The environment is a major aspect of life. Many people do not take the earth seriously and think that as long as pollution does not directly hurt them then they can go ahead and throw garbage on the ground or spill oil down the drain. The people who hold that view are killing off our earth and also physically harming themselves from the air that they breathe and the water they swim and bathe in. People do not seem to understand that the earth is fragile like a human. Water pollution is a major aspect of environmental pollution. This type of pollution is scary because over 75% of the planet is covered by the ocean. The sea has always been used as somewhat of a garbage pail. It is so vast and is often thought of as a world by itself, and has been swallowing humanity's wastes for a millennia. All kinds of things are thrown into the water with very little thought as to the impact that the trash, chemical, or material might have. We hide things in the water. "Out of sight...out of mind." There is a price to be paid for putting stuff where it doesn't belong. Even something as seemingly benign as throwing an old bike in a lake may create problems. One expert points out that whe

The average level of pollution in the world yearly from oil spills is hard to estimate, since oil spills are episodic in nature. However, it is a small percentage of the total petroleum transported from place to place on a yearly basis. A common source of oil pollution is from the dumping of drilled mud on the sea floor near offshore oil wells. Other sources of oil pollution include refinery wastes and municipal water/urban stream run-off.

n metal is mixed with water that "the metals probably act as a physical irritant to a potentially wide assortment of external tissues of the fish" (Heath 184). We put more in our waters than old bikes. "Pollution of ground water can result from many activities, including leaching from municipal and chemical landfills and abandoned dump sites, accidental spills of chemicals or waste materials, improper underground injection of liquid wastes, and placement of septic tank systems..." (Canter and Knox 1). Many things cause the oceans to be polluted, but oil spills, the dumping of human waste, and toxic wastes contribute to the problem most.

Toxic Waste is a very serious problem polluting the lakes and oceans. Submarines release some toxic waste into the water. Boukhari reports that approximately 77% of marine pollution begins on land, "the major culprits are agriculture, waste-water and other industrial effluents. Fertilizers and pesticides contaminate rivers and waterways which carry them to sea" (par. 7). The paper, steel, textile and agrochemical industries also pour their deadly wastes into the water courses as factories spill toxic gases into the air. DDT traces can be found as far away as Antarctica. A third of the toxic waste in the air falls directly into the oceans by rainfall. The World Wide Fund for Nature estimates that 90% of toxic waste materials which contaminate the seas remain close to the shoreline (Bourhari par. 9). For example, the spreading of hotels across the coast of Turkey and Greece has caused the disappearance of many nesting sites where marine turtles came to lay their eggs. The dangers of toxic waste are excessive. One author comments, "we have, for instance, added pesticides and other synthetic industrial chemicals that can, even in low concentrations, drastically affect the physiology of fish and shell

Some common words found in the essay are:
Turkey Greece, Research Council, Pollution World, According McGinn, Toxic Waste, Canter Knox, Fund Nature, toxic waste, oil pollution, price paid, oil spills, human waste, water pollution, oil pollution dumping, spill oil, industrial wastes, pollution dumping, lakes rivers,
Approximate Word count = 1551
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)