pollution
Elevated COx, NOx, SO2, and other air pollutants are known to decrease biodiversity in plant, insect, bird, and mammal species. [59] [60] [61]
Often forgotten about is noise pollution, which is also known to decrease biodiversity in bird species. [62] It is also shown to affect anatomical and morphological development in many different species through a variety of ecosystems. [63] [64] Noise pollution is even pervasive away from population centers in protected areas, oftentimes double the natural background noise. [75]
There are giant floating islands of trash that have formed in the middle of ocean gyres in all of the world’s major oceans. [111] [112]
Concentrations of plastic debris in surface waters of the global ocean. Colored circles indicate mass concentrations (legend on top right). The map shows average concentrations in 442 sites (1,127 surface net tows). Gray areas indicate the accumulation zones predicted by a global surface circulation model. Dark and light gray represent inner and outer accumulation zones, respectively; white areas are predicted as nonaccumulation zones. [111]
Below is a link to a time lapse of all 10,000 oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico between 2010 and 2015. [113] The US is the world’s largest oil producer today thanks to the expansion of oil drilling in the Gulf and especially hydraulic fracturing (fracking). [114] Production could double by 2023. [115] And the worst part of it all? 47% of all oil fields discovered are dependent on government subsidies. [116] [117] Money is coming out of taxpayer pockets to ensure oil companies make billions of dollars in profits ($28B in 2018), and they’re ruining the planet to do it. [118] 61% of the world’s newly-drilled oil is expected to come from the US over the next decade. [119]
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, IHS Global Insight, and DrillingInfo [120]
Remember the Keystone Pipeline that people said wouldn’t leak? There was a spill in a wetland area and it is impossible to clean up. [121]
One cruise ship emits more particulate matter than 1 million cars. [122] Carnival's 47 cruise ships pollute more than all of the cars in the EU. And, they dump a billion tons of raw sewage into the ocean every year. [123]
Companies are ramping up their plastic production in anticipation of reduced demand for oil-based fuels. [126] The price of plastics have plummeted to the point where it’s no longer profitable to actually recycle all the plastic. [127] The US actually exports plastic to southeast Asia, millions of tons of it, just to be burned.
Electronic waste is even worse. It’s all a gigantic health risk. [128]
Most donated clothing goes straight into landfills in Africa. [129]