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Water Pollution IS a Big Program By Michael Fonden, 6th Grade Where you throw your trash can be as dangerous as throwing a bomb into a lake. For example, a biologist did an autopsy on a male sperm whale that was found dead on a beach. He discovered that the whale died from swallowing a party balloon that wrapped around his digestive system. And that was only one party balloon. Things such as needles, glass bottles, bottlecaps, doll heads, fishing line, and fishing hooks can be found all over beaches! Adding to this, plenty of runoff pesticides from lawns, fields, and agriculture are dumped right into our waters. Did you know that 51 percent of water contamination is caused by water from rain and melted snow washing animal waste, pesticides, and fertilizers down to the nearest lakes, rivers, oceans, or storm drains. These are all harmful things to our wildlife, but I would have to say that the most dangerous ones are the storm drains. Our trash doesn’t go right into the water, but somehow it gets there. Have you ever walked down a street and seen all the waste? Well, if you have, then you have seen what I mean. The strangest trash ever can show up on a local street, such as dolls, cigarettes, caps, glass, bottles, and cans. And, when it rains or snows, they are all washed into the storm drains and, from there, are led to the ocean. Trash is one thing, but oils and gasoline can also be carried by the water. This can be avoided if we use filters. There are some filters, but very few are around. The money for the filters can be earned from fund-raisers around the United States. Let’s protect our aquatic ecosystem.
(Uploaded May 2004)
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