SHOCKING FACTS ABOUT POLLUTION
Added on: 13th Oct 2015
EVERY YEAR, MORE THAN 14 BILLION POUNDS
(6 BILLION KILOGRAMS) OF GARBAGE IS DUMPED
INTO THE WORLD'S OCEAN. MOST OF IT, IS PLASTIC
THAT IS TOXIC TO MARINE LIFE.
KNOWN AS THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH,
THERE EVEN IS A “CONTINENT” MADE FROM THE
PLASTIC TRASH, FLOATING IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN.
ACCORDING TO SOME ESTIMATES, THE PATCH CAN BE
AS LARGE AS TWICE THE SIZE OF THE US.
LANDFILLS ARE AMONG THE BIGGEST CONTRIBUTORS
TO SOIL POLLUTION. ABOUT 80% OF THE ITEMS BURIED
IN LANDFILLS COULD BE RECYCLED.
THERE ARE MORE THAN 500 MILLION CARS IN THE WORLD
NOW AND THE NUMBER IS EXPECTED TO RISE TO OVER
A BILLION BY 2030, WHICH MEANS THE POLLUTION CAUSED
BY CARS COULD POTENTIALLY DOUBLE BY THAT YEAR.
AMERICANS MAKE UP ABOUT 5% OF THE WORLD´S
POPULATION BUT PRODUCE AS MUCH AS 30% OF THE
WORLD´S WASTE AND USE ABOUT A QUARTER OF THE
WORLD´S NATURAL RESOURCES.
WE KNOW MASSIVE DEADLY OIL SPILLS ARE CREATED
AFTER TANKERS OR DRILLING RIGS HAVE ACCIDENTS
BUT IN FACT, FOR EVERY MILLION TONS OF OIL SHIPPED,
THERE IS ALWAYS ONE TON OF OIL SPILLED
WITHOUT ANY ACCIDENT.
THE ONLY RELATIVELY CLEAN PLACE ON EARTH IS
THE ANTARCTICA. THE CONTINENT IS PROTECTED
BY THE ANTARCTIC TREATY THAT PROHIBITS MILITARY
ACTIVITIES, MINERAL MINING, NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
AND NUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSAL.
CHINA IS AMONG THE COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST AIR
POLLUTION IN THE WORLD. BREATHING AIR IN BEIJING,
THE COUNTRY´S CAPITAL, INCREASES THE RISK OF LUNG
CANCER IN THE SAME WAY AS SMOKING 20
CIGARETTES A DAY.
MOREOVER, ALMOST 700 MILLION CHINESE (ABOUT A
HALF OF THE COUNTRY´S POPULATION) HAVE TO
DRINK CONTAMINATED WATER.
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