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Brayden Kurth

Olivia Stoltman

English 110

16 October 2018

Protect our Water

Every day, approximately 2 million tons of sewage and industrial/agricultural waste are

discharged into the world’s water sources. That is the equivalent weight of the entire human

population of 6.8 billion people (“Global”). This statistic alone shows just how large and out of

control the worlds water pollution hazard has become. With water covering around 70% of the

earth’s landmass, it is important that humans try to keep all water ecofriendly for all organisms

living in or around it. Which brings me to the main point of this essay. As time continues to

expand, worldwide pollution continues to be more of a rising problem. With human populations

stagnating, and water pollution tolls continuing to increase, these images suggest that we as a

society need to make a change for the better if we ever want to see our aquatic environments

prosper the way they did in past generations. As depicted in both of the pictures, it is clear to the

audience that these images address and show the fact that water pollution is a worldwide

problem, it affects many organisms living within or around, and how we as a society can make

an impact on this topic.

Within today’s culture, many people might ask the question, “What exactly is water

pollution?”. Water pollution is one of the many different types of pollution that takes place on

our planet. Water pollution occurs when harmful chemicals or substances, contaminate water

sources like oceans, streams, rivers, lakes, or any other body of water, that degrade the overall
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quality of the water, usually making it toxic to those living in that environment (Denchak). If you

would now, please refer to the images in the back of this essay. Water pollution is no joke. Image

one shows just how detrimental pollution can be if it is not taken care of in its early stages. Water

pollution has and will continue to keep having a massive impact on our world’s environmental

and climate changes. With water being a basic necessity for all life to exist on earth, its scarcity

and pollution causes millions of people worldwide to have poor access to it every day. According

to United Nations, 783 million people do not have access to clean water worldwide, and around

2.5 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation (Bradford). This evidence supports the fact

that water pollution is becoming more and more of a problem and if not fixed can result in

waterways looking like that of image one.

With that being said, the first picture that is shared with the reader regarding this topic,

shows just how bad water pollution has become in some areas of the world. This image shows a

small wooden dingy full of men passing through a local waterway that looks to have been

polluted for some time now. The picture looks like it was taken in a harbor, cascaded with ships

and boats that are unable to travel because of the pollution in the water. At readers first glance,

you could almost say that it looks as if these men are sitting in their boat on shore. Not because

they aren’t moving obviously, but rather that the water in the picture is not visible due to the

amount of pollution present. In some areas around the world water may tend to look like this

because of pollution. It is estimated that more than 5 trillion pieces of plastic rest on the surface

of the ocean (Crocket). This statistic alone should be alarming to most people and should urge

people to reduce the number of plastic products used. Image one could have a wide variety of

audiences that it is intended to address. I believe that this image targets people that tend to litter

in an attempt to show them just how bad pollution in our ocean has become. The purpose of this
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image is to show the viewers that if we don’t come together as a society to try and reduce the

amount of pollution in our water, that it could continue to have drastic impacts on our

environment and the organisms living within them.

In most cases, humans are the main source of water pollution found in our ecosystem

which makes sense if you were to look at the images. Whether it be the runoff of pesticides and

fertilizers from local farms, or the dumping of industrial waste by large industries, water

pollution is a human created problem and is continuing to get worse every day. Image one shows

the viewer a certain feeling of hope. It gives the vibe that the people in these areas know just how

bad the pollution has become and are now starting to fix it but are far behind and have a long

way to go. The men in the boat appear to be sifting through the garbage, potentially trying to take

out some of the more environmental dangerous materials, such as nets and plastic, from the

water. These objects have the greatest risk of affecting wildlife like fish and turtles.

Although it may seem like a common assumption to think that water pollution only

affects water, unfortunately that assumption is far from correct. In fact, water pollution can kill

both animals and humans, especially in areas where the water looks like that of image 1. In 2015

water pollution was responsible for over 1.8 million deaths, and every year sickens about 1

billion people across the world (Denchak). This statistic is important because it shows that

aquatic organisms are not the only form of life being affected by water pollution. Water pollution

is especially dangerous to humans. Image two shows a picture of a beached whale with its entire

mouth full of trash that had have been accumulating throughout the ocean and made its way into

the whale’s stomach during feeding. This image shows just how bad pollution has become in the

ocean and how dangerous it can be to the animals that live in it. This whale could have possibly

lived longer if it weren’t for the amount of trash it had consumed over its life. The trash in its
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stomach could have been a possible reason for its death. This image targets people who love

animals. It should be a hard sight for them to see an animal living in such a poor condition,

especially because pollution is a human-made problem and can be reduced if the correct steps are

taken. The purpose of this image is to show the audience just how much pollution actually

affects the animals living in these habitats affected by pollution. Not only is this a powerful

image that is against pollution, but it also acts as a pro-animal health image showing the damage

that pollution imposes against animals. I believe it is a strong image because it shows not only

how pollution, but the animals that live in these environments are affected and have to deal with

these problems on a daily basis.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 44 percent of assessed stream

miles, 64 percent of lakes and 30 percent of bay and estuarine areas are not clean enough for

fishing and swimming (Bradford). This is a very crucial statistic that gives off way more

information about these waters than you think. Image one shows the reader a perfect

representation of a waterway that is unsafe to swim/fish in, but what’s even scarier is that some

waterways look nothing like this and have the same danger. It is very important to analyze this

statistic into a deeper understanding because, not only is it addressing to humans that some of

these waterways are unsafe to swim or fish, but to also think about the larger picture and imagine

the amount of living organisms (non-human) that have no other choice but to live and dwell in

these places and reap the hazards of it. Exactly like that of Image two. This statistic should be

more significant in our society today than what it is. If more people realized all of the affects that

their personal contamination has had and will continue to have on our oceans, pollution in

general would be more of a common topic.

