Water in the World Past & Present
You don’t have to be an environmentalist to recognize that pollution is taking its toll on our rivers, lakes and streams around the world, not to even mention, oceans. While efforts to clean up the water have increased over the years and noble as they may be, sadly, these efforts are losing ground.
With an ever-increasing population, budget cuts, and attacks on all fronts from agricultural run offs, industrial waste and the dumping/flushing of pharmaceuticals and more, clean water is fast becoming a distant memory.
Here are but 3 of some of our most polluted waterways in the world with a little background history thrown in.
The Cuyahoga River: In 1959, the Cuyahoga River in Ohio made headlines around the world when this horribly polluted waterway caught fire. I know, crazy isn’t it?
Time magazine described the scene this way; “Chocolate-brown, oily, bubbling with subsurface gasses, it oozes rather than flows.”
The Cuyahoga River in Ohio 1959
The pristine setting of Lake Karachay in Russia is deceiving to the eye. Nestled in a quiet valley, edged by mountains, surrounded by forests and lovely meadows, this lake appears to be a nature lover’s dream. The only problem with this idyllic setting is that it was once designated the most polluted spot on Earth.
Go hiking there and you may not need a flashlight when night falls.
The reason?
From 1951 to 1953, Lake Karachay was the dumping ground for all nuclear waste from Mother Russia’s largest nuclear production facilities called Mayak.
Lake Karachay in Russia
This secret dumping ground remained virtually unknown until 1968 when a drought in the region caused some areas of the lake to dry up. The prevailing winds carried away dust from that dry bed and irradiated over half a million people.
The Citarum River in Indonesia
The Citarum River in West Java, Indonesia, is so polluted that one could almost walk upon it. In the last 20 years some 5 million new residents have infiltrated this part of the country and with them come all the chemical household waste, human waste, along with industrial waste.
The negative consequences of unchecked pollution are evident in the above photo.
There are so many more polluted waterways in this world that one could literally make a career out of writing about them. The aforementioned three however, paint a stark a realistic picture of the state of water on this tiny planet.
It is no secret that more money and ever stronger measures are needed to try and clean up our polluted water and preserve what clean water there may be left. Just as importantly, monies allocated for such clean up projects need over site to ensure that that money goes where it is supposed to go.
The Argentine newspaper Pdgina/12, stated that in 1993, $250,000,000 (250 million) was allotted for clean up of the Matanza-Riachuelo River in Argentina, but of that money, only one million dollars was actually used toward that end. The rest they say “was misappropriated.” Two-hundred and forty-nine million dollars misappropriated. What a sad state of affairs.
It is frustrating and alarming that our precious water is so mistreated that it has to be treated just to make it safe enough to drink. However, the chemicals used to clean up the water are often times just as bad as or worse than the chemicals they are trying to eliminate.
While we can only do our small part to help…all help is needed. Clean drinking water has never been more necessary or scarce. That’s why pure water from Tyent is so very important.
At Tyent USA, we are committed and dedicated to providing the world with pure, clean water that is virtually chemical free and mineral rich with a high pH level of above seven.
Our award-winning ionized alkaline water purifiers are unsurpassed in their ability to change the chemical laden water flowing from your tap into pure, good tasting water that is actually good for your body.
To learn more about the purest, freshest water attainable in your home or place of business, please visit us at tyentusa.com.
Source credit
http://www.takepart.com/
Image credits in order of appearance
Water Drop World
123rf.com
ClevelandStateUniversity Library
(Photo: Собственная работа/Wikimedia Commons)
(Photo: Dadang Tri/Reuters)
