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Pollution Land, Air and Water

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The following lessons associated with Land, Air, and Water Pollution will provide students with a greater understand-ing of what pollution is, the negative effects on the environment and humans, what individual’s responsibilities are to prevent pollution, as well as how to correct existing pollution issues. It may serve as background knowledge for the concepts of resource conservation and also he need to use nonpolluting renewable energy as our sources of electricity generation when possible. OBJECTIVE: Educate students about various types of pollution. You might use the letters LAW to help students remember the three main types. Land: Litter, Chemical Spills, Dumps Air : Car Exhaust, Factory or Power Company Emissions, Cigarette Smoke, Smog Water: Litter, Oil Spills, Fertilizer Run Off, Factories Emptying Waste Pollution is trash that is in a place that it should not be in. Some pollution is caused by an individual and can be cor-rected by another individual. For example one person may throw a candy wrapped on the ground, while another person can pick the wrapper up and toss it in a can. Some pollution is the result of a group of individuals making poor deci-sions such as factory waste being dumped into a river. This type of pollution is very costly and takes an even greater number of individuals to correct. There are main three forms of pollution: land, air and water. We can remember this with the acronym LAW. Land pollution is something that harms the earth’s surface, such as bottles, wrappers, and gasoline spills. Air pollution is something that makes the air we breathe harmful to our bodies. Air pollution is caused by factories, cars, coal fires and even bonfires. Water pollution is something that makes water impure for people, ani-mals, and plants, such as litter, oil spills, fertilizer run off, and factories emptying waste into waterways. Unfortunately, over half of the Earth’s drinkable water is polluted. The process of contamination of the land surface of the Earth is referred to as land pollution. It results from human ac-tivities that cause an imbalance in nature. Dumping human and industrial waste, harmful agricultural practices and ex-posing the land to harmful chemicals leads to the pollution of land. We often ignore the fact that land constitutes soil, which is one of the most important natural resources. While discussing the causes and effects of pollution, we speak of water and air pollution and rarely even think of the adverse effects of land pollution. Let us make an attempt to know some important facts about land pollution. Land Pollution Land pollution is the result of human misuse of soil. Poor agricultural practices, digging up of important resources and dumping of garbage underground can cause land pollution. Urbanization, the growth of rural lands into urban areas and industrialization that results in the formation of an industrial society are regarded as the two main causes of land pollu-tion. The excavation of minerals, the increasing quarrying and mining activities lead to land pollution. The excavation and mining activities lead to the loosening of soil. Increased mechanization leads to the contamination of soil, thus causing severe land pollution. Deforestation is one of the major causes of loosening of soil, that in turn causes soil erosion. The soil that is left naked on harvesting crops from agricultural lands is vulnerable to being eroded by wind and water. Intensive agricultural practices cause the soil cover to lose its nutritional elements, making it of no use for agriculture. Excessive use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers causes soil contamination. Chemicals can prove harmful to the ani-mal and plant life. An excessive use of chemicals leads to a decrease in the fertility of soil. Certain herbicides and in-secticides lead to toxicity of soil. Fungicides contain copper and mercury, which are extremely harmful to the soil as well as the plant and animal life that thrives in it. Inefficient and unhealthy methods of soil management and harmful irrigation practices lead to soil pollution.

