outcome of human activities. In order to curb the issues, it is very important to
understand the negative impacts of global warming.
Major Causes of Global Warming are as following:

•Deforestation
•Use of Vehicles
•Chlorofluorocarbon
•Industrial Development
•Agriculture
•Volcanoes
•Water Vapour
•elting Permafrost
•Forest Blazes
 Effective ways each one of us can make a difference and create a
positive effect on the local environment:

• Speak up!
• Power your home with renewable energy.
• Weatherize.
• Invest in energy-efficient appliances.
• Reduce water waste.
• Actually eat the food you buy—and compost what you
can’t.
• Buy better bulbs.
• Pull the plug(s).
• Drive a fuel-efficient vehicle.
Topic: Water Pollution

Introduction
• 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 is able to dissolve
more substances than any other liquid on earth. It’s the reason we have Kool-Aid and brilliant blue
waterfalls. It’s also why water is so easily polluted. Toxic substances from farms, towns, and
factories readily dissolve into and mix with it, causing water pollution.
The Most Common Types of Water Contamination

Agricultural
• Not only is the agricultural sector the biggest consumer of global freshwater resources, with
farming and livestock production using about 70 percent of the earth’s surface water
supplies, but it’s also a serious water polluter.
• Around the world, agriculture is the leading cause of water degradation. In the United
States, agricultural pollution is the top source of contamination in rivers and streams, the
second-biggest source in wetlands, and the third main source in lakes. It’s also a major
contributor of contamination to estuaries and groundwater.
• Every time it rains, fertilizers, pesticides, and animal waste from farms and livestock
operations wash nutrients and pathogens—such bacteria and viruses—into our waterways.
• Nutrient pollution, caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus in water or air, is the number-
one threat to water quality worldwide and can cause algal blooms, a toxic soup of blue-
green algae that can be harmful to people and wildlife
The Most Common Types of Water Contamination

Sewage and wastewater

• Used water is wastewater. It comes from our sinks, showers, and toilets (think sewage) and from commercial,
industrial, and agricultural activities (think metals, solvents, and toxic sludge). The term also includes stormwater
runoff, which occurs when rainfall carries road salts, oil, grease, chemicals, and debris from impermeable
surfaces into our waterways

• More than 80 percent of the world’s wastewater flows back into the environment without being treated or
reused, according to the United Nations; in some least-developed countries, the figure tops 95 percent. In the
United States, wastewater treatment facilities process about 34 billion gallons of wastewater per day.

• These facilities reduce the amount of pollutants such as pathogens, phosphorus, and nitrogen in sewage, as well
as heavy metals and toxic chemicals in industrial waste, before discharging the treated waters back into
waterways. That’s when all goes well. But according to EPA estimates, our nation’s aging and easily overwhelmed
sewage treatment systems also release more than 850 billion gallons of untreated wastewater each year.
The Most Common Types of Water Contamination

Oil pollution
• Big spills may dominate headlines, but consumers account for the vast majority
of oil pollution in our seas, including oil and gasoline that drips from millions of
cars and trucks every day.
• Moreover, nearly half of the estimated 1 million tons of oil that makes its way
into marine environments each year comes not from tanker spills but from
land-based sources such as factories, farms, and cities.
• At sea, tanker spills account for about 10 percent of the oil in waters around
the world, while regular operations of the shipping industry—through both
legal and illegal discharges—contribute about one-third.
• Oil is also naturally released from under the ocean floor through fractures
known as seeps.
The Most Common Types of Water Contamination

Radioactive substances
• Radioactive waste is any pollution that emits radiation beyond what is naturally released by the
environment. It’s generated by uranium mining, nuclear power plants, and the production and testing
of military weapons, as well as by universities and hospitals that use radioactive materials for research
and medicine.

• Radioactive waste can persist in the environment for thousands of years, making disposal a major
challenge. Consider the decommissioned Hanford nuclear weapons production site in Washington,
where the cleanup of 56 million gallons of radioactive waste is expected to cost more than $100 billion
and last through 2060.

• Accidentally released or improperly disposed of contaminants threaten groundwater, surface water,

and marine resources.
The Effects of Water Pollution

On human health
• To put it bluntly: Water pollution kills. In fact, it caused 1.8 million deaths in 2015, according to a study
published in The Lancet. Contaminated water can also make you ill. Every year, unsafe water sickens
about 1 billion people. And low-income communities are disproportionately at risk because their
homes are often closest to the most polluting industries.

• Waterborne pathogens, in the form of disease-causing bacteria and viruses from human and animal
waste, are a major cause of illness from contaminated drinking water.

• Diseases spread by unsafe water include cholera, giardia, and typhoid. Even in wealthy nations,
accidental or illegal releases from sewage treatment facilities, as well as runoff from farms and urban
areas, contribute harmful pathogens to waterways. Thousands of people across the United States are
sickened every year by Legionnaires’ disease (a severe form of pneumonia contracted from water
sources like cooling towers and piped water), with cases cropping up from California’s Disneyland to
Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
The Effects of Water Pollution

On the environment
• In order to thrive, healthy ecosystems rely on a complex web of animals, plants, bacteria, and fungi—
all of which interact, directly or indirectly, with each other. Harm to any of these organisms can create
a chain effect, imperiling entire aquatic environments.When water pollution causes an algal bloom in
a lake or marine environment, the proliferation of newly introduced nutrients stimulates plant and
algae growth, which in turn reduces oxygen levels in the water.

• This dearth of oxygen, known as eutrophication, suffocates plants and animals and can create “dead
zones,” where waters are essentially devoid of life. In certain cases, these harmful algal blooms can
also produce neurotoxins that affect wildlife, from whales to sea turtles.

• Chemicals and heavy metals from industrial and municipal wastewater contaminate waterways as
well. These contaminants are toxic to aquatic life—most often reducing an organism’s life span and
ability to reproduce—and make their way up the food chain as predator eats prey. That’s how tuna
and other big fish accumulate high quantities of toxins, such as mercury.
What Can We Do to Prevent Water Pollution?

• Learn about the unique qualities of water where you live. Where does your water come
from? Is the wastewater from your home treated? Where does stormwater flow to? Is your
area in a drought? Start building a picture of the situation so you can discover where your
actions will have the most impact—and see if your neighbors would be interested in joining
in!

• Reduce your plastic consumption and reuse or recycle plastic when you can.

• Properly dispose of chemical cleaners, oils, and nonbiodegradable items to keep them from
going down the drain.

• Maintain your car so it doesn’t leak oil, antifreeze, or coolant.

• Most Importantly Save Clean Water.

“ We are not required to do big things to stop water
pollution. If everybody do their little part in saving the
waters, then its more than enough.

By : Abdullah Ahsan
”