Shaw Jia Jun | Stanley Toh | Tan Jiong Han 2O4
Only three percent of the water on Earth is fresh water. As an essential part of
our lives, it is unfortunate that the water sources are increasingly being polluted by
human activities. Waste from factories and households are often dumped into water
bodies which contaminate the water, making it unsuitable for drinking. Water
pollution has many harmful impacts and we humans are not the only ones that are
greatly affected by water pollution. I agree to a large extent that humans do indeed
suffer the greatest impacts of water pollution.
Humans do indeed suffer negative consequences due to water pollution,
especially to their health. For example, the mercury poisoning in the 1950s at
Minamata Bay Japan has caused a large amount of mercury to be inappropriately
disposed into the sea body, causing a widespread pollution epidemic. The mercury
waste was highly toxic and heavily contaminated the sea, poisoning the fishes and
organisms that came into contact with the mercury. People who ate the poisoned fish
caught at Minamata Bay were poisoned and had suffered sicknesses such as brain
damage, paralysis and various health concerns. Another example is how the World
Health Organization estimates that 5 million people suffer from illnesses related to
water contamination. These health problems have resulted from people drinking or
consuming contaminated water. Therefore, human health suffers from the impacts of
water pollution.
The environment is also affected due to the impacts of water pollution. For
example, after an oil spill, the layers of oil over the water endanger plant and marine
species. Oil sticks onto the animal feather or fur. When they come into contact with
the polluted water, oil removes the air trapped in the feathers or fur and removes the
layer of insulation from the animal. They hence freeze and die. Oil also clogs the
bird’s feathers and prevents them from flying, causing them to drown. For example
the Exxon Valdez oil spill, thousands of wildlife are affected, especially the seabirds
and otters. Marine organisms were also affected such as the herring. The top layer
of oil reduces the amount of sunlight penetrating the surface of the water, causing a
drop in planktons that live on the light. Hence, any animals that feed on them are
also in jeopardy. Therefore, the environment suffers due to water pollution.
We cannot deny that water pollution also causes a blow to the economies of
the countries in the region. It requires high financial costs to recover and clean up
the affected water bodies and beaches. The large sum of money results in a high
economic burden for countries. Fisheries will be affected because the pollution
causes the deaths of many species of fish. The fish would take a long time to
multiply again and this has caused some fisheries to close down because of the
sharp drop in their catching rate of fish. In addition, there will be a shortage of fishing
resources due to the pollution and this equates to less income for fisheries.
Furthermore, the tourism industry will be heavily affected. Tourists would avoid
countries with polluted water because of the possible health hazards it might cause
and the beautiful scenery having a dent in its image. Thus, the economy also suffers
because of water pollution.
In conclusion, I agree that human health tends to suffer the worst impact of
water pollution. This is because it has much more long term effects than economic
impacts and impact on animals such as seabirds. With enough monetary support,
the economic impacts are not a problem. Also, animals can quickly multiply to
restore their population. However, the marine life consumed from polluted waters
have to wait a very long time before they are safe for eating, and the effects of
humans affected will take a long time or will not recover.