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Drinking Water Pollution and the Earth's Rising Sea Level Essay

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Water is one of the basic foundational units of life. It is very easy to take it for granted; after all, it does make up three-quarters of the total global surface. It has no taste, no smell, and no color. When considered on the most basic level, it is not very exciting or stimulating at all. Its simplicity is infinitely remarkable, yet it is indispensable to the perpetuity of all life forms here on Earth. So why has it taken so long for us to open our eyes to both its splendor and fragility? We as a people seem to understand that existence is impossible without water, yet we continue to sabotage it both consciously and unconsciously.

The purpose of this essay is to heighten awareness of a couple of problems as they relate to the …show more content…

In addition to this the global climate has begun to rise significantly, especially since the late 1970's. The National Academy of Sciences expects doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by the end of the 21st century, and this could raise the Earth's temperature anywhere from 1.5-4.5 celsius degrees by that time. Global warming affects the climate patterns of Earth in many ways, such as rises in temperature and precipitation and decreases in soil moisture. Agricultural productivity will increase in northern regions, but without moisture in the south it will drop dramatically. In addition there will be more frequent and violent storms and a plethora of local impacts around the world.

Global warming causes a rise in sea level because of two main phenomena: thermal expansion of warming ocean water and melting of glacial ice. A water level increase as significant as twenty inches could be reached by the year 2100. To provide a working idea of this, twenty inches is enough to submerge about 8500 sq. miles of the southeastern coastline of the United States (New York Times).

The Science Behind the Issue:

The greenhouse effect is a very real and therefore terrorizing theory. If the atmosphere did not retain part of the solar radiation being reflected back into space from the Earth's surface, then our planet would become cold and uninhabitable. However, the

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