Show Back 1998 EPA report found that about 40 of US streams lakes and estuaries are still polluted The pollution kills fish birds and other animals It affects human health too For example pregnant women can’t eat many species of fish due to high mercury levels! (See the EPA report at wwwepaxov305b) in the 1960s the environment was clearly in Pesticides such as DDT were endangering eagles and ospreys In late November 1966 New York City’s smog was so bad that within a few days it killed 168 people with respiratory diseases In 1969 Ohio’s Cuyahoga River was so dirty that it caught on Newman’s sarcastic song about it “Bum on Big River” played on radios all over the country Two-thirof the nation’s rivers and lakes woe too polluted to swim in fire-Rand- y 3) Global warming The question of whether or not human activity contributes to global warming has been controversial By now most scientists agreethat it does And US cars trucks power plants and factories produce more than 20 of the “greenhouse” gases (such as carbon dioxide) connected with it What harm could wanning do? The polar ice caps are melting and the world’s sea level has risen 4 to 8 inches in the past 100 years Continued warming scientists fear could cause rising seas to swamp coasts and islands Weather patterns could ’ change causing droughts in areas where crops once grew Air pollution and disease also might increase (For more on global ds Then on April 22 1970 something momentous happened More than 20 million Americans many of them young people gathered for the first Earth Day Their concern helped spur the US government to action The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) started up that year In 1972 Congress passed the Clean Air Act and the Clean WataAct In 1973 it passed the Endangered Species Act Since then environmental conditions in the US have improved People started recycling and quit using leaded gasoline Cities stopped dumping raw sewage into rivers and oceans But there’s still a long way to go Consider 1) Air pollution The American Lung Association grades US cities on air quality each year Their 2002 report found that more than 142 million Americans live in places that flunked That means that 75 of Americans who live in areas that are being monitored are breathing in unhealthy amounts of ozonej a primary ingredient of smog (To read the ALA report visit wwwlungusaorair2001Antm02html ) ' warming visit wnwepagovxlobalwarming) 4) Endangered species The Earth loses some 27000 species a year about three an hour Most endangered animals and plants are losing their habitats due to the growing human population The number of people on Earth has jumped from 1 7 billion in 900 to about 6 bil lion today Housing and activities that help people and the economy —such as logging mining farming Fishing dam building — also disrupt natural habitats Air pollution water pollution and poaching are also threats Cutting trees for farms and ranches is the greatest danger to the rainforests ' where more than half of the world’s species live The world now loses about 2 acre's of rainforest every second about :'v‘V: 38 million acres a year (For more on endangered species' j see http:endanfieredfwsiiw) 1 - Air pollution caused by burning fossil fuels —such as gasoline in cars and coal in power plants— also creates acid rain This sickens forests and pollutes lakes and streams It also kills fish and animals that depend on them 2) Water pollution Around the world people still dump 19 trillion Mff “Buutffly" IM127 ipw tv year living JSOfift abo gromdina lire maned “Lima loptot the htavettmg of the (mein redwood by ti timber compimjL' pounds of garbage sludge and sewage into the oceans each a year iniie xv What can you do about all these problems? Well you don't have to camp out in a J redwood tree for 738 days like activist Julia “Butterfly” HilL You can i begin by turning the ( j j laflnn Pdtff Delays Wan to Poison Rats page emd--mmm |