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George Carlin What is pollution? A pollutant is any chemical or waste that is put into the air or water by people. Pollutants in the environment cause pollution. |
What are the different kinds of pollution? There are many types of chemicals or waste that people release into the environment. Large and small cities make sewage that is dumped into rivers or directly into oceans. A big pollution problem in oceans is caused by oil spills. Oil tankers wreck in the ocean and release oil into the water. Farmers put fertilizers on fields that wash into rivers and streams going into oceans. Factories make many different chemicals that are released into rivers or oceans. They even produce hot water that is a type of pollution. Factories also release pollution into the air that causes acid rain that gets into oceans. Fishing ships leave lots of nets in the oceans that catch and kill fish and marine mammals or cover and kill coral.
What does pollution do to marine mammals? Some pollutants get into oceans in large enough amounts to kill fish and other marine life. Oil spills can kill many different marine mammals like otters, fish, and seabirds. Sewage and fertilizers have nutrients that make algae grow. When the algae die, it uses up air dissolved in the water and fish die without oxygen. Sewage can make shellfish unhealthy so people cannot eat them. Pollutants can cause marine mammals to get sick or change the way they behave so they might get eaten by predators.
How can you deal with pollution? Sewage treatment plants can take pollutants out the water before it gets released into rivers or oceans. There are laws to reduce the amount of pollutants that factories can release into the water.
Check out this site for more information: Story on Oil Spills