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Agricultural and industrial waste, solids from sewage treatment plants, ashes and garbage are other causes of land pol-lution. The accumulation of inorganic wastes in soil poses a threat to the plant and animal life in that area. Garbage is carelessly dumped into the soil. Non-biodegradable wastes such as plastic and rubber prove lethal to the life in the soil. Plastic and glass bottles, cans, rubber tires and electronic items dumped in the soil make up the main cause of land pol-lution. Solid wastes are harmful to the terrestrial plants and animals. The growth of food is a huge contributor to land pollution. Chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides are used to help the crops to thrive. These chemicals can erode soil and make areas of land hard to use for further crops to grow if the farmers aren’t very careful about their efforts. Approximately 20 billion tons of topsoil are lost annually due to land pollution. There are three major areas of concern when it comes to land pollution. It is believed that 80% of it is due to food pro-duction, the production of energy, or the various methods of transportation. **Did you know? Coal is widely used by power plants which results in high volumes of mercury being in the land. The EPA believes that mercury is one of the most serious forms of toxins that are building up on land. Land Pollution Effects How does land pollution affect the environment? One of the major consequences of land pollution is the imbalance in nature, resulting from the harm caused to the wildlife and vegetation on the land. It adversely affects the human respi-ratory system and results in various skin problems if the toxic materials of the soil come in contact with the skin. The consumption of fruits and vegetables that are grown in contaminated soil can lead to several health hazards in human beings. When contaminated soil is washed away in the water reservoirs, it leads to water pollution, which is lethal to the aquatic flora and fauna. In 2009 there were over 20,000 beaches around the world closed to due to land pollution. The soil contaminants are driven by the wind, causing air pollution, which is detrimental to health. It is high time we realize the importance of soil and devise ways to curb land pollution. Maximum use of biodegradable materials and implementation of recycling in order to reuse resources are some of the excellent methods of preventing land pollution. It is important to implement proper methods of disposal of organic waste. It is necessary to educate the masses about the causes and effects of land pollution. It is important to understand that land pollution also increases water pollution. This is because what is on the land gets washed to lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds when it rains. While the focus is often on cleaning up the bodies of water it should also be on the land which is the contributing source of it. It is estimated that 8 million gallons of items are littered on the ground daily by consumers. Using trash bins, recycling, and using reusable items can significantly cut down on this particular element of land pollution. Approximately 80% of what ends up in landfills each year could be recycled or reused. Establishing recycling areas in your community is very important. Buying used items when you can and donated what you no longer want can dramatically reduce land pollution.

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LAND POLLUTION LESSONS LAND POLLUTION LESSON— Grades 3-6 Lesson length 15 minutes For homework the night before, have each student bring in a piece of paper they have at home that can be recycled (e.g. envelope, scratch paper, newspaper page, old homework page, etc.) for the following day. Begin the lesson by describing what land pollution is and give the students examples such as litter, chemical spills, and abandoned tires. Challenge the students to think of other types of land pollution and make a list on a chalk board/white board/chart paper. Once the class has formu-lated their list, introduce the land pollution activity. In this activity you would need a plastic grocery bag. One by one, have each stu-dent crumple their paper and deposit it in the plastic bag. This lesson will work best if each student crumples their paper so that the plastic bag fills more quickly and overflows. If need be, allow the paper to fall on the floor and see what the student’s response is: Do they pick it up, leave it on the ground or find another place the throw the trash? This activity represents how we only have one precious world that is quickly being filled with pollution. Discuss what happens if everyone in the world throws 1 piece of paper away? 10 pieces? CALCULATING HUMAN WASTE— Grades 3-8 Lesson length 30 minutes *Use a 4 lb bag of sugar or provide a weight for the demonstration portion. Explain that we will be thinking about our own impact on the environment with regard to waste or things thrown away. Ask students what kinds of garbage they think they produce each day (candy wrappers, plastic baggies, pop cans, etc.) and write out the list on the board or chart paper. The average American produces about four pounds of garbage every day (of all the things they brainstormed). Pass around a 4-lb. bag of sugar and have students feel how heavy four pounds is. And that’s every single day. How much waste do we produce in a week? [If stu-dents have a hard time figuring this out, walk them through the steps. Four pounds Monday, plus four pounds Tuesday, etc—show on the board as an array]. For stu-dents in 4th and up, ask how many pounds of garbage do we make in a month (4 * 30 = 120)? In a year (4 * 365 = 1,460)? Help walk through these problems on the board, or skip them for the younger grades, depending on how students seem to be doing with them. *DID YOU KNOW? Every year, the United States as a whole country generates approximately 200 million tons of trash—that is more than 1,000 fully-loaded air-planes! Now let’s go back to that list we created. Can anyone think of alternatives (different items) that we could use instead of all of this trash? For example, if I had to throw away my sandwich baggie every day, could I use a Tupperware plastic container instead? What are other suggestions? Why is it important to reduce the amount of trash that we contribute to landfills?

Hydropower is the leading source of renewable en-ergy. It provides more than 97% of all electricity generated by renewable sources. Other sources including solar, geother-mal, wind, and biomass account for less than 3% of renewable electricity production. Hydropower (or hydroe-lectric power) facilities in

Pollution: Land

LAND POLLUTION LESSON Materials Needed: • 1 Plastic Grocery Bag • Recyclable Paper from

Home • Pictures of land pollution CALCULATING HUMAN WASTE Materials needed: • 4 lb bag of sugar or other

4 lb weight • Calculators (optional)

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Extension Idea: School Grounds Clean Up Have each child bring a plastic grocery bag from home. (For the student’s protection ask if your local store will donate inexpensive plastic gloves to wear while picking up the trash.) Discuss the importance of not picking up anything sharp like needles.) As a group, go on a treasure hunt in the school yard looking for land pollution having each child place items in their bag. Discuss the items found. To further the lesson, make a pictograph allowing each student to glue an item they found onto a piece of poster board, producing a classroom trash art project. Discuss how the children think the objects got into the school yard. Other pos-sible ideas are to make a classroom graph of the items found. Have the students make anti-littering posters to hang on school hallway walls and outdoors as an awareness project. Do another trash pick up a month later and observe whether there was a decrease in litter on school grounds. Interesting Facts • If just 25% of U.S. families used 10 fewer plastic bags a month, we would save over 2.5 BILLION bags a year. • On the average, the 140 million cars in America are estimated to travel almost 4 billion miles in a day, and accord-

ing to the Department of Transportation, they use over 200 million gallons of gasoline doing it. • Every year we throw away 24 million tons of leaves and grass. Leaves alone account for 75% of our solid waste in

the fall. • Over 100 pesticide ingredients are suspected to cause birth defects, cancer, and gene mutations. • Every ton of recycled office paper saves 380 gallons of oil. • About 1% of U.S. landfill space is full of disposable diapers, which take 500 years to decompose. • Energy saved from one recycled aluminum can will operate a TV set for 3 hours, and is the equivalent to half a can

of gasoline. • Glass produced from recycled glass instead of raw materials reduces related air pollution by 20%, and water pollu-

tion by 50%. • Americans use 50 million tons of paper annually -- consuming more than 850 million trees. • Many banks lent large sums of money to developing nations. In order to pay those debts plus interest many nations

have turned to the mining of their natural resources as a source of financial aid.

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What is air pollution and why is it so harmful? Air pollution is caused when it gets filled with too much toxic gases, particulate matter, and droplets of liquid. In cities, the air gets polluted by the exhaust fumes of vehicles, along with the pollutants given off by construction work and industry. In the country, the dust given off by tractors working on fields, vehicles being driven on gravel or dirt tracks, smoke given off by crops and wood being burnt, and work carried out in rock quarries are some of the causes of air pollution. Air pollution comes from many different sources such as factories, power plants, dry cleaners, cars, buses, trucks and even windblown dust and wildfires. Air pollution can threaten the health of human beings, trees, lakes, crops, and ani-mals, as well as damage the ozone layer and buildings. Air pollution also can cause haze, reducing visibility in national parks and wilderness areas. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) protects human health and the environment through regulatory processes and voluntary programs such as Energy Star and Commuter Choice. Under the Clean Air Act, EPA sets limits on how much of a pollutant is allowed in the air anywhere in the United States. Although national air quality has improved over the last 20 years, many challenges remain in protecting public health and the environ-ment. Another major air pollutant in cities is ozone that occurs at ground level. Ozone forms when nitrous oxides and hydro-carbons react with sunlight. However, not everything about ozone is bad. In fact, its presence in the upper atmosphere is beneficial because it keeps out harmful ultra-violet rays, which is one of the major causes of skin cancer. Ozone only becomes problematic when it occurs near the ground where it can be inhaled. When inhaled, ozone causes reduced lung capacity, choking, and coughing. When the air is polluted, it causes irritation of the throat, lungs and eyes. Some of the common symptoms are: a burning sensation in the eyes, tight-ness in the chest, and coughing. It exacerbates respiratory conditions like emphysema and asthma, and reduces the body’s capacity to fight off infec-tions of the respiratory system. Also, people afflicted with heart disease, like angina, are usually very sensitive to air pollution. People who exercise outdoors are also susceptible to the symptoms of air pollution, because it involves deeper and faster breathing. In fact, polluted air is particularly detrimental to those who have lung and/or heart disease. When the pollution levels become very high, it can lead to them having to curtail their activities and even result in hospitalization. Se-vere air pollution has even been known to cause death in the recent past. However, such high levels of pollution are now not as common in the US. Indoor air pollution There are a variety of causes of poor indoor air quality. A NISOH study based on over five hundred complaints found that inadequate ventilation and the release of contaminants from indoor and outdoor sources are the primary reasons for indoor air quality problems. Inadequate ventilation may be defined as insufficient air to remove pollutants that are de-grading the quality of air. Thus, the air quality in a building is the result of a contest between the pollutants and the ventilation system. Other factors that can aggravate this situation are temperature, humidity, and microbial contamina-tion. Household products and personal care items are a constant source of indoor air pollution. Hobbies such as welding and soldering can easily add more pollutants to indoor environments. Office machines and domestic air cleaners are a ma-jor source of ozone.

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AIR POLLUTION LESSONS AIR CONTAMINENT DEMONSTRATION— Grades K-5 Lesson length: 30 minutes Discuss the many types of air pollutions and what causes them: Car exhaust, fac-tory emissions, cigarette smoke, and smog. Challenge the class to see how many forms of air pollution they can name. Explain to the students that the balloon represents our atmosphere. Place a funnel into the opening of the balloon. (Hint: Use a funnel with a spout larger than the hole punched paper pieces. Have each student place some of the hole punched pa-per pieces into the funneled balloon. Explain to the students that this represents harmful particles we are all adding to our atmosphere. After all the pieces have been placed into the balloon, take an air pump and blow up the balloon. Students may take turns using the pump. Explain to the students that this too represents hu-man contributions of pollution to the atmosphere. Keep adding air until the balloon bursts. Once the balloon bursts, explain to the students that we have but one atmos-phere and once it is filled with pollution it cannot be returned to its natural state. We must each take measures to care for the atmosphere and the air we breathe. AIR AND YOUR HEALTH— Grades 2-8 Lesson length 1 hour Student objectives: 1. Be informed that breathing dirty air is unhealthful to the lungs and body. 2. Discuss what air pollution is and what causes air pollution. 3. Discuss how air pollution can harm health. 4. Discuss what children and adults can do to help make the air cleaner to breathe. 5. Draw a picture which shows what actions kids can take to keep the air clean. CLASSROOM INTRODUCTION 1. Tell your class that people, animals and plants can live only if certain basic needs are met. The four basic needs of all living things are sun, air, water and soil. 2. Hold up the "Inside Your Lungs Poster" (included, but feel free to use one of your own) and explain that air enters the body through the lungs. Air (oxygen) keeps our bodies alive. 3. Explain that the lungs show the effect of the air they bring in. If we breathe only clean air, our lungs stay healthy and pink. But, when we breathe dirty (polluted) air, our lungs change color and darken from particles present in the air. Breathing dirty air can damage our lungs and make us sick. 4. Explain that we live in a community, where the outside air is not clean. Ask stu-dents if they know what the air quality is where they live. Provide this data 5. Tell the class that today they are going to learn about how air pollution can harm their lungs and what can be done about it.

