Fresh water: turning the tide on ocean pollution.Imagine you head to the beach and find a sign: "Water Polluted--No Swimming Allowed." That's what That's What is one of the more idiosyncratic releases by solo steel-string guitar artist Leo Kottke. It is distinctive in it's jazzy nature and "talking" songs ("Buzzby" and "Husbandry"). happened to actor Ted Danson in 1984. The experience changed his life. Frustrated that his daughters (then aged 5 and 10) couldn't plunge into the ocean the way he had as a teen, Danson founded the American Oceans Campaign, an organization aimed at protecting Earth's oceans and coastal waters. "Our oceans feed the world, cool our planet, regulate climate, and create nearly one-half of the global oxygen supply," Danson says. He's not kidding: Fish are the main source of dietary protein for nearly 1 billion people--most of them in developing nations. Oceans absorb and radiate ra·di·ate v. 1. To spread out in all directions from a center. 2. To emit or be emitted as radiation. ra the Sun's heat to help keep Earth's temperature in balance. Phytoplankton phytoplankton Flora of freely floating, often minute organisms that drift with water currents. Like land vegetation, phytoplankton uses carbon dioxide, releases oxygen, and converts minerals to a form animals can use. (microscopic plants) that live on the ocean's surface take in carbon dioxide carbon dioxide, chemical compound, CO2, a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is about one and one-half times as dense as air under ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure. to make food-- and the precious oxygen we need to breathe. "Yet each day, billions of gallons of sewage, pesticides, and industrial chemicals flow into the sea," Danson says. According to a United Nations report on the marine environment, about 80 percent of all marine pollution comes from human activities (like farming and driving) on land. Even if you live hundreds of miles from the nearest seashore, Danson adds, ocean pollution affects you. That's because, each day, Earth's atmosphere recycles billions of kiloliters of salty seawater seawater Water that makes up the oceans and seas. Seawater is a complex mixture of 96.5% water, 2.5% salts, and small amounts of other substances. Much of the world's magnesium is recovered from seawater, as are large quantities of bromine. and turns it into fresh water. Molecules of ocean water evaporate and rise into the atmosphere. There they condense con·dense v. con·densed, con·dens·ing, con·dens·es v.tr. 1. To reduce the volume or compass of. 2. To make more concise; abridge or shorten. 3. Physics a. and precipitate--fall to Earth as rain or snow. This fresh water collects in rivers, streams, and lakes, or trickles down to underground aquifers (water deposits in rock beds). These are the main sources of our drinking water drinking water supply of water available to animals for drinking supplied via nipples, in troughs, dams, ponds and larger natural water sources; an insufficient supply leads to dehydration; it can be the source of infection, e.g. leptospirosis, salmonellosis, or of poisoning, e.g. . Human activities--like mining, forest clearing, farming, and manufacturing--pollute these freshwater sources, too. But it's not too late to turn the tide, Danson says. You can help by conserving water and working to keep it clean. Some ideas: * Organize a beach cleanup. * Write to Congress and urge your state's senators and representatives to protect waterways. * Conserve water in your home by fixing leaky faucets and using low-flow shower heads and toilets. Learn more about water by checking out the graphs, charts, and resources on these pages. |
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