Pollution

Pollution is a major problem on our Earth. People litter all the time, and what they don’t know can hurt them. There are three main kinds of littering; land, water, and air. Obviously, it isn’t as simple as one two three. Each category has sub-categories, or more problems. Understanding how it affects and the causes will generally help most people, and that’s why I’m writing this.

 

Land pollution consists of dumping and human waste such as fast food waste, smoking and drinking related waste. Fast food waste is plain laziness. If you can’t throw your food away after you’ve burned enough fuel to get to the restaurant, then just don’t go. I barely eat out, and when I do I make sure to throw away all of my trash and sometimes even the trash next to me. So do us all a favor and pick up after yourself, you aren’t five.

 

Smoking waste is very common. If you’re sitting in your car, burning away fuel, and suddenly you’re done with your cigarette. Where can I put this thing? Oh, I know, I’ll just throw it out my car window. That’s not very smart, at all. First, it’s nasty and it pollutes the Earth. Second, can’t you set it down in your car? There is no reason to summon your nasty smoking germs onto the ground. Third, if you love nature, but you smoke, would you want a bird to pick that cigarette up and carry it off? I’m sure birds do that and then they could die from the toxic materials it just inhaled. Great, thanks so much.

 

Have you ever seen a beer bottle sitting around? Yeah, well guess what, that’s littering too. Cans, plastic ring packaging, and straws all fit into the drinking related waste category. Just because you’re wasted doesn’t mean you can throw your trash away. Now, I know not all drinkers get so drunk that they can’t stand. I have nothing against people drinking, but please for the Earths sake pick up your trash. We only have one.

 

Those huge mountains your kids point out and say, ‘Mom look at that!’ are most likely landfills. You especially know when you can smell them. Landfills are bad for the Earth, but they’re ‘good’ for us. The cost is cheap and it’s easy. When trash is dumped into a landfill the workers press it down for more space, but as they do that they cut off the oxygen, which causes the breakdown of the trash to get much slower. Without the elements and oxygen mixing with the trash, it has a harder time degrading, which means we’re stuck with this huge pile of trash that usually smells very badly. Great.

Reviews

[Steve]

Reminds me of the (hilarious) simpsons episode where Homer becomes sanitation officer and Springfield becomes a giant trash heap due to out of town waste... It's crazy to just think about, in Britain alone each person uses (on average) about 300 plastic bags a year, which may take as long as 500 years(!) to decompose in a landfill...

I don't think the earth was designed to be stuffed with our evil plasticy cast-offs, unfortunately it does look like our never-ending greed as a race will be our eventual downfall. Sadly as you say the change only has to be small, if everyone just did their little bit to keep everything a bit tidier, but I can't see it. The whole recycling/waste management is a billion pound industry here, and of course with such unaccountable amounts of money corruption and illegal activity is rife, hence fly tipping/illegal dumping.

I think in the nearish future we will resort to blasting it into space and give ourself more time, and let the future generations concern themselves with the tesco bags that would make up most of debris circling around jupiter... Until then we have to hope people listen to voices like yours and be abit more considerate before they throw that can/cigarette butt onto the freeway.

Mary for sanitation officer! :)