Credits:

San Diego and Imperial

County American Lung

Association

Pollution: Air

AIR CONTAMINENT DEMONSTRATION Materials Needed: • Balloon • Large Funnel • Air Pump • Small Pieces of Paper (i.e.

from a hole punch) • Pictures of air pollution AIR AND YOUR HEALTH • Inside Your Lungs poster • Blank poster paper • Markers, colored pencils • Paper scraps, misc. • Glue • Scissors • Old magazines

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GROUP DISCUSSION Conduct your group discussion by asking the following questions: 1. Air pollution is air that has become so dirty with chemicals and other substances that it can harm human health, ani-mals or the environment. What is our most serious air pollution problem? Smog and Particles in the Air · Smog (ozone) is a gas that hurts the lungs. You can't see or smell it. Strong sunlight turns car exhaust and industrial emissions into smog. · Particles in the air (Particulate Matter) are caused by burning fuels like gasoline and by agricultural processes like field burning or soil tilling. 2. Air pollution is caused by activities that people and machines do everyday. Can you think of some causes of air pol-lution? 3. Both kids and adults can do a lot to help clean up air pollution. Since most of our pollution is caused by car exhaust, we should try to use cars less. What are some things you can do to help keep the air clean? Causes of Air Pollution 1. Driving cars 5. Smoking 2. Fires 6. Wasting electricity 3. Flying planes 7. Burning trash 4. Burning fields 8. Spraying chemicals 9. Factory emissions (paints, pesticides, household products) Short-Term Health Effects 1. Irritated eyes 6. Shortness of breath 2. Sore throat 7. Wheezing 3. Cough 8. Feel tired 4. Headache 9. Nausea 5. Chest tightness Long-Term Health Effects 1. Less lung power (harder to blow up balloons) 2. Irritated airways 3. More colds and lung infections 4. More susceptible to asthma (wheezing problems) Things Kids Can Do To Help Keep Air Clean 1. Ride a bike 6. Recycle 2. Walk 7. Don't use spray products 3. Take the bus 8. Plant a tree 4. Share a ride 9. Ask your parents to not pollute 5. Don't waste electricity POSTER/DRAWING ACTIVITY Distribute blank poster paper to the class. Ask students to draw a picture showing what they can do to help make the air cleaner to breathe. Note: If using the poster as a learning assessment tool, provide students with a rubric and/or checklist that explains as-signment guidelines.

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SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES You can do these activities for a few days to follow-up and reinforce clean air messages presented in the previous lesson plans. 1. Collect samples of air pollution Set either a wide-mouthed collection jar containing water or a Vaseline-coated plate outside and near the classroom. Ex-amine the container periodically. Discuss what the pollutants are. Use a microscope to see particulate matter up close if you have access to one. Record data each month and do an analysis at year end to determine which month(s) experi-enced the most air pollutants and try to determine the reasons (e.g. pollen season, more cars driving students to school in winter than summer, etc.) 2. Car count for single-occupant vehicles Take your class to a place near the school where they can observe traffic. Divide the class into small groups. Have each group count and record the number of cars with only one person inside them that drive by a designated spot. Let them count cars for 10 minutes. Following the activity, discuss how carpooling or taking the bus would have reduced the total number of cars on the road and air pollution emissions. 3. Record local air pollution levels The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality Index is used to report daily air pollution levels to the public and is a good resource for accurate data. Ask students to look for daily smog levels in the weather report every day for a week for a particular town or region. Record the highest air pollution number each day and record the data on a chart. Have class discuss how to protect their health on unhealthful smoggy days. Note: Students can also log on to the Na-tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s web site http://www.weather.gov/aq/ and search for specific data. TRY THIS! Visit Citizens for Planet Earth and conduct the two field trip activities with your students: What’s Up in My Neighbor-hood? http://www.tryscience.org/csp/cspfieldadvap.html Field Adventure #1: Who's driving through my neighborhood? Field Adventure #2: What does my air look like?

Credits:

San Diego and Imperial

County American Lung

Association

Citizens for Planet

Earth

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The AQI (Air Quality Index) The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for you. The AQI focuses on health effects you may experience within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. EPA calculates the AQI for five major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particle pollution (also known as particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitro-gen dioxide. For each of these pollutants, EPA has established national air quality standards to protect public health. Ground-level ozone and airborne particles are the two pollutants that pose the greatest threat to human health in this country.

