Pollution are slow poison, act slowly but lethally.
Let’s take a moment to reflect on a sad truth. Our planet and almost all animals and plants living on it are struggling with man-made pollution. The world pollution statistics are simply alarming! These horrible state of our planet is made tangible when we see revolting pictures of birds covered in oil, poisoned fish, trapped turtles, etc. You can’t help but feel sad at the mere sight of it all. I am going to share with you facts about air pollution, facts about pollution in the ocean, and facts about about land pollution in order to show you a glimpse of the seriousness and scale of the problem.
Every year, more than 14 billion pounds (6 billion kilograms) of garbage is dumped into the world's ocean. Most of it, is plastic that is toxic to marine life.
Known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, there even is a “continent” made from the plastic trash, floating in the Pacific Ocean. According to some estimates, the patch can be as large as twice the size of the US.
There are more than 500 million cars in the world now and the number is expected to rise to over a billion by 2030, which means the pollution caused by cars could potentially double by that year.
Americans make up about 5% of the world´s population but produce as much as 30% of the world´s waste and use about a quarter of the world´s natural resources.
We know massive deadly oil spills are created after tankers or drilling rigs have accidents but in fact, for every million tons of oil shipped, there is always one ton of oil spilled – without any accident.
A radioactive waste dumping site for the former Soviet Union, Lake Karachay, western Russia, is the most polluted spot on Earth. Spending just an hour in the lake would be fatal for a human.
China is among the countries with highest air pollution in the world. Breathing air in Beijing, the country´s capital, increases the risk of lung cancer in the same way as smoking 21 cigarettes a day.
Water pollution is even worse in India, where almost 80% of all urban waste is dumped into the river Ganges – the most sacred river to Hindus. The river is now also the place where poor Indians bury their deceased family members.
With computers, TVs, cell phones and other electronic devices becoming more and more available in the world, electronic waste has been an increasing problem in recent years. In 2012 alone, people produced almost 50 million tons of electronic waste.
About a third of fish in British rivers are in the process of changing sex due to water pollution. Hormones in human sewage, including those in contraceptive pills, are thought to be the main cause.
In India, about a thousand children die every single day due to a disease caused by extreme water pollution.
Pollution in China can change weather in the US. Almost a third of air pollution in San Francisco actually comes from China.
According to a scientific study, about 1 in every 8 deaths that occur in the world is somehow associated with air pollution.
Almost half of all seabird species, 22% of cetaceans, all sea turtle species and a growing list of fish species have been documented with plastic found in or around their bodies.
And last but not least we return to the idea of plants. Realizing the natural power of plants to convert carbon dioxide to oxygen, some designers have opted for personal indoor gardens to keep the air around them clean. Beijing-based O2ganic has cashed in on this and is currently selling customized “air-filtering” plants. And now with this conceptual portable terrarium, you can take your living filters with you on the go!
