ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

Environmental Management

[Name if the writer]

[Name if the institution]

Environmental Management

Water is a necessity to life on earth. All organisms contain it, some drink it, and others inhabit it. Plants and animals require water that is moderately pure, and they cannot survive if their water is affluent with toxic chemicals and/or harmful micro-organisms. If severe, water pollution can kill large numbers of fish, birds, and other animals, in some cases killing all members of a species in an affected area. Water pollution is not only hazardous to water-bond animals it also poses as threat to humans as well.

The majority of water pollution occurs when people overload the water environment with wastes (Deng, Wong, 2004). It's defined as contamination of streams, lakes, underground water, bays or oceans by substances harmful to living things. Such things as oil spills, boat fumes, and dumping of trash into the oceans, lakes, and rivers are just a few of the major contributors to water pollution. Throughout the past century water pollution has become a very real problem and solution must be found.

First of all, Water pollution presents problems to humans in a few ways. Water pollution makes streams, lakes, and coastal waters unpleasant to look at, to smell, and to swim in, as well as preventing us from drinking it without filtration. Fish and shellfish harvested from polluted waters may be unsafe to eat. People who ingest polluted water can become ill and if they're exposed for a long time, may develop cancers, or have children with birth defects.

There are two types of water pollution; point source and non-point source. Point sources of pollution occur when harmful substances are put directly into a body of water (such as an oil spill) (Alabaster, Lloyd, 2006). A non-point source is when pollutants enter the water indirectly through environmental changes (like when fertilizer is carried into a stream by rain).

Today pollution is very high in both inland and marine waters. All different types of water pollution are contributing factors in this problem. This pollution is usually associated with petroleum products, pesticides and herbicides, pathogens, biochemical oxygen demand, nutrients, toxic materials, temperature changes, and acidification. I would like to discuss these factors in more detail.

The herbicides and pesticides found in some polluted waters don't simple pose a problem to animals; they can also be harmful to humans. More than 14 million Americans drink water contaminated by pesticides, and the EPA estimates that ten percent of wells contain pesticides. These Nitrates can cause a lethal form of anemia called blue baby syndrome in infants. Also there are many other humans that have allergies to these chemicals, and can cause health problems if enough of the contaminated water is digested.

Pathogens are disease causing bacteria, viruses, and protozoa (Laws, Edward, 2000). They usually come from human sewage. As pathogen numbers increase, so does the risk of human health.

The problem is distinguishing what are the expected natural levels of the substances, what is from human sources and what, if any, are risks to the ...