How Does the AQI Work? AQI colors EPA has assigned a specific color to each AQI category to make it easier for people to understand quickly whether air pollution is reaching unhealthy levels in their communities. For example, the color orange means that conditions are "unhealthy for sensitive groups," while red means that conditions may be "unhealthy for everyone," and so on.

TRY THIS!

Visit http://www.airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=resources.conc_aqi_calc to select criteria for pol-lutants and enter the pollutant concentration The Air Quality Index and associated information are calculated automatically.

Air Quality Index Levels of Health

Concern

Numeri-cal

Value Meaning

Good 0 to 50 Air quality is considered satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk

Moderate 51 to 100

Air quality is acceptable; however, for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.

Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups

101 to 150

Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is not likely to be affected.

Unhealthy 151 to 200

Everyone may begin to experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.

Very Unhealthy 201 to 300

Health alert: everyone may experience more serious health effects

Hazardous 301 to 500

Health warnings of emergency conditions. The entire popula-tion is more likely to be affected.

Credits:

AirNow.org

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Think of the AQI as a yardstick that runs from 0 to 500. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollu-tion and the greater the health concern. For example, an AQI value of 50 represents good air quality with little poten-tial to affect public health, while an AQI value over 300 represents hazardous air quality.

An AQI value of 100 generally corresponds to the national air quality standard for the pollutant, which is the level EPA has set to protect public health. AQI values below 100 are generally thought of as satisfactory. When AQI val-ues are above 100, air quality is considered to be unhealthy-at first for certain sensitive groups of people, then for everyone as AQI values get higher.

Each category corresponds to a different level of health concern. The six levels of health concern and what they mean are:

ª "Good" AQI is 0 - 50. Air quality is considered satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.

ª "Moderate" AQI is 51 - 100. Air quality is acceptable; however, for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people. For example, people who are unusually sensitive to ozone may experience respiratory symptoms.

ª "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" AQI is 101 - 150. Although general public is not likely to be affected at this AQI range, people with lung disease, older adults and children are at a greater risk from exposure to ozone, whereas persons with heart and lung disease, older adults and children are at greater risk from the presence of particles in the air.

ª "Unhealthy" AQI is 151 - 200. Everyone may begin to experience some adverse health effects, and members of the sensitive groups may experience more serious effects. .

ª "Very Unhealthy" AQI is 201 - 300. This would trigger a health alert signifying that everyone may experience more serious health effects.

ª "Hazardous" AQI greater than 300. This would trigger a health warnings of emergency conditions. The entire population is more likely to be affected.

Air Quality Index (AQI) Values) Levels of Health Concern Colors

When the AQI is in this range: ...air quality conditions are: ..as symbolized by this

