Facts About Pollution
Read and discuss the following facts about pollution.
In the U.S., more than seven million cars are scrapped each year.
More than 250,000,000,000 tires have been thrown away in the U.S.
Each person in the U.S. uses about 12,023 gallons of water a year, enough to fill more than a tanker truck.
There is a layer of ozone gas surrounding the earth that protects it from the sun's harmful rays. That layer has become thinner and has holes in it from chemical pollution in the air.
Most families throw away about 88 pounds of plastic a year.
Every year in the U.S. a forest the size of the state of Maine is cut down to make paper.
Gases from car exhaust fumes, power plants and factories are making rain slightly acid as it falls through the atmosphere.
The average person in the U.S. throws away about 4 pounds of waste each day.
Hugh amounts of disposable diapers are thrown into landfills. These produce methane gas into the atmosphere and take hundreds of years to break down.
Acid rain can harm forests and crops, damage bodies of water and contribute to the damage of statues and buildings. Pollutants that contribute to acid rain may be carried hundreds of miles before being deposited on the earth.
Automobiles are a major source of air pollution in most areas. They release more than 50 percent of the hazardous air pollutants .
Road salt and high nitrogen fertilizers contaminate water sheds, affecting plant and animal life.