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With worldwide pollution levels on the rise, society needs to stand up for the

environment and start to reduce pollution in water. Without action, the challenges will only

increase, it is estimated that by 2050, the global demand for freshwater is expected to be one-

third greater than it is now (Denchak). That is scary to think of and if it were to come true, water

could end up looking the way it does in image one. That statistic alone is alarming enough to

where it should urge people to start practicing things like recycling and staying away from

landfills. Image one does a great job showing the audience what is possible to do as a society by

trying to reduce the amount of trash that is polluting water. By teaming up and working together,

if people in places like the one in image one, went out and took pride in where they lived, society

as a whole could see a huge impact on the worlds water pollution problem. Image two also has a

strong influence that if we don’t start to clean up our act now, animals and the environments that

they are living in will continue to suffer due to the pollution being caused by humans. It’s sad to

think about but in all reality, mankind is responsible for causing these animals and habitats to

suffer.

Based on the illustrations, it is clear that water pollution has had a very large impact on

our aquatic ecosystems over the years. From oil spills to the extinction of a large chunk of coral

reefs, almost every result of water pollution can be directly related to the existence of humans.

Both of the images shown have a very strong tie to this topic. The whole concept of these

pictures is to get people talking about what life would be like if water pollution was not a thing

in a means to one day work towards that as a goal for society. Picture this, if the water way in

image one is unblocked from all of the, you can see boats traveling to and from destinations, and

fish swimming through the water. It’s ideas like this that can lead to our society teaming up and

working together to try and eliminate some of the water pollution on our planet.
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With both pictures, one could say that there are limitations that can affect the message

that is conveyed in them. For example, in image two it might be likely that someone who doesn’t

believe that pollution is a real-world problem, could say that the picture had been set up or

altered with. It’s through people like this that we struggle as a society to do some things like

keep our oceans clean and our ecosystems thriving without complications like this.

Through the observation of these two images, it is extremely important to recognize the

affects that water pollution has on our daily lives. Overall after examining these photos below, it

is obvious that this issue of pollution needs to change. Together we need to address this and work

to better ourselves and the world that we live in. In reality people should be participating to clean

and sustain that the earth that we live on. If humanity doesn’t start to act, we will begin to suffer

the consequences and ultimately pay the price of destroying our earth as a whole. Simple acts

like recycling, picking up after each other, using environmentally safe products and way more

are just a few of the ways that can help to save our planet. “We are living on the planet as if we

have another one to go to” (Administrator). This is most definitely not the case. Today’s society

needs to start thinking about the youth and future generations that will follow in our footsteps

that live among us on this planet. In the end, these picture show that while working together we

can all be a part of a bigger solution, together we can find a way to end pollution.
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Image 1 Image 2
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Works Cited

Administrator, Super. “Terri Swearingen.” Drukpa Eco Pad Yatra, Drukpa Publications,
www.padyatra.org/37-quotes/57-terri-swearingen. Accessed on 15 Oct. 2018.

Bradford, Alina. “Pollution Facts & Types of Pollution.” LiveScience, Purch, 27 Feb. 2018,
www.livescience.com/22728-pollution-facts.html. Accessed on 15 Oct. 2018.

“Causes and Consequences of Water Pollution.” Sustainability for All, Acciona,

www.activesustainability.com/water/causes-consequences-water-pollution/. Accessed on 14 Oct.
2018.

Crockett, Zachary. “There Are 5 Trillion Pieces of Plastic Floating in Our Oceans. This Map Shows You
Where.” Vox, Vox, 22 Nov. 2016, www.vox.com/2016/5/23/11735856/plastic-ocean. Accessed
on 13 Oct. 2018.

Denchak, Melissa. “Water Pollution: Everything You Need to Know.” NRDC, National Resources
Defense Council, 18 May 2018, www.nrdc.org/stories/water-pollution-everything-you-need-
know. Accessed on 12 Oct. 2018.

“Global Water Pollution.” 2003 - Water for People, Water for Life | United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization, www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-
sciences/environment/water/wwap/wwdr/wwdr1-2003. Accessed on 15 Oct. 2018.

“Water Topics.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 7 Aug. 2018,

www.epa.gov/environmental-topics/water-topics. Accessed on 13 Oct. 2018.

“What Is Water Pollution?” What Is Water Pollution | Environmental Pollution Centers,

www.environmentalpollutioncenters.org/water/. Accessed on 13 Oct. 2018.