color: 0-50 Good Green

51-100 Moderate Yellow

101-150 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups Orange

151 to 200 Unhealthy Red

201 to 300 Very Unhealthy Purple

301 to 500 Hazardous Maroon

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Water pollution is a broad term that includes contamination of different water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater. Water pollution is caused by pollutants, mostly in the form of different chemicals that are discharged ei-ther directly or indirectly into the water bodies without the adequate treatment to remove their harmful effects. Water pollution is not only a huge ecological problem, but also a significant human health problem. It is believed that water pollution is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases, responsible for around 15,000 deaths each day. Water pollution is an especially serious issue in two fast growing economies, China and India. Some late reports sug-gest that more than 500 million Chinese lack access to safe drinking water, while in India, 700 million people have no access to a proper toilet facility. The two main causes of water pollution are waste water and sewage waste. Each year the world generates around 400 billion tons of industrial waste, and much of this waste gets discharged into different water bodies causing serious wa-ter pollution problem. Several studies have confirmed the link between water pollution and high miscarriage rates. Water pollution is also connected with lower IQ rates among affected populations. Diarrhea, caused by water pollution, is responsible world-wide for 1,5 million deaths of children each year. Recent studies have shown that close to one billion people lack ac-cess to safe drinking water, while more than 2,5 billion people live without adequate sanitation systems. Water pollution is one of the main reasons why freshwater resources are constantly in decline (despite being renewable resource), and since only 3% of water on our planet is freshwater, our world could experience a global water shortage much sooner than expected. Water Pollution Facts in America The situation in America, with respect to water pollution, is not very different from the rest of the world. It has been observed that around 40% rivers in the US are polluted. One cannot use water from these rivers for drinking, swim-ming or any other activities. These rivers are not suitable from the point of sustaining aquatic life. The condition of lakes in the US is even worse. Forty-six percent of the lakes are unfit for aquatic life. Water Pollution Solutions Water pollution solutions are possible, with citizen and corporation cooperation towards cleanliness. While you cannot control corporation cooperation, there are simple things you can do that contribute to cleaner water systems. You can start with simple deeds like throwing gar-bage in trash cans and conserving water. Plant trees around your house. Help clean the polluted rivers in your town. Give a talk to the community on how to dispose of waste materials properly. Organize a group and spread the word about why it is important to keep our water systems clean. These are just simple things, but can be of great help, and will eventually make your community a clean and peaceful place to live.

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Shocking facts about water pollution:

• Water pollution is not only a huge ecological problem but also a huge health problem. It is believed that water pollution is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases responsible for around 15,000 deaths each day. About 20% of the world's population lacks access to safe drinking water and about 50% lacks adequate sanitation. In many developing countries, rivers downstream of large cities are little cleaner than open sewers. • Rivers in the continent of Asia are considered to be the most polluted. The bacteria (from human waste) found in these rivers are 3 times as much as that of the global average. • In Bangladesh, ground water is contaminated with arsenic. Arsenic is very toxic poison and a carcinogen. Around 85% of the total area of Bangladesh has contaminated groundwater. In other words, over 1.2 million citi-zens of this nation are exposed to the hazardous effects of arsenic-contaminated water. • Cruise ships are a major cause of water pollution. They release a million gallons of polluted water into the ocean and seas. Apart from this, they produce over 200,000 gallons of sewage, which is mostly dumped in the ocean. Cruise ships are also responsible for causing at least 35,000 gallons of water contamination due to the pres-ence of oils, diesel fuel, and other pollutants. • Toxic industrial wastes are regularly dumped into water bodies. These wastes contain heavy metals which seep into the water and are fatal to marine life. Using such water or consuming fish affected by heavy metals can lead to various health problems like cancer, infertility, birth defects and damaged immune systems.

• Plastic litter is also a major water pollutant, causing enormous destruction to marine life. It is believed that an-nually plastic litter is responsible for the deaths of more than 100,000 marine mammals, 1 million sea birds and countless fishes. Read about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

TRY THIS! Most of our waste today is comprised of plastic. Plastic, which is made from petroleum, is a material that the Earth cannot digest. Every bit of plastic that has ever been created still exists, except for a small amount that has been incin-erated, releasing toxic chemicals. In the ocean, plastic waste accumulates in swirling seas of debris, where plastic to sea life ratios are 6:1; where birds and mammals are dying of starvation and dehydration with bellies full of plastics; where fish are ingesting toxins at such a rate that soon they will no longer be safe to eat. The largest of these garbage swills is known as the Pacific Gyre, or The Great Garbage Patch. It is roughly the size of Texas, containing approximately 3.5 million tons of trash. Shoes, toys, bags, pacifiers, wrappers, toothbrushes, and bot-tles too numerous to count are only part of what can be found in this accidental dump floating midway between Hawaii and San Francisco. Have students visit the website http://www.greatgarbagepatch.org/. Target a particular plastic container, toy, package, or other manufactured good and have students design a replacement using renewable, decomposable, or other recyclable mate-rial. Include a marketing component to the activity for cross-curricular exploration.

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WATER POLLUTION LESSONS WATER CONTAMINENT DEMONSTRATION— Grades K-5 Lesson time: 30 minutes For homework, have each student bring a small object from home which they would not want to see in a place they might swim. These objects are called pollut-ants. Provide students with examples such as the following: paper cup, newspaper, small toy car, small rubber ball, soda can, small zip lock bag, etc. Fill a clear container such as an aquarium, large jar, bowl, etc. with clean water. Tape an underwater image on the container so that students view the image through the water filled container. The water filled container represents the water before pollution. One by one have students place their objects into the water. Explain how each item represents a form of water pollution which is hurting the environment. *Ask: Would you want to drink or swim in this water? Why? Extension Ideas: • Make a drawing with hidden pictures of pollution. • Draw pictures of pollution. Tally how many different types of pollution you see

during the week (water, land, air). During the week, make a graph of the pollu-tion that was tallied for the homework. Write ways to solve the pollution that was observed.

WASTE IN THE WATER— (15 minutes): Preplanning: Fill a jug half full with water, and fill another full. We have already talked about solid waste (trash) and landfills, but what about pol-lution in the water? Have students sit in a position to see the demonstration. Begin with one jug of wa-ter half-filled with water. Have one student squirt about four drops of food coloring into the jug. Explain that the food coloring represents pollution. Shake up the jug a bit. *Say: “[Child’s name] is a manufacturing company polluting chemicals into our clean lake.” Have another student pour one cup of clean water from the full jug into the polluted jug. Have students observe the color change of the water. This means that there is a little bit more clean water and a little bit less polluted water. Ask students, “How much water do you think it will take to make this lake clean again?” Continue having students pour water and evaluating results until the jug is full. Did the pollution ever go away completely? This shows us that it is very hard to get rid of pollution, and even if there is just a little bit in our water and we can’t see it, it is still there. We couldn’t do anything to take the food coloring out, could we?

Have students discuss why pollution prevention matters with regard to our water.

Credits:

Kellrobotics.org

Pollution: Water

WATER CONTAMINENT DEMONSTRATION Materials Needed: • Clear container—jar,

aquarium, bowl, etc. • Objects from home—

listed within lesson • Pictures of water pollution • Pictures of underwater

environment WASTE IN THE WATER • Water jugs • Food coloring

16

Name______________________________ Date _____________

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION TEST

I. Multiple Choice

1. What is not a type of pollution?

A. water pollution B. fire pollution

C. air pollution D. land pollution

2. What is an example of water pollution?

A. car exhaust B. trash on the highway

C. rain D. tires in a lake

3. What is an example of air pollution?

A. candy wrapper B. oil spill

C. car exhaust D. soda can

II. True/False

4. Pollution is good for the environment. _____________

5. Over half of the Earth’s drinkable water is polluted. _____________

6. The efforts of one person can help the environment. _____________

7. Air pollution harms our breathing. _____________

III. Short Answer

8. What does LAW stand for?

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

9. Give two specific reasons why pollution is harmful to our environment.

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

10. Give three examples of land pollution.

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Student Test

17

Name______________________________ Date _____________

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION TEST

I. Multiple Choice

1. What is not a type of pollution?

A. water pollution B. fire pollution

C. air pollution D. land pollution

2. What is an example of water pollution?

A. car exhaust B. trash on the highway

C. rain D. tires in a lake

3. What is an example of air pollution?

A. candy wrapper B. oil spill

C. car exhaust D. soda can

II. True/False

4. Pollution is good for the environment. FALSE

5. Over half of the Earth’s drinkable water is polluted. TRUE

6. The efforts of one person can help the environment. TRUE

7. Air pollution harms our breathing. TRUE

III. Short Answer

8. What does LAW stand for?

LAND, AIR, AND WATER

9. Give two specific reasons why pollution is harmful to our environment.

ANSWERS MAY VARY. EXAMPLES: WATER POLLUTION CAN KILL MARINE

LIFE, ANIMALS CAN EAT LAND POLLUTION, ETC.

10. Give three examples of land pollution.

ANSWERS MAY VARY. EXAMPLES: CANDY WRAPPERS, TIRES, SODA CANS,

ETC.

Student